It had been three full seasons since his best play, and that best play was nowhere near elite. All Rights Reserved. Just 25, he's on his way. 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. 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. With all that said, let's jump in. In 2022, he boasted a pass . PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. 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. 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 Hes not only straight-line fast, but he also processes and reacts with elite quickness. 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. . For all the young players' struggles, there are a lot of promising linebackers who have the talent to become elite players at this level. But in a vacuum, Drue Tranquill and Kenneth Murray are just not good enough players. 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. Los Angeles' overall defense is so good, at least on paper, that it might not matter who plays linebacker. No linebacker corps gets its collective noses dirtier than the Patriots' unit. 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. Recently, Seth Galina from PFF ranked all 32 linebacker units in the league. The Super Bowl has come and gone in 2022 and we have started to turn our attention to the next football season. 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. February 24, 2023 7:45 am CT. A couple of New Orleans Saints standouts were recognized on the list of the top 101 NFL players of the 2022 season from Pro Football Focus analyst Sam Monson. 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. 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. Kendricks is one of the games best coverage linebackers, able to consistently squeeze throwing lanes and make plays on the ball once its in the air. Across the three years prior to joining Green Bay, Campbell hadnt earned a grade higher than 56.6 in any season. His 89.0 run-defense grade in 2022 ranked fourth at the position, with his 13 tackles for loss or no gain tied for 12th. 1. The rest of 1A should surprise no one, with this group almost filling out the consensus top-five linebackers in ADP terms,. 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. Asamoah is undersized at 6-foot-1, 228 pounds, but he possesses sideline-to-sideline range. Walker is one of the best run-and-hit linebackers in the class. 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. He also registered an absurd pass-rushing grade of 93. While Parsons proved to be a stud pass-rusher, some had questions about his coverage ability coming into the league. Pro Football Focus has finalized the regular season grades for the 2022 NFL season. This past offseason,San Francisco 49erslinebackerFred Warnerand subsequentlyIndianapolis ColtslinebackerDarius Leonardreset the market at the position just under $20 million per year after years of stagnation. Click here to view PFFs full IDP rankings for the 2022 season and tiers for the defensive linemen and defensive backs. 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. 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). When healthy, Johnson is among the best sideline-to-sideline run-defenders at off-ball linebacker in the league. 23 in 2021. Andersen is a converted running back and quarterback who, in his lone full season at linebacker, racked up an absurd 67 stops. Okereke is a solid stand-in next to Leonard. His elite run-stopping ability was on display against the Packers in the divisional round, too. Going back to our introductory paragraph, versatility is needed at the linebacker position, and his versatility is the reason why Parsons comes in at No. Long plays a downhill, attacking brand of football that helps him blow up a lot of plays but also makes him particularly susceptible to over-committing on play-action passes and missing tackles when he takes a poor pursuit angle. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. 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. Okereke is now coming off back-to-back seasons with at least 100 tackles and 50 defensive stops. Aug 9, 2022. Campbells ranking could justifiably be at the very top of this list or somewhere in the 30s, based on his career so far. There's no way he was going to get better, right? There may be no better all-around linebacker in the class. 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. He has not graded above 70.0 since. 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. However, he's still a work in progress in coverage and didn't tally a single interception or pass breakup in his college career. 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. He had a career year, helping turn around the Eagles' defense with the second-best grade among off-ball linebackers (84.4). 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. 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. The ACC consisted of 14 members in two divisions. 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. I also gave a target round for your rookie drafts, these are just suggestions as all drafts are different. Tranquill is coming off a career year in L.A. 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. 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. But in a vacuum, Much of this unit's potential lies with third-round rookie. San Francisco 49ers Projected Starters: Dee Ford, Javon Kinlaw, Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa The 49ers breed defensive linemen. Vander Eschs 70.8 grade is his best since his rookie season in 2018, and he also set career highs in missed tackle rate (6.5%) and yards allowed per coverage snap (0.49). Galina ranked the Colts at No. 2021 PFF grade: 50.6 (51st of 89). And Davis has been outstanding in all areas since moving to the New Orleans defense. After looking like he might be the next great linebacker earlier in his career. He is a fantastic story of earning a job the hard way. 2022 NFL Linebacker Rankings 1. Defensively, the attrition was less significant; however, one of the unit's leaders did leave in free agency Foye Oluokun. Some of the players in this group have been All-Pro caliber linebackers in the past, but Jones is coming off a PFF grade in the 30s after once looking like the next great young linebacker in the league. He ended up making the Pro Bowl by logging a career-high 863 snaps and racking up 121 tackles and 61 defensive stops. Though he's 32 years old, David hasn't taken a major step backwards just yet. Nakobe Dean is a dark horse with this group. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. Parsons was the No. 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. 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. Cole Holcomb, WAS: Impressive young linebacker who could see the numbers improve in 2022. on Pro Football Focus' Top-100 players of 2022 rankings. 4) Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos. What a find he was for the Packers last year. The Ravens are still looking for that breakout year from Patrick Queen after two subpar seasons. 12 among linebackers in 2021 with a PFF coverage grade of 70 in 295 coverage snaps. Best Bets Tool, PFF Free Agency Rank: 27 You don't do what he did in his rookie season if you aren't a star. 10. Next to him is the underrated Josh Bynes, who returned to Baltimore in 2021 after one season in Cincinnati. 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. Pratts 90.1 coverage grade was the best mark in the NFL. Hes the complete package for a modern off-ball linebacker. Since entering the league, Warner has 118 or more total tackles in every season and was named First-Team All-Pro in 2020. 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. In this article, I list my top 20 rookie linebacker rankings for your IDP dynasty leagues. 8:44 am ET. However, Georgia wide receiver Kearis Jackson is not ranked in Pro Football Focus' NFL draft big board rankings. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports. You are not logged in. his sure hands also need to be highlighted," PFF's Zoltn Buday wrote. Click here to view PFF's full IDP rankings for the 2022 season and tiers for the defensive linemen and defensive backs. 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. 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. His past two years against the run have been horrid, with him posting 39.8 and 30.0 run-defense grades. 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. At age 30, Kendricks should again be one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL in 2022. The 1B tier has just as much going for them, with zone-heavy defenses, expected positive tackle efficiency and an every-down roles. Denver let Alexander Johnson walk in free agency, which depleted this unit. For all the young players' struggles, there are a lot of promising linebackers who have the talent to become elite players at this level. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. 2021 Snaps: 979 Kendricks' grade did falter in 2021 a 59.9 mark that was down from 82.6 and 90.1 the past two years, respectively. He subsequently graded out to 76.5 in his first season. Parsons is versatile, smart and instinctive. No linebacker recorded more coverage snaps than Warner in all of 2021. 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. This group could rank much higher by the end of next season. 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. He is a truly freakish athlete and will be 25 years old throughout his entire sixth NFL season in 2023 after being selected No. 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. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports. 16 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft as the second-youngest player in the overall class. Expect both young studs to push for 140-plus combined tackles, if healthy.