He has top-notch natural coverage skills for a linebacker his size, but everything else is a work in progress. Divine Deablo had some interesting moments as a rookie in 2021 and is worth keeping an eye on. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. While Chicago lost Akiem Hicks and Khalil Mackin the offseason, this unit could be rather strong again with some of the additions made in the secondary, and with the defensive-minded Matt Eberflus taking over as head coach. Since entering the league, Warner has 118 or more total tackles in every season and was named First-Team All-Pro in 2020. Parsons is versatile, smart and instinctive. After looking like he might be the next great linebacker earlier in his career, Deion Jones play has fallen off a cliff. Alex Anzalone and Chris Board are two depth players who start for the Lions. s departure, and his 105 tackles were more than his first three seasons combined. 2022 stats (Chargers): 5 sacks, 146 tackles, 1 forced fumble. Projected contract: Two years, $14.5 million ($7.25M per year), $8.5 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 99 Just 25, he's on his way. Click here to view PFFs full IDP rankings for the 2022 season and tiers for the defensive linemen and defensive backs. Smith is a complete athletic projection. Los Angeles' overall defense is so good, at least on paper, that it might not matter who plays linebacker. Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia . His processing skills took massive steps forward in 2021, causing his grade to jump from 57.1 to 76.3. The only season in which he did not record at least 100 tackles was his rookie campaign, when he missed two games. According to training camp reports, that is paying off big time for the Eagles. Here are the top free agents at linebacker, taken from PFF's free agency rankings. Vander Eschs 70.8 grade is his best since his rookie season in 2018, and he also set career highs in missed tackle rate (6.5%) and yards allowed per coverage snap (0.49). Teams could do a lot worse than White if they are looking for a solid weakside linebacker who has the speed to stay with pass-catchers in coverage for the most part. Nevertheless, he may have to play on a one-year prove-it deal as he recovers. 2021 Snaps: 717 He put forth a monster rookie season in 2019 but hasnt quite attained the same highs in subsequent seasons. That's because he's both a speedy 240 pounds and one of the best tacklers in the class, having missed only seven times on 138 career attempts. So, who's the best off-ball linebacker in the NFL today? 2021 Snaps: 712 With all that said, let's jump in. The grades for the Detroit Lions in their 9-8 campaign offer up an analytically-based glimpse of how the Lions performed. He might not even start this season. He may be coming off one of his worst statistical seasons in recent memory, but he also missed five games with injury. No linebacker corps gets its collective noses dirtier than the Patriots' unit. Let's have a look at them. 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. both project to be every-down linebackers on ideal defenses for expected production. 1 linebacker on this list entering 2022. Hes aggressive, has a quick trigger and finds the ball carrier. Roquan Smith has had an up-and-down NFL career so far, and the team will be hoping he can bounce back from a 47.1 grade last season. PFF predicts Bears will sign three top-50 free agents originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago. Its a rebuilt Jaguars linebacking corps after losing Myles Jack to the Steelers. 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. 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. 2021 Snaps: 783 In today's NFL, few positions have become as difficult to play as off-ball linebacker. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. The Ravens are still looking for that breakout year from Patrick Queen after two subpar seasons. It had been three full seasons since his best play, and that best play was nowhere near elite. Warner had a transformative effect on the 49ers defense when he became the starter. Shaq Thompson is a bona fide star, and he may be playing alongside a diamond-in-the-rough partner in Frankie Luvu. He tallied a career-high six pass breakups in 2022. While Warner recorded a career-high 137 combined tackles (T-No. Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys The first-ever unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year has quickly become the standard for linebacker play in the NFL. For all the young players' struggles, there are a lot of promising linebackers who have the talent to become elite players at this level. , who draws all the attention at the offensive line, opening up room for the linebackers for clean tackle opportunities. However, he will have to get better in coverage. 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. Barr agreed to a pay cut before the 2021 season that also voided the 2022 and 2023 seasons on his five-year extension signed in 2019. 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. 2021 PFF grade: 83.5 (N/A). 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. Hes a high-upside player now playing with a future Hall of Famer. 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. The Tennessee Titans are set to sport a talented and exciting inside linebacker duo in 2022 with David Long and Zach Cunningham, but where do they rank as compared to others in the NFL?. With that in mind, some of these units have fewer members than others. Pro Football Focus's top linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft only kind of, sort of plays linebacker. 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. The 2022 season was Tranquills first as a full-time starter following Kyzir Whites departure, and his 105 tackles were more than his first three seasons combined. Leonard is another example of how hard it is to earn those elite PFF grades each season, but he is a turnover machine when he is at his best. The Super Bowl has come and gone in 2022 and we have started to turn our attention to the next football season. 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. This was the last season that the conference used divisions in its football scheduling. It's good news, then,. 16 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft as the second-youngest player in the overall class. Here are the best available players remaining heading into Day 2 of the 2022 NFL draft. Adam Holt. Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers The 49ers struck gold when they drafted Warner in the third round in 2018. His All-Pro season in 2019 was special, but some might have thought it was just a one-year thing. His 33 run stops in 2020 were a top-10 mark at the position. 10. His 18 quarterback pressures ranked fourth among off-ball linebackers, as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick continued to deploy the 6-foot-3, 260-pounder all over the place in his constantly evolving defense. Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock An error occured while loading Position Grades. When healthy, Johnson is among the best sideline-to-sideline run-defenders at off-ball linebacker in the league. Drue Tranquill. 1 pick, Ex-Patriots star McGinest facing eight years in prison, Commanders rip 'blatantly false' team sale report. He has not graded above 70.0 since. He missed just two tackles in coverage and allowed only four explosive receptions. But in a vacuum, Drue Tranquill and Kenneth Murray are just not good enough players. You don't do what he did in his rookie season if you aren't a star. Walker is one of the best run-and-hit linebackers in the class. 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. 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. Overall, Georgia has 11 players in PFF's big board including six players ranked in the top 80 NFL draft prospects. 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. 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. . Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports. Lloyd can take on blocks, blitz and cover tight ends at a high level, which is why he earned a 90.2 grade this year with above-average grades in every facet. Despite the inconsistent offense, the Chicago Bears had the No. His 170 combined takedowns ranked third among linebackers this past season. 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. That hypothetical AAV of $17.6 million would make Smith the third highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. 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. 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. And Davis has been outstanding in all areas since moving to the New Orleans defense. 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. Brown has seen his play taper off after a really nice sophomore campaign in 2018 in which he posted an 81.2 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. He went from having a one-year contract worth $2 million to signing a five-year deal that carries an AAV of $10 million! despite dropping into coverage at times. The Steelers brought in former Jaguar Myles Jack to play alongside him. Though he's 32 years old, David hasn't taken a major step backwards just yet. 70 & No.71 on PFF's Top-101 players for the 2022 NFL season. Projected contract: One year, $6 million, $4.5 million guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 75 Across the three years prior to joining Green Bay, Campbell hadnt earned a grade higher than 56.6 in any season. . Projected contract: Two years,$12.5 million ($6.25M per year), $8 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 139 This group could rank much higher by the end of next season. With that said, an elite linebacker does make a defense better there just arent that many of them in the league at this moment. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports. Next to him is the underrated Josh Bynes, who returned to Baltimore in 2021 after one season in Cincinnati. The PFF grades aren't always right on point, but they do serve as a generally effective tool for comparisons . 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 | He finished as the highest-graded linebacker in football, recording 140 tackles, two interceptions and a career-high six sacks. Lloyd, who earned a 90.0-plus grade at Utah in 2021, does look set to start. 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. Players like T.J. Watt, Matt Judon, Harold Landry and Shaquil Barrett are not included. Rookie Devin Lloydand sophomore Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah both project to be every-down linebackers on ideal defenses for expected production. In May, Sam Monson of PFF ranked as the league's No.16 linebacker coming into the 2022 NFL season. 2021 PFF grade: 43.7 (71st of 89). 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. Anthony Brown is an okay slot and Kelvin Joseph was actually the highest rated CB. David missed five games in 2021 due to injury, but he still had a solid season, recording 97 combined tackles. 1. 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. The Rams attacked the linebacker position this offseason, adding. 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. His 94.1 run defense grade wasn't too far behindMicah Parsons (94.8) PFF college record. Then, he was named All-Pro again in 2020 with an AV of 14 for the second straight season. After ranking the best individual linebackers heading into 2022, here's how each team's linebacking corps stacks up. He was good as a true linebacker, but his ability to play two different roles on any given snap made him special and provided a hybrid ability that caused problems for offenses. The 12th. It's also noteworthy that David is good in coverage, something other linebackers can struggle with. He is set to play next to Anthony Walker, who is a solid if unspectacular player. 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. 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. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NCAA player performance data. Projected contract: Two years, $10 million ($5M per year), $5.5 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 163 The best linebackers in todays league are elite coverage players, but they can also affect the game in other ways. Unfortunately, he took a bit of a step back from his All-Pro and Pro Bowls ways. This means zone-heavy coverages and, more specifically, a Cover-2 heavy scheme, which proves to be the most effective coverage at propping up linebacker tackle numbers (as illustrated below). Subscribe to Sign Up 1. I also gave a target round for your rookie drafts, these are just suggestions as all drafts are different. 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. 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. Seahawks LB Jordyn Brooks ranked No. A pair of Seahawks came in at No. Chicago Bears Roquan Smith and Indianapolis Colts Shaquille (Darius) Leonard stock is falling due to availability concerns, making E.J. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. Murray surrendered a near-perfect passer rating into his coverage in 2021, allowing 14 catches on 15 targets for 132 yards and two touchdowns. He started in 16 games after starting in only 11 total in his previous three NFL seasons. Give him the freedom to play fast, and he'll excel. 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. He pairs with the solid Matt Milano, who posted the second-best season grade of his career (67.0) in 2021. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports. What a find he was for the Packers last year. He ended up making the Pro Bowl by logging a career-high 863 snaps and racking up 121 tackles and 61 defensive stops. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. Plenty of well-known 'backers had coverage grades in the 30s this past season. The 1B tier has just as much going for them, with zone-heavy defenses, expected positive tackle efficiency and an every-down roles. 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. Why drafting Dallas Cowboys LB Micah Parsons among the top-12 may not be the best decision. Pratts 90.1 coverage grade was the best mark in the NFL. 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). With Oluokun one of the few young players available, a market could develop for him that exceeds expectations. 2022 NFL linebacker unit rankings: Giants come in at 24 (PFF . "Latest Update" refers to when we last checked for . The 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference football season, part of the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season, was the 70th season of college football played for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He also frequently lines up at safety, defensive line and nickel corner, and if he had his way . On Tuesday, PFF's Seth Galina released his linebacker rankings for all 32 teams in the NFL. Still, the Rams ranked fourth in the NFL last season in zone coverages (82.60%). Projected contract: Two years, $9.5 million ($4.75M per year), $5.25 million total guaranteed. Davids 72.3 overall PFF grade is the lowest mark he has posted in a single season since 2016, and Wagners 71.8 was his lowest since 2015. Drafting Quay Walker out of Georgia in the first round also helps the Packers' cause. Better luck with his health led to a respectable 63.8 overall grade and 72.6 pass-rush grade in 2021. Micah Parsons this season: 0 TDs allowed in coverage (284 snaps) 88.7 PFF Grade (1st among all LBs) 93.0 pass-rushing grade (Best in NFL) pic.twitter.com/Lq7G9IVzuU. After looking like one of the worst linebackers in the NFL for a few years in Green Bay. Muma was one of the most productive defenders in all of college football in 2021, generating 68 total defensive stops, three picks and 21 pressures for the Cowboys. Linebacker Rankings 2022 NFL Draft Home Positions LB ALL QUARTERBACK RUNNING BACK WIDE RECEIVER TIGHT END OFFENSIVE LINE DEFENSIVE LINE EDGE LINEBACKER DEFENSIVE BACK #1 RANKED - SCOUTING REPORT 17 Nakobe Dean POSITION RANK #1 OUR RATING 90.4 ILB All Scouts Average Overall Rank 20.8 All Scouts Average Position Rank 2 Height Feet 6-0 Cole Holcomb could yet turn into a solid linebacker, while 2021 first-round pick Jamin Davis could also improve after a poor first season. 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. 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. 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 .