Speed and Matthew Adams late-round dart throws. There are also linebackers who are at their best in coverage, which is useful for todays NFL. Devin Lloyd, Utah BIG BOARD RANK: 15 He also registered a fourth-best 79.4 PFF coverage grade among linebackers despite playing a whopping 680 coverage snaps. Parsons lined up as an edge rusher on 40.6% of his snaps as a rookie, and thats where he did the bulk of his damage. Edwards has shown that as much as linebacker is one of the most athletic-traits-driven positions in football, prospects with marginal physical tools can still become solid NFL starters. He is a truly freakish athlete and will be 25 years old throughout his entire sixth NFL season in 2023 after being selected No. This past offseason,San Francisco 49erslinebackerFred Warnerand subsequentlyIndianapolis ColtslinebackerDarius Leonardreset the market at the position just under $20 million per year after years of stagnation. Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. Sam Monson of PFF recently ranked the top linebackers in the NFL and organized them in tiers. 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. Andersen is a converted running back and quarterback who, in his lone full season at linebacker, racked up an absurd 67 stops. Put some respect on Demario Davis pic.twitter.com/4jzOf4GYS1. The Saints had been looking for someone to play the linebacker position opposite him for years and seem to have found one in Pete Werner, who was outstanding as a rookie in 2021. PFF themselves had the Cowboys 2021 secondary in the top 10. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports. may surprise some based on his age. Matt Ryan, Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage, and Lee Smith (don't hate on the importance of the old school tight end) will no longer be suiting up for the team in 2022. San Francisco 49ers . The Seahawks selected Cody Barton out of Utah with the No. Only Micah Parsons graded out higher than Werner among first-year linebackers last season. While Bobby Okerekes grade has fluctuated over the years, Darius Leonard the star of the Colts' defense has been rock solid since exploding onto the scene as a rookie. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. His 33 run stops in 2020 were a top-10 mark at the position. The Packers long searching for a reliable off-ball linebacker brought Campbell aboard on a one-year, $2 million contract, and his 86.7 overall grade was second among linebackers through Week 8 while his 90.7 run-defense grade ranked first, leading to a Pro Bowl nod. After looking like he might be the next great linebacker earlier in his career. Unfortunately for Vander Esch, he once again finds himself in the middle of the pack of a deep free-agent group at linebacker, but he should do a bit better this time around. The scheme plays a part in them making some plays. Cole Holcomb could yet turn into a solid linebacker, while 2021 first-round pick Jamin Davis could also improve after a poor first season. He has top-notch natural coverage skills for a linebacker his size, but everything else is a work in progress. Tae Crowder and Micah McFadden will look to compete for the spot opposite Martinez. The ACC consisted of 14 members in two divisions. Nick Bolton and Willie Gay are two young linebackers who came on strong last season. It's also noteworthy that David is good in coverage, something other linebackers can struggle with. Players like T.J. Watt, Matt Judon, Harold Landry and Shaquil Barrett are not included. This is a case of one elite linebacker pulling along another whose narrative hasnt really matched his production. A new defensive coordinator and scheme will help him, though. Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Chicago Bears inside linebacker Roquan Smith (58) stares into the backfield during pre-game at Nissan Stadium. 5 overall pick recorded 128 combined tackles, a career-high 18 QB hits in 2021 and earned his first Pro Bowl selection this past season. 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. Age: 28. 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. 2021 PFF grade: 50.6 (51st of 89). Seahawks only have one player in PFF's top-40 graded edge defenders Teams AFC East Bills Dolphins Jets Patriots AFC North Bengals Browns Ravens Steelers AFC South Colts Jaguars Texans Titans AFC. He even hit 107 combined tackles in 2020 despite playing in just 11 games! Projected contract: Two years, $18 million ($9M per year, $11.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 55 Christian Kirksey has not had a season of note since 2016 with the Browns, yet he projects as a starter in this defense once again. The Falcons defense has fallen apart around him, and he no longer has a free run to the football as often as he did when he was playing his best football. A position of concern and potential weakness heading into last season has become a real strength for Kansas City. Honorable mentions: Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano, Logan Wilson, Shaq Thompson, Alexander Johnson, Deion JonesJeremiah Owusu-Koramoah,Zach Cunningham, Anthony Walker, C.J. Amid replacement-level cornerback and safety play at times, Warner's gravitas over the middle of the field allowed the team to play a high percentage of zone coverage to protect its outside cornerbacks. Why drafting Dallas Cowboys LB Micah Parsons among the top-12 may not be the best decision. Although Parsons didn't walk away from the 2022 season with hardware to show off for his accomplishments in 2022 the way he did in his rookie season in 2021, Parsons continues to . Click here to view PFF's full IDP rankings for the 2022 season and tiers for the defensive linemen and defensive backs. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Edmunds is just 24 years old and entering his fifth NFL season. After sitting out in 2020, C.J. Patrick Surtain II has been quite literally living up to his name as an elite cornerback and has helped the Denver Broncos maintain their position as a top-tier defense even after trading away their star edge rusher. 2021 Snaps: 979 His past two years against the run have been horrid, with him posting 39.8 and 30.0 run-defense grades. However, he's still a work in progress in coverage and didn't tally a single interception or pass breakup in his college career. 2022 stats (Chargers): 5 sacks, 146 tackles, 1 forced fumble. 2 in the NFL, only trailing Fred Warner and the San Francisco 49ers. 12 among linebackers in 2021 with a PFF coverage grade of 70 in 295 coverage snaps. NFL free agency is a year-round process, as teams scout opposing players in an effort to defeat them during the year and perhaps sign them in the offseason. The transition from college football to the NFL used to be smooth for linebackers, but even elite prospects can now struggle in Year 1. However, Georgia wide receiver Kearis Jackson is not ranked in Pro Football Focus' NFL draft big board rankings. 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. Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers The 49ers struck gold when they drafted Warner in the third round in 2018. Potentially losing a step or two with age can be negated by elite play recognition and instincts, both of which David has in spades. No linebacker corps gets its collective noses dirtier than the Patriots' unit. No linebacker corps gets its collective noses dirtier than the Patriots' unit. For all the young players' struggles, there are a lot of promising linebackers who have the talent to become elite players at this level. His 913 snaps for the Raiders last season was a career-high mark and more than doubled his previous best. 2021 Snaps: 82 It was his first season missing fewer than 10% of his tackle opportunities, and he put up an 86.8 overall grade with seven tackles and two defensive stops during a strong playoff run. Al-Shaair is in line to get paid as a free agent after teammatesFred Warner and Dre Greenlawfind themselves among the 16 highest-paid off-ball linebackers in the NFL. for the folks who say Micah Parsons is an edgethere were four games where he played basically edge only because of injuries, and the rest of the games he was predominantly an off-ball linebackerMicah Parsons is a linebacker who can play edge defender pic.twitter.com/rcjJlM00MS. You don't do what he did in his rookie season if you aren't a star. Projected contract: Four years, $40 million ($10M per year, $22.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 63 One of the best off-ball linebackers of his generation, David is still playing at an extremely high level and may benefit from, Okereke stepped up in a major way in the absence of fellow off-ball linebacker, The 2022 season was Tranquills first as a full-time starter following. The league may be trending ever more toward the passing game, but there is still a place in the NFL for linebackers who are excellent run defenders first and foremost. 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. Campbell was one of the big surprises of the 2021 NFL season, as he stepped his game up in a major way for the Green Bay Packers. Pittsburgh Steelers (94/100) Cameron Heyward was second behind only Aaron Donald in PFF's grades of interior defensive linemen last season. 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. The Penn State product ranked No. 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. Leonard burst onto the scene with 163 combined tackles, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions in his rookie season back in 2018. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Hes a high-upside player now playing with a future Hall of Famer. 1. 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. Hes not only straight-line fast, but he also processes and reacts with elite quickness. They also signed linebacker Myles Jack and D-lineman Larry Ogunjobi. I also gave a target round for your rookie drafts, these are just suggestions as all drafts are different. 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. AVG. He tallied a career-high six pass breakups in 2022. Pro Football Focus has finalized the regular season grades for the 2022 NFL season. Campbells ranking could justifiably be at the very top of this list or somewhere in the 30s, based on his career so far. 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. 3 linebackers Seahawks should . White was a reliable presence at linebacker following the loss of 2020 first-rounderKenneth Murrayduring Weeks 4-9 and when Murray was battling injuries over Weeks 11-15. Harris is one of the most physical linebackers in the class who relishes the ability to hit anyone on the other side of the ball. PFFs Fantasy Strength of Schedule (SoS) metric provides a league-wide, season-long view of opponent matchups for each fantasy position. Dean's range at the linebacker position is unparalleled in this draft class. Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. He, perhaps critically, chose to stay in the defense that helped produce that phenomenal season, but we are all too aware of the folly of using just one season of play to determine everything we know about a player. In 2022, he boasted a pass . This group could rank much higher by the end of next season. After ranking the best individual linebackers heading into 2022, here's how each team's linebacking corps stacks up. However, he will have to get better in coverage. Its hard to overstate Fred Warners effect on the 49ers' defense in their run to the NFC championship in 2021. His struggles come in coverage, where he's allowed nearly 1,000 yards over the past two seasons. PFF ranks 49ers Fred Warner as the top linebacker in the NFL According to PFF's Sam Monson, the 49ers have the best linebacker in the NFL and another top-20 player at the position. 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. Johnson finds himself in one of the most unique contract situations in NFL history. Campbells 90.4 tackling grade is his fifth straight such mark above 75.0, and that sure tackling goes a long way in Green Bay. He might not even start this season. The Super Bowl has come and gone in 2022 and we have started to turn our attention to the next football season. 70 & No.71 on PFF's Top-101 players for the 2022 NFL season. 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. Click here for PFF's full list of top 100 free agents. No linebacker recorded more coverage snaps than Warner in all of 2021. Seahawks rookie Ken Walker makes top 20 in PFF's RB grades for 2022 season Tim Weaver January 25, 2023 7:00 am PT Seahawks running back Ken Walker had a special rookie season, posting 1,050. 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. And even though he hasnt quite been able to maintain an elite level of play every season, his impact on the field is obvious. . Okereke stepped up in a major way in the absence of fellow off-ball linebacker Shaquille Leonard, with his 72.9 grade ranking 23rd at the position. 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. 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. Singleton earned a career-best 82.6 run-defense grade that ranked eighth among off-ball linebackers, tallying more than 100 tackles for the second year in a row, with his two-year total of 212 ranking sixth among off-ball linebackers. 2022 (146 FBS TEs, minimum 20 targets) Yards per route run: 25th; PFF receiving grade: 12th; YAC: 7th; 2021 (133 FBS TEs, minimum 20 targets) Yards per route run: 94th; PFF receiving grade: 111th . Drafting Quay Walker out of Georgia in the first round also helps the Packers' cause. He was. The Rams attacked the linebacker position this offseason, adding Bobby Wagner. The best linebackers in todays league are elite coverage players, but they can also affect the game in other ways. January 18, 2023 8:22 pm ET. But neither player made the cut for the top 50, which hurts . Best Bets Tool, PFF Free Agency Rank: 27 It had been three full seasons since his best play, and that best play was nowhere near elite. Minnesota Vikings players on both sides of the ball, including Kendricks, have already opened up about the culture change they have felt early on this offseason with Kevin O'Connell. In his recent post on linebackers, PFF's Sam Monson ranked Nick Bolton No. What a find he was for the Packers last year. 1. This is a case of one elite linebacker pulling along another whose narrative hasnt really matched his production. His 62 run stops over the last two seasons ranks ninth among off-ball linebackers, and his 18 tackles for loss or no gain is tied for 14th. According to PFF, T.J. Edwards was the 10 th-ranked linebacker in 2021 but is still unproven and only has started 30 games in the NFL. Smith is a complete athletic projection. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NCAA player performance data. Overall, Georgia has 11 players in PFF's big board including six players ranked in the top 80 NFL draft prospects. Better luck with his health led to a respectable 63.8 overall grade and 72.6 pass-rush grade in 2021. The redshirt junior is a dominant run-stuffer, as his 49 run-defense stops in 2022 ranked second among all linebackers in the country while his 20 tackles for loss/no-gain were tied for third. To create this list, we took into consideration basic statistics, Pro Football Reference/Stathead's Approximate Value, PFF grades and a guess on how the player will perform moving forward. Its a rebuilt Jaguars linebacking corps after losing. Here are PFF's top 32 linebackers ahead of the 2021 NFL season. His first season in Green Bay produced an overall PFF grade of 85.0 and earned him a $50 million extension, but before that, Campbells PFF grades fell between 49.0 and 69.1 for two different teams. Bolton, then a rookie, produced one of the highest individual grades for a linebacker. In 2019 and 2021 with the Ravens, he graded out to 80.0 and 74.8, respectively. Despite the inconsistent offense, the Chicago Bears had the No. According to training camp reports, that is paying off big time for the Eagles. The top 10 linebackers in NFL currently are dynamic weapons and reliable leaders. Josey Jewell and Jonas Griffith should be the starters, with free agent signing Alex Singleton looking for snaps, as well. Tindall is a true sideline-to-sideline linebacker. With all that said, let's jump in. 