Monty
Rice.
Monty
Rice.
Georgia· 6'0"· 233 lb· 4.58s 40
"A Georgia SEC starter with plus tackling and processing but average burst and coverage tools — a Round-3 rotational MIKE projection."Pre-draft read
This downhill MIKE linebacker, Rice, excels as a read-and-fill run defender in the box, showcasing SEC-tested diagnostics. He processes green-dog calls efficiently, setting the front, and triggers cleanly on gap-scheme and duo runs, finishing with reliable form tackling. While his length is average, his take-on ability against pulling guards is functional, consistently meeting blockers in the hole with leverage rather than stacking and shedding.
As a coverage piece, he serves as a zone-drop and hook-curl replace defender, though his ordinary change-of-direction limits sub-package snap share. His standout attribute is football character: pre-snap communication, alignment accuracy, and a high tackling floor capable of protecting defensive structure even in unfavorable matchups.
A smashmouth one-gap 3-4 or 4-3 front that requires a single-gap MIKE to diagnose, fill, and fit against gap schemes.
Year 1 two-down stack linebacker with special teams value capable of immediately anchoring a run defense; ceiling as a long-term starter who leads the communication from the interior.
An air-raid style defense that prioritizes coverage and range in space over run-fit physicality, as his limited change of direction and speed in space would be exposed.
Rice projects as a high-floor run defender whose ability to command a front translates well to a physical, downhill system but whose coverage limitations will cap his three-down utility.
Monty Rice (Georgia LB #32) vs Auburn 2020
Full 2020 SEC cutup against Auburn — the run-key diagnostics and green-dog communication that anchored his day-two grade.
Monty Rice 2018 & 2019 Highlights — Georgia LB
Two-year Georgia cutup showing the sophomore-to-junior progression from rotational MIKE to team Defensive MVP.
Draft Board Riser — Georgia LB Monty Rice Highlights HD
Pre-draft cutup framing the case NFL boards used to bracket him in the late-second-to-fourth-round band.
Monty Rice projected as a plug-in stack linebacker, a MIKE built to handle early-down responsibilities with instincts and reliable tackling. A team acquiring him expected a player with high football intelligence, capable of communicating pre-snap adjustments and anchoring a run defense. His 4.68 pro-day forty suggested functional athleticism, but also hinted at potential limitations in space.
He entered the draft as a four-year Georgia contributor, earning first-team All-SEC and second-team All-American honors as a senior. Rice was a multi-year starter, compiling over 200 career tackles. His usage as a green-dot communicator in a complex SEC defense showcased his mental processing and leadership qualities against top-tier competition.
Evaluators noted average length, functional but not disruptive athleticism, and limited man-coverage range against quick receivers and backs. Take-on strength against Power-5 guards was average. Consensus projected him as a late-second to fourth-round selection, viewed as a two-down starter with three-down potential only in specific schemes. The Tennessee Titans selected him at pick #92.
- 01
Diagnostic instincts and run-key processing
Read gap-scheme, duo, and outside-zone concepts cleanly, triggering downhill without false steps; mental floor was a top trait.
- 02
Tackling reliability
Consistent form tackler in the box with a documented low miss rate, converting run keys into stops between the tackles.
- 03
Green-dog and communication value
Wore the green dot as a senior, organized fronts and coverage checks, projecting immediately as a rookie MIKE.
- 04
Level of competition
Produced against SEC offensive fronts (Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU), shortening the leap to NFL run-game recognition.
- 05
Character, durability and captain-tier intangibles
Returned for his senior year, earned team Defensive MVP honors, no significant off-field flags.
- 01
Man-coverage limitations
Average change-of-direction and hip fluidity against slot receivers, tight ends, and satellite backs on option and wheel routes.
- 02
Athletic testing below modern LB thresholds
Translated on tape as ordinary range to the sideline and delayed closing speed in space.
- 03
Take-on strength against Power-5 pulling guards
Anchor is functional rather than stout; could get displaced by longer NFL guards on climb blocks.
- 04
Sub-package snap-share risk
Coverage limitations and average blitz value meant his role likely stayed on early downs, risking leaked snaps to nickel/dime LBs.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.58sp50
- Vertical
- 32inp50
- Broad jump
- 121inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.34sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.33sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Georgia | 14 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Georgia | 10 | 59 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | Georgia | 14 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | Georgia | 9 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | — | 47 | 219 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Downhill MIKE/box linebacker who has built a decade-long career as a rotational two-down defender, core special-teamer and coverage-limited communicator — the realistic role Rice actually cashed across five franchises.
Instinct-first stack linebacker whose best stretches as a full-time NFL starter came in a scheme that protected his coverage and let him play downhill — the ceiling if Rice's health had held and Bowen's Titans front had asked less of him in space.
Special-teams-only linebacker whose defensive snaps never scaled past emergency starts; the outcome if Rice had not stuck in a defensive rotation at all after leaving Tennessee.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Solid hit. Rotational Year 1, full-time MIKE by Year 2, 100+ tackles in 2023, cut in 2024 after coaching change, signed with the Raiders in 2025 as depth. Correct scouting: Pro-Bowl-adjacent peak was never in play, but a productive starter for three years.
**Pre-draft context.** Monty Rice entered the 2021 NFL Draft as a four-year Georgia contributor and one of the cleaner off-ball linebacker evaluations in the class. A 6'0", 233-pound MIKE from Huntsville, Alabama, he ran a 4.68 forty at his pro day and posted a 34.5-inch vertical — functional numbers rather than eye-popping ones — after two years as a Georgia starter in an SEC-caliber defense. Rice was a co-team Defensive MVP as a junior in 2019 (89 tackles, team lead), returned for his senior year, earned first-team All-SEC and consensus second-team All-American honors in 2020, and left Athens with a well-rounded résumé built against real competition. Boards graded him firmly as a day-two, three-down-capable stack linebacker: green-dog communicator, tackling floor, reliable run-key diagnostics, with legitimate concerns about man-coverage range and take-on strength against pulling guards. NFL.com, PFF and The Athletic bracketed him in the late-second to fourth-round band; the flag every service raised was the same — average athletic testing for the modern LB position.
**NFL fit — Tennessee Titans.** The Tennessee organization took Rice at #92 to slot in behind Rashaan Evans, Jayon Brown and later David Long as a rotational MIKE and green-dog signal-caller for a 3-4 hybrid defensive scheme. The pick fit the organization's roster identity: physical, high-football-IQ SEC defenders on rookie deals, drafted for depth and special-teams contribution rather than immediate starter projection. Rice started six games as a rookie amid the Titans' 2021 injury wave (58 tackles, one sack), then bounced between rotational reps and injured reserve across 2022–2023 as foot and ankle issues cost him extended stretches. He was waived by Tennessee in December 2023, claimed by the Saints, and never re-established a defensive role.
**Retrospective.** Rice's post-Titans path — Saints (2023), Falcons camp (2024), Patriots active roster (2024), Lions (2025), UFL Louisville Kings on the 2026 dispersal list — has settled the evaluation as a rotational special-teams linebacker with a short window as a rookie starter, not a long-term green-dog answer. Career line: 131 tackles, two pass deflections across five NFL seasons on five franchises. Against the round's ceiling outcomes (Creed Humphrey at 63, Elijah Moore at 34, Amon-Ra St. Brown at 112) the pick reads as a modest miss — the projection was correct on floor and coverage limitations, but the Tennessee organization did not extract the three-year starter production they needed at #92.