NC State Ranks 9th in NFL Linebacker Production Over the Last 5 Years

Over the last five NFL seasons, former NC State linebackers rank 9th nationally in overall NFL production.

That ranking, compiled using tackles, sacks, forced fumbles, interceptions and tackles for loss from 2021–2025, places the Wolfpack squarely in the national LBU conversation.

NC State’s NFL Linebacker Contributors (Last 5 Seasons)

Over that stretch, five former NC State linebackers have logged meaningful production in the league:

Germaine Pratt
577 tackles
3.5 sacks
8 forced fumbles
8 interceptions
29 tackles for loss

Bradley Chubb
180 tackles
27.5 sacks
11 forced fumbles
25 tackles for loss

Payton Wilson
204 tackles
2 sacks
1 forced fumble
2 interceptions
9 tackles for loss

Drake Thomas
112 tackles
3.5 sacks
1 interception
10 tackles for loss

Vi Jones
9 tackles
2 forced fumbles

From Recruiting Rankings to NFL Production

Germaine Pratt and Payton Wilson largely lived up to their recruiting hype.

Pratt was rated as a 4-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals and a Top-250 overall player nationally (ESPN listed him as a 3-star). He developed into a First Team All-ACC performer as a senior and was selected in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft by the Bengals. He’s now one of the most productive linebackers in the league over the last five seasons.

Wilson was a consensus 4-star prospect and Top-150 national recruit. 247Sports ranked him as the No. 39 overall player in the country. At NC State, he earned First Team All-ACC honors twice. In 2023, he was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and captured both the Butkus and Bednarik Awards, becoming a unanimous First Team All-American. The Steelers drafted him in the 3rd round in 2024, and his early NFL production has already validated the hype.

Development Wins

Bradley Chubb and Drake Thomas represent massive developmental success stories in Raleigh. Both were consensus 3-star prospects coming out of high school.

Chubb blossomed into one of the most dominant defensive players in college football. In 2017, he earned First Team All-ACC and ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors, won the Nagurski and Hendricks Trophies, and was a unanimous First Team All-American. He was selected with the 5th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and has continued to be a disruptive edge presence in the league, being named to the Pro Bowl twice.

Thomas took a different path. A two-time All-ACC selection at NC State (First Team in 2021, Second Team in 2022), he went undrafted in 2023. After spending his first two NFL seasons primarily on special teams after signing an undrafted free agent deal, Thomas worked his way into a starting role for Seattle and helped propel the Seahawks to a Super Bowl appearance this season.