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. 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. Philadelphia brought Edwards back in 2022 on a one-year, $2.15 million deal at a position they have all but refused to invest in with top draft capital or free-agent dollars in many years, but Edwards may put the Eagles positional value to the test this offseason if they want to keep him around. 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. While Bobby Okerekes grade has fluctuated over the years, Darius Leonard the star of the Colts' defense has been rock solid since exploding onto the scene as a rookie. They also signed linebacker Myles Jack and D-lineman Larry Ogunjobi. He had a career year, helping turn around the Eagles' defense with the second-best grade among off-ball linebackers (84.4). Nevertheless, he is clearly an ascending young player contributing immensely to Tennessees defense that finished first in expected points added per rush allowed on the season. His past two years against the run have been horrid, with him posting 39.8 and 30.0 run-defense grades. 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. If he can play more consistently week to week, teams may view him as a low-risk, high-reward option in a weak linebacker class. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. However, Georgia wide receiver Kearis Jackson is not ranked in Pro Football Focus' NFL draft big board rankings. Meanwhile, TJ Watt led the league in sacks (22.5) and was the Defensive Player of the Year. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0.
Two former Tigers lower on this list of NFL's best receivers There may be no better all-around linebacker in the class. Jayron Kearse was a top 10 strong safety by their own metric. Davis is a player people keep expecting to regress, but he just hasn't. 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. In May, Sam Monson of PFF ranked as the league's No.16 linebacker coming into the 2022 NFL season. 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. Typically, David is the ideal linebacker for IDP. Its hard to overstate Fred Warners effect on the 49ers' defense in their run to the NFC championship in 2021. With Oluokun one of the few young players available, a market could develop for him that exceeds expectations. 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. 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. 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. 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. Brown appeared to be on his way to a strong free agency in the 2021 offseason after three solid seasons as a starter, but he may have been an unfortunate victim of the salary cap drop, as he ultimately agreed to return to the Titans on a one-year, $4.5 million deal. Parsons is versatile, smart and instinctive. 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. Within 2021 and 2022's class, Detroit made use of the later rounds to nab names such as wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and edge James Houston. 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. 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. 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. In 2022, he boasted a pass . Tremaine Edmunds has not quite lived up to expectations, but hes still young and can grow into a good player. 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. 4) Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos. In 2019 and 2021 with the Ravens, he graded out to 80.0 and 74.8, respectively.
Linebacker Rankings: 2022 Regular Season - FF Today The Super Bowl has come and gone in 2022 and we have started to turn our attention to the next football season. The second linebacker tier features 17 linebackers on teams that are expected to be less zone-heavy than those in the tier above. He signed a monster five-year, $95 million extension last July, and is worth it considering he's just 25. Research past fantasy performance with sortable player stats including PFF-exclusives like aDOT and fantasy points per opportunity. Anthony Brown is an okay slot and Kelvin Joseph was actually the highest rated CB. at Dean's range at the linebacker position is unparalleled in this draft class. 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. 1. Cole Holcomb could yet turn into a solid linebacker, while 2021 first-round pick Jamin Davis could also improve after a poor first season. .
Ranking Best NFL Defensive Linemen and Linebackers 2022 2022 NFL Draft Position Rankings: Linebackers - PFF We have already seen that play from Smith in Chicago, but the decline of the defense around him and perhaps more importantly directly in front of him has led to a decline in his play. 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. 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 Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NCAA player performance data. The Seahawks selected Cody Barton out of Utah with the No. both project to be every-down linebackers on ideal defenses for expected production. 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. s departure, and his 105 tackles were more than his first three seasons combined. His first year with the Packers resulted in a whopping 85.0 mark.
How the 2022 Lions finished in each PFF grading category After sitting out in 2020, C.J. 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. Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys The first-ever unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year has quickly become the standard for linebacker play in the NFL. 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. Projected contract: Two years, $10 million ($5M per year), $5.5 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 163 Teams are afraid to throw at Surtain, and he has one of the lowest target totals among . That's still a very good grade, but there should be concerns about his age and a potential decline going forward. 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. 23 in 2021.