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 Hes great at every aspect of linebacker play. The Jaguars replaced Jack with Oluokun, who also has outstanding physical traits. You must be logged in and create a league profile to apply custom fantasy scoring to the stats, projections and rankings pages. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports. 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. section: | slug: ranking-nfls-top-10-linebackers-entering-2022-new-no-1-as-bobby-wagner-finally-dethroned | sport: football | route: article_single.us | After Warner's monster 2020 campaign, we thought he could be the No. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. despite dropping into coverage at times. The strongest players are experts at open-field takedowns and make it hard for quarterbacks to feel comfortable throwing toward the middle of the field. 2021 Snaps: 1,148 A pair of Seahawks came in at No. That could be a problem for folks expecting the same numbers. Gary Cosby Jr./USA TODAY Sports (Dean); Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports (Ojabo) 1. He put forth a monster rookie season in 2019 but hasnt quite attained the same highs in subsequent seasons. That 42.0 mark was his first time dropping below 70.0 since 2015. Now its just a matter of how nice itll be. Wagner is no longer with the Seattle Seahawks, signing with the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Ramsthis offseason. Still, the Rams ranked fourth in the NFL last season in zone coverages (82.60%). 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. Anzalone has always shown promise but is probably better coming off the bench, especially after finishing with a bottom-10 overall grade among 94 qualifying linebackers in 2021. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. Devin Lloyd and Nakobe Dean will be the talk of the class and likely the only two first-round linebacker prospects in 2022, but there's still a lot of talent at the position on Days 2 and 3 of the draft. Both players posted the highest grades of their career, helping the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance. Since entering the league, Warner has 118 or more total tackles in every season and was named First-Team All-Pro in 2020. Just 25, he's on his way. We have seen elite play from the seventh-year pro, but we've not nearly seen enough of it, given his physical talents. Milano has put up outstanding PFF grades in both coverage and against the run but has struggled to put it all together over one season. After looking like one of the worst linebackers in the NFL for a few years in Green Bay, Blake Martinez rebounded with a solid season in 2020 in New York before succumbing to injury early in the 2021 campaign. Despite what PFF says, I don't think there are that many more linebackers who are better in coverage than Kendricks. Rookie Devin Lloydand sophomore Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah both project to be every-down linebackers on ideal defenses for expected production. More Stats. He missed just two tackles in coverage and allowed only four explosive receptions. 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! Tranquill is coming off a career year in L.A. Walker is one of the best run-and-hit linebackers in the class. In today's NFL, few positions have become as difficult to play as off-ball linebacker. Some may think Wagner is too high on this list, and while he took a small step backwards in 2021, he's still one of the best linebackers in the NFL. Since 2020, the Colts linebacker has twice the number of forced fumbles of any other off-ball linebacker, and he has four interceptions and eight pass breakups over that time. We have already seen that play from Smith in Chicago, but the decline of the defense around him and perhaps more importantly directly in front of him has led to a decline in his play. Edwards has posted 75.0 grades or better in two of his three NFL seasons and is one of the more underrated players in the league. 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. Parsons is already one of the best defensive playmakers in the NFL as he enters just his second season in the league, but its difficult to rank him purely as an off-the-ball linebacker. Please try again later. 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. Unfortunately, he took a bit of a step back from his All-Pro and Pro Bowls ways. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports. He can chase down the fastest of running backs. Meanwhile, David will have to get it there himself, given that the Bucs defense wasnt exactly bereft of talent last season. Chicago signed Nicholas Morrow from Las Vegas to fill the spot next to Smith for 2022. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. Tremaine Edmunds has not quite lived up to expectations, but hes still young and can grow into a good player. 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. His All-Pro season in 2019 was special, but some might have thought it was just a one-year thing. Foyesade Oluokun was brought in from Atlanta, but there is certainly hope that the team's two rookie picks at the position, Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma, can play early. The Steelers brought in former Jaguar Myles Jack to play alongside him. There's no way he was going to get better, right? David also just put forth his worst season since 2016, posting a 72.3 grade. 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 Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt. Projected contract: Two years, $14 million ($7M per year, $9 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 61 2021 PFF grade: 83.5 (N/A). We thought about if Parsons should even be included in this list since he played a fair amount of pass-rusher last season, but the bottom line is that Parsons is a great linebacker who can wear several different hats on defense. Alex Anzalone and Chris Board are two depth players who start for the Lions. He pairs with the solid Matt Milano, who posted the second-best season grade of his career (67.0) in 2021. Wagner gets a new opportunity on a new team with a lot more talent around him this season, so there is good reason to suspect that his grade might bounce back. Leighton Vander Esch has not lived up to the hype he created for himself after a monstrous rookie season, and so we may see another linebacker eventually fill in for him. Ranking 10 best NFL landing spots for Richardson, 2023 NFL combine: WR/TE winners and losers, Takeaways from NFL combine measurements for WR, TE, Pete Prisco's top 100 NFL free agents of 2023, NFL combine: Grading top QBs, plus winners and losers, NFL combine 2023 tracker: Top performances, highlights, Ranking the NFL's top 10 linebackers entering 2022, NFL Combine: Grading top QBs; winners and losers, NFL Draft: Top landing spots for Richardson, Mock Draft: Panthers, Colts trade up for QBs, Colossal Richardson sets multiple QB combine records, Pascal robbed at gunpoint, assaulted; WR 'doing fine', Bryce Young measures similar to former No. 2022 NFL Linebacker Rankings and Tiers Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts outside linebacker Darius Leonard (53) reacts to a play in the first half against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lucas Oil Stadium. 2021 Snaps: 323 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. Vander Esch earned a 90.0-plus grade in three starts in 2021, including two such outings over the final five weeks. Lavonte David is still one of the best linebackers in the game . Their tackle efficiency and every-down roles make them the most coveted players at the position. A couple of former Clemson stars made this ranking of the NFL's top wide receivers from the 2022 regular season. heading into 2022, here's how each team's linebacking corps stacks up. Mosley, Foye Oluokun. 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. 17 linebacker in the NFL going into 2022, placing him in the "young. One of the five highest-graded linebackers last season in his first year with Carolina, Luvu is another Demario Davis trajectory candidate. 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. I laid out some of my thoughts on their situations, rambling on longer for some more than others. Wilson showed in the playoffs that he could finally have answered a real problem area for the Cincinnati Bengals, showing up with multiple excellent PFF game grades and making plays in coverage. 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 Seattle Seahawks in 2015. Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings. 2021 Snaps: 717 No. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. is likely another surprise player based on where he tends to go in drafts, but dont let the age fool you. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: nfl | pageType: stories | The Rams attacked the linebacker position this offseason, adding. Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. 10. He had been one of the more consistent players at the position in the NFL, and so theres a chance he regains his form. These athletes are called upon to be run-stuffing defensive linemen on some downs, and hybrid cornerbacks on others. The linebacker position in the game of football is one of the most important. 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. This is likely a polarizing selection. 2021 PFF grade: 80.1 (3rd of 89). Van Noy has now had stints in Detroit and Miami, but his good PFF grades are almost exclusively reserved for his time in the Patriots defense. 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. 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. Okereke is now coming off back-to-back seasons with at least 100 tackles and 50 defensive stops. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Still, the. They happily scooped up the extremely talented Georgia linebacker.

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