Strengths

• Gives effort between the tackles to find the ball and is willing to take on linemen.
• Strong and stout against the run, filling lanes with power and an attacking mentality.
• He has good reaction skills and awareness. Forceful tackler vs. the run.
• Thickly built with classic linebacker size, adequate strength and the smarts to cover up his athletic shortcomings in the right scheme.
• Works hard to get better and gives top effort on every play. Heads-up defender who shows good field awareness.

Weaknesses

• Chase speed is below average, and he gets too upright as a pass rusher - needs to play with better leverage.
• Lacks elite quickness and change-of-direction ability to handle NFL slot receivers after initial contact.
• Plays upright. Ducks his head and fails to wrap up at times. Inconsistent in giving full effort to be the second man in on the play. Must learn to use hands to beat blocks.
• Stiff in space with poor lateral agility and range. Not fluid changing direction. Struggles to tackle in the open field and falls off too many tackles going for the TKO.
• Limited athlete, lacks NFL playing speed and isn't explosive. Consistently a step behind in pursuit.

Zach McCloud percentiles vs other Outside Linebacker's (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)