Name: Carson Wells

School: University of Colorado - Boulder

Year: Junior

Position: Outside Linebacker

Measurables: 6’4”, 245 lbs per CU Athletics

Stats: 

General Info:

Played high school ball at South Sumter High School in Bushnell, Florida, where he was named “Central Florida Defensive Player of the Year” by the Orlando Sentinel. Wells was also on the school’s Basketball and Track and Field teams.

Wells was a composite three-star recruit in the class of 2017, per 247 Sports, and committed to the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was the 111^th ranked linebacker recruit, 234^th ranked Florida recruit, and 1655^th overall recruit for that year.

Was redshirted for his first season, purportedly due to a leg infection. As a redshirt Freshman, he started six of twelve games, playing 399 snaps and ranking 10^th in the Pac-12 with 4.5 sacks on the season. He also became the first redshirt freshman to see a start at outside linebacker for the Buffs since 1999.

Prior to his sophomore season in 2019, Wells was named a top 60 outside linebacker in the nation by Phil Steele, as well as being given an honorable mention on Pro Football Focus’ “All-Pac-12 Team.” While his sack numbers declined, he was more effective in run support and in pass defense, despite missing two games to injury.

The COVID shortened 2020 season was a huge step forward for Wells, as he excelled in numerous categories. He led the nation in tackles for loss per game, tied his career high with 4.5 sacks on the season (not including the Alamo Bowl, where he added two more), and was named to numerous “All-Pac-12 Teams.” He was once again named among College Football’s top outside linebackers, though he slipped out of the top 60.

Taking advantage of the extra year granted by the NCAA as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wells returned to the Buffs for the 2021 season, where he established himself as a defensive chess piece. Playing both as an edge rusher and an off-ball linebacker, Wells was able to set career highs in tackles and sacks and continued to perform in coverage, becoming the leader of the defense in the wake of fellow linebacker Nate Landman’s season ending injury. Prior to the season, he was also named to Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks List,” a testament to his athleticism.

Following the season, Wells accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl. At the Shrine Bowl, he reportedly stood out from start to finish, making an impact as a pass rusher and in coverage, displaying functional strength and speed. Unfortunately, Wells did not receive an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine and Colorado has yet to announce a Pro Day, so it remains to be seen if there will be an opportunity to take accurate measurables for the CU star.

Positional Skills:

Strengths

• Has shown outstanding versatility, flashing in coverage, run defense, and pass rushing.
• Plenty of experience: he started 34 games during his time at CU.
• Stepped up as a team leader and centerpiece of the defense when Nate Landman went down with injury.
• Exceptional athlete: named to Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List” for 2021 season.
• Reads plays well and is always quick to the ball, displaying good innate instincts and reactions.
• Sets the edge very effectively and with excellent discipline.
• Only missed two games in four college seasons.
• Plays hard. Doesn’t give up on a single rep.

Weaknesses

• A classic “tweener”—undersized for an EDGE player, oversized for an off-ball backer in a 3-4.
• On the older side for a rookie: he will be 23 years old at the start of the 2022 NFL season.
• Tends to play very vertically. Does not generate a ton of leverage in pass-rush situations.
• Sometimes gets eaten up by offensive linemen because of his size.
• Needs to develop more pass-rushing moves—right now he is too dependent on his physical ability.
• Uncertainty about measurements: he was not invited to the Combine, and Colorado has not announced a Pro Day as of the time of writing.

Fit with the Packers:

At his reported size of 6’4”, 245, Wells is a little bit of a tweener—he would be small for a 3-4 OLB (for comparison, Rashan Gary and Preston Smith are both over 260 pounds) but large for a traditional off-ball linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. In terms of size, Wells is actually comparable to the listed measurements for Dallas Cowboys’ star linebacker Micah Parsons and would probably be at his best in a similar role: a hybrid ‘backer in a 4-3 scheme.

However, Green Bay has shown a willingness to experiment with undersized OLBs in recent years, with Tipa Galeai and Oren Burks (who has seen some time at OLB) both measuring in at under 240. The Packers could use Wells as an outside linebacker in their scheme, mainly using him as a pass-rusher and occasionally capitalizing on his versatility by dropping him into coverage or lining him up off-ball. He should be a mid-round (4-6, maybe round 3) target for the Packers, who could use depth at both outside and inside linebacker, something Wells could potentially provide.