pff linebacker rankings 2022 pff linebacker rankings 2022

Kendricks is another well-rounded linebacker that can cover, as his 73.8 PFF coverage grade ranked No. Projected contract: Two years, $15 million ($7.5M per year, $10M total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 86 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. 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. Therefore, they are included in our. Jordyn Brooks is an ascending star who will get more snaps this year. Here are the top free agents at linebacker, taken from PFF's free agency rankings. 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. A couple of former Clemson stars made this ranking of the NFL's top wide receivers from the 2022 regular season. No linebacker corps gets its collective noses dirtier than the Patriots' unit. 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. PFFs Fantasy Strength of Schedule (SoS) metric provides a league-wide, season-long view of opponent matchups for each fantasy position. You must be logged in and create a league profile to apply custom fantasy scoring to the stats, projections and rankings pages. 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. 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. The Packers long searching for a reliable off-ball linebacker brought Campbell aboard on a one-year, $2 million contract, and his 86.7 overall grade was second among linebackers through Week 8 while his 90.7 run-defense grade ranked first, leading to a Pro Bowl nod. 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. However, Dean played his role at an elite level, ranking 10th among all corners graded by PFF. 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. 10 among linebackers last year. Speed and Matthew Adams late-round dart throws. Still, the. Galina ranked the Colts at No. PFF ranked him as one of the 30 best players in the NFL last season, which he certainly was. 2021 Snaps: 987 2 in the NFL, only trailing Fred Warner and the San Francisco 49ers. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. They happily scooped up the extremely talented Georgia linebacker. Murray surrendered a near-perfect passer rating into his coverage in 2021, allowing 14 catches on 15 targets for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. There are also linebackers who are at their best in coverage, which is useful for todays NFL. 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 Turn on this feature to cross off players during your draft. He finished as the highest-graded linebacker in football, recording 140 tackles, two interceptions and a career-high six sacks. 2021 PFF grade: 65.1 (T-23rd of 89). He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. 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. He at least improved upon his 29.7 grade as a rookie with a 43.5 mark in Year 2. Gay hasnt graded as well but possesses the characteristics to become a top linebacker. The rest of 1A should surprise no one, with this group almost filling out the consensus top-five linebackers in ADP terms,. Projected contract: Two years, $10 million ($5M per year), $5.5 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 163 . A position of concern and potential weakness heading into last season has become a real strength for Kansas City. 2021 Snaps: 1,148 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. ECR VS. ADP. 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. 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. Despite the inconsistent offense, the Chicago Bears had the No. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports 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. Micah Parsons this season: 0 TDs allowed in coverage (284 snaps) 88.7 PFF Grade (1st among all LBs) 93.0 pass-rushing grade (Best in NFL) pic.twitter.com/Lq7G9IVzuU. Still, the Rams ranked fourth in the NFL last season in zone coverages (82.60%). Projected contract: Four years, $40 million ($10M per year, $22.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 63 Although Wagner might be on the downswing of a great career, this unit could push for a top-five spot by the season's end if he rebounds after a poor 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. Former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons just wrapped up his second season in the NFL, and he continues to leave little doubt the Dallas Cowboys made the smart decision using a first-round draft pick on him. 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. Here are the top 10 linebackers scheduled to become free agents in March. 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. The grades for the Detroit Lions in their 9-8 campaign offer up an analytically-based glimpse of how the Lions performed. They also signed linebacker Myles Jack and D-lineman Larry Ogunjobi. his sure hands also need to be highlighted," PFF's Zoltn Buday wrote. White landed with the Philadelphia Eagles on a one-year, $3 million flier last offseason after his market didnt pan out too well. 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. He has not graded above 70.0 since. 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. 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. 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. Consequently, the list of consistently elite players is far shorter than for other positions, and there is much more volatility in this position group. In this article, I list my top 20 rookie linebacker rankings for your IDP dynasty leagues. The redshirt junior is a dominant run-stuffer, as his 49 run-defense stops in 2022 ranked second among all linebackers in the country while his 20 tackles for loss/no-gain were tied for third. NFL NFL Home Tools NFL Scores NFL Premium Stats NFL Player Grades Free Agent Rankings QB Annual 2022 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. 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. Best Bets Tool, PFF Free Agency Rank: 27 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. 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. 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 He recorded 122 combined tackles, four interceptions and a whopping eight forced fumbles, which led the league. This group could rank much higher by the end of next season. 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. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports. 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. At age 30, Kendricks should again be one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL in 2022. Its a rebuilt Jaguars linebacking corps after losing Myles Jack to the Steelers. Both players posted the highest grades of their career, helping the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance. 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. Seahawks LB Jordyn Brooks ranked No. David also graded out as the No. Parsons actually finished No. Hes not great in other facets, but stopping the run is still an important aspect of the position. This was the last season that the conference used divisions in its football scheduling. Parsons took the NFL by storm in his rookie season, recording 84 combined tackles and a Dallas Cowboys rookie record 13 sacks. 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. However, both Mike Williams and Tee Higgins didn't get a whole lot of love and are lower on the list. He may be coming off one of his worst statistical seasons in recent memory, but he also missed five games with injury. He subsequently graded out to 76.5 in his first 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. I laid out some of my thoughts on their situations, rambling on longer for some more than others. 