3 min read. Here's what PFF wrote about Wagner's season. He's been an All-Pro each year, and a Pro Bowler for three straight seasons now. The PFF grades aren't always right on point, but they do serve as a generally effective tool for comparisons . But in a vacuum, Much of this unit's potential lies with third-round rookie. Despite what PFF says, I don't think there are that many more linebackers who are better in coverage than Kendricks. In this article, I list my top 20 rookie linebacker rankings for your IDP dynasty leagues. In 2022, he boasted a pass . Despite the inconsistent offense, the Chicago Bears had the No. The rest of 1A should surprise no one, with this group almost filling out the consensus top-five linebackers in ADP terms,. 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. 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. Much of this unit's potential lies with third-round rookie Christian Harris, who managed 34 run stops at Alabama in 2021 (tied for 36th among 374 qualifying FBS linebackers). 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. Therefore, they are included in our. NFL free agency is a year-round process, as teams scout opposing players in an effort to defeat them during the year and perhaps sign them in the offseason. They're both veteran defenders, and they happened to lead the team in snaps played last season. David has been consistent, as only one linebacker has recorded more tackles since he entered the league, and that player is found later on in this list. Ranking NFL's top 10 linebackers entering 2022: New No. 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. The Penn State product ranked No. You don't do what he did in his rookie season if you aren't a star. 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. . 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. His elite run-stopping ability was on display against the Packers in the divisional round, too. Chicago signed Nicholas Morrow from Las Vegas to fill the spot next to Smith for 2022. 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. 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. Subscribe to Sign Up 1. However, Georgia wide receiver Kearis Jackson is not ranked in Pro Football Focus' NFL draft big board rankings. However, he will have to get better in coverage. 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 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. David missed five games in 2021 due to injury, but he still had a solid season, recording 97 combined tackles. Micah Parsons is one of the best young talents in the league, but he does split his time between off-ball linebacker and edge rusher, where he's at his best work. Parsons is versatile, smart and instinctive. Pro Football Focus has finalized the regular season grades for the 2022 NFL season. 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. One can make the case that both Wagner and David are still as good as it gets at the linebacker position despite getting up there in age, but each player is coming off a relative down year by their standards, which always brings up the looming specter of decline. Oluokun is coming off a PFF run-defense grade of 44.0 and a coverage grade of 54.4. The 49ers applied the second-round restricted free agent tender at a price tag of $3.986 million to Al-Shaair for the 2022 season, perhaps illustrating that they feared he would get signed to an offer sheet elsewhere if they went with the right of first refusal tender. Walker had a career year for the Browns in 2021, and his 78.2 PFF coverage grade was the highest of his career. Edwards has posted 75.0 grades or better in two of his three NFL seasons and is one of the more underrated players in the league. Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. 2021 PFF grade: 53.0 (50th of 89). Cole Holcomb, WAS: Impressive young linebacker who could see the numbers improve in 2022. 2021 Snaps: 679 The Georgia Bulldogs have a 12 players participating at the 2023 NFL combine. 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 . Projected contract: Two years, $14.5 million ($7.25M per year), $8.5 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 99 This is a case of one elite linebacker pulling along another whose narrative hasnt really matched his production. Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings. 2021 PFF grade: 65.1 (22nd of 89). A couple of former Clemson stars made this ranking of the NFL's top wide receivers from the 2022 regular season. Mosley, Foye Oluokun. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports. Honorable mentions: Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano, Logan Wilson, Shaq Thompson, Alexander Johnson, Deion JonesJeremiah Owusu-Koramoah,Zach Cunningham, Anthony Walker, C.J. Al-Shaair missed a lot of time in 2022 but earned a career-best 67.8 overall grade and 79.7 run-defense grade. Here's why that is important: PFF's Fantasy Football Expected Points tool is primarily used for identifying potential over and undervalued players. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. The Falcons defense has fallen apart around him, and he no longer has a free run to the football as often as he did when he was playing his best football. 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. 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. It's also noteworthy that David is good in coverage, something other linebackers can struggle with. Better luck with his health led to a respectable 63.8 overall grade and 72.6 pass-rush grade in 2021. 