pff linebacker rankings 2022 pff linebacker rankings 2022

Its a rebuilt Jaguars linebacking corps after losing. 8:44 am ET. 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. The former No. 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. 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. With that in mind, some of these units have fewer members than others. 3 Rams make PFF's top 101 players of 2022 Teams AFC East Bills Dolphins Jets Patriots AFC North Bengals Browns Ravens Steelers AFC South Colts Jaguars Texans Titans AFC West Broncos Chargers. The Rams attacked the linebacker position this offseason, adding Bobby Wagner. He might not even start this season. Milano was a fifth-round draft pick back in 2017 but has dramatically outperformed his first-round teammate. He was. After looking like he might be the next great linebacker earlier in his career, Deion Jones play has fallen off a cliff. 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. Since entering the league, Warner has 118 or more total tackles in every season and was named First-Team All-Pro in 2020. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. But in a vacuum, Much of this unit's potential lies with third-round rookie. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. By Marc. Galina ranked the Colts at No. Projected contract: Two years, $15 million ($7.5M per year, $10M total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 86 After looking like he might be the next great linebacker earlier in his career. He even hit 107 combined tackles in 2020 despite playing in just 11 games! Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Projected contract: Two years, $14 million ($7M per year, $9 million total guaranteed), PFF Free Agency Rank: 61 He packs a punch as a downhill player, as he can light up offensive linemen with ease. While Parsons proved to be a stud pass-rusher, some had questions about his coverage ability coming into the league. Pro Football Focus's top linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft only kind of, sort of plays linebacker. 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 He may be coming off one of his worst statistical seasons in recent memory, but he also missed five games with injury. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. 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. He also made the absolute most of the occasional blitz, tallying 15 pressures, five sacks and three more quarterback hits on 70 pass-rush snaps. 1 pick, Ex-Patriots star McGinest facing eight years in prison, Commanders rip 'blatantly false' team sale report. 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. PFF predicts Bears will sign three top-50 free agents originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago. His struggles come in coverage, where he's allowed nearly 1,000 yards over the past two seasons. Chicago Bears Roquan Smith and Indianapolis Colts Shaquille (Darius) Leonard stock is falling due to availability concerns, making E.J. The Super Bowl has come and gone in 2022 and we have started to turn our attention to the next football season. His first season in Green Bay produced an overall PFF grade of 85.0 and earned him a $50 million extension, but before that, Campbells PFF grades fell between 49.0 and 69.1 for two different teams. Jayron Kearse was a top 10 strong safety by their own metric. 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. despite dropping into coverage at times. 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?. 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. His 62 run stops over the last two seasons ranks ninth among off-ball linebackers, and his 18 tackles for loss or no gain is tied for 14th. Johnson got off to an unusually late start to his NFL career and has battled injuries, but he has been an excellent linebacker when he has been on the field. In 2019 and 2021 with the Ravens, he graded out to 80.0 and 74.8, respectively. Tranquill is coming off a career year in L.A. Rounding out the top-tier of linebackers. Projected contract: Two years,$12.5 million ($6.25M per year), $8 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 139 Click here for PFF's full list of top 100 free agents. Honorable mentions: Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano, Logan Wilson, Shaq Thompson, Alexander Johnson, Deion JonesJeremiah Owusu-Koramoah,Zach Cunningham, Anthony Walker, C.J. 2021 Snaps: 979 After looking like one of the worst linebackers in the NFL for a few years in Green Bay, Blake Martinez rebounded with a solid season in 2020 in New York before succumbing to injury early in the 2021 campaign. 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. After ranking the best individual linebackers heading into 2022, here's how each team's linebacking corps stacks up. Al-Shaair missed a lot of time in 2022 but earned a career-best 67.8 overall grade and 79.7 run-defense grade. At 6-foot-3, 242 pounds, he has legit NFL size and athleticism. However, both Mike Williams and Tee Higgins didn't get a whole lot of love and are lower on the list. Edmunds made huge strides in coverage in 2022, a major weakness in his game through his first four seasons. 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. Defensively, the attrition was less significant; however, one of the unit's leaders did leave in free agency Foye Oluokun. 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. With that in mind, some of these units have fewer members than others. However, Georgia wide receiver Kearis Jackson is not ranked in Pro Football Focus' NFL draft big board rankings. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. 2021 PFF grade: 84.3 (2nd of 89). 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. 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. 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. Meanwhile, TJ Watt led the league in sacks (22.5) and was the Defensive Player of the Year. The Jaguars replaced Jack with Oluokun, who also has outstanding physical traits. 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. 