Kip Lewis
Oklahoma#171 overallScouting Report
Kip Lewis is a redshirt senior stack linebacker from Carthage, Texas who enters 2026 as one of the most experienced players at the position in the SEC, with 30 starts and 44 games already behind him. A former four-star recruit, he led Oklahoma with 76 tackles in 2025 and became the centerpiece of the Sooners' linebacker room. Bucs Wire's summer report frames his best trait as football intelligence: he diagnoses run concepts fast, understands his run fits, communicates before the snap and triggers downhill with real confidence. Oklahoma moved him around, using him as a traditional stacked linebacker, as an overhang and as a pressure player near the line, and the versatility showed up as six sacks in 2025 along with solid all-around play and a strong showing against the run. Fanspeak's profile notes he finished as the fifth-highest graded linebacker in the SEC at 77.2 with 39 stops, and that he was one of only three SEC linebackers with 30 or more stops and 20 or more pressures. His signature games came on the road at Alabama, where he posted a team-high seven solo tackles and a career-best 2.0 sacks in a 23-21 upset, and against Missouri, where eight tackles and a key pass breakup helped hold the Tigers to six points. In coverage he plays smarter than his 58.9 grade suggests, keeping his eyes on the quarterback through his drop and reading route combinations in curl and flat zones. The hold-up is play strength and length of speed: bigger offensive linemen can move him off his spot, and Oklahoma took him off the field in some single-linebacker sub packages. Walter Football lists him among the top 10 inside linebackers for his class, and another productive year likely puts him in the middle-round conversation.
NFL Comparison
Undersized, instinct-driven stack linebacker in the Danny Stutsman mold of Oklahoma production; blitz value closer to a sub-package pressure linebacker than a three-down coverage piece
Draft Movement
Down 44 spots since Jun 8
Strengths
- Excellent run-defense instincts with a quick downhill trigger
- Strong grasp of run fits and gap responsibility
- Strong run defender in 2025, one of the best among SEC linebackers
- Productive blitzer with active hands, 21 pressures and six sacks on 546 snaps
- Active pre-snap communicator who sets the front
- Versatile alignment usage as a stacked linebacker, overhang and pressure defender
- Keeps eyes on the quarterback while dropping into zone, comfortable in curl and flat
- Reliable wrap-up tackler with good pursuit angles
Weaknesses
- Lacks ideal anchor, bigger offensive linemen can displace him once they gain positioning at 226 pounds
- Overruns stretch and outside-zone concepts, opening backside cutback lanes
- Can get flat-footed and stationary after reaching his zone landmark
- Coverage urgency is inconsistent, 58.9 coverage grade in 2025
- Not an elite long-speed athlete
- Heavy production has not always turned into splash plays
- Came off the field in some single-linebacker sub packages
College Stats
2025: 76 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 4 PD, 546 snaps; 2024: 63 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 2 INT, 69.5 coverage grade; 2023: 57 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.0 sack; Career: 201 tackles, 19.0 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 2 INT, 2 defensive TD
Measurables
Awards & Honors
Team tackle leader at Oklahoma (2025); top-10 inside linebacker on Walter Football's board; former Texas District 10-4A Division II MVP; former four-star recruit