While Warner recorded a career-high 137 combined tackles (T-No. Vander Esch has had an up and down first four years in the NFL, but the talent that made him a first-round pick in 2018 still flashes on occasion and will certainly draw attention. 12 among linebackers in 2021 with a PFF coverage grade of 70 in 295 coverage snaps. Mosley, Foye Oluokun. Jayron Kearse was a top 10 strong safety by their own metric. Milano was a fifth-round draft pick back in 2017 but has dramatically outperformed his first-round teammate. 2022 NFL linebacker unit rankings: Giants come in at 24 (PFF . Parsons actually finished No. 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. 3 min read. He packs a punch as a downhill player, as he can light up offensive linemen with ease. There's no telling what he could be with more reps at the position. His struggles come in coverage, where he's allowed nearly 1,000 yards over the past two seasons. No. 14 overall linebacker with a 72.3 PFF grade, and the No. s departure, and his 105 tackles were more than his first three seasons combined. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Projected contract: Three years, $25.5 million ($8.5M per year, $16.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 65 Despite the inconsistent offense, the Chicago Bears had the No. Perryman has been the embodiment of that in his NFL career, to the point where he was often kept off the field on passing downs. despite dropping into coverage at times. Jerome Baker, MIA: I love Baker this season as a Top 15-20 sleeper. 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?. 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. Now, Brown hits free agency coming off a career-low 421 snaps, though he still maintained a 60.0-plus coverage grade, which is where he derives a lot of his value as an off-ball linebacker. Hes not only straight-line fast, but he also processes and reacts with elite quickness. The first week of March will see the NFL Combine which will be followed by College Pro Days. Lavonte David is still one of the best linebackers in the game . 2021 Snaps: 783 Chicago signed Nicholas Morrow from Las Vegas to fill the spot next to Smith for 2022. . 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. 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. 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. There's no way he was going to get better, right? He went from having a one-year contract worth $2 million to signing a five-year deal that carries an AAV of $10 million! His 913 snaps for the Raiders last season was a career-high mark and more than doubled his previous best. 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. Parsons is versatile, smart and instinctive. However, Georgia wide receiver Kearis Jackson is not ranked in Pro Football Focus' NFL draft big board rankings. 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. Luckily for the Philadelphia Eagles, he was still available in the third round. He may be coming off one of his worst statistical seasons in recent memory, but he also missed five games with injury. Age: 28. 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. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. The second linebacker tier features 17 linebackers on teams that are expected to be less zone-heavy than those in the tier above. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. 2022 NFL linebacker unit rankings: San Francisco 49ers claim the top spot, Seattle Seahawks crack the top 10 Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers middle linebacker Fred Warner (54) lines up over Green Bay Packers center Josh Myers (71) during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. 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. 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. Milano was a fifth-round draft pick back in 2017 but has dramatically outperformed his first-round teammate, Tremaine Edmunds, within the Buffalo defense. 6 in the NFL in sacks and No. 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. The 2022 season was Long's first as a full-time starter at middle linebacker, but he's made the most of opportunities in the past. Expect both young studs to push for 140-plus combined tackles, if healthy. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. Consequently, the list of consistently elite players is far shorter than for other positions, and there is much more volatility in this position group. Over the past three seasons, his 19.8% pass-rush win rate and 23.8% pressure rate are both the second-best marks among off-ball linebackers with at least 100 pass-rush snaps over the span. 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. Cole Holcomb could yet turn into a solid linebacker, while 2021 first-round pick Jamin Davis could also improve after a poor first season. 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. But neither player made the cut for the top 50, which hurts . Jewell is the other Denver off-ball linebacker who missed the majority of the 2021 season with a torn pectoral muscle, but hes three years younger than Johnson. 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. Plenty of well-known 'backers had coverage grades in the 30s this past season. Pratts 90.1 coverage grade was the best mark in the NFL. 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. 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. 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. They're both veteran defenders, and they happened to lead the team in snaps played last season. Typically, David is the ideal linebacker for IDP. The Ravens are still looking for that breakout year from Patrick Queen after two subpar seasons. He can chase down the fastest of running backs. 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. 1 pick, Ex-Patriots star McGinest facing eight years in prison, Commanders rip 'blatantly false' team sale report. Here are the top 10 linebackers scheduled to become free agents in March. Los Angeles' overall defense is so good, at least on paper, that it might not matter who plays linebacker. 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). Teams are afraid to throw at Surtain, and he has one of the lowest target totals among . Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. JaWhaun Bentley is a hard-nosed player like his counterpart Mack Wilson. Just 25, he's on his way. Seahawks LB Jordyn Brooks ranked No. 2021 PFF grade: 43.7 (71st of 89). Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Elandon Roberts and Jerome Baker are average linebackers who have just one 70.0-plus season grade among their 10 combined years in the NFL. 1. He rarely leaves the field, having never played less than 90% of defensive snaps when healthy in a season, and is a lock for triple-digit tackles as a result. The transition from college football to the NFL used to be smooth for linebackers, but even elite prospects can now struggle in Year 1. Chicago Bears Roquan Smith and Indianapolis Colts Shaquille (Darius) Leonard stock is falling due to availability concerns, making E.J. Here are the top free agents at linebacker, taken from PFF's free agency rankings. 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. 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. 