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Consequently, the list of consistently elite players is far shorter than for other positions, and there is much more volatility in this position group. Here's what PFF wrote about Wagner's season. 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. That could be a problem for folks expecting the same numbers. That's still a very good grade, but there should be concerns about his age and a potential decline going forward. PFF themselves had the Cowboys 2021 secondary in the top 10. 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. There is hope that Channing Tindall, Miami's rookie linebacker out of Georgia, can find his way on the field. He also frequently lines up at safety, defensive line and nickel corner, and if he had his way . 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. The Steelers brought in former Jaguar Myles Jack to play alongside him. Both players posted the highest grades of their career, helping the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance. . 2021 Snaps: 717 9 linebacker in coverage with a 73.9. 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. 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 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. A new defensive coordinator and scheme will help him, though. With that said, an elite linebacker does make a defense better there just arent that many of them in the league at this moment. 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. 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. 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. 11 among linebackers,) his AV of 8 was tied for No. Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) runs the ball against Green Bay Packers inside linebacker De'Vondre Campbell (59) during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. They happily scooped up the extremely talented Georgia linebacker. White landed with the Philadelphia Eagles on a one-year, $3 million flier last offseason after his market didnt pan out too well. What a find he was for the Packers last year. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. After sitting out in 2020, C.J. 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. Devin Lloyd, Utah BIG BOARD RANK: 15 The top 10 linebackers in NFL currently are dynamic weapons and reliable leaders. There's no way he was going to get better, right? San Francisco 49ers . David also just put forth his worst season since 2016, posting a 72.3 grade. 2021 Snaps:444 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. 8 in total pressures. 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. NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler. Asamoah is undersized at 6-foot-1, 228 pounds, but he possesses sideline-to-sideline range. This was the last season that the conference used divisions in its football scheduling. 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. Projected contract: Two years, $9.5 million ($4.75M per year), $5.25 million total guaranteed. The Rams attacked the linebacker position this offseason, adding Bobby Wagner. 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. Chicago signed Nicholas Morrow from Las Vegas to fill the spot next to Smith for 2022. 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 Denver Broncos. A position of concern and potential weakness heading into last season has become a real strength for Kansas City. Overall, Georgia has 11 players in PFF's big board including six players ranked in the top 80 NFL draft prospects. 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. This ranking may be a surprise after the Seahawks lost future Hall of Famer. Give him the freedom to play fast, and he'll excel. Galina ranked the Colts at No. 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. 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. He pairs with the solid Matt Milano, who posted the second-best season grade of his career (67.0) in 2021. 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. He may be coming off one of his worst statistical seasons in recent memory, but he also missed five games with injury. 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. Projected contract: Two years, $18 million ($9M per year, $11.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 55 James Bradberry (74.1) 2022 PFF Grade 20th ranked Darius Slay (73.1) 2022 PFF Grade 25th ranked Avonte Maddox (71.3) 2022 PFF Grade 33rd ranked Josiah Scott (58.4) 2022 PFF Grade. 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. 2 in the NFL, only trailing Fred Warner and the San Francisco 49ers. 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. 3) Demario Davis, New Orleans Saints. And even though he hasnt quite been able to maintain an elite level of play every season, his impact on the field is obvious. His first year with the Packers resulted in a whopping 85.0 mark. , who draws all the attention at the offensive line, opening up room for the linebackers for clean tackle opportunities. Leonard was a beast in stopping the run, as his 91.1 PFF run defense grade was second among all defenders in 2021 -- not just linebackers. Projected contract: Three years, $25.5 million ($8.5M per year, $16.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 65 The 12th. The entire schedule was released on January 31, 2022. 23 in 2021. 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. Tae Crowder and Micah McFadden will look to compete for the spot opposite Martinez. Denver let Alexander Johnson walk in free agency, which depleted this unit. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. 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. With that in mind, some of these units have fewer members than others. Tranquill is coming off a career year in L.A. They spent a lot of money on Roquan Smith at the linebacker spot, [so] why not bring in another Georgia guy?" . 