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. Jordyn Brooks is an ascending star who will get more snaps this year. Anthony Brown is an okay slot and Kelvin Joseph was actually the highest rated CB. The Vikings also brought in the underrated Jordan Hicks from the Cardinals in free agency. Tremaine Edmunds has not quite lived up to expectations, but hes still young and can grow into a good player. Wagner gets a new opportunity on a new team with a lot more talent around him this season, so there is good reason to suspect that his grade might bounce back. PFF themselves had the Cowboys 2021 secondary in the top 10. 8 in total pressures. Seahawks LB Jordyn Brooks ranked No. 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. 1. He tallied a career-high six pass breakups in 2022. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Their tackle efficiency and every-down roles make them the most coveted players at the position. Milano was a fifth-round draft pick back in 2017 but has dramatically outperformed his first-round teammate. 5 overall pick recorded 128 combined tackles, a career-high 18 QB hits in 2021 and earned his first Pro Bowl selection this past season. Potentially losing a step or two with age can be negated by elite play recognition and instincts, both of which David has in spades. He also registered a fourth-best 79.4 PFF coverage grade among linebackers despite playing a whopping 680 coverage snaps. More Stats. He was. That 42.0 mark was his first time dropping below 70.0 since 2015. Edwards was one of just four linebackers to earn grades above 75.0 in run defense and coverage, generating 11 quarterback pressures on just 26 pass-rush snaps, as well. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. Milano was a fifth-round draft pick back in 2017 but has dramatically outperformed his first-round teammate, Tremaine Edmunds, within the Buffalo defense. 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. You are not logged in. Jack is now trying to reboot his career in Pittsburgh after suffering similar ill-fortune in Jacksonville. After looking like he might be the next great linebacker earlier in his career. He has not graded above 70.0 since. The 2022 season was Longs first as a full-time starter at middle linebacker, but hes made the most of opportunities in the past. Seahawks only have one player in PFF's top-40 graded edge defenders Teams AFC East Bills Dolphins Jets Patriots AFC North Bengals Browns Ravens Steelers AFC South Colts Jaguars Texans Titans AFC. 9 linebacker in coverage with a 73.9. Johnson finds himself in one of the most unique contract situations in NFL history. Vander Esch earned a 90.0-plus grade in three starts in 2021, including two such outings over the final five weeks. 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. There may be no better all-around linebacker in the class. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. This group could rank much higher by the end of next season. He also frequently lines up at safety, defensive line and nickel corner, and if he had his way . 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. There's no way he was going to get better, right? 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. This is bizarrely true even when he moves to a defense run by a former New England defensive coach. Here are the best available players remaining heading into Day 2 of the 2022 NFL draft. 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. 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. Okereke is now coming off back-to-back seasons with at least 100 tackles and 50 defensive stops. section: | slug: ranking-nfls-top-10-linebackers-entering-2022-new-no-1-as-bobby-wagner-finally-dethroned | sport: football | route: article_single.us | "Latest Update" refers to when we last checked for . 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. the star of the Colts' defense has been rock solid since exploding onto the scene as a rookie. We have seen elite play from the seventh-year pro, but we've not nearly seen enough of it, given his physical talents. Lavonte David has been one of the best linebackers in the league for almost a decade, whereas teammate Devin White has not graded above the 51.9 mark he attained as a rookie. Therefore, they are included in our defensive line rankings despite dropping into coverage at times. Pro Football Focus's top linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft only kind of, sort of plays linebacker. Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia . Tae Crowder and Micah McFadden will look to compete for the spot opposite Martinez. His 170 combined takedowns ranked third among linebackers this past season. There are also linebackers who are at their best in coverage, which is useful for todays NFL. 2022 stats (Chargers): 5 sacks, 146 tackles, 1 forced fumble. To create this list, we took into consideration basic statistics, Pro Football Reference/Stathead's Approximate Value, PFF grades and a guess on how the player will perform moving forward. He had a career year, helping turn around the Eagles' defense with the second-best grade among off-ball linebackers (84.4). 