Chazz
Surratt.
Chazz
Surratt.
North Carolina· 6'2"· 229 lb· 4.58s 40
"A former North Carolina QB who moved to linebacker as a redshirt junior and started 22 games in two years — a Round-3 developmental LB bet with elite closing speed and processing."Pre-draft read
This player aligns as an off-ball linebacker, demonstrating early route recognition and understanding of offensive spacing derived from his background. He triggers into pressure effectively, showing advanced timing. He was utilized as a blitzer and chase linebacker, where his closing burst and quickness thrived when unchecked through the B-gap or scraping over the top.
However, when faced with guards and tackles, his play strength, form, and consistency in block destruction were inconsistent. He exhibits sufficient athleticism to carry routes in coverage, covering backs or carrying routes, but his run-fit patience was still developing during plays.
3-4 'joker' front, built to confuse protections but relies on linebackers and defensive backs to create pressure.
Year 1 special teams ace and sub-package pass rusher on third downs, with a ceiling as an every-down field general and blitz weapon.
Any gap-scheme heavy defense asking him to stack and shed against interior offensive linemen on first and second downs.
A classic developmental project whose immediate value is as a sub-package specialist rather than a traditional in-the-box linebacker, requiring patience for his instincts to catch up with his athleticism.
Chazz Surratt 2020 Season Highlights | UNC Football LB
2020 UNC senior-year LB film — blitz-timing sacks, pursuit range and coverage reps as a converted quarterback playing his second season at linebacker.
Minnesota Vikings Select Chazz Surratt in Third Round of the 2021 NFL Draft
Minnesota's draft-night selection package — Rick Spielman's Kendricks-insurance and sub-package coverage LB rationale.
QUARTERBACK to LINEBACKER — North Carolina LB Chazz Surratt Highlights
Position-change profile cut-up — UNC quarterback origin story, converted-LB blitz reps and the athletic-profile projection that drove the Day-2 grade.
This prospect offered a high-upside developmental linebacker profile, providing pre-snap processing and closing burst that could immediately translate to sub-package third-down value. His rare background as a quarterback suggested an unusual mental understanding of offensive schemes, which gave him an advantage in anticipating plays.
His role at North Carolina highlighted his productivity after voluntarily converting to linebacker. He accumulated 214 combined tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 11.5 sacks over 24 games. He was effectively deployed as a blitzer and chase linebacker, leveraging his athletic traits, and his production earned him a Senior Bowl invitation.
Evaluators were divided; his intangibles and processing were highly regarded, but concerns centered on his limited defensive experience (24 games), his slight build at 229 pounds, and inconsistencies in block destruction. He was projected to develop into a sub-package space defender with initial special teams contributions and was ultimately drafted in the third round, 78th overall.
- 01
Rare Pre-Snap Processing
— Leverages five years of quarterback tape for route recognition and offensive alignment advantages at linebacker.
- 02
Plus Athletic Profile
— Displays a 4.58 forty, 39-inch vertical, and 10-foot-4-inch broad jump, providing closing burst and range.
- 03
Instant Blitz Productivity
— Registered 11.5 sacks across two linebacker seasons, indicating immediate third-down sub-package value.
- 04
Elite Intangibles
— Team captain, voluntarily switched positions, demonstrating coachability and toughness maximizing upside.
- 05
Good Ball Production
— Accumulated 214 tackles across 24 games and multiple forced fumbles, showing instinct development.
- 01
Limited Linebacker Experience
— Only two seasons of linebacker tape exist, with every block destruction and gap-fit representing new development.
- 02
Light Frame
— At 229 pounds, struggles to stack and shed even against ACC offensive linemen, projecting as sub-package only.
- 03
Instinctual Reads Lag
— Shows false-step tendencies and hesitation in trap/counter run reads on film, behind true linebackers.
- 04
Age-Adjusted Development
— At 24 years old at the draft, a condensed developmental runway limited his draft stock to Round 3.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.58sp50
- Vertical
- 31inp50
- Broad jump
- —in
- Three-cone
- 7.02sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.16sp50
- Bench
- 25repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | North Carolina | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | North Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | North Carolina | 13 | 115 | 6.5 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | North Carolina | 11 | 91 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Career | — | 34 | 207 | 12.5 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Realistic: undersized athletic LB with real production windows across multiple teams before injuries and role compression pushed him into journeyman starter/depth territory — the middle-tier outcome for the profile.
Ceiling: twitch-first, sub-package-friendly off-ball LB who parlayed athletic burst and coverage instincts into a Pro Bowl season and second contract — the peak outcome the Vikings projected for the conversion athlete.
Floor: conversion-athlete LB (safety-to-LB in Gerry's case) who never became the sub-package starter drafted for, but carved out a multi-year career as a special-teams ace and depth LB — the exact outcome Surratt hit.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Bust relative to a Round-3 slot, but hung around. Four defensive snaps across two Vikings seasons (2021-2022) before being waived. Landed with the Jets in 2023 (14 games, core teams), stuck in 2024 (17 games, 22 tackles, 5 TFL as rotational LB/ST), and moved to Seattle in 2025 (11 games). Carved out a real career as a special-teams ace and depth linebacker — just never the sub-package starter Minnesota drafted.
Rare pre-draft story: three-year starting quarterback at North Carolina (2017-2018 as a QB, injury and coaching change opened the door) who voluntarily converted to linebacker in 2019 and immediately became one of the ACC's most productive defenders. Two-year LB output was legit: 214 tackles combined, 15 TFL and 11.5 sacks across 24 games, plus a Senior Bowl invite where the athletic testing (6'2", 229 lb, 4.58 forty, 39" vertical, 10'4" broad) confirmed the trait profile.
Pre-draft evaluation was polarizing: elite intangibles, quarterback processing, elite closing burst — but only 24 career defensive snaps of institutional knowledge, weak block-deconstruction reps, and a light frame that projected as sub-package early. Vikings jumped for the ceiling at 78.
The reality: Minnesota played him a total of four defensive snaps across two seasons (2021-2022) and waived him. New York Jets scooped him in 2023 and finally found the role — 14 games as a core-teams ace, then 17 games in 2024 (22 tackles, 5 TFL as rotational LB with ST value). Seattle signed him in 2025 (11 games, ST).
Overall arc: no sub-package starter emerged, but Surratt carved out a real four-year NFL career on special teams and as depth LB. Round-3 outcome is bust-relative-to-slot — projected as a starter, hit as a career backup — but he stayed on rosters longer than most Day-2 misses. Instructive case study on the ceiling of two-year defensive conversions.