[The Franchise]

Third Round:

#103 - Leo Chenal, LB, Wisconsin
#6 rated LB
#58 in the Top 300 list.

BACKGROUND: Leo Chenal (sha-NELL), who is the 12th oldest of 16 children, was born and raised in north Wisconsin. He grew up in Frederic before moving to Grantsburg (five miles from the Wisconsin-Minnesota border) for high school. Chenal was a three-sport letterman at Grantsburg High and a four-year starter and twoway player on the football team, starring at both running back and linebacker. After 72 tackles and 419 rushing yards as a sophomore, he became a captain as a junior and earned First Team All-State honors on defense. As a senior, Chenal was named the Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year and a 2018 First Team All-American (at running back and linebacker) with 2,038 rushing yards (10.5 yards per carry) and 45 touchdowns on offense, adding 120 tackles and 7.0 tackles for loss on defense. He was named Wisconsin’s small school Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in 2018. Chenal finished his career with 385 tackles, 55.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and three interceptions on defense and 3,705 rushing yards, 68 rushing touchdowns, 1,300 receiving yards and 17 receiving touchdowns on offense. He also earned All-Conference honors in basketball and track, setting personal-bests in the 100 meters (11.68), long jump (21’7.5) and shot put (46’3).

A three-star recruit out of high school, Chenal was the No. 35 athlete in the 2019 recruiting class and the No. 2 recruit in the state of Wisconsin. He started to hear from FCS and Division II programs as a sophomore before nearby Big Ten schools Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin got involved. A month into his junior year, Chenal received a scholarship offer from his home state Badgers and he accepted the next day, becoming the first verbal commit in Wisconsin’s 2019 recruiting class. At the same time, his older brother (John), who was originally committed to FCS-level North Dakota, received a walk-on offer from Wisconsin and played fullback for four seasons (2018-21) for the Badgers and is also in the 2022 NFL Draft class. Chenal has 15 total siblings (seven half-siblings and eight full siblings), ranging in age from 12
to 39 years old. Chenal decided to skip his senior season and enter the 2022 NFL Draft.

STRENGTHS: Fast eyes to read his keys and play ahead of climbing blocks … blocking schemes set off alarm bells in his head … comes to balance as a tackler and springs towards the ball carrier like a rattlesnake … his discipline and thump at contact make missed tackles infrequent … lived in the backfield with his downhill play speed (led Big Ten in tackles for loss in 2021) … motor is always cranked to chase down plays anywhere on the field … keeps himself centered mid-pursuit to smoothly change directions and close with a burst … physically strapped together with a powerful build … doesn’t stay blocked for long or run out of energy … above-average contact balance to fight through bodies and squeeze gaps at the line of scrimmage … has a knack for sifting and dipping under blocks … benches 420 pounds and cleans 385 pounds (earned a spot on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List) … competes with a gritty, blue-collar attitude and doesn’t have a passive bone in his body … was a
regular on punt coverage the last two seasons … highly productive junior season and was one of only two FBS players with at least 115 tackles and 18.0 tackles for loss.

WEAKNESSES: Unproven covering seam speed … doesn’t have the recovery athleticism to make up after a hesitation or false step in coverage … late to anticipate and drive on routes in front of him … needs to improve his feel for passing lanes (only two career pass break-ups, including none in 2021) … at times his aggressive nature will lead to wrong lane choice or early arrival, surrendering his leverage … his hands are physical as a pass rusher, but his set-up and rush attack can be more fundamentally sound.

SUMMARY: A two-year starter at Wisconsin, Chenal was an inside linebacker in defensive coordinator Jim Leonard’s 3-4 base scheme. He embraced the Badgers’ “Death Row” moniker at linebacker and had an All-American junior season, finishing No. 7 in the FBS in tackles per game (10.4) and No. 2 in tackles for loss per game (1.6). Chenal has outstanding eyes, aggressive flow and feel for run-blocking development, which allows him to play ahead of climbing blocks and pile up tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage. Though he has the range to hold up in coverage, his questionable fluidity and ball skills are a cause for concern. Overall, Chenal has room to grow as both a cover man and blitzer, but he has exceptional run instincts with above average key-and-diagnose skills and contact balance downhill. He compares favorably to Jordyn Brooks as a prospect.

GRADE: 2nd-3rd Round (No. 58 overall)