2021 Snaps: 679 Typically, David is the ideal linebacker for IDP. Rookie Devin Lloydand sophomore Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah both project to be every-down linebackers on ideal defenses for expected production. NFL NFL Home Tools NFL Scores NFL Premium Stats NFL Player Grades Free Agent Rankings QB Annual 2022 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. Projected contract: One year, $6 million, $4.5 million guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 75 Plenty of well-known 'backers had coverage grades in the 30s this past season. Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys The first-ever unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year has quickly become the standard for linebacker play in the NFL. 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. Defensively, the attrition was less significant; however, one of the unit's leaders did leave in free agency Foye Oluokun. 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. It's funny how taking a "small step backwards" for Wagner is being a second-team All-Pro, a Pro Bowler and setting a career high in tackles even while missing a game. 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. He set career highs across the board, notching 146 combined tackles, six QB hits and two interceptions. Despite what PFF says, I don't think there are that many more linebackers who are better in coverage than Kendricks. Drafting Quay Walker out of Georgia in the first round also helps the Packers' cause. These power rankings are adjusted based on coach, quarterback and the market each season. 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. Johnson got off to an unusually late start to his NFL career and has battled injuries, but he has been an excellent linebacker when he has been on the field. 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. 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. The transition from college football to the NFL used to be smooth for linebackers, but even elite prospects can now struggle in Year 1. It's also noteworthy that David is good in coverage, something other linebackers can struggle with. That 42.0 mark was his first time dropping below 70.0 since 2015. For all the young players' struggles, there are a lot of promising linebackers who have the talent to become elite players at this level. Pro Football Focus supported claims of San Francisco's top-end roster by putting seven of their players in the top 101 of the 2022 season. 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's been an All-Pro each year, and a Pro Bowler for three straight seasons now. 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). A pair of Seahawks came in at No. The first week of March will see the NFL Combine which will be followed by College Pro Days. He has top-notch natural coverage skills for a linebacker his size, but everything else is a work in progress. 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. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Kendricks is another well-rounded linebacker that can cover, as his 73.8 PFF coverage grade ranked No. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NCAA player performance data. Parsons took the NFL by storm in his rookie season, recording 84 combined tackles and a Dallas Cowboys rookie record 13 sacks. Honorable mentions: Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano, Logan Wilson, Shaq Thompson, Alexander Johnson, Deion JonesJeremiah Owusu-Koramoah,Zach Cunningham, Anthony Walker, C.J. Jerome Baker, MIA: I love Baker this season as a Top 15-20 sleeper. Lavonte David is still one of the best linebackers in the game . His processing skills took massive steps forward in 2021, causing his grade to jump from 57.1 to 76.3. In Eric Kendricks, the Vikings have had a superb all-around linebacker for years. Pittsburgh Steelers (94/100) Cameron Heyward was second behind only Aaron Donald in PFF's grades of interior defensive linemen last season. 2021 Snaps: 323 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. You are not logged in. 2021 PFF grade: 65.1 (T-23rd of 89). 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. 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. He was. More Stats. They're both veteran defenders, and they happened to lead the team in snaps played last season. He also registered an absurd pass-rushing grade of 93. Then there's the added bonus of playing behind Aaron Donald, who draws all the attention at the offensive line, opening up room for the linebackers for clean tackle opportunities. All of this culminates with the 2022 NFL Draft from Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, April 28th. You don't do what he did in his rookie season if you aren't a star. However, he will have to get better in coverage. 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. 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. He is a truly freakish athlete and will be 25 years old throughout his entire sixth NFL season in 2023 after being selected No. Cole Holcomb could yet turn into a solid linebacker, while 2021 first-round pick Jamin Davis could also improve after a poor first season. 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. Parsons is versatile, smart and instinctive. 1 on our list. The Georgia Bulldogs have a 12 players participating at the 2023 NFL combine. Eichenberg was a PFF first-team All-American this past season and is the most valuable returning linebacker according to PFF's wins above average metric. 14 overall linebacker with a 72.3 PFF grade, and the No. 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. 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. Perryman was looking for a new contract heading into 2022 but ultimately played out the year, earning a strong 80.5 run-defense grade. Click here to view PFF's full IDP rankings for the 2022 season and tiers for the defensive linemen and defensive backs. 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.