North Carolina’s Chazz Surratt, the quarterback turned linebacker, became a third-round selection in the NFL Draft on Friday night, with the Minnesota Vikings using the 78th overall pick to take the athletic and versatile defender.
Surratt, one of the state’s brightest prep stars at East Lincoln High School, generally had been regarded as a third-round pick, though some forecasters envisioned him climbing into the latter part of the second round, while others saw him sinking to the fourth round.
He’ll play for a defensive-minded coach in Minnesota’s Mike Zimmer, a longtime successful NFL defensive coordinator before taking the Vikings’ head coaching job seven years ago.
“I’ve dreamed of playing in the NFL since I was a little kid,” Surratt said Friday night, “and now I have that opportunity. Obviously I took a different path than normal by changing positions during college, but it was the right decision and I’m glad it is paying off.”
Surratt’s newness at linebacker — he earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team recognition there for the Tar Heels each of the last two seasons, after struggling with inconsistencies and injuries at quarterback — has been considered a future asset for the long haul and yet a possible liability during the shorter term by NFL evaluators, effectively a potential wild card.
The 24-year-old Surratt figures to be a quick study in the NFL regardless. After all, in 2019, his first season playing linebacker since the ninth grade at East Lincoln, he amassed 115 tackles, 14½ tackles for losses and 6½ sacks in 13 games and finished as the runner-up for ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
By the end of last season, he put together a run that included only one missed tackle (in 47 attempts) during his final five games, an area of marked improvement. He topped North Carolina’s defense in tackles for a second season in a row, delivering 91 tackles to go along with six quarterback sacks and 7½ tackles for lost yardage in 11 games.
Across the last two seasons, his 46 quarterback pressures lead all linebackers in this NFL Draft class. Swarming and productive stuff from the converted quarterback, who made eight starts on offense early on in his Tar Heels career.
“Chazz is one of the more unique stories I’ve seen in my time coaching,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said Friday night. “To go from quarterback to linebacker and have the kind of success he did shows just how athletic he is and how much he understands the game. Chazz is just scratching the surface of how good he can be and I think the Vikings are going to benefit from his work ethic and continued growth.”
Brown and Tar Heels defensive coordinator Jay Bateman have praised Surratt’s playmaking package of athleticism and instincts as a versatile fit for any defense, whether patrolling the middle at an inside linebacker position or roaming on the outside and unleashing his mobility in space.
“This is an exciting time and I’m looking forward to joining the Vikings organization and getting to work,” Surratt said.
Surratt has said his favorite NFL linebackers to study are Luke Kuechly, the former Carolina Panthers star, Bobby Wagner of the Seattle Seahawks, and Darius Leonard of the Indianapolis Colts. He met Kuechly at the Senior Bowl, the college all-star game in January, and delighted in a conversation they shared.
Since December, Surratt has lived and trained in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and approached the NFL auditioning phase with younger brother Sage Surratt, the former Wake Forest receiver, who’s expected to be drafted in the later rounds this weekend.
Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.
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