Film room: Could Chris Paul Jr. be coverage LB Raiders need?

Diving into what the Ole Miss linebacker could bring to Las Vegas

The Las Vegas Raiders could afford to add a coverage linebacker in the 2025 NFL Draft, which should put Ole Miss’ Chris Paul Jr. on the Raiders’ radar.

Paul finished last season as Pro Football Focus’ second-highest graded SEC linebacker in coverage with a mark of 78.1. A big reason for that is he recorded the fourth-most ‘defensive stops’ (19) while missing just two tackles against the passing game. Also, he forced an incompletion on 12 percent of his targets, tied for the most PBUs with four and came down with one interception.

Those numbers are worth diving into the tape, so let’s take a look at what the former Rebel could bring to Las Vegas.

Part of the reason Paul made so many quality tackles in coverage last season is that he has good eyes in zone coverage.

Ole Miss is in Cover 4 here where he’s the curl-to-flat defender on the wide side of the field. Post-snap, he shows good eye discipline by peaking at the receivers to see if a threat is coming into his area. He notices the short curl route by the outside receiver and starts working wide while getting his eyes back on the quarterback.

Once the ball is out, Paul closes on the receiver, makes a strong open-field tackle to prevent any yards after the catch and gives the defense a chance to get off the field on third down.

Granted, he could have trusted himself more by eliminating the hesitation at the hash mark to give himself a chance to get a PBU. But regardless, this is a nice close in coverage to put the team in a good situation.

Here we’ll get another example of the former Rebel’s instincts and ability to close in coverage to set up a third-down situation for the defense.

It’s second and short and Oklahoma tries to get tricky by faking the halfback screen to the left while having a wide receiver work across the formation into the flat. It’s a pretty good play call as Ole Miss vacates that side of the field with the bracket coverage on the single receiver at the top of the screen.

However, Paul isn’t fooled and sniffs out the play design. Then, he takes a great angle, shows off some speed to close on the receiver and comes up with a TFL, setting up a third and medium situation. Had it not been for him, this would have easily been a first down and maybe more as the wideout had plenty of open grass to work with.

As referenced above, Paul had impressive ball production for a linebacker last season, and this rep highlights one of his four PBUs.

He’s in man coverage against Mason Taylor, who is one of the top tight end prospects in this year’s draft class. Taylor runs a wheel route where he switch releases with the outside receiver to try and create a natural pick.

However, Paul takes a step forward to avoid the pick and get his hands on Taylor. Combined with his speed, that allows the linebacker to stay in the tight end’s hip pocket against the vertical route, which is perfect coverage given help over the top. At the catch point, Paul does an excellent job of getting his hands up as soon as Taylor goes up to make the grab to get a piece of the ball and force the incompletion.

This is also a good example of the linebacker’s athleticism in man coverage.

In addition to another athletic play to help break up a pass, we’ll see another example of good eyes in zone coverage from Paul on this rep.

The Rebels rush three and drop eight defenders in this Cover 3 look. Initially, Paul protects against a slant or short drag route by opening his hips and eyeing the third receiver on the wide side of the field. Once the receiver releases past him, he passes the receiver off to the safety, gets his eyes on the quarterback and continues to work for depth.

As a result, the linebacker is in the passing lane against the dig route behind him and in position to make a play on the ball. That’s where his 36-inch vertical that earned an 8.41 RAS at the combine comes into play as he gets a piece of the ball to help force the incompletion.

This next rep is technically in coverage since Oklahoma calls a screen, but the Ole Miss product can slip blocks against offensive linemen working up to the second level which will translate against the run.

He has a good shoulder dip move and comes to balance after making the lineman miss to transition from moving vertically to horizontally. That allows him to come flat down the 42-yard line or take a good angle to make this tackle.

Finally, while Paul has short arms (29⅞” at the combine) and needs to add size and strength (222 pounds) to be more stout when taking on blocks, he can use his athleticism to be an effective run defender.

The Sooners try to use some deception here with the direct snap to the running back while the quarterback works wide to help set up the counter run to the other side of the formation. Meanwhile, the Rebels slant the defensive line weak while the linebackers move toward the strong side.

So, Paul initially steps to the left to cover the strong side A-gap. However, he recognizes the play design, sticks his inside foot in the ground and redirects to the right, showing off some impressive change of direction skills and agility.

To finish, he has the speed to beat the puller across the puller’s face and make the tackle for a short gain while showcasing some impressive range against the run.

---

Again, Paul has some work to do to become a complete linebacker in the NFL, most notably spending some time in the weight room. But his coverage skills and athleticism are worth betting on if the Raiders are looking for a linebacker who can impact the passing game immediately and grow as a run defender down the line.