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. He ended up making the Pro Bowl by logging a career-high 863 snaps and racking up 121 tackles and 61 defensive stops. "He posted a 1.5 percent drop rate in 2022, which . Smith has recorded at least 101 combined tackles in each of his four NFL seasons, and his last two campaigns have been impressive. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Projected contract: Three years, $25.5 million ($8.5M per year, $16.5 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 65 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. Nakobe Dean is a dark horse with this group. The ACC consisted of 14 members in two divisions. His 94.1 run defense grade wasn't too far behindMicah Parsons (94.8) PFF college record. Final Season Stats. 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. 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. Another player without elite physical tools, Jewell reads the game very quickly and is consistently in the right place at the right time against the run. Zach Cunningham, if nothing else, stops the run. 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. Campbell was one of the big surprises of the 2021 NFL season, as he stepped his game up in a major way for the Green Bay Packers. However, he's still a work in progress in coverage and didn't tally a single interception or pass breakup in his college career. Projected contract: Two years,$12.5 million ($6.25M per year), $8 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 139 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. Vander Esch quietly played some good football in 2022 after signing a one-year flier to return to the Cowboys following a free agency period that didnt pan out as hed hoped. All of this culminates with the 2022 NFL Draft from Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, April 28th. Maybe the most volatile position in football, linebackers have seen their worth in the NFL fluctuate over the years. Bolton, then a rookie, produced one of the highest individual grades for a linebacker. 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 Rams attacked the linebacker position this offseason, adding Bobby Wagner. After looking like he might be the next great linebacker earlier in his career. 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 | 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. Potentially losing a step or two with age can be negated by elite play recognition and instincts, both of which David has in spades. Foyesade Oluokun, JAC: New team, new official scorer. More Stats. 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. 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). Unfortunately for Vander Esch, he once again finds himself in the middle of the pack of a deep free-agent group at linebacker, but he should do a bit better this time around. , who draws all the attention at the offensive line, opening up room for the linebackers for clean tackle opportunities. 3 linebackers Seahawks should . the star of the Colts' defense has been rock solid since exploding onto the scene as a rookie. Divine Deablo had some interesting moments as a rookie in 2021 and is worth keeping an eye on. 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. 16 at his position by PFF Teams AFC East Bills Dolphins Jets Patriots AFC North Bengals Browns Ravens Steelers AFC South Colts Jaguars Texans Titans AFC West. 15 overall among NFL linebackers.Bolton was in his sixth tier, which was reserved for "young ascending" players at the linebacker position. 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. Bobby Wagner may surprise some based on his age. Projected contract: Two years, $14.5 million ($7.25M per year), $8.5 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 99 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. 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. 2021 PFF grade: 50.6 (51st of 89). section: | slug: ranking-nfls-top-10-linebackers-entering-2022-new-no-1-as-bobby-wagner-finally-dethroned | sport: football | route: article_single.us | In two weeks, NFL GMs will begin negotiating with free . Subscribe to Sign Up 1. But neither player made the cut for the top 50, which hurts . 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?. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. 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. The Rank value requires a minimum number of snaps played. A pair of Seahawks came in at No. Here's why that is important: PFF's Fantasy Football Expected Points tool is primarily used for identifying potential over and undervalued players. 2021 PFF grade: 80.1 (3rd of 89). Al-Shaair missed a lot of time in 2022 but earned a career-best 67.8 overall grade and 79.7 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. Los Angeles' overall defense is so good, at least on paper, that it might not matter who plays linebacker. 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. Alex Anzalone and Chris Board are two depth players who start for the Lions. Typically, David is the ideal linebacker for IDP. 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. 2022 stats (Chargers): 5 sacks, 146 tackles, 1 forced fumble. Edmunds made huge strides in coverage in 2022, a major weakness in his game through his first four seasons. After looking like one of the worst linebackers in the NFL for a few years in Green Bay. His 75.9 grade two years marked a career high. Hes expected to return for Dallas playoff run after a shoulder injury knocked him out down the stretch, which will provide a big boost to the ferocious Cowboys defense. 1 pick, Ex-Patriots star McGinest facing eight years in prison, Commanders rip 'blatantly false' team sale report. Drafting Quay Walker out of Georgia in the first round also helps the Packers' cause. Jerome Baker, MIA: I love Baker this season as a Top 15-20 sleeper. 4. There is hope that Channing Tindall, Miami's rookie linebacker out of Georgia, can find his way on the field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports. Warner had a transformative effect on the 49ers defense when he became the starter. Vander Esch earned a 90.0-plus grade in three starts in 2021, including two such outings over the final five weeks. Their tackle efficiency and every-down roles make them the most coveted players at the position. 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. So, who's the best off-ball linebacker in the NFL today? Perhaps no player better sums up the volatility of linebacker play than the newly minted All-Pro, De'Vondre Campbell. 2021 PFF grade: 60.4 (30th of 89). In 2019 and 2021 with the Ravens, he graded out to 80.0 and 74.8, respectively. Hes a high-upside player now playing with a future Hall of Famer. 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. Edmunds is just 24 years old and entering his fifth NFL season. Pittsburgh Steelers (94/100) Cameron Heyward was second behind only Aaron Donald in PFF's grades of interior defensive linemen last season. The Seahawks selected Cody Barton out of Utah with the No. 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. 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. The Vikings also brought in the underrated Jordan Hicks from the Cardinals in free agency. Pratts 90.1 coverage grade was the best mark in the NFL. PFF themselves had the Cowboys 2021 secondary in the top 10. The Steelers brought in former Jaguar Myles Jack to play alongside him. 6 in the NFL in sacks and No. 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. 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.