The High’s And Low’s Of Ben Heeney
Kansas Jayhawks linebacker Ben Heeney was one of the very few bright spots for team the past three seasons. It is no secret that the Kansas football program hasn’t had a lot to cheer about recently, but Kansas fans should be excited to watch Ben Heeney represent the program in the NFL.
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The hope is that he can replicate the success of fellow Kansas defenders Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. Talib and Harris were both voted to the 2014 NFL Pro Bowl as cornerback’s for the Denver Broncos.
Prior to the NFL Combine Ben Heeney was projected as a fifth round prospect in the 2015 NFL Draft. He was projected as the seventh best inside linebacker, and 166th best overall prospect.
Then the NFL Combine came around and Heeney had a very strong showing. He ran a 4.59 second 40 yard dash, 6.68 second three cone drill, four second 20 yard shuttle, and 11.06 second 60 yard shuttle, earning high marks in all of those drills.
After the strong showing at the NFL Combine Ben Heeney is currently projected as a fourth round prospect in the 2015 NFL Draft. He is projected as the sixth best inside linebacker, and 128th overall prospect according to cbssports.com. He improved his stock by an entire round by showing his physicality.
Heeney managed 218 tackles, 117 assists, 4.5 sacks, four interceptions, five passes defensed, and three forced fumbles in his four year career with the Jayhawks, majority of the statistics are from his Sophomore, Junior, and Senior season.
Heeney is known as a high character, high work rate player that coaches love to coach, and players love to play next to. He loves to play the game, and is also known to be addicted to the film room. Heeney plays hard and physical and rarely lets plays come to him. He is always on the attack, looking to make contact.
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Heeney does have some issues that hamper his draft stock however. He lacks the prototypical size of a NFL inside linebacker coming in at 6′ tall, and 231 pounds. In comparison KC Chiefs Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson is 6’3″ tall, and 242 pounds. NFL teams will be worried that Heeney lacks the size to deal with NFL offensive lineman.
Heeney was also the leader in missed tackles among all players in college football in 2014. Players will only be bigger, stronger, and faster in the NFL so the fact that he struggled making tackles his senior year in college is a big red flag to NFL teams.
Heeney only had one pass defensed his entire senior season, and was known to struggle when asked to cover the pass, though he did have one interception.
Keep an eye out for his name at the 2015 NFL Draft on April 30th-May 2nd. The KC Chiefs now have ten draft picks, and a need for depth at the inside linebacker position so maybe they bring him in and let him learn from Derrick Johnson.