Cameron
Mcgrone.
Cameron
Mcgrone.
Michigan
"A 6'1", 234-pound Michigan WILL with 4.5 sacks and 11.5 TFL over 18 games, a torn ACL in November 2020 wiping out senior tape and testing — a Round-5 medical bet on speed-and-range traits from 2019 film."Pre-draft read
Plays WILL linebacker depth, aligning 4-5 yards off the line. He triggers downhill quickly off run keys, getting skinny through interior gaps to fit alleys. Shows burst to the ball. Blitz timing off the A-gap and B-gap is a plus; he can green-dog a running back's protection and finish plays. In coverage he opens his hips cleanly out of hook drops to carry seam routes with tight ends and picks up crossers with awareness.
Takes on blocks with honest limitations, as climbing guards can stalemate him at contact. Against downhill inside zone, he sometimes overruns gap fits by playing too fast. Tackling is aggressive but occasionally high, leading with the shoulder rather than wrapping the ball-carrier in the open field.
New England's defense employs a versatile pressure-oriented front with multiple fronts shifting between 3-4 and 4-3, often featuring gap-shooting linebackers and varying coverage shells.
Year 1 special teams ace and situational sub-package linebacker on passing downs, with a ceiling as a three-down WILL after medical clearance and strength development.
A two-gapping 3-4 scheme that requires linebackers to consistently take on and shed blocks from interior linemen.
McGrone's athletic range and coverage ability align well with New England's defense, provided his ACL recovery allows him to regain his pre-injury burst.
Cam McGrone — 2019 Highlights (Extended Cut)
The tape the pre-draft grade was built on — 2019 sophomore film showing range, blitz timing and coverage reps as Michigan's first-year WILL starter.
Top 19 Plays by Michigan LB Cameron McGrone
Big Ten Network cut of his defining college reps, emphasizing sideline range and downhill closing speed against Big Ten offenses.
2021 NFL Draft Preview: Cameron McGrone
Pre-draft scouting breakdown flagging the ACL rehab timeline and coverage upside that framed his Day-3 evaluation.
He projects as an athletic, three-down WILL linebacker, a role a team buys for his ability to cover, blitz, and run to the football. His 2019 tape at 6'1", 234 pounds showcased the modern traits for the position, with good closing speed and coverage feel. The bet is on his pre-injury explosion to translate, with an understanding of a full-year rehab timeline. He offers a high upside if healthy.
McGrone broke out in 2019 as a first-year starter, accumulating 66 tackles, 9.5 TFL, and 4 sacks. He primarily played in Don Brown's pressure fronts, where he was deployed to blitz, cover, and pursue. His usage also included matching backs and tight ends into the flat. The 2020 season was cut short due to injury, limiting his total career sample to 19 games.
Evaluators were concerned about his torn ACL in November 2020, which left boards without fresh athletic data. The trade-off was between his clear traits and the significant medical risk. Consensus placed him as a Day 3 developmental WILL, leading to his selection in Round 5, pick 177, by New England.
- 01
2019 season production
The 2019 season showed 66 tackles, 9.5 TFL, and 4 sacks as a first-year starter.
- 02
Play speed and burst
He plays WILL linebacker depth and triggers downhill quickly off run keys, getting skinny through interior gaps to fit alleys.
- 03
Effective blitzer
Blitz timing off the A-gap and B-gap is a plus; he can green-dog a running back's protection and finish plays.
- 04
Coverage ability
In coverage he opens his hips cleanly out of hook drops to carry seam routes with tight ends and picks up crossers.
- 05
Good frame and build
His 2019 tape at 6'1", 234 pounds showcased the modern traits for the position, with good closing speed.
- 01
Medical concerns
He tore his ACL in November 2020 which limited the total career sample to 19 games and created a significant medical risk.
- 02
Limited take-on strength
He takes on blocks with honest limitations, as climbing guards can stalemate him at contact and wall him from fits.
- 03
Occasional overpursuit
Against downhill inside zone, he sometimes overruns gap fits by playing too fast, leading to missed assignments.
- 04
Tackling technique
Tackling is aggressive but occasionally high, leading with the shoulder rather than wrapping the ball-carrier in the open field.
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Michigan | 13 | 65 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | Michigan | 5 | 26 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 18 | 91 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
The measured outcome — a Day-3 linebacker who never quite locks in a starting role, bounces between rosters and carves out career longevity as a rotational and special-teams piece.
The plausible ceiling — a rangy, coverage-capable WILL whose speed and blitz timing outrun his take-on strength and whose NFL trajectory is heavily tied to knee health.
The bust outcome — traits-heavy college linebacker whose knee and coverage limitations conspire to keep him off the field, out of the league within three or four years of the draft.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context. McGrone was a top-100 recruit who arrived at Michigan as an athletic hybrid linebacker and delivered a promising 2019 breakout: 66 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 4 sacks and a forced fumble as a first-year starter in Don Brown's aggressive front. The 2020 season was supposed to be his signature year — instead it produced only five games and a torn ACL in November against Penn State that ended his college career on a stretcher. He did not test at the 2021 Combine (which was canceled anyway) and could not run at Michigan's pro day; the pre-draft evaluation had to lean entirely on 2019 film, listed measurables of 6'1", 234 pounds, and medical rechecks. Boards graded him as a Day-3 developmental WILL with real coverage upside if the knee cooperated, priced accordingly as a mid-Round-5 traits-and-medical bet.
NFL fit — New England Patriots. Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo drafted him at 177 to develop behind Dont'a Hightower and Ja'Whaun Bentley, spending his entire rookie year on the Non-Football Injury list to rehab the ACL. He was activated late in the 2022 offseason but never carved out a defensive role, playing sparingly on special teams before New England released him at cutdowns in August 2023. The Indianapolis Colts signed him to the practice squad and elevated him for a handful of games in 2023 — his most extensive NFL action to date — before he bounced between the practice squad and free agency in 2024. He was out of the NFL entirely by 2025.
Retrospective. This is a Round-5 medical miss. The 2019 tape that carried the projection never got a chance to translate — a full year lost to ACL rehab, a second year lost to a crowded Patriots depth chart, and no functional defensive footprint by the time his rookie contract expired. He finishes with fewer than 100 defensive snaps across his NFL career and a hard bust classification, though the injury context makes it less a scouting error than a probability bet that did not cash.