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. Maybe the most volatile position in football, linebackers have seen their worth in the NFL fluctuate over the years. Next to him is the underrated Josh Bynes, who returned to Baltimore in 2021 after one season in Cincinnati. 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?. His first year with the Packers resulted in a whopping 85.0 mark. Zach Cunningham, if nothing else, stops the run. He put forth a monster rookie season in 2019 but hasnt quite attained the same highs in subsequent seasons. Recently, Seth Galina from PFF ranked all 32 linebacker units in the league. Brown has seen his play taper off after a really nice sophomore campaign in 2018 in which he posted an 81.2 grade. Jayron Kearse was a top 10 strong safety by their own metric. His processing skills took massive steps forward in 2021, causing his grade to jump from 57.1 to 76.3. 1 on our list. After sitting out in 2020, C.J. Let's have a look at them. 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. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NCAA player performance data. In Eric Kendricks, the Vikings have had a superb all-around linebacker for years. It had been three full seasons since his best play, and that best play was nowhere near elite. One of the five highest-graded linebackers last season in his first year with Carolina, Luvu is another Demario Davis trajectory candidate. According to training camp reports, that is paying off big time for the Eagles. both project to be every-down linebackers on ideal defenses for expected production. He signed a monster five-year, $95 million extension last July, and is worth it considering he's just 25. He told us last week that 15 sacks are the "minimum" in 2022. 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. The ACC consisted of 14 members in two divisions. 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. 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. While those grades arent poor, by any stretch, they are a notable step down from these players' excellent career baselines and some way short of their elite best. The Super Bowl has come and gone in 2022 and we have started to turn our attention to the next football season. 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. Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys The first-ever unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year has quickly become the standard for linebacker play in the NFL. The Rank value requires a minimum number of snaps played. In his recent post on linebackers, PFF's Sam Monson ranked Nick Bolton No. NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler. He packs a punch as a downhill player, as he can light up offensive linemen with ease. 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. 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. The linebacker position in the game of football is one of the most important. Tindall is a true sideline-to-sideline linebacker. Since 2020, the Colts linebacker has twice the number of forced fumbles of any other off-ball linebacker, and he has four interceptions and eight pass breakups over that time. 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. 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. 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. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. 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. 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. He also registered an absurd pass-rushing grade of 93. At age 30, Kendricks should again be one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL in 2022. This was the last season that the conference used divisions in its football scheduling. Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. What a find he was for the Packers last year. However, both Mike Williams and Tee Higgins didn't get a whole lot of love and are lower on the list. Linebacker Rankings: 2022 Regular Season, Updated: 9/1/2022 Want Custom Fantasy Scoring? Tranquill is coming off a career year in L.A. 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. He may be coming off one of his worst statistical seasons in recent memory, but he also missed five games with injury. He might not even start this season. The Saints had been looking for someone to play the linebacker position opposite him for years and seem to have found one in Pete Werner, who was outstanding as a rookie in 2021. Hes aggressive, has a quick trigger and finds the ball carrier. Los Angeles' overall defense is so good, at least on paper, that it might not matter who plays linebacker. 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. Projected contract: One year, $6 million, $4.5 million guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 75 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. Drue Tranquill. He can chase down the fastest of running backs. 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 | 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. 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. Perryman was signed to a two-year, $6.085 million contract before the 2021 season and promptly traded to the Las Vegas Raiders before the first week of the campaign. 8:44 am ET. Parsons took the NFL by storm in his rookie season, recording 84 combined tackles and a Dallas Cowboys rookie record 13 sacks. Research past fantasy performance with sortable player stats including PFF-exclusives like aDOT and fantasy points per opportunity. Its a rebuilt Jaguars linebacking corps after losing Myles Jack to the Steelers. 