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. David also graded out as the No. A position of concern and potential weakness heading into last season has become a real strength for Kansas City. The 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference football season, part of the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season, was the 70th season of college football played for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). 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. It's good news, then,. 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 . The entire schedule was released on January 31, 2022. 8 in total pressures. 3 linebackers Seahawks should . 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. Hes great at every aspect of linebacker play. PFF ranks 49ers Fred Warner as the top linebacker in the NFL According to PFF's Sam Monson, the 49ers have the best linebacker in the NFL and another top-20 player at the position. Losing Kyle Van Noy, the highest-graded coverage linebacker in 2021, will hurt. Monson ranked Long, who has been an absolute steal since being drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft, as the No. 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). 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. 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. Consequently, the list of consistently elite players is far shorter than for other positions, and there is much more volatility in this position group. Wagner is no longer with the Seattle Seahawks, signing with the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Ramsthis offseason. Pittsburgh Steelers (94/100) Cameron Heyward was second behind only Aaron Donald in PFF's grades of interior defensive linemen last season. This group could rank much higher by the end of next season. The soon-to-be 30-year-old is a solid all-around off-ball linebacker who has three straight seasons logging at least 750 snaps, and he took a major leap in 2022 with the Denver Broncos. Gary Cosby Jr./USA TODAY Sports (Dean); Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports (Ojabo) 1. 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. And even though he hasnt quite been able to maintain an elite level of play every season, his impact on the field is obvious. PFF's top linebackers in the 2023 NFL Draft 1. 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. Hes a high-upside player now playing with a future Hall of Famer. 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. 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. They spent a lot of money on Roquan Smith at the linebacker spot, [so] why not bring in another Georgia guy?" . The transition from college football to the NFL used to be smooth for linebackers, but even elite prospects can now struggle in Year 1. Anthony Brown is an okay slot and Kelvin Joseph was actually the highest rated CB. 2021 Snaps: 712 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. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Then, he was named All-Pro again in 2020 with an AV of 14 for the second straight season. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports. There is hope that Channing Tindall, Miami's rookie linebacker out of Georgia, can find his way on the field. Milano was a fifth-round draft pick back in 2017 but has dramatically outperformed his first-round teammate, Tremaine Edmunds, within the Buffalo defense. They happily scooped up the extremely talented Georgia linebacker. 6 defense in the league last year, and Smith was a big reason why. Okereke was particularly stout against the run, with his 13 defensive stops against the run tied for the 13th most. Here are the top off-ball linebackers slated to hit free agency in 2022. 4. . 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. Let's have a look at them. His 18 quarterback pressures ranked fourth among off-ball linebackers, as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick continued to deploy the 6-foot-3, 260-pounder all over the place in his constantly evolving defense. After looking like one of the worst linebackers in the NFL for a few years in Green Bay. More Stats. 2021 PFF grade: 64.2 (24th of 89). This is bizarrely true even when he moves to a defense run by a former New England defensive coach. Edmunds is just 24 years old and entering his fifth NFL season. 9 linebacker in coverage with a 73.9. He allowed 81.0% of passes thrown his way to be caught and missed 17 tackles in all. 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. Therefore, they are included in our. Projected contract: Two years, $10 million ($5M per year), $5.5 million total guaranteed, PFF Free Agency Rank: 163 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. Rookie Devin Lloydand sophomore Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah both project to be every-down linebackers on ideal defenses for expected production. This is a case of one elite linebacker pulling along another whose narrative hasnt really matched his production. Perhaps no player better sums up the volatility of linebacker play than the newly minted All-Pro, De'Vondre Campbell. This is likely a polarizing selection. Still, the. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Age: 28. He is a truly freakish athlete and will be 25 years old throughout his entire sixth NFL season in 2023 after being selected No. 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. 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 Seahawks selected Cody Barton out of Utah with the No. However, Dean played his role at an elite level, ranking 10th among all corners graded by PFF. Los Angeles' overall defense is so good, at least on paper, that it might not matter who plays linebacker. Linebacker Rankings: 2022 Regular Season, Updated: 9/1/2022 Want Custom Fantasy Scoring? , who draws all the attention at the offensive line, opening up room for the linebackers for clean tackle opportunities. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. 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. 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. Both players posted the highest grades of their career, helping the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance. He has yet to post a sub-70.0 grade, with three out of his four years coming in above 78.0. 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. 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.