Height: 6’3″

Weight: 251

40 yard dash: 4.85

Bench press: 18 reps

Vertical: 29.5

20 yard shuttle: 4.23

DeLuca is one of the first small school prospects that I have covered this year in the inside linebacker class. He made a strong impact for the Bison defense at North Dakota State during his time there. In 2016 he was the only FCS player who was nominated for the Butkus award which is given to the best linebacker in the nation. In his senior season, DeLuca racked up 74 total tackles. Not impressive when you look at it on paper, but it was good enough to get him an invite to the Senior Bowl. He had a standout year in 2015 totaling 135 tackles where 59 of them were solo tackles. During his time at North Dakota State he played more of an outside linebacker role in the Bison’s 4-3 defense. He did play more of a Mike position when they went to their nickel and sub packages. DeLuca did however suffer a shoulder injury in 2016.

Strengths:

One of DeLuca’s biggest strengths was defending the pass. From the prospects I watched he seemed to be one of the most natural in his drops and settling on the receiver. NDSU ran a lot of cover 2 in their defense and DeLuca would be the “hole” player in the coverage, especially in the nickel package. The “hole” player is basically the deep middle player in the cover 2 look. He would turn and sprint 10-12 yards and settle, usually picking up an underneath crosser or a receiver running a curl route. He looked decent in man coverage but needs to improve more on it. He looked good in getting a hand on a receiver or tight end to disrupt timing.

The thing that I liked about DeLuca is his aggressiveness in zone coverage. He wasn’t afraid to get physical with receivers and make his presence known. Many times on tape I saw him finish the play with a “wrap and rake” technique. Much like a corner or safety would do, he would wrap up the receiver and “rake” the off-hand through the receivers hands to knock the ball away. At the combine he looked good in his change of direction and footwork. He was smart enough and had good vision to identify when a play went away and got there to get in on the tackle.

Weaknesses:

Playing the run is an area that I would like to see DeLuca improve in. His read step looked decent on tape but he was slow at times in plugging his gap at the line of scrimmage. His initial step would tend to be backward as he favored playing the pass. I would also like to see his tackling improve as he finishes plays. Several times he would make initial contact and not get a good wrap up on the ball carrier. His speed could be an issue at the pro level. Inside linebackers need to be quick enough to react after the initial read, and at the pro level a split second can make all the difference. DeLuca looked great in zone coverage but I would like to see him improve when it comes to man defense. My biggest concern is seeing how his body would hold up over the course of an NFL season as he had shoulder issues.

Projection:

I think DeLuca will fall somewhere in the 6th or 7th round. He would be a decent inside linebacker who could give offenses a good look in training camp.

Check out some of DeLuca’s games from the 2017 season:







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