Philadelphia brought Edwards back in 2022 on a one-year, $2.15 million deal at a position they have all but refused to invest in with top draft capital or free-agent dollars in many years, but Edwards may put the Eagles positional value to the test this offseason if they want to keep him around. With that being said, Warner is still an elite linebacker and has recorded at least 118 combined tackles in each of his four NFL seasons. He at least improved upon his 29.7 grade as a rookie with a 43.5 mark in Year 2. A lot is riding on the development of Zaven Collins and Isaiah Simmons, who have simply not played well enough especially for first-round picks. This ranking may be a surprise after the Seahawks lost future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner in free agency this offseason, but Wagner seemed to be on the downslope of his career. His PFF run-defense grade over the last two seasons has been in the 30s, and last seasons 47.1 overall grade was the worst of his NFL career. . Former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons just wrapped up his second season in the NFL, and he continues to leave little doubt the Dallas Cowboys made the smart decision using a first-round draft pick on him. One of the five highest-graded linebackers last season in his first year with Carolina, Luvu is another Demario Davis trajectory candidate. Davids 88.5 coverage grade this season ranked second among off-ball linebackers, and his elite 93.0 mark over the past four seasons is the top mark at the position. For the purposes of these rankings, we are looking only at true off-ball linebackers, as 3-4 outside linebackers though designated as linebackers are in truth edge rushers. Projected contract: Two years, $14 million ($7M per year, $9 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 61 With that in mind, some of these units have fewer members than others. "Latest Update" refers to when we last checked for . I also gave a target round for your rookie drafts, these are just suggestions as all drafts are different. From Week 9 of 2020 through Jewells injury in Week 2 of this season, his 79.8 overall grade ranked fourth among off-ball linebackers and his 79.5 coverage grade ranked fifth. With Smith entering the final year of his rookie deal, Spotrac believes he's in line to sign a five-year, $88.18 million extension. Campbell recorded the second-highest PFF grade of any linebacker with an 85, and also was the second-highest graded linebacker in coverage with an 82.2. In Eric Kendricks, the Vikings have had a superb all-around linebacker for years. Campbell is a one-year wonder at the moment, but that year was All-Pro caliber and the most recent thing we have seen from him. Cody Barton is another interesting player who will finally get a chance to start this season. Yes, Davis was a late-bloomer, but not many players can make the impact he does in stopping the run, tackling, rushing the passer and working in coverage. They also signed linebacker Myles Jack and D-lineman Larry Ogunjobi. His PFF grade of 77.9 ranked eighth last year among linebackers, and he once again showed he's a well-rounded linebacker that doesn't get the kind of credit he deserves. 2021 Snaps: 712 Overall, White has had an incredible start to his career, as he's picked up All-Pro honors, a Pro Bowl bid and a Super Bowl ring in just three years. Okereke is now coming off back-to-back seasons with at least 100 tackles and 50 defensive stops. This was the last season that the conference used divisions in its football scheduling. Thompson was back to his best in coverage this past season, posting a 74.5 PFF grade in that area, his best mark since his sophomore season. Hightower opted out of the 2020 season, and after a bit of a slow start getting reacclimated to the speed of the NFL game, he was back to his old self for stretches of the 2021 season. There are also linebackers who are at their best in coverage, which is useful for todays NFL. Like the Chiefs, the Bengals also went into last season with a lot of unknowns surrounding the linebacker position but found a really good pair in, A position of weakness for the Eagles in 2021 might turn into a position of strength in 2022 with the additions of rookie, The Ravens are still looking for that breakout year from. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. Pittsburgh Steelers (94/100) Cameron Heyward was second behind only Aaron Donald in PFF's grades of interior defensive linemen last season. His first year with the Packers resulted in a whopping 85.0 mark. The entire schedule was released on January 31, 2022. He went from having a one-year contract worth $2 million to signing a five-year deal that carries an AAV of $10 million! Jack is now trying to reboot his career in Pittsburgh after suffering similar ill-fortune in Jacksonville. . Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah put together a great rookie season transitioning from more of an out-of-the-box linebacker at Notre Dame to an in-box linebacker. After looking like he might be the next great linebacker earlier in his career. Rashaan Evans and Mykal Walker are solid players, though, and the team will hope that rookie Troy Andersen can make an early impact. Click here for PFF's full list of top 100 free agents. The Rams attacked the linebacker position this offseason, adding. Josey Jewell and Jonas Griffith should be the starters, with free agent signing Alex Singleton looking for snaps, as well. The six players in the 1A tier figure to be the favorites to post the highest tackle numbers in the league based on their expected role in their defenses. NFL 2022 Draft Positional Rankings: Linebackers By Jacob Wayne | Mar 30, 2022, 1:34pm #1: Devin Lloyd - Utah #2: Nakobe Dean - Georgia #3: Chad Muma - Wyoming #4: Leo Chenal - Wisconsin #5: Christian Harris - Alabama #6: Brian Asamoah - Oklahoma #7: Brandon Smith - Penn State #8: Channing Tindall - Georgia #9: Damone Clark - LSU Pratts 90.1 coverage grade was the best mark in the NFL. section: | slug: ranking-nfls-top-10-linebackers-entering-2022-new-no-1-as-bobby-wagner-finally-dethroned | sport: football | route: article_single.us | Oluokun leads the way for a very underwhelming free-agent class at off-ball linebacker, though his timing of reaching unrestricted free agency could work out nicely in his favor. This is bizarrely true even when he moves to a defense run by a former New England defensive coach. 4) Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos. The criteria for making the top tier of IDP linebackers is relatively simple: be an every-down linebacker and play in a linebacker-friendly defense that breeds above-average tackle efficiency for the position. may surprise some based on his age. After missing most of the regular season, Dre Greenlaw came back for the end of the regular season and playoffs to form the perfect linebacker tandem with Warner. After ranking the best individual linebackers heading into 2022, here's how each team's linebacking corps stacks up. The six players in the 1A tier figure to be the favorites to post the highest tackle numbers in the league based on their expected role in their defenses. His struggles come in coverage, where he's allowed nearly 1,000 yards over the past two seasons. He is set to play next to Anthony Walker, who is a solid if unspectacular player. Andersen is a converted running back and quarterback who, in his lone full season at linebacker, racked up an absurd 67 stops. He was All-Pro just one year ago, and has been a leader for this Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense since the days when the franchise was going 2-14. It had been three full seasons since his best play, and that best play was nowhere near elite. His All-Pro season in 2019 was special, but some might have thought it was just a one-year thing. However, he's still a work in progress in coverage and didn't tally a single interception or pass breakup in his college career. The former third-round pick still has room to grow as a coverage player, but at 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds, he moves well enough in space to not be a liability in coverage. In 2022, he boasted a pass . Jack had hovered near 70.0 overall grades before a down 2021 season, and the Steelers will hope that those good years arent behind him. Pratt didnt miss many tackles as a run defender, either, whiffing on just 5.9% of opportunities after three straight seasons above 10% to start his career. They spent a lot of money on Roquan Smith at the linebacker spot, [so] why not bring in another Georgia guy?" . If he can play more consistently week to week, teams may view him as a low-risk, high-reward option in a weak linebacker class. Expect both young studs to push for 140-plus combined tackles, if healthy. PFF themselves had the Cowboys 2021 secondary in the top 10. This is a precarious spot for the Packers to be in, even with 2021 All-Pro DeVondre Campbell back for another season in the same defense he broke out with. Still one of the more underrated players in the league, This is a precarious spot for the Packers to be in, even with 2021 All-Pro. Some of the players in this group have been All-Pro caliber linebackers in the past, but Jones is coming off a PFF grade in the 30s after once looking like the next great young linebacker in the league. Kendricks is another well-rounded linebacker that can cover, as his 73.8 PFF coverage grade ranked No. He didn't end the 2021 campaign in the best fashion, but did rebound to record 13 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, four QB hits and two passes defensed in Tampa Bay's two postseason games. Chenal is going to thrive in man-blitz-heavy schemes. Al-Shaair missed a lot of time in 2022 but earned a career-best 67.8 overall grade and 79.7 run-defense grade. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. This ranking may be a surprise after the Seahawks lost future Hall of Famer. He is a fantastic story of earning a job the hard way. Devin Lloyd, Utah BIG BOARD RANK: 15 Those tools caused Edwards to go undrafted despite an excellent college career, and he had to fight his way into a starting job by excelling in the preseason and on special teams. Then there's the added bonus of playing behind Aaron Donald, who draws all the attention at the offensive line, opening up room for the linebackers for clean tackle opportunities. With all that said, let's jump in. Diggs had a high EPA and was an all pro who bad habits come from gambling. He was arguably the best player on the best college defense of all time but slipped into the third round of the draft with some potential medical red flags. Last but certainly not least, Pratt also peaked at the right time, with his 90.1 overall grade since Week 8 the top mark among linebackers. Within 2021 and 2022's class, Detroit made use of the later rounds to nab names such as wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and edge James Houston. 14 overall linebacker with a 72.3 PFF grade, and the No. He has not graded above 70.0 since. Nevertheless, he may have to play on a one-year prove-it deal as he recovers. Bobby Wagner may surprise some based on his age. He's been an All-Pro each year, and a Pro Bowler for three straight seasons now. Nevertheless, there were several interested teams last time he was a free agent he came very close to signing with theNew York Jetsbefore ultimately returning to Minnesota so it seems defensive coaches think they can find a way to put him in positions to succeed and utilize his athletic ability. 2 in the NFL, only trailing Fred Warner and the San Francisco 49ers. Overall, Georgia has 11 players in PFF's big board including six players ranked in the top 80 NFL draft prospects. Even Micah Parsons a Defensive Player of the Year candidate as a rookie put up middling run-defense and tackling grades in his first year in Dallas. 11 among linebackers,) his AV of 8 was tied for No. Some of it is because he's been a little bit dependent on good play from the defensive line in front of him, but a good deal of it has been his ability to more . For all the young players' struggles, there are a lot of promising linebackers who have the talent to become elite players at this level. For IDP fantasy football leagues, there is a ton of variance in preseason player rankings, but utilizing tiers can help us properly value each group of players in 2023 fantasy football drafts. Hightower will be 32 years old in Week 1 of 2022, but there's an argument that taking the 2020 season off has his body refreshed and revitalized. Editor's note: For up-to-the-minute updates based on everythingwerehearing around the NFL, go to PFF's free agency rankings, where you can sort by position, team needs, and more all offseason long. NFL NFL Home Tools NFL Scores NFL Premium Stats NFL Player Grades Free Agent Rankings QB Annual 2022 Over the past decade, virtually every stage of the offensive evolution has increased stress on linebackers, putting them in a bind and asking them to account for multiple things on the same play. Singleton has had quite the career path to this point, finally reaching unrestricted free agency ahead of the 2023 season after entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent of the, in 2015. These power rankings are adjusted based on coach, quarterback and the market each season. Projected contract: Three years, $25.5 million ($8.5M per year, $16.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 65 The top 10 linebackers in NFL currently are dynamic weapons and reliable leaders. Still, in a league that continues to throw more and more, Bentley remains best-suited as an early-down run defender who can generate the occasional quarterback pressure. The Titans ask a lot of their off-ball linebackers, and Long can do it all. His 913 snaps for the Raiders last season was a career-high mark and more than doubled his previous best. The only season in which he did not record at least 100 tackles was his rookie campaign, when he missed two games. One of the most underrated linebackers of the past several years, Demario Davis' late-career emergence as an elite LB has been fun to watch. Offensive Line | Quarterback | Backfield | Pass-Catcher | Secondary | Linebackers | Special Teams) 2022 NFL Defensive Line Rankings Below is every team ranked 1-32 by how their defensive line shapes up for 2022. Those traits have allowed him to make a lot of tackles, but tackles are not always good plays for linebackers if they come after a big gain on the ground or because they were out of position in coverage. Barr is a bit of a