As teams prepare to kick off training camp this week, the countdown to the No. 1 player has already begun, with some like Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen already voicing their displeasure about their ranking.
Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David, who has a 90 rating in Madden NFL 21, found himself at No. 100 on the list this year.
“David ends a four-year absence in the Top 100 after leading the Bucs in tackles in 2019, which has been the case in seven of his eight seasons. David, who just eclipsed 1,000 career tackles, was ranked as high as No. 35 in 2014 after his only All-Pro season.”
David and fellow linebacker Devin White could easily be the best linebacker duo in the game today. White came on strong in the second half of last season, and playing alongside a guy like David should only help his maturation and development in Year 2 of his NFL career.
Watch as Buccaneers linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White react to some of their teammates’ ratings in “Madden NFL 21.”
The Buccaneers already have the look and feel of a team straight out of Madden NFL 21, but they’ll have to put up or shut up on the field if they hope to end their postseason drought in 2020.
With Tom Brady under center and the team going back to a more traditional look, the Bucs seem ready to begin a new chapter in their franchise history, and a star-studded offense will certainly have people excited to watch this team in action.
While Brady may be a 43-year-old quarterback when the season starts, the people over at EA Sports felt confident enough in the six-time Super Bowl champion to award him with a 90 rating in the latest version of Madden, set to be released next month.
Brady joins three other Buccaneers in the 90 club, including tight end Rob Gronkowski (95), wide receiver Mike Evans (92) and linebacker Lavonte David (90).
Another Bucs linebacker who could find himself in the 90 club down the road someday is Devin White, who had a strong second half to his rookie season, which gave fans a glimpse of what the future may hold for the former LSU Tiger.
Both White and David recently reacted to some of their teammates’ Madden ratings. Check it out below.
New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis was recognized as one of the best in the NFL, trailing only Seahawks superstar Bobby Wagner.
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Who are the best linebackers in the NFL right now? The game has seen an influx of young talent in recent years, with stars emerging all across the league like Darius Leonard, Fred Warner, and Deion Jones. But there’s still a strong old guard of household names; consider Dont’a Hightower, Lavonte David, and Bobby Wagner.
According to Mark Schofield over at Touchdown Wire, New Orleans Saints All-Pro Demario Davis is among them. Davis signed with the Saints as a free agent back in 2018 and immediately made an impact, earning a leadership role as team captain. He’s gone on to round out his skills set and erase any weaknesses in his game.
It’s enough for Davis to be listed ahead of everyone but Wagner in Schofield’s ranking, and Wagner’s no slouch — once upon a time he received a vote for the league’s Most Valuable Player award. By impressing in run defense, pass coverage, and blitzing after quarterbacks, Davis has done his level best to be called the game’s best three-down linebacker. Now can the Saints please re-up his contract?
Schematically, the NFL is changing. But the linebacker position is adapting. Here are some of the best in the game today.
What does the future hold for the linebacker position?
As you ponder that question think about these issues. The league is using lighter personnel packages more and more, and last season that trend continued. On the 19,933 drop back passing attempts charted last season by Sports Info Solutions, defenses had five defensive backs on the field for an overwhelming majority of those plays: 59%. But they also had six defensive backs on the field for 20.9% of those snaps.
Consider still, the trends that will be making their way into the game at some point. Brent Venables is considered one of college football’s defensive wizards, and last season the Clemson Tigers implemented a defensive unit that was predominantly a 3-1-7 defense. Of course, having players like Tanner Muse and Isaiah Simmons, hybrid defenders with talent, makes such a scheme possible. But as those players – and those coaches of similar mind – make their way into the league, the future looks different on the defensive side of the football.
So again, what does the future portend for the linebacker position?
Those questions cannot be answered today, but we can look at some of the best the league has to offer at the linebacker position in today’s game.
Honorable Mentions
(Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports)
As with the safeties, we start with some of the players that just missed out on this list. That includes the talented and young Buffalo Bills linebackers Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds, although Edmunds is almost a lock to make this list someday. Same too for Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker Devin Bush. The Houston Texans have a talented pair of their own, in Zach Cunningham and Benardrick McKinney. To the previous point about teams using lighter packages, one team bucked that trend: The Seattle Seahawks. Pete Carroll’s group had three linebackers on the field more than any other team last year, K.J. Wright was a big part of that unit. Some additional names to watch include Denver’s Alexander Johnson, who played at a very high level last season but will need to follow that up in his second year as a starter for inclusion on lists like this, New York Giant David Mayo, who showed he could handle an increased role last year, and Jamie Collins, now with the Detroit Lions.
Best Linebacker Unit
(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
There is a reason the Seattle Seahawks used three linebackers more than any other team in the league: Their trio from 2019 was damn good. Wright, Kendricks and Bobby Wagner are a triumvirate of defensive prowess. All three are solid against the run, and do their job well when called upon to play coverage. With Kendricks currently a free agent, something that should keep this unit playing at such a high level is the presence of rookie Jordyn Brooks, Seattle’s first round selection. Another duo to watch is Milano and Edmunds in Buffalo. The Bills utilize a lot of nickle packages with those two left on the field, but they made a great pair, with Edmunds’ length and athleticism, and what Milano does in coverage. Then there is that group in Dallas, they’re pretty good too.
Now, to the Top 11.
Dont’a Hightower | Jaylon Smith | Jayon Brown | Deion Jones | Cory Littleton | Fred Warner| Darius Leonard | Lavonte David | Eric Kendricks | Demario