Position Breakdown: Linebackers

Linebackers:
Much can be said about the starters of the team and pretty much the depth in general here: all these guys are VERY young still. Yet if history has taught us anything, that really isn’t all that bad: the leader of the unit has to be Omar Gaither, who started six games at WILL in 2006 and all 16 games in 2007 at MIKE linebacker, but looks to go back to WILL full time with the emergence of Stewart Bradley, who had two strong starts at MIKE late last year. Bradley moving to MIKE means that Chris Gocong, the starter at SAM last year after missing his rookie year in 2006 with a stinger, won’t have to worry about him dueling over SAM with him. Akeem Jordan, a rookie free agent out of James Madison, showed some spurts of skill last year late and will figure not only into special teams but also the job at WILL, while the team picked up former Titans and Colts starter and special teams leader Rocky Boiman (oh, how fitting of a first name for him to have in this city!) to compete for the SAM spot with Gocong and lead the special teams unit. The team also has Pago Togafau, who they picked up from camp cuts from Arizona last year, and three rookies in Andy Studebaker, Joe Mays, and Justin Roland as well, compiling nine linebackers for six spots.

What will happen: The trio of Gaither, Bradley, and Gocong are all going to start and will continue to prove their worth as well, but depth is where we need to find the answers: I put Jordan in to backup WILL, Boiman will backup at SAM, and Studebaker will backup at MIKE while the team will keep Mays and Togafau and put them on the squad.