may surprise some based on his age. 2021 Snaps: 717 12 among linebackers in 2021 with a PFF coverage grade of 70 in 295 coverage snaps. Pro Football Focus has finalized the regular season grades for the 2022 NFL season. 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. 6 defense in the league last year, and Smith was a big reason why. There's no telling what he could be with more reps at the position. Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers The 49ers struck gold when they drafted Warner in the third round in 2018. At age 30, Kendricks should again be one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL in 2022. Projected contract: Two years, $15 million ($7.5M per year, $10M total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 86 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. . both project to be every-down linebackers on ideal defenses for expected production. 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. PFF analyzes every player and every play of every game in the 2022 NFL season. Alex Anzalone and Chris Board are two depth players who start for the Lions. Let's have a look at them. 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. Pro Football Focus's top linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft only kind of, sort of plays linebacker. 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 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. San Francisco 49ers Projected Starters: Dee Ford, Javon Kinlaw, Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa The 49ers breed defensive linemen. 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. Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock An error occured while loading Position Grades. Hes aggressive, has a quick trigger and finds the ball carrier. Brown has seen his play taper off after a really nice sophomore campaign in 2018 in which he posted an 81.2 grade. Getting outside the . That's because he's both a speedy 240 pounds and one of the best tacklers in the class, having missed only seven times on 138 career attempts. Perhaps no player better sums up the volatility of linebacker play than the newly minted All-Pro, De'Vondre Campbell. Fred Warner (San Francisco 49ers) earned the top spot and Darius Leonard (Indianapolis Colts). 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. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. 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. 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. The Rams have a great defense, and the 32-year-old Wagner could find himself rejuvenated in 2022. Van Noy has now had stints in Detroit and Miami, but his good PFF grades are almost exclusively reserved for his time in the Patriots defense. Here are the top off-ball linebackers slated to hit free agency in 2022. His past two years against the run have been horrid, with him posting 39.8 and 30.0 run-defense grades. 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. Shaq Thompson is a bona fide star, and he may be playing alongside a diamond-in-the-rough partner in Frankie Luvu. Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. 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 Steelers brought in former Jaguar Myles Jack to play alongside him. 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. 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. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. Projected contract: Two years, $9.5 million ($4.75M per year), $5.25 million total guaranteed. 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. These athletes are called upon to be run-stuffing defensive linemen on some downs, and hybrid cornerbacks on others. This ranking may be a surprise after the Seahawks lost future Hall of Famer. NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler. the star of the Colts' defense has been rock solid since exploding onto the scene as a rookie. 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. All Rights Reserved. Here's the top 10 entering the 2022 season: 1. New: Draft Mode! The folks over at PFF are going through the process of creating rankings and tiers for every position ahead of the 2022 NFL season. Plenty of well-known 'backers had coverage grades in the 30s this past season. He recorded 122 combined tackles, four interceptions and a whopping eight forced fumbles, which led the league. Hes great at every aspect of linebacker play. Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings. 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. There is hope that Channing Tindall, Miami's rookie linebacker out of Georgia, can find his way on the field. PFF themselves had the Cowboys 2021 secondary in the top 10. Seahawks rookie Ken Walker makes top 20 in PFF's RB grades for 2022 season Tim Weaver January 25, 2023 7:00 am PT Seahawks running back Ken Walker had a special rookie season, posting 1,050. Leonard burst onto the scene with 163 combined tackles, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions in his rookie season back in 2018. 2021 PFF grade: 83.5 (N/A). 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. He finished as the highest-graded linebacker in football, recording 140 tackles, two interceptions and a career-high six sacks. The 1B tier has just as much going for them, with zone-heavy defenses, expected positive tackle efficiency and an every-down roles. 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. 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. Singleton earned a career-best 82.6 run-defense grade that ranked eighth among off-ball linebackers, tallying more than 100 tackles for the second year in a row, with his two-year total of 212 ranking sixth among off-ball linebackers. However, Georgia wide receiver Kearis Jackson is not ranked in Pro Football Focus' NFL draft big board rankings. Tremaine Edmunds has not quite lived up to expectations, but hes still young and can grow into a good player. 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. A pair of Seahawks came in at No. 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. 3 min read. 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 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. Hes earned himself a nice raise. The transition from college football to the NFL used to be smooth for linebackers, but even elite prospects can now struggle in Year 1. 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. Here are the top free agents at linebacker, taken from PFF's free agency rankings. 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. 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. I laid out some of my thoughts on their situations, rambling on longer for some more than others. Despite what PFF says, I don't think there are that many more linebackers who are better in coverage than Kendricks. . Los Angeles' overall defense is so good, at least on paper, that it might not matter who plays linebacker. Aug 9, 2022. Losing Kyle Van Noy, the highest-graded coverage linebacker in 2021, will hurt. That's still a very good grade, but there should be concerns about his age and a potential decline going forward. 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. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. 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. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. In Eric Kendricks, the Vikings have had a superb all-around linebacker for years. His first year with the Packers resulted in a whopping 85.0 mark. on Pro Football Focus' Top-100 players of 2022 rankings. 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. at One of the five highest-graded linebackers last season in his first year with Carolina, Luvu is another Demario Davis trajectory candidate. Chenal is going to thrive in man-blitz-heavy schemes. However, he will have to get better in coverage. After looking like he might be the next great linebacker earlier in his career, Deion Jones play has fallen off a cliff. 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. #1 - Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers LB Fred Warner The San. Harris is one of the most physical linebackers in the class who relishes the ability to hit anyone on the other side of the ball. The former undrafted free agent is in for a big pay raise this offseason after making the absolute most of his one-year deal. With all that said, let's jump in. Here are the best available players remaining heading into Day 2 of the 2022 NFL draft. Ranking NFL's top 10 linebackers entering 2022: New No. 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. 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. 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. He might not even start this season. Okereke is now coming off back-to-back seasons with at least 100 tackles and 50 defensive stops. With that in mind, some of these units have fewer members than others. He had been one of the more consistent players at the position in the NFL, and so theres a chance he regains his form. 2021 PFF grade: 84.3 (2nd of 89). 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. After looking like one of the worst linebackers in the NFL for a few years in Green Bay. 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. 23 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. 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. Speed and Matthew Adams late-round dart throws. He went from having a one-year contract worth $2 million to signing a five-year deal that carries an AAV of $10 million! 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. Hes not great in other facets, but stopping the run is still an important aspect of the position. He pairs with the solid Matt Milano, who posted the second-best season grade of his career (67.0) in 2021. Projected contract: Two years, $18 million ($9M per year, $11.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 55 NFL 2022 Draft Positional Rankings: Linebackers By Jacob Wayne | Mar 30, 2022, 1:34pm #1: Devin Lloyd - Utah #2: Nakobe Dean - Georgia #3: Chad Muma - Wyoming #4: Leo Chenal - Wisconsin #5: Christian Harris - Alabama #6: Brian Asamoah - Oklahoma #7: Brandon Smith - Penn State #8: Channing Tindall - Georgia #9: Damone Clark - LSU Leonard is another example of how hard it is to earn those elite PFF grades each season, but he is a turnover machine when he is at his best. 1 linebacker according to PFF, with a grade of 89.7. The best linebackers in todays league are elite coverage players, but they can also affect the game in other ways. Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. 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. Teams could do a lot worse than White if they are looking for a solid weakside linebacker who has the speed to stay with pass-catchers in coverage for the most part. 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. 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. He tallied a career-high six pass breakups in 2022. 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. There are also linebackers who are at their best in coverage, which is useful for todays NFL. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. In today's NFL, few positions have become as difficult to play as off-ball linebacker. Cody Barton is another interesting player who will finally get a chance to start this season. 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. Give him the freedom to play fast, and he'll excel. Why drafting Dallas Cowboys LB Micah Parsons among the top-12 may not be the best decision. Parsons is versatile, smart and instinctive. The Penn State product ranked No. Wagner's resume speaks for itself. The top 10 linebackers in NFL currently are dynamic weapons and reliable leaders. Typically, David is the ideal linebacker for IDP. There are a lot of unknowns in this group due to inexperience. 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. 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. Only Micah Parsons graded out higher than Werner among first-year linebackers last season. 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. 8:44 am ET. 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 2019 and 2021 with the Ravens, he graded out to 80.0 and 74.8, respectively. Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. Login or Register Projections: QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DEF | DL | LB | DB On Tuesday, PFF's Seth Galina released his linebacker rankings for all 32 teams in the NFL. The rest of 1A should surprise no one, with this group almost filling out the consensus top-five linebackers in ADP terms,. 3 linebackers Seahawks should . Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports By Sam Monson May 24, 2022 Expect both young studs to push for 140-plus combined tackles, if healthy. 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. 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. All of this culminates with the 2022 NFL Draft from Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, April 28th. 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. 17 linebacker in the NFL going into 2022, placing him in the "young. He ended up making the Pro Bowl by logging a career-high 863 snaps and racking up 121 tackles and 61 defensive stops. Jerome Baker, MIA: I love Baker this season as a Top 15-20 sleeper. Projected contract: Three years, $25.5 million ($8.5M per year, $16.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 65 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. 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. This is a case of one elite linebacker pulling along another whose narrative hasnt really matched his production. He at least improved upon his 29.7 grade as a rookie with a 43.5 mark in Year 2. 88 selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Vikings also brought in the underrated Jordan Hicks from the Cardinals in free agency. By Marc. This group could rank much higher by the end of next season. He didn't end the 2021 campaign in the best fashion, but did rebound to record 13 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, four QB hits and two passes defensed in Tampa Bay's two postseason games. 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. JaWhaun Bentley is a hard-nosed player like his counterpart Mack Wilson. ECR VS. ADP. 2022 stats (Chargers): 5 sacks, 146 tackles, 1 forced fumble. Meanwhile, David will have to get it there himself, given that the Bucs defense wasnt exactly bereft of talent last season. This is a case of one elite linebacker pulling along another whose narrative hasnt really matched his production. He was. No. Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys The first-ever unanimous Defensive Rookie of the Year has quickly become the standard for linebacker play in the NFL. With both Bengals starting safeties in Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell pending free agents, a big extension for wide receiver Tee Higgins likely in play and fellow off-ball linebacker Logan Wilson also eligible for an extension after the season, its possible Pratt hits the market even after a career year. Las Vegas brings in Jayon Brown from the Titans to play alongside Denzel Perryman. 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. 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. 7 ranking in Pro Football Focus' list of the top 25 safeties of the 2022 . 2021 PFF grade: 64.2 (24th of 89). 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. His 170 combined takedowns ranked third among linebackers this past season. Dean's range at the linebacker position is unparalleled in this draft class. Typically, David is the ideal linebacker for IDP. Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) reacts after a play against the Carolina Panthers in the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium. 2021 Snaps:444 Across the three years prior to joining Green Bay, Campbell hadnt earned a grade higher than 56.6 in any season. And even though he hasnt quite been able to maintain an elite level of play every season, his impact on the field is obvious. Rookie Devin Lloydand sophomore Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah both project to be every-down linebackers on ideal defenses for expected production. 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. 1 pick, Ex-Patriots star McGinest facing eight years in prison, Commanders rip 'blatantly false' team sale report. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. 2021 Snaps: 1,148 Jewell is actually more of an all-around linebacker, but run defense has been his best area in the NFL. The Seahawks selected Cody Barton out of Utah with the No. Davis is a player people keep expecting to regress, but he just hasn't. quel est le plus riche du mali en 2020,
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