The NFL’s 11 best linebackers
The days of the base defense with three linebackers on the field are most definitely over. Last season, defenses played nickel (five defensive backs) on 12,630 opponent passing attempts. Defenses played dime (six defensive backs) on 2,715 opponent dropbacks. With just 3,206 opponent dropbacks against four defensive backs last season, base defense is no longer base defense — nickel is the new base, and has been for some time.
With that in mind, it’s also clear that the requirements for NFL linebackers have changed. Running backs motioning out of the backfield, and the advent of the 3×1 formation, have altered team needs at the position. The old-school forward-motion run-stopper is of limited use at best, unless he can also cover from the flat to the seam, and blitz everywhere from the second level to various gaps at the line of scrimmage.
It’s a new day for linebackers, and as such, we’re seeing different types of players define the position. Now, you need to be built like a safety while still hitting like a 250-pound middle linebacker from the 1970s. It’s not an easy gig, and that’s one reason for the supposed “devaluation” of the position. Linebackers are rarely thought to be the personifications of their defenses as they were in previous eras. Now, it’s mostly about cornerbacks and edge-rushers. If you want to stand out in the public eye like Dick Butkus or Jack Lambert… well, good luck with that.
Still, it’s an important position, and as the goalposts have moved, players have redefined themselves to bend with the times. Thus, the 11 players you’ll see on this list.
The criteria to make the list of the 11 best linebackers in the game today represented a focus on a multi-faceted approach to the game.
Beating blocks and getting through run fits on a consistent basis is crucial. If you can’t stop the run well, it’s going to be tough to get anywhere near this listicle.
Pass coverage is also crucial. Can you be a true half-field defender at linebacker depth and beyond? Can you work responsibilities from the flat to the middle of the field?
Finally, the ability to blitz effectively from multiple gaps is a must.
And now, here are the 11 best linebackers in the NFL today. You can also read our previous position lists; they’re all headed in the same direction: To our list of the 101 best players overall heading into the 2023 NFL season.
The NFL’s top 11 slot defenders
The NFL’s top 11 cornerbacks
The NFL’s top 11 safeties
(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated).
11. Frankie Luvu, Carolina Panthers
Luvu is the first newcomer on this year’s list, and his place here is well-deserved. An undrafted free agent out of Washington State in 2018, Luvu spent a few seasons with the Jets before the Panthers signed him as a backup linebacker in 2021. That status changed to starter in 2022, and Luvu’s status accelerated from JAG to impending superstar. Last season, he amassed seven sacks, three quarterback hits, 13 quarterback hurries, 87 solo tackles, 63 stops, two forced fumbles, and he gave up 50 catches on 56 targets for 496 yards, 312 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, one interception, three pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 115.9.
While Luvu can cover to a point, he’s really about forward motion from the line and at the second level. He played 43% of his snaps last season on the line, and one sack and nine pressures came from there. Here, against the Ravens in Week 11, he crept up to the right side of the defensive line as soon as fullback Patrick Ricard motioned to the other side, zoomed through the edge unobstructed, blew past running back Kenyan Drake, and hurried Lamar Jackson into an inaccurate throw.
Luvu also had his moments in coverage, though his responsibilities last season trended more toward the line of scrimmage; this pick-six against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals in Week 4 was one such example.
10. Ja'Whaun Bentley, New England Patriots
Bentley, the 2018 fifth-round pick out of Purdue, will be sticking with the Patriots a bit longer, as he recently agreed to a new two-year contract worth up to $18.75 million, and $9 million guaranteed. This could prove to be a major bargain if Bentley continues to improve his coverage skills to go with the hammerhead playing personality he’s always had.
In 2022, Bentley enjoyed career highs in sacks (three), quarterback hurries (13), and total pressures (20), as well as solo tackles (80), and stops (47). Bentley also allowed 31 catches on 42 targets for 252 yards, 188 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, one interception, two pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 78.7 — the lowest he’s allowed in his NFL career as a full-time starter.
We’ll start with the coverage, since it’s a newer strength of Bentley’s. Here against the Bengals in Week 16, Bentley was actually lined up at right outside cornerback, matching running back Joe Mixon through his route, and compressing the coverage at the end for the deflection. Not every linebacker has this kind of answer for a running back who motions outside.
Bentley’s “match feet” also extend to the run game if a back wants to get tricky; he proved that against Buffalo’s James Cook in Week 18.
9. Germaine Pratt, Cincinnati Bengals
Pratt made our list of the NFL’s most underrated players by team for the Bengals, so it makes sense that he’d find himself on this list as well. In tandem with Logan Wilson, Pratt makes up the league’s best linebacker tandem you’re not talking about enough. 2022 was Pratt’s best professional season to date, as he totaled a sack, eight quarterback pressures, 77 solo tackles, 41 stops, and 43 catches on 60 targets for 408 yards, 277 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, four pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 76.2.