unique player, generally deployed as a Sam linebacker in a 4-3 scheme who occasionally gets his hand in the dirt. If the Cardinals had spent those picks elsewhere and held on to Jordan Hicks in free agency, they would be in a much better spot. Milano was a fifth-round draft pick back in 2017 but has dramatically outperformed his first-round teammate, Tremaine Edmunds, within the Buffalo defense. In 2021, Davis was given a career-high AV of 15 while again being named an All-Pro after he recorded 105 combined tackles, 13 tackles for loss and three sacks. Tindall is a true sideline-to-sideline linebacker. Power Rankings are PFFs NCAA power ratings based on weekly player grades in each facet of play. He also has 30 quarterback pressures over 135 pass-rush snaps the past three seasons and took a quantum leap in coverage in 2022 en route to a 73.0 grade. David Long, meanwhile, was playing at a solid level before an injury forced him to miss most of the second half of the 2021 season. Kansas City Chiefs News Chiefs' young linebacker unit breaks into top 10 in PFF rankings The Chiefs' top two linebackers are 22 (Bolton) and 24 (Gay), yet Pro Football Focus finds the. It's also noteworthy that David is good in coverage, something other linebackers can struggle with. Edmunds is just 24 years old and entering his fifth NFL season. That could be a problem for folks expecting the same numbers. The 49ers applied the second-round restricted free agent tender at a price tag of $3.986 million to Al-Shaair for the 2022 season, perhaps illustrating that they feared he would get signed to an offer sheet elsewhere if they went with the right of first refusal tender. Still, the Rams ranked fourth in the NFL last season in zone coverages (82.60%). What a find he was for the Packers last year. Meanwhile, TJ Watt led the league in sacks (22.5) and was the Defensive Player of the Year. The soon-to-be 30-year-old is a solid all-around off-ball linebacker who has three straight seasons logging at least 750 snaps, and he took a major leap in 2022 with the. Cunningham is one of the most run-focused linebackers in the game, but his PFF coverage grade has declined throughout his career, dripping from average at best to outright poor over the last two seasons. Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia . Click here to view PFFs full IDP rankings for the 2022 season and tiers for the defensive linemen and defensive backs. Divine Deablo had some interesting moments as a rookie in 2021 and is worth keeping an eye on. Tremaine Edmunds has not quite lived up to expectations, but hes still young and can grow into a good player. White backed up his first season as a starter in 2021 with another solid campaign in 2022, earning grades of at least 62.0 against the run and in coverage. Kansas City Chiefs linebacker group ranked as 9th-best in NFL by PFF Teams AFC East Bills Dolphins Jets Patriots AFC North Bengals Browns Ravens Steelers AFC South Colts Jaguars Texans Titans. . Better luck with his health led to a respectable 63.8 overall grade and 72.6 pass-rush grade in 2021. The following tiers reflect which players are in the best situations to produce they're ranked based on the likelihood of doing so every single week. His 2021 campaign wasn't his best, but he seems like a player that's just going to get better, and someone who could end up becoming the next Lavonte David for the Bucs. His 89.0 run-defense grade in 2022 ranked fourth at the position, with his 13 tackles for loss or no gain tied for 12th. 10. It's like your very own digital cheat sheet. 16 at his position by PFF Teams AFC East Bills Dolphins Jets Patriots AFC North Bengals Browns Ravens Steelers AFC South Colts Jaguars Texans Titans AFC West. You dont want to line him up against an opposing receiving weapon in a one-on-one, but he demonstrated better recognition of route patterns and improved as a zone coverage backer. Van Noy also has the complicating factor of being one of the multiple linebackers who only seems to function at a high level within the New England Patriots defense. His past two years against the run have been horrid, with him posting 39.8 and 30.0 run-defense grades. A quick thread on the most efficient coverage scheme for linebacker tackling since 2019, per @PFF: Cover-2 has allowed for >15% tackle efficiency for LBs since 2019 (average being 11-13%) acting as a true edge for #FFIDP leagues! A position of weakness for the Eagles in 2021 might turn into a position of strength in 2022 with the additions of rookie Nakobe Dean and veteran Kyzir White to pair alongside T.J. Edwards, who had a breakout 2021 season. . Perhaps most importantly in todays NFL, Tranquill followed up his 74.6 coverage grade in 2021 with a career-high 75.4 mark, with his 18 stops in coverage a top-20 figure among off-ball linebackers.
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