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. Drafting Quay Walker out of Georgia in the first round also helps the Packers' cause. That could be a problem for folks expecting the same numbers. 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. Projected contract: Two years, $18 million ($9M per year, $11.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 55 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. After missing most of the regular season. 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. Still, the. 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. 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. Over the past three seasons, his 19.8% pass-rush win rate and 23.8% pressure rate are both the second-best marks among off-ball linebackers with at least 100 pass-rush snaps over the span. 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. He put forth a monster rookie season in 2019 but hasnt quite attained the same highs in subsequent seasons. Linebacker Rankings: 2022 Regular Season, Updated: 9/1/2022 Want Custom Fantasy Scoring? There is hope that Channing Tindall, Miami's rookie linebacker out of Georgia, can find his way on the field. With all that said, let's jump in. What a find he was for the Packers last year. Since entering the league, Warner has 118 or more total tackles in every season and was named First-Team All-Pro in 2020. 2022 stats (Chargers): 5 sacks, 146 tackles, 1 forced fumble. NFL NFL Home Tools NFL Scores NFL Premium Stats NFL Player Grades Free Agent Rankings QB Annual 2022 Devin Bush has not lived up to his draft status as a first-round pick, and 2022 might be his last chance to prove himself at the NFL level. The best linebackers in todays league are elite coverage players, but they can also affect the game in other ways. "He posted a 1.5 percent drop rate in 2022, which . He tallied a career-high six pass breakups in 2022. Perryman was looking for a new contract heading into 2022 but ultimately played out the year, earning a strong 80.5 run-defense grade. Rankings&Projections |WR/CB Matchup Chart |NFL & NCAA Betting Dashboards | NFL Player Props Tool | NFL & NCAA Power Rankings Hes not great in other facets, but stopping the run is still an important aspect of the position. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Click here to view PFF's full IDP rankings for the 2022 season and tiers for the defensive linemen and defensive backs. The main contributors to a linebackers IDP success are the volume of defensive snaps combined with playing in zone-heavy defenses, which rack up tackles more efficiently. The only season in which he did not record at least 100 tackles was his rookie campaign, when he missed two games. 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. He ended up making the Pro Bowl by logging a career-high 863 snaps and racking up 121 tackles and 61 defensive stops. Jewell is actually more of an all-around linebacker, but run defense has been his best area in the NFL. San Francisco 49ers . Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys The first-ever unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year has quickly become the standard for linebacker play in the NFL. Parsons took the NFL by storm in his rookie season, recording 84 combined tackles and a Dallas Cowboys rookie record 13 sacks. 2021 Snaps: 323 Kendricks is another well-rounded linebacker that can cover, as his 73.8 PFF coverage grade ranked No. 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 | 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. A position of concern and potential weakness heading into last season has become a real strength for Kansas City. Recently, Seth Galina from PFF ranked all 32 linebacker units in the league. Kendricks has long been one of the consistent middle linebackers in the league, and he stepped up his game in 2021 with a career-high 143 combined tackles, five sacks and two interceptions. Defensively, the attrition was less significant; however, one of the unit's leaders did leave in free agency Foye Oluokun. Devin Lloyd, Utah BIG BOARD RANK: 15 2021 Snaps: 717 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. However, both Mike Williams and Tee Higgins didn't get a whole lot of love and are lower on the list. Jack is now trying to reboot his career in Pittsburgh after suffering similar ill-fortune in Jacksonville. Projected contract: Two years, $14 million ($7M per year, $9 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 61 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. 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. Jordyn Brooks is an ascending star who will get more snaps this year. 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. His past two years against the run have been horrid, with him posting 39.8 and 30.0 run-defense grades. The 30-year-old linebacker will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career after a delayed start to his NFL career, and now hell be working his way back from a torn pectoral muscle injury. Why drafting Dallas Cowboys LB Micah Parsons among the top-12 may not be the best decision. 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. 1 linebacker according to PFF, with a grade of 89.7. 2021 Snaps:444 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. Hes earned himself a nice raise. His processing skills took massive steps forward in 2021, causing his grade to jump from 57.1 to 76.3. 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. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. The 2022 season was Longs first as a full-time starter at middle linebacker, but hes made the most of opportunities in the past. A new defensive coordinator and scheme will help him, though. PFF Free Agency Rank: 86 2021 Snaps: 783 2021 PFF grade: 64.2 (24th of 89) 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. He might not even start this season. 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. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports By Sam Monson May 24, 2022 Projected contract: Two years, $15 million ($7.5M per year, $10M total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 86 10 among linebackers last year. 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. 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. 2021 Snaps: 82 Now, it remains to be seen if Campbell can replicate his 2021 campaign, but based off of how he played last year, Campbell deserves a place on this list. 2022 NFL Linebacker Rankings 1. his sure hands also need to be highlighted," PFF's Zoltn Buday wrote. He started in 16 games after starting in only 11 total in his previous three NFL seasons. 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. The former undrafted free agent is in for a big pay raise this offseason after making the absolute most of his one-year deal. 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. Speed and Matthew Adams late-round dart throws. Shaq Thompson is a bona fide star, and he may be playing alongside a diamond-in-the-rough partner in Frankie Luvu. Davis is a player people keep expecting to regress, but he just hasn't. 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.

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