In coverage, Pratt is quite capable of carrying tight ends over the middle, as he proved on this interception against the Panthers in Week 9. Tommy Tremble was going for the deep over against Cincinnati’s Cover-2, and Pratt was having none of it.
And while Pratt wasn’t a big blitzer last season (the Bengals blitzed on just 20.4% of their snaps in 2022, 11th-lowest in the league), he was generally effective when he did so — against Lamar Jackson in this case.
8. Nick Bolton, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs selected Bolton in the second round of the 2021 draft out of Missouri, and he became one of many young defenders who showed up at exactly the right time for Kansas City’s Super Bowl run. Last season, Bolton had two sacks, five quarterback hits, five quarterback hurries, 142 solo tackles, 61 stops, and he allowed 76 catches on 83 targets for 673 yards, 457 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, one pass breakup, and an opponent passer rating of 94.4.
Of course, Bolton’s most notable play of the 2022 season was the forced fumble, fumble recovery, and fumble return touchdown he scored in Super Bowl LVII. That tied the game early in the second quarter, and it was an obvious difference-maker in the game.
Bolton can also stop passing plays in their tracks as a highly effective blitzer — this deflection of a Russell Wilson attempt in Week 17 is proof. Bolton is already one of the league’s best young linebackers, and the arrow is pointing straight up for the future.
7. Tremaine Edmunds, Chicago Bears
Sometimes, it takes a minute for NFL players to get the hang of the game. In his first four seasons in the league, Edmunds, who the Bills selected out of Virginia Tech with the 16th pick in the 2018 draft, was an athletic marvel whose play was inconsistent. Then, in the 2022 season, it all came together. That’s when Edmunds recorded two sacks, two quarterback hits, six quarterback hurries, 91 solo tackles, 42 stops, and he allowed 46 catches on 67 targets for 359 yards, 216 yards after the catch, one touchdown, one interception, 10 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 80.4. As Edmunds had allowed 11 touchdowns to just four interceptions in those first four seasons, the improvement was obvious — both in the metrics and on tape.
Edmunds saw his ultimate improvement in his contract year, and it definitely paid off, as he signed a four year, $72 million contract with the Bears that gives him $50 million in guaranteed money. There’s a bit of caveat emptor giving that much to a guy with just one really good season, but Edmunds now has two NFL teams who have bet heavy on his upside.
Edmunds always had the range to cover across the field, but last season was when his acumen caught up to his athleticism, and opposing receivers really didn’t appreciate it. The way he was able to take Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki up the chute on this deep pass from Skylar Thompson int he wild-card round for a pass deflection is a display of the kind of “reverse gear” any defensive coordinator would love in their linebackers.
Perhaps one reason the Bears gave Edmunds so much money is that they remembered him dropping running back David Montgomery for losses and short gains in Week 16. Edmunds can do that all day long in the run game.
6. Demario Davis, New Orleans Saints
If Davis isn’t the most underrated linebacker in the NFL, he’s on a very short list. He’s been a great player for a long time, but the 2012 third-round pick of the Jets has made the Pro Bowl (2022) and the First-Team All-Pro team (2019) just once each. Davis has combined the required traits for his position at a high level for the last half-decade, and he did that again last season. Davis had a career-high nine sacks, two quarterback hits, seven quarterback hurries, 63 solo tackles, 43 stops, and he allowed 31 catches on 42 targets for 276 yards, 209 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, four pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 96.9.
Let’s start with Davis the pass-rusher, because that was a huge value-add last season in Dennis Allen’s defense. On this sack of Joe Burrow in Week 6 against the Bengals, Davis eluded the efforts of running back Joe Mixon on his way to the quarterback. Whether he’s rushing from the line of scrimmage or the second level, Davis’ dominant playing personality shows up on these reps.
And in coverage, Davis made Tom Brady’s life pretty miserable in one of the GOAT’s last games, whether he was picking off quick passes…
5. Dre Greenlaw, San Francisco 49ers
With Fred Warner firmly established as the NFL’s best linebacker (spoiler alert), Dre Greenlaw probably doesn’t get the national attention he deserves. We’d like to rectify that to whatever degree we can with his placement on this list. The 2019 fifth-round pick out of Arkansas took major steps forward in his fourth NFL season, amassing one sack, six total pressures, 125 solo tackles, 71 stops, and he allowed 87 catches on 111 targets for 708 yards, 453 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 95.5.
Greenlaw was the NFL’s most targeted linebacker last season (targeting Warner is generally an exercise in futility), and let’s just say that Greenlaw was effective enough when the ball was thrown his way to make you think that if his hands were a bit better, we’d be talking about a lot more interceptions. Greenlaw does have the match abilities you want in a linebacker…
Greenlaw brings all kinds of gap-shooting fury as a run defender; he’ll work through and create openings, and he thrives on chaos at and near the line of scrimmage. Once he’s near the ballcarrier, bad things tend to happen for the ballcarrier.
4. Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Since 2012, there are two players who lead the league in solo tackles, and they’re the next two players on this list. David, selected by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2012 draft out of Nebraska, is No. 1 on that list with 949. Last season, the 11-year veteran totaled three sacks, six pressures, 98 solo tackles, 62 stops, and he allowed 67 catches on 82 targets for 543 yards, 278 yards after the catch, one touchdown, no interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 98.3.
At age 33, David hasn’t lost much of the speed and burst that has always defined his playing style; it’s why he’s just as likely to create a tackle for loss in the passing game as he is with a run stop. If you’re trying to run any kind of screen, swing pass, or release route, and No. 54 is on the case, you may want to make other plans.
That speed and quickness shows up in coverage as well. David is still a practiced, outstanding drop linebacker who can work his way forward instantly to close on the ball, and as he showed on this pass breakup against the Rams in Week 9, he’s quite effective on crossers, as well.
3. Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks
Lavonte David has unfairly received just one Pro Bowl (2015) and just one All-Pro nod (2013) in his career — a primary reason for that is that Bobby Wagner gets all the love there. Wagner came into the NFL in the same round (second) of the same draft (2012) as David, and only David has more solo tackles than Wagner’s 900 since then. The Seahawks let the eight-time Pro Bowler and six-time All=Pro test the open market after the 2021 season, saw him excel right in the NFC West with the Rams, and then welcomed him back with a new one-year, $5.5 million contract.
The 32-year-old Wagner looked about like he’s always looked in 2022; he’s been on a Hall of Fame track for a while now, and last season, he had six sacks, three quarterback hits, 11 quarterback hurries, 89 solo tackles, and 50 stops. He also allowed 37 catches on 48 targets for 420 yards, 332 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 92.4.
In coverage, the 6-foot-0, 242-pound Wagner doesn’t have the same speed as a Lavonte David or some of the top young linebackers in the NFL, but his field understanding and ability to read right into the minds of quarterbacks more than make up for any deficits there. Wagner started this breakup of a Dak Prescott pass to Noah Brown in Week 5 in a blitz look at the line of scrimmage, and then dropped out to defend the crosser. It should come as no surprise that he had the whole thing read.
Wagner has always been a great run defender as well; the Seahawks found that out the hard way in Week 18 when he dropped rookie Kenneth Walker to the ground for a two-yard loss. Walker will obviously be happier to have Wagner as a teammate!
2. Matt MIlano, Buffalo Bills
The Bills stole Milano out of Boston College in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, and over time, he’s become a legitimate tone-setter for one of the NFL’s best defenses. 2022 marked the first season in which Milano received both a Pro Bowl nod and acceptance to the First-Team All-Pro squad. It was well-deserved. Last season, Milano had five sacks, eight quarterback hits, 11 quarterback hurries, 89 solo tackles, 57 stops, and he allowed 59 catches on 81 targets for 500 yards, 389 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, three interceptions, nine pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 73.1.
Let’s start in coverage, Milano had 115 reps in the slot last season, which speaks to his ability to get things done all over the field. This Week 2 interception of a Ryan Tannehill pass to receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine cae from Milano’s ability to read and close from the slot.
Milano also forced 10 tackles for loss in the run game last season; this four-yard stop of Detroit’s Jamaal Williams in Week 12 was fairly important, as the Lions had traction at the Buffalo two-yard line.
There’s only one linebacker in the NFL who does more required of the position at a higher level, and he’s got next.
1. Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers
Warner, selected by the 49ers in the third round of the 2018 draft out of BYU, has become the complete linebacker for the modern NFL. Whatever is required of the job, he’s got it on lock. Warner overwhelms opposing offensive linemen San Francisco’s overload fronts, he covers like a safety, and the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Warner will drop the hammer on a running back like a player 20 pounds heavier.
Warner is also expert at messing up blocking assignments with his ability to hang at the second level, and then creep up to the line at exactly the right time. Philly’s Jalen Hurts discovered in the NFC Championship game just how explosive that can be.
Warner is also the ideal hybrid linebacker because in coverage, he’ll jump any route with his ability to read quarterbacks, and he can match and carry tight ends and slot receivers all over the field. Put it all together, and it’s pretty simple: Fred Warner is the NFL’s best linebacker, and everybody else is playing for second place.
Honorable Mentions
Shaquille Leonard, Indianapolis Colts
De’Vondre Campbell, Green Bay Packers
Roquan Smith, Baltimore Ravens
Alex Singleton, Denver Broncos
Logan Wilson, Cincinnati Bengals
David Long Jr., Miami Dolphins
