Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. 2021 Snaps: 712 It's good news, then,. Just 25, he's on his way. Gay hasnt graded as well but possesses the characteristics to become a top linebacker. Therefore, they are included in our. The Seahawks selected Cody Barton out of Utah with the No. Luckily for the Philadelphia Eagles, he was still available in the third round. After looking like he might be the next great linebacker earlier in his career, Deion Jones play has fallen off a cliff. However, he will have to get better in coverage. . 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. Its a rebuilt Jaguars linebacking corps after losing. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports. Let's have a look at them. 6 in the NFL in sacks and No. His 33 run stops in 2020 were a top-10 mark at the position. He might not even start this season. In today's NFL, few positions have become as difficult to play as off-ball linebacker. The second linebacker tier features 17 linebackers on teams that are expected to be less zone-heavy than those in the tier above. 1 pick, Ex-Patriots star McGinest facing eight years in prison, Commanders rip 'blatantly false' team sale report. 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. 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. Hes not only straight-line fast, but he also processes and reacts with elite quickness. Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. 2021 PFF grade: 53.0 (50th of 89). The Georgia product was named second-team All-Pro in 2020 and 2021, and recorded a career-high 163 combined tackles last year -- which ranked fifth among all linebackers. Andersen is a converted running back and quarterback who, in his lone full season at linebacker, racked up an absurd 67 stops. With that in mind, some of these units have fewer members than others. In May, Sam Monson of PFF ranked as the league's No.16 linebacker coming into the 2022 NFL season. Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. Here are the top 10 linebackers scheduled to become free agents in March. Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) reacts after a play against the Carolina Panthers in the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium. 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. Tremaine Edmunds has not quite lived up to expectations, but hes still young and can grow into a good player. 2021 PFF grade: 65.1 (T-23rd of 89). Chenal is going to thrive in man-blitz-heavy schemes. No linebacker corps gets its collective noses dirtier than the Patriots' unit. You must be logged in and create a league profile to apply custom fantasy scoring to the stats, projections and rankings pages. Players like T.J. Watt, Matt Judon, Harold Landry and Shaquil Barrett are not included. 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 PFF grades aren't always right on point, but they do serve as a generally effective tool for comparisons . 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. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Click here to view PFF's full IDP rankings for the 2022 season and tiers for the defensive linemen and defensive backs. section: | slug: ranking-nfls-top-10-linebackers-entering-2022-new-no-1-as-bobby-wagner-finally-dethroned | sport: football | route: article_single.us | Hes great at every aspect of linebacker play. 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. Though he's 32 years old, David hasn't taken a major step backwards just yet. Edmunds 86.9 coverage grade in 2022 was the third-best mark among off-ball linebackers, and he forced an incompletion on 10.3% of targets into his coverage while allowing just four explosive receptions the entire season (0.9% of targets into his coverage, ninth among linebackers). He allowed 81.0% of passes thrown his way to be caught and missed 17 tackles in all. Sam Monson of PFF recently ranked the top linebackers in the NFL and organized them in tiers. 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. Maybe the most volatile position in football, linebackers have seen their worth in the NFL fluctuate over the years. 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. He was everything for the Green Bay defense, and while he might be the next linebacker to rejuvenate his career with a new team ( la Demario Davis), he very well could also be a one-hit wonder. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports. Put some respect on Demario Davis pic.twitter.com/4jzOf4GYS1. No linebacker corps gets its collective noses dirtier than the Patriots' unit. After Warner's monster 2020 campaign, we thought he could be the No. 2021 PFF grade: 83.5 (N/A). He also frequently lines up at safety, defensive line and nickel corner, and if he had his way . Al-Shaair missed a lot of time in 2022 but earned a career-best 67.8 overall grade and 79.7 run-defense grade. Pro Football Focus's top linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft only kind of, sort of plays linebacker. Here are PFF's top 32 linebackers ahead of the 2021 NFL season. Despite what PFF says, I don't think there are that many more linebackers who are better in coverage than Kendricks. Nakobe Dean is a dark horse with this group. 3 linebackers Seahawks should . Vander Esch earned a 90.0-plus grade in three starts in 2021, including two such outings over the final five weeks. ECR VS. ADP. 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. According to training camp reports, that is paying off big time for the Eagles. 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. This is a case of one elite linebacker pulling along another whose narrative hasnt really matched his production. That could be a problem for folks expecting the same numbers. 10 among linebackers last year. Pro Football Focus has finalized the regular season grades for the 2022 NFL season. Defensively, the attrition was less significant; however, one of the unit's leaders did leave in free agency Foye Oluokun. despite dropping into coverage at times. This is a case of one elite linebacker pulling along another whose narrative hasnt really matched his production. Fred Warner (San Francisco 49ers) earned the top spot and Darius Leonard (Indianapolis Colts). Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports. 15 overall among NFL linebackers.Bolton was in his sixth tier, which was reserved for "young ascending" players at the linebacker position. 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. Still, its an interesting group because of Ernest Jones, especially after his very good Super Bowl performance as he came back from an injury-plagued season. The transition from college football to the NFL used to be smooth for linebackers, but even elite prospects can now struggle in Year 1. 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. His past two years against the run have been horrid, with him posting 39.8 and 30.0 run-defense grades. Hes earned himself a nice raise. A position of concern and potential weakness heading into last season has become a real strength for Kansas City. 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. March 2, 2023 3:21 pm ET. Age: 28. 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. 2021 PFF grade: 84.3 (2nd of 89). Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Plenty of well-known 'backers had coverage grades in the 30s this past season. 1 linebacker according to PFF, with a grade of 89.7. 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 . Johnson finds himself in one of the most unique contract situations in NFL history. The Titans ask a lot of their off-ball linebackers, and Long can do it all. 12 among linebackers in 2021 with a PFF coverage grade of 70 in 295 coverage snaps. The ACC consisted of 14 members in two divisions. s departure, and his 105 tackles were more than his first three seasons combined. After missing most of the regular season. He signed a monster five-year, $95 million extension last July, and is worth it considering he's just 25. As stated in the article, Galina only included true off-ball . 14 overall linebacker with a 72.3 PFF grade, and the No. . Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. He packs a punch as a downhill player, as he can light up offensive linemen with ease. The scheme plays a part in them making some plays. PFFs Fantasy Strength of Schedule (SoS) metric provides a league-wide, season-long view of opponent matchups for each fantasy position. He's a Hall of Famer, no doubt, but the reason he's so high on this list is because he's not done just yet. But in a vacuum, Drue Tranquill and Kenneth Murray are just not good enough players. That 42.0 mark was his first time dropping below 70.0 since 2015. 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! 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. 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. Consequently, the list of consistently elite players is far shorter than for other positions, and there is much more volatility in this position group. The Ravens are still looking for that breakout year from Patrick Queen after two subpar seasons. Wagner's resume speaks for itself. According to Stathead's AV tool, Leonard was tied in having the second-best season of any linebacker last year. 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. Cody Barton is another interesting player who will finally get a chance to start this season. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Clemson junior Trenton Simpson Simpson had a solid role as a freshman in 2020, totaling 28 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss and four sacks, in addition to a forced fumble.
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