2021 Snaps: 717 Its hard to overstate Fred Warners effect on the 49ers' defense in their run to the NFC championship in 2021. ECR VS. ADP. Edmunds made huge strides in coverage in 2022, a major weakness in his game through his first four seasons. He recorded 122 combined tackles, four interceptions and a whopping eight forced fumbles, which led the league. The 1B tier has just as much going for them, with zone-heavy defenses, expected positive tackle efficiency and an every-down roles. And Davis has been outstanding in all areas since moving to the New Orleans defense. 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. 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. 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. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports. White backed up his first season as a starter in 2021 with another solid campaign in 2022, earning grades of at least 62.0 against the run and in coverage. He finished as the highest-graded linebacker in football, recording 140 tackles, two interceptions and a career-high six sacks. Leonard burst onto the scene with 163 combined tackles, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions in his rookie season back in 2018. Overall, Georgia has 11 players in PFF's big board including six players ranked in the top 80 NFL draft prospects. 10. Pittsburgh Steelers (94/100) Cameron Heyward was second behind only Aaron Donald in PFF's grades of interior defensive linemen last season. Sam Monson of PFF recently ranked the top linebackers in the NFL and organized them in tiers. 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. Better luck with his health led to a respectable 63.8 overall grade and 72.6 pass-rush grade in 2021. Editor's note: For up-to-the-minute updates based on everythingwerehearing around the NFL, go to PFF's free agency rankings, where you can sort by position, team needs, and more all offseason long. Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Chicago Bears inside linebacker Roquan Smith (58) stares into the backfield during pre-game at Nissan Stadium. Edmunds also missed just 6.5% of potential tackles, the lowest rate of his career and another huge sign of continued growth from a football intelligence and play recognition standpoint. Divine Deablo had some interesting moments as a rookie in 2021 and is worth keeping an eye on. This group could rank much higher by the end of next season. PFF predicts Bears will sign three top-50 free agents originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago. That hypothetical AAV of $17.6 million would make Smith the third highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. 1 as Bobby Wagner finally dethroned Ranking the top 10 linebackers for the upcoming NFL season By Jordan Dajani Jun 28, 2022 at. Rounding out the top-tier of linebackers. 2021 Snaps: 783 2021 PFF grade: 50.6 (51st of 89). He is set to play next to Anthony Walker, who is a solid if unspectacular player. Still one of the more underrated players in the league, Demario Davis has been the heartbeat of one of the league's best defenses over the past five seasons. 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. Click here for PFF's full list of top 100 free agents. Gay hasnt graded as well but possesses the characteristics to become a top linebacker. 2021 Snaps: 987 4. Jewell is actually more of an all-around linebacker, but run defense has been his best area in the NFL. 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. For all the young players' struggles, there are a lot of promising linebackers who have the talent to become elite players at this level. According to Stathead's AV tool, Leonard was tied in having the second-best season of any linebacker last year. Drafting Quay Walker out of Georgia in the first round also helps the Packers' cause. After missing most of the regular season, Dre Greenlaw came back for the end of the regular season and playoffs to form the perfect linebacker tandem with Warner. 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. While Parsons proved to be a stud pass-rusher, some had questions about his coverage ability coming into the league. In two weeks, NFL GMs will begin negotiating with free . 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. 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! There are a lot of unknowns in this group due to inexperience. With all that said, let's jump in. His 75.9 grade two years marked a career high. 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. 2021 PFF grade: 65.1 (T-23rd of 89). 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. 70 & No.71 on PFF's Top-101 players for the 2022 NFL season. . NFL NFL Home Tools NFL Scores NFL Premium Stats NFL Player Grades Free Agent Rankings QB Annual 2022 12 among linebackers in 2021 with a PFF coverage grade of 70 in 295 coverage snaps. 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. 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. 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 In May, Sam Monson of PFF ranked as the league's No.16 linebacker coming into the 2022 NFL season. 2021 PFF grade: 83.5 (N/A). On Tuesday, PFF's Seth Galina released his linebacker rankings for all 32 teams in the NFL. Hes great at every aspect of linebacker play. He allowed 81.0% of passes thrown his way to be caught and missed 17 tackles in all.