Better luck with his health led to a respectable 63.8 overall grade and 72.6 pass-rush grade in 2021. In 10 seasons, he has been named an All-Pro eight times, made the Pro Bowl eight times and led the NFL in tackles twice. Galina ranked the Colts at 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. He also registered an absurd pass-rushing grade of 93. While Parsons proved to be a stud pass-rusher, some had questions about his coverage ability coming into the league. The PFF grades aren't always right on point, but they do serve as a generally effective tool for comparisons . While Warner recorded a career-high 137 combined tackles (T-No. Edmunds is just 24 years old and entering his fifth NFL season. 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. Projected contract: Three years, $25.5 million ($8.5M per year, $16.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 65 JaWhaun Bentley is a hard-nosed player like his counterpart Mack Wilson. Andersen is a converted running back and quarterback who, in his lone full season at linebacker, racked up an absurd 67 stops. Denver let Alexander Johnson walk in free agency, which depleted this unit. 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. No linebacker recorded more coverage snaps than Warner in all of 2021. However, both Mike Williams and Tee Higgins didn't get a whole lot of love and are lower on the list. 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. The ACC consisted of 14 members in two divisions. 2021 PFF grade: 65.1 (22nd of 89). At 6-foot-3, 242 pounds, he has legit NFL size and athleticism. With that in mind, some of these units have fewer members than others. 1 linebacker on this list entering 2022. 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. However, he's still a work in progress in coverage and didn't tally a single interception or pass breakup in his college career. There is hope that Channing Tindall, Miami's rookie linebacker out of Georgia, can find his way on the field. Here are PFF's top 32 linebackers ahead of the 2021 NFL season. Here are the top off-ball linebackers slated to hit free agency in 2022. Shaq Thompson is a bona fide star, and he may be playing alongside a diamond-in-the-rough partner in Frankie Luvu. Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys The first-ever unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year has quickly become the standard for linebacker play in the NFL. In May, Sam Monson of PFF ranked as the league's No.16 linebacker coming into the 2022 NFL season. Their tackle efficiency and every-down roles make them the most coveted players at the position. Now that we're at the end of the 2021-22 NFL season, the free agency picture is coming into focus and teams are beginning to identify potential targets to improve their roster weaknesses. Linebacker Rankings: 2022 Regular Season, Updated: 9/1/2022 Want Custom Fantasy Scoring? 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. Bolton, then a rookie, produced one of the highest individual grades for a linebacker. The Rams have a great defense, and the 32-year-old Wagner could find himself rejuvenated in 2022. 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. 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. With all that said, let's jump in. Los Angeles' overall defense is so good, at least on paper, that it might not matter who plays linebacker. 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. What a find he was for the Packers last year. Therefore, they are included in our defensive line rankings despite dropping into coverage at times. Kendricks is another well-rounded linebacker that can cover, as his 73.8 PFF coverage grade ranked No. 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. 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. With that said, an elite linebacker does make a defense better there just arent that many of them in the league at this moment. All of this culminates with the 2022 NFL Draft from Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, April 28th. 88 selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. 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. By Marc. Smith has recorded at least 101 combined tackles in each of his four NFL seasons, and his last two campaigns have been impressive. In his recent post on linebackers, PFF's Sam Monson ranked Nick Bolton No. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NCAA player performance data. Maybe the most volatile position in football, linebackers have seen their worth in the NFL fluctuate over the years. He started in 16 games after starting in only 11 total in his previous three NFL seasons. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Still, the Rams ranked fourth in the NFL last season in zone coverages (82.60%). 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. 8 in total pressures. 2021 PFF grade: 83.5 (N/A). 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. 9 linebacker in coverage with a 73.9. Here's the top 10 entering the 2022 season: 1. The Rams attacked the linebacker position this offseason, adding Bobby Wagner. 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. 2021 PFF grade: 60.4 (30th of 89). Consequently, the list of consistently elite players is far shorter than for other positions, and there is much more volatility in this position group. Even, 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. 2021 Snaps: 783 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. Below, we will rank the NFL's top 10 linebackers entering 2022. Bentley improved considerably in his second season as a full-time player, as his 68.1 overall grade was almost 15 points better than his 2020 overall grade. It had been three full seasons since his best play, and that best play was nowhere near elite. 1. 16 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft as the second-youngest player in the overall class. 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 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. He can chase down the fastest of running backs. David missed five games in 2021 due to injury, but he still had a solid season, recording 97 combined tackles. Okereke was particularly stout against the run, with his 13 defensive stops against the run tied for the 13th most. Anthony Brown is an okay slot and Kelvin Joseph was actually the highest rated CB. His All-Pro season in 2019 was special, but some might have thought it was just a one-year thing. . Getting outside the . Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. Jewell missed almost all of 2021 due to injury but is a run-stuffing force when on the field. Bobby Wagner may surprise some based on his age. Projected contract: Two years, $18 million ($9M per year, $11.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 55 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. He also made the absolute most of the occasional blitz, tallying 15 pressures, five sacks and three more quarterback hits on 70 pass-rush snaps. That 42.0 mark was his first time dropping below 70.0 since 2015. No linebacker corps gets its collective noses dirtier than the Patriots' unit. 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. Potentially losing a step or two with age can be negated by elite play recognition and instincts, both of which David has in spades. 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. 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. Projected contract: Two years,$12.5 million ($6.25M per year), $8 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 139 Seven 49ers listed on PFF Top 101 Players of 2022 ranking By Site Staff follow Feb 23, 2023 at 12:56 PM -- shares Seven San Francisco 49ers landed on Pro Football Focus' Top 101 Players. He is a truly freakish athlete and will be 25 years old throughout his entire sixth NFL season in 2023 after being selected 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. Plenty of well-known 'backers had coverage grades in the 30s this past season. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. According to training camp reports, that is paying off big time for the Eagles. Perhaps no player better sums up the volatility of linebacker play than the newly minted All-Pro, De'Vondre Campbell. 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. He allowed 81.0% of passes thrown his way to be caught and missed 17 tackles in all. 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. February 24, 2023 7:45 am CT. A couple of New Orleans Saints standouts were recognized on the list of the top 101 NFL players of the 2022 season from Pro Football Focus analyst Sam Monson. 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. Let's have a look at them. PFF predicts Bears will sign three top-50 free agents originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago. One of the best off-ball linebackers of his generation, David is still playing at an extremely high level and may benefit from New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis and Los Angeles Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner playing very good football well into their 30s on recently signed contracts of their own. 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. Subscribe to Sign Up 1. 2021 PFF grade: 84.3 (2nd of 89). On Tuesday, PFF's Seth Galina released his linebacker rankings for all 32 teams in the NFL. Oluokun is coming off a PFF run-defense grade of 44.0 and a coverage grade of 54.4. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. The folks over at PFF are going through the process of creating rankings and tiers for every position ahead of the 2022 NFL season. Kendricks is one of the games best coverage linebackers, able to consistently squeeze throwing lanes and make plays on the ball once its in the air. 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. These power rankings are adjusted based on coach, quarterback and the market each season. is likely another surprise player based on where he tends to go in drafts, but dont let the age fool you. Pro Football Focus's top linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft only kind of, sort of plays linebacker. Hes great at every aspect of linebacker play. Gary Cosby Jr./USA TODAY Sports (Dean); Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports (Ojabo) 1. He was not as good a coverage or run-stopping linebacker as he was as a pass rusher, but his talent makes you think he will figure it out shortly. A defender who can blow up screen plays and make takedowns in the open field. Losing Kyle Van Noy, the highest-graded coverage linebacker in 2021, will hurt. 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. . 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. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. The rest of 1A should surprise no one, with this group almost filling out the consensus top-five linebackers in ADP terms,. He signed a monster five-year, $95 million extension last July, and is worth it considering he's just 25. Hes earned himself a nice raise. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. Mosley endured the worst-graded season of his NFL career. Both players posted the highest grades of their career, helping the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance. The second linebacker tier features 17 linebackers on teams that are expected to be less zone-heavy than those in the tier above. 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. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. 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. "Latest Update" refers to when we last checked for . 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. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports. 3 Rams make PFF's top 101 players of 2022 Teams AFC East Bills Dolphins Jets Patriots AFC North Bengals Browns Ravens Steelers AFC South Colts Jaguars Texans Titans AFC West Broncos Chargers. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. He set career highs across the board, notching 146 combined tackles, six QB hits and two interceptions. NFL NFL Home Tools NFL Scores NFL Premium Stats NFL Player Grades Free Agent Rankings QB Annual 2022 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. And Davis has been outstanding in all areas since moving to the New Orleans defense. on Pro Football Focus' Top-100 players of 2022 rankings. 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. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. 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. 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. 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. 2021 PFF grade: 53.0 (50th of 89). Jewell also provides value on the occasional pass-rush snap and very rarely misses tackles. That flexibility is tremendously valuable to the Dallas defense, but Parsons could take his game to another level if he shows development off the ball in Year 2. Milano was a fifth-round draft pick back in 2017 but has dramatically outperformed his first-round teammate. Al-Shaair missed a lot of time in 2022 but earned a career-best 67.8 overall grade and 79.7 run-defense grade. A position of concern and potential weakness heading into last season has become a real strength for Kansas City. 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. Click here to view PFFs full IDP rankings for the 2022 season and tiers for the defensive linemen and defensive backs. There's no way he was going to get better, right? Asamoah is undersized at 6-foot-1, 228 pounds, but he possesses sideline-to-sideline range. While Mike Zimmer is gone, new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell is an experienced coach who can get the most out of Kendricks and this defense as a whole. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. 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. 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. This is a case of one elite linebacker pulling along another whose narrative hasnt really matched his production. Linebackers with the most INT's in both man and zone coverage last season Man: Bobby Okereke (2) Zone: Darius Leonard (4) pic.twitter.com/RJ4JbjcbYx This was the last season that the conference used divisions in its football scheduling. 1 pick, Ex-Patriots star McGinest facing eight years in prison, Commanders rip 'blatantly false' team sale report. 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. He finished as the highest-graded linebacker in football, recording 140 tackles, two interceptions and a career-high six sacks. 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. With the new league year just around the corner, it's time for all 32 NFL teams to turn their attention to NFL free agency in a bid to improve their rosters for a new campaign. Though he's 32 years old, David hasn't taken a major step backwards just yet. This group could rank much higher by the end of next season. 2022 stats (Chargers): 5 sacks, 146 tackles, 1 forced fumble. 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. Perryman was looking for a new contract heading into 2022 but ultimately played out the year, earning a strong 80.5 run-defense grade. They also signed linebacker Myles Jack and D-lineman Larry Ogunjobi. 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. AVG. 2021 Snaps: 979 Nevertheless, he may have to play on a one-year prove-it deal as he recovers. His 75.9 grade two years marked a career high. 4) Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos. 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. Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. 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. Johnson finds himself in one of the most unique contract situations in NFL history.
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