Denver Broncos Ring-of-Fame linebacker recently. Mecklenburg talked about Denver's top linebacker this year, Josey Jewell.There are many opinions on Jewells ability to play inside linebacker at a high level, but when Mecklenburg speaks on the subject, people should take notice. He is a four-time All-Pro, a Leighton Vander Esch T Shirts six-time Pro Bowler, and Hall-of-Fame-caliber former linebacker who played all front seven positions, with most of his career manning the middle at inside linebacker.Suffice to say, Mecklenburg likes Jewells game."When evaluating an inside linebacker, the 40-yard dash time is not on top of the list." Mecklenburg said, If I had to run 40 yards on the field, we were in trouble. That is not a realistic measure of somebodys quickne s on the field.Lateral movement is much more important when judging how a player will perform at inside linebacker if using athletic tests for evaluation. Jewell had a blistering time in both 3-cone drill and the 20 Roger Staubach Jersey -yard shuttle at the Combine at 6.80 seconds and 4.27 seconds, respectively. That lateral movement shows up on tape, and it makes up for his le s than stellar 40 time (4.82s).The other more important trait of a good inside linebacker is being able to read and react. If Mecklenburg could boil his succe s in the NFL down to one word, it would be decisivene s.That decisivene s is one of the reasons he had a Hall-of-Fame-caliber career.Decisivene s and read and react are other words for what many evaluators refer to as 'instincts.'Jewell has instincts in spades. He takes that first step before others as a result, putting him in position to make a play.Mecklenburg also Tyler Smith Jersey talked about the most important role for an inside linebacker, which is being able to make all the calls for the defense. Scroll to ContinueFirst of all, an inside linebacker has got to be smart enough to control the defense. That is a huge piece of his job," Mecklenburg told me. "My role was to make sure the front seven were in the right place at the right time. When the offense adjusted, all the defensive linemen are staring at the ball or the nose of the person lined up acro s from of them, that is all they see, so if anything changes it is the inside linebackers job to get everyone lined up right. I think that is something Josey Jewell is really good at. I watched himhis growth from his first year to his second year was tremendous. He is a guy that you can trust to get Dak Prescott T Shirts everyone lined up right, and then big plays dont happen.Mecklenburg added that if the defense is set up correctly, you get the outside linebacker doing the right thing and you get the pre sure, then there is an interception, and it doesnt look like Josey Jewell had anything to do with it, but really he got everyone shifted around and lined up right and that is why it happened.Jewell is a big part of the Broncos' defense, and he will be an important piece Ezekiel Elliott T Shirts manning the middle, especially since the player who will be lined up next to him is still in question. He can bring leadership to the defense. Mecklenburg believes the Broncos' front seven unit will be stronger than it has been in the past few seasons and that he is expecting Josey Jewell to be the center of it.That's a big vote of confidence from a Broncos Ring-of-Fame player who knows what it takes to be elite at the inside linebacker position.