Where are Georgia Bulldogs ranked on PFF's 2023 NFL draft big board? However, he earned an additional $500,000 in incentives along with a trip to the Super Bowl, so it couldve been worse, all things considered.
Tuesday Round-Up: Seahawks No.8 In Pro Football Focus 2022 Linebacker Their tackle efficiency and every-down roles make them the most coveted players at the position. 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. Drue Tranquill. 2021 PFF grade: 60.4 (30th of 89).
Best Cornerbacks in the NFL 2022: Rookie Sauce - Pro Football Network Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. Chicago Bears Roquan Smith and Indianapolis Colts Shaquille (Darius) Leonard stock is falling due to availability concerns, making E.J. 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). When healthy, Johnson is among the best sideline-to-sideline run-defenders at off-ball linebacker in the league. 2021 Snaps:444 1 linebacker on this list entering 2022. Asamoah is undersized at 6-foot-1, 228 pounds, but he possesses sideline-to-sideline range. While Parsons proved to be a stud pass-rusher, some had questions about his coverage ability coming into the league. 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. his sure hands also need to be highlighted," PFF's Zoltn Buday wrote. Turn on this feature to cross off players during your draft. 88 selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Rank value requires a minimum number of snaps played. Walker is one of the best run-and-hit linebackers in the class. Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. Speed and Matthew Adams late-round dart throws. 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. San Francisco 49ers . It's like your very own digital cheat sheet.
PFF predicts Bears sign three top-50 NFL free agents 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. Seahawks LB Jordyn Brooks ranked No. His 170 combined takedowns ranked third among linebackers this past season. 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 . Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports. 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. Kendricks' grade did falter in 2021 a 59.9 mark that was down from 82.6 and 90.1 the past two years, respectively. They spent a lot of money on Roquan Smith at the linebacker spot, [so] why not bring in another Georgia guy?" . Therefore, they are included in our. 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 . Pro Football Focus has finalized the regular season grades for the 2022 NFL season. Projected contract: Two years, $18 million ($9M per year, $11.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 55 The grades for the Detroit Lions in their 9-8 campaign offer up an analytically-based glimpse of how the Lions performed. He has top-notch natural coverage skills for a linebacker his size, but everything else is a work in progress. He had been one of the more consistent players at the position in the NFL, and so theres a chance he regains his form. Hes aggressive, has a quick trigger and finds the ball carrier. 10. 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. If you go back and watch him play throughout his rookie season, you'll not only see a talented pass-rusher, but a good linebacker that can read and react quickly. Chicago signed Nicholas Morrow from Las Vegas to fill the spot next to Smith for 2022. His 94.1 run defense grade wasn't too far behindMicah Parsons (94.8) PFF college record. 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. 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! What a find he was for the Packers last year. 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. 2 in the NFL, only trailing Fred Warner and the San Francisco 49ers. We have seen elite play from the seventh-year pro, but we've not nearly seen enough of it, given his physical talents. His struggles come in coverage, where he's allowed nearly 1,000 yards over the past two seasons. Still, the Rams ranked fourth in the NFL last season in zone coverages (82.60%).
NFL's top 10 linebackers in 2022 - sportskeeda.com The linebacker position in the game of football is one of the most important. 1. 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. 3 linebackers Seahawks should . They're both veteran defenders, and they happened to lead the team in snaps played last season. Campbells ranking could justifiably be at the very top of this list or somewhere in the 30s, based on his career so far. 15 overall among NFL linebackers.Bolton was in his sixth tier, which was reserved for "young ascending" players at the linebacker position.
In this article, I list my top 20 rookie linebacker rankings for your IDP dynasty leagues. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports By Sam Monson May 24, 2022 He also frequently lines up at safety, defensive line and nickel corner, and if he had his way .
2023 NFL Free Agent Rankings: Linebacker - pff.com 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 Seattle Seahawks in 2015. But in a vacuum, Drue Tranquill and Kenneth Murray are just not good enough players. Since entering the league, Warner has 118 or more total tackles in every season and was named First-Team All-Pro in 2020. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS.