Bills’ Matt Milano name on list of NFL’s 11-best linebackers

Warner was our best linebacker on last year’s list, and there’s no reason to switch it up now. The 2018 third-round pick out of BYU has become that rarest of players — a truly generational talent at any position. And the consistency of high performance over his last four seasons is exceptional. Last season, Warner totaled three sacks, 17 total pressures, 117 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss, 56 stops, and four forced fumbles. In coverage, he allowed 72 catches on 94 targets for 689 yards, 454 yards after the catch, one touchdown, four interceptions, 11 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 82.3.

You will hear athletes talk at times about how they wished their intelligence had matched their athleticism earlier in their careers. Warner has no such issues. He’s as quick and mobile as any linebacker in the league, whether he’s diagnosing and blasting a run fit, or covering opposing receivers everywhere from the flats to the seams.

And Warner’s closing speed means that no matter where you are on the field, and no matter where he is on the field, he’ll be on you more quickly than you have a right to expect.

As long as Warner’s at the top of his game, San Francisco’s defense has more than a passing chance to be great. That’s how transformative he is.

Luvu ranked 11th on last year’s list, just making the cut. That’s when he really caught my eye as a do-it-all linebacker who could really be special, and his 2023 season was quite the breakout campaign.

The former Panthers star signed a three-year, $31 million deal with the Commanders that includes $14,625 in guarantees, and he’s earned that after a year in which he had seven sacks, 20 total pressures, 84 solo tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 47 stops, and two forced fumbles. In coverage, Luvu allowed 38 catches on 51 targets for 371 yards, 240 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, no interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 107.6. Luvu did all of this on a defense that didn’t present a ton of star power around him. Now that he’s with Dan Quinn in the nation’s capital, we could see a higher level from Luvu.

As much as anybody on this list, Luvu brings a fully-realized skill set in which he’s at or near the top at so many things. He attacks from the line of scrimmage like a legitimate edge defender, and he’s a real pain when covering opposing receivers all over the field.

2023 Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald got career years out of multiple defenders, which is one reason the Seahawks hired him to be their head coach. Roquan Smith was one of them. and that’s saying a lot, because Smith has been pretty good for a while now. Selected eighth overall in the 2018 draft out of Georgia, Smith was traded to Baltimore in 2022, and he’s been exceptional since that happened.

In 2023, Smith had two sacks, 15 total pressures, 117 solo tackles, seven tackles for loss, 54 stops, and one forced fumble. In coverage, he allowed 62 catches on 79 targets for 553 yards, 265 yards after the catch, one touchdown, one interception, seven pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 94.8.

The Ravens have wanted Smith near the line of scrimmage a lot because he’s so good there, but he’s also quite adept at breaking out of the box and covering anybody in the hook/curl zones, and up the seams.

And Smith’s on-field awareness means that as much as you want to try and get his eyes in a bad place, it’s probably not going to happen.

The Jets took Davis in the third round of the 2012 draft out of Arkansas State, so he’s a part of that amazing 2012 class of linebackers that also includes Lavonte David and Bobby Wagner. Davis was a good player with the Jets and Browns for a few years, but the fit with the Saints, who first signed him to a three-year, $24 million contract in 2018, has taken both player and team to another level.

Last season, the Saints had one of the NFL’s most dime-heavy defenses, which left Davis on the field as the only linebacker more often than not. That’s an incredible amount of trust for a guy playing in his age 34 season, and Davis responded brilliantly. He had seven sacks, 22 total pressures, 75 solo tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 48 stops. In coverage, Davis allowed 31 catches on 47 targets for 204 yards, 116 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, no interceptions, four pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 89.3.

Davis excels as a blitzer and edge-rusher in Dennis Allen’s defense because he’s so good at diagnosing gaps and working to the pocket with speed — his second gear is something to behold.

Davis isn’t your average mid-thirties linebacker in coverage where he has to keep everything in front of him, or things go awry — he can still work tight ends and slot receivers up the chute for positive defensive plays.

Davis’s current contract keeps him with the Saints through the 2025 season. Will he sign another contract that has him playing longer than that? I wouldn’t bet against it.

One of the great things about sports is that you never know when the light will go on for an athlete. For Bobby Okereke of the Giants, it was the season after he signed a four-year, $40 million contract with $21.8 million guaranteed with the Giants. After four solid-to-strong seasons with the Colts, Okereke hit opposing offenses like the proverbial ton of bricks once he got in Wink Martindale’s system.

Last season, Okereke had three sacks, 20 total pressures, 105 solo tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 56 stops, and four forced fumbles. In coverage, he gave up 35 catches on 46 targets for 301 yards, 276 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, two interceptions, eight pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 89.1.

Okereke played 63% of his snaps as an inside linebacker last season, and that’s where he showed all he could do not only as a run fit defender, but also as a half-field guy who could clean things up all the way to the boundary.

Okereke was also Martindale’s primary defender when it came to baiting quarterbacks into thinking they had short and intermediate crossers all sewn up before he would fire in and stop the play. New defensive coordinator Shane Bowen would be wise to use Okereke in the same ways.

Perhaps the biggest “What if?” of the 49ers’ 2023 season was what might have happened in Super Bowl LVIII had Dre Greenlaw been healthy for the game, as opposed to… well, this.

We all know how amazing Fred Warner is, but Greenlaw, selected in the fifth round in 2019 out of Arkansas, gives San Francisco the NFL’s best linebacker tandem. This is why Warner was so beside himself in that big game. Last season, Greenlaw had two sacks, eight total pressures, 99 solo tackles, six tackles for loss, and 49 stops. In coverage, he allowed 76 catches on 110 targets (Greenlaw was the NFL’s most targeted linebacker in 2023) for 593 yards, 401 yards after the catch, four touchdowns, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 86.7.

Greenlaw was especially demonic in the 49ers’ divisional round win over the Packers. He became Jordan Love’s worst nightmare with two pass breakups and two interceptions on five targets. When you have Warner and Greenlaw on the field at the same time, that’s bad news for any enemy quarterback.

And as is the case with Warner (and all the NFL’s best linebackers), Greenlaw can roam half a field and close on any ballcarrier with serious speed and force.

2024 is a contract year for Greenlaw, and I’ll be interested to see if he wants to explore the idea that he would indeed be LB1 on so many NFL teams.

The Bills have had quite the linebacker factory over the last few seasons. Matt Milano, the star of the group, was hurt for most of the 2023 season, and that allowed Terrel Bernard and Tyrel Dodson to shine. But there’s no question that when Milano’s not on the field, the Bills don’t have the same level of play at the position.

Milano had just 211 snaps before a fractured right leg ended his season, and he was still good for two quarterback pressures, 23 solo tackles, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and 11 stops. He also had five missed tackles, which is one of the rare downsides of his breakneck style — he had 23 missed tackles in 2022. But you have to go a long way to find such a ding. In coverage last season, Milano allowed 14 catches on 18 targets for 162 yards, 90 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, two pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 64.6.

Milano is one of the league’s most athletic, aggressive, and aware coverage linebackers, and that’s true whether he’s working the numbers or the seam or lying in wait to bait a quarterback into a bad decision.

Plus, he’s just got a knack for turning potentially positive moments for an offense into potential disasters. Hopefully, Milano will be back on that track with a healthy 2024 campaign.

The Bears went in much heavier on linebackers in the 2023 free agency period than most teams would these days. They gave Tremaine Edmunds, formerly of the Bills, a four-year, $72 million contract with $41.8 million guaranteed, and they gave T.J. Edwards, formerly of the Eagles, a three-year, $19.5 million contract with $7.9 million guaranteed.

As it turned out, Edwards proved to be the far better bargain. Edmunds was coming off a career year in Buffalo, but the boom-and-bust nature of his play is still evident. Edwards was more consistent and impactful. The 2019 undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin was a star in his first year as a Monster of the Midway with three sacks, 13 total pressures, 112 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss, 61 stops, and a forced fumble. In coverage, Edwards allowed 69 catches on 91 targets for 666 yards, 503 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, three interceptions, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 89.4.

This would come as no surprise to anyone who observed Edwards in his final season with the Eagles, where he also proved to be an outstanding do-it-all defender. His knack for being in the right place at the right time led to some highlight-worthy plays…

…and his athleticism to get to the boundary to stop things up was right up there with his ability to hunt down running backs and quarterbacks when aligned between the guards.

Edwards is still a bit underrated in regard to national recognition vs. performance, but as the Bears aim to be a big story in 2024, maybe that will change.

Brothers Quinnen and Quincy Williams were taken in the same 2019 draft. Quinnen was a first-round star out of Alabama, taken with the third overall pick by the Jets. Quincy was an under the radar player out of Murray State, taken in the third round by the Jaguars, and waived on August 31, 2021. The Jets brought the two together the next day, and that’s been one of the smarter moves Gang Green has made in recent years. Quincy Williams has thrived in Robert Saleh’s defenses, and 2023 marked the 5-foot-11, 225-pound Williams’ best season to date.

In tandem with C.J. Mosley, Williams had two sacks, seven total pressures, 106 solo tackles, 16 tackles for loss, a league-high 90 stops, and two forced fumbles. In coverage, Williams allowed 67 catches on 92 targets for 516 yards, 454 yards after the catch, four touchdowns, one interception, 10 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 96.1.

For a player his size, Williams has no issue whatsoever getting grimy in the paint with running backs of any stripe. That’s where his gap-shooting ability really shows up.

Williams is also improving in coverage — a trend that could continue.

What was it about the 2012 class of linebackers? We have two of them in our top 11, and another in honorable mention — and the honorable mention (Bobby Wagner) is a lead-pipe lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We’ve already gone over Demario Davis’ bonafides, and it’s time to give Lavonte David some love.

In his 12th NFL season, the 33-year old David did what he’s been doing for a while now — putting it all on the field when some might expect him to lose a step. Apparently, losing a step is not on David’s agenda at this time. He had six sacks, 21 total pressures, 114 solo tackles, 21 (!!!) tackles for loss, and 70 stops. In coverage, he allowed 73 catches on 96 targets for 578 yards, 329 yards after the catch, one touchdown, no interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 94.0.

As a run defender, David combines quickness with stop-start angular ability that some slot receivers would envy.

And in coverage? David can match up with the game’s best tight ends as much now as he did when he beat the heck out of Travis Kelce in Super Bowl LV. David has never received the praise he’s deserved (just one Pro Bowl nod and one First-Team All Pro nomination in his entire career). Hopefully, he won’t be shorted anymore, because he’s had a truly remarkable career.

Patrick Queen was yet another Baltimore defender who put together a career year under 2023 defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, and the 2020 28th overall pick out of LSU cashed in big with a new three-year, $41 million contract with $13,840 million guaranteed to play for his former AFC North rival. The Steelers have been looking in vain for functionally athletic linebackers since Ryan Shazier’s retirement, and based on his 2023 tape, Queen might finally be That Guy.

Last season with Roquan Smith as his bookend, Queen had four sacks, 27 total pressures, 105 solo tackles, nine tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and 52 stops. In coverage, he allowed 67 catches on 84 targets for 547 yards, 350 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 96.8.

Queen can cover all the way from the flats to up the seams, and if Pittsburgh third-round rookie Payton Wilson out of North Carolina State can stay healthy, the Steelers now have two guys who can do that, which is kind of nice.

One thing Macdonald did for Queen was to let him use his closing speed to be a roamer all over the field, and that’s a weaponized primary skill. One expects that the Steelers will do the same thing.

Bobby Wagner, Washington Commanders
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Cleveland Browns
Terrel Bernard, Buffalo Bills
Tremaine Edmunds, Chicago Bears
Nick Bolton, Kansas City Chiefs
Drue Tranquill, Kansas City Chiefs
C.J. Mosley, New York Jets
Ivan Pace Jr., Minnesota Vikings