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. Still, the veteran is always in the right place and often capitalizes on any mistake by an offense. Campbells ranking could justifiably be at the very top of this list or somewhere in the 30s, based on his career so far. The Bills have stars all over their defense, but Milano is at the center of it all. Parsons lined up as an edge rusher on 40.6% of his snaps as a rookie, and thats where he did the bulk of his damage. 2024 Top Linebacker Recruits. In 2021, Davis was given a career-high AV of 15 while again being named an All-Pro after he recorded 105 combined tackles, 13 tackles for loss and three sacks. at 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. Campbells career season earned him a five-year, $50 million contract from Green Bay. Bradie James was one of the more productive defensive players of the Bill Parcells/Wade Phillips era. Wagner, an eight-time Pro Bowler and six-time First-Team All-Pro, registered a career-high 6.0 sacks in 2022 at age 32, showing he still has plenty of gas in the tank. Former five-star prospect Trenton Simpson is an athletic freak who despite weighing in at 240lbs reportedly runs a sub 4.4 forty-yard dash. Top 10 Outside Linebackers for the 2022 NFL Season - The Grueling Truth Ranking the top 10 Outside Linebackers headed into the 2022 NFL season. One of our representatives will be in touch shortly. He was the best pass rusher Belichick has signed in years and was a major reason why the Patriots made the playoffs, recording 12.5 sacks and becoming his third consecutive Pro Bowler. Aaron Donald once again won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020, but Pittsburgh fans had every right to feel robbed. He had some painful penalties against Texas, but he also has made some clutch plays for the Crimson Tide. Monte Coleman 5. Who is the best linebacker of 2022? Huff is a priority to the Arkansas Razorbacks, and the Sooners will have no easy fight trying to pull him . He led the NFL in tackles as a rookie, which gave him First-Team All-Pro honors. Through the 2020 NFL Season, Miller has recorded 106 career sacks including a season high 18.5 during the 2012 NFL season as well as 25 forced fumbles and two defensive touchdowns. At age 30, Kendricks should again be one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL in 2022. One of the most disruptive players at the outside linebacker position over the past 10-20 years was Terrell Suggs of the Baltimore Ravens. While Parsons proved to be a stud pass-rusher, some had questions about his coverage ability coming into the league. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. It was actually T.J. Watt that had the best . As the 2022 season approaches, we will be breaking down the top ten players at each position. src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. This guy. 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. 12 pick in 2021, Parsons was the unanimous rookie of the year last season. Leonard was drafted one round earlier than Warner in 2018, and hes been equally impactful for the Colts. At 6'4" 238 pounds, he certainly has enough size for linebacker, while being one of the most athletic players in the class regardless of position. Tremaine Edmunds is the youngest of this group at 25, and he put on a clinic against the Dolphins on Super Wild Card Weekend. So, who's the best off-ball linebacker in the NFL today? Please play responsibly. This site is using Cloudflare and adheres to the Google Safe Browsing Program. However, he will have to get better in coverage. 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. Plenty of well-known 'backers had coverage grades in the 30s this past season. He is a fantastic story of earning a job the hard way. NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler. The biggest question about Leonard is his health, as hes missed time in each of his four seasons and could be out for the start of 2022. Trent Williams LT | 49ers | Power. Bennett recorded 1,190 tackles, 71.5 career sacks and 31 forced fumbles over his career while winning the AFC Defensive Player of the Year award in 1988. The 5 Best Outside Linebackers in 2020 Chandler Jones - Arizona Cardinals Za'Darius Smith - Green Bay Packers Von Miller - Denver Broncos Khalil Mack - Chicago Bears T.J. Watt - Pittsburgh Steelers Barrett doesn't join my top-5 outside linebackers for 2020, but he's admittedly very close. The lone holdover from the "Sacksonville" Era of the Jaguars defense, his play has been forgotten during the team's downturn and it has been a shame that Jack has never made a Pro Bowl in his career due to lack of team success. 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. He managed to surpass his rookie season, notching 13.5 sacks despite defenses running plays to the opposite side of the field.. He won the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2013, 2015, and 2016, and the Pro Football Writers Defensive Player of the Year award in 2012, 2014, and 2015. Copyright 2023 FanRankings. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. From that point forward he was plagued with injuries. Wilber Marshall 7. Rank below to be added in the Power Rankings and to have a chance to win a gift card to LAZADA, Amazon. Players like T.J. Watt, Matt Judon, Harold Landry and Shaquil Barrett are not included. 20. Billy Napier and his coaching staff have been in the process of offering prospects in the Class of 2024 and beyond during the dead period as they look to set their recruiting . Something to note is that 3-4 pass-rushers will not appear on this list. Meanwhile, David will have to get it there himself, given that the Bucs defense wasnt exactly bereft of talent last 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. Oluokun is coming off a PFF run-defense grade of 44.0 and a coverage grade of 54.4. Pete Golding, Alabama -- $1.225 million 5. She isn't feeling well and ZaDarius made sure to shout her out if he got a sack. Judon was perhaps the most impactful agency signing of the last season. Parsons is very similar to Leonard, except that he can play anywhere in front seven. Jackson recorded 1,173 career tackles to go with 128 sacks, eight interceptions and 40 forced fumbles. Pro Football Journal: The Top 3-4 Rushbackers of All-Time Dedicated to reporting mainstream and esoteric aspects of professional football. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. We and our partners share information on your use of this website to help improve your experience. 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 | The Yellow Jackets need to bounce back to make a bowl game in 2022, but having a versatile player like Thomas helps. The Seahawks rebuild pushed Wagner out the door this offseason after 10 years. 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. Smith had recorded 26 sacks over the last two seasons. While Warner recorded a career-high 137 combined tackles (T-No. He was Second-Team All-Pro in 2020 and 2021, and the former first-rounder has never finished a season with less than 100 total tackles. Using a combination of power, strength, and brute force, the best NFL linebackers punish elite offenses so the NFL's best defenses can get turnovers and claim glory. He was unanimously awarded the NFL Rookie-of-the Year award this past season. Wagner is no longer with the Seattle Seahawks, signing with the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Ramsthis offseason. Parsons actually finished No. Thomas would go on to play 11 NFL seasons before his career and life was cut short after an automobile accident. Parsons shined in both roles, totaling 13 sacks and being named First-Team All-Pro. The Fallback Tackle Drill (see above video) is designed to help you develop the necessary skills to not get burned by the cutback. The Bears have fielded four of the best middle linebackers in NFL history: Dick Butkus, Bill George, Mike Singletary and Brian Urlacher. 1 linebacker according to PFF, with a grade of 89.7. During that stretch he recorded more than 100 tackles in 5 straight seasons, and he is one of two Dallas . Advertisement. Feb 27, 2023. If he is drafted to play in a 4-3, he still will be a good player. 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. For 10 seasons, Gildon tormented quarterbacks at outside linebacker. Those tools caused Edwards to go undrafted despite an excellent college career, and he had to fight his way into a starting job by excelling in the preseason and on special teams. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org. With a good performance at the Georgia Tech pro day and the NFL combine, Thomas could move up the draft boards . Only four others have done that since individual sacks have been recorded, since 1982: three Hall of Famers (DeMarcus Ware, Derrick Thomas, Reggie White) and Los Angeles Rams defensive Aaron Donald, a future Hall of Famer. In the off-season, every football workout should be position specific. Neal Olkewicz FAQs Next up on the docket for my top Redskins players series are the linebackers. What a find he was for the Packers last year. Milano was a fifth-round draft pick back in 2017 but has dramatically outperformed his first-round teammate, Tremaine Edmunds, within the Buffalo defense. The Jaguars replaced Jack with Oluokun, who also has outstanding physical traits. 1 T.J. Watt - LOLB - 96. Follow @fanrankingsto stay up to date. In the new world of the NFL, several of the normal top outside linebacker prospects have morphed into true edge rushers in a hybrid way. 2022 NFL Draft Linebacker Rankings - Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak It's an interesting group of linebackers. Ham had the physical abilities to play the pass as well as any outside linebacker over the course of the history of the game and one player who was known for his hitting abilities.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'fanrankings_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_4',129,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-fanrankings_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0'); Derrick Brooks was a true example of what any NFL team would look for in an OLB. and his play on the field for the Kansas City Chiefs. The linebacker position in the game of football is one of the most important. PTS. Yannick Ngakoue, who turns 28 in March, has recorded eight or more sacks in each of his first seven seasons, including 9.5 in 2022, his only season with the Indianapolis Colts. The Georgia product was named second-team All-Pro in 2020 and 2021, and recorded a career-high 163 combined tackles last year -- which ranked fifth among all linebackers. David Long Jr. could be one of the best values of this class at 26 years old since he is a three-down linebacker who is strong against the run and is a surefire tackler. His All-Pro season in 2019 was special, but some might have thought it was just a one-year thing. With that said, here is our list of the Top 10 Outside Linebackers All-Time. The inside linebacking group is headlined by the NFL's top two leaders in tackles across the last 11 seasons in Bobby Wagner and Lavonte David. FBS Power 5 Linebacker Physical Measurables: Height: 6'2" Weight: 220 lbs. As Buffalo continues to chase a Super Bowl, Milano could become more of a household name. , Smith remains one of the leagues top linebackers. The veteran has proven that he can thrive whether in Bill Belichick's system or beyond the system with 101 tackles and three forced fumbles last season for Detroit and will be a leader for new coach Dan Campbell. 10 among linebackers last year. On 50 attempts here are the results for each archetype: Over his career Ware led the NFL in sacks in both 2008 and 2010, made nine Pro Bowl teams and was a four time First Team All-Pro. Below, we will rank the NFL's top 10 linebackers entering 2022. The 247Sports Composite is a proprietary algorithm that compiles rankings and ratings listed in the public domain by the major media recruiting services, creating the industry's most comprehensive and unbiased prospect and team rankings. Position: Outside Linebacker Height: 6-foot-3 Weight: 190 pounds College: Undecided 13 Wesley Bissainthe [jwplayer lpqhoLGb-BmKM743H] Photo: Andrew Ivins, 247Sports High School: Miami Central. Now, Parsons is the highest-rated outside linebacker in the game. Find out what the legends have to say about sports this week. thegruelingtruth.com is available in the following countries: Top 10 Outside Linebackers for the 2022 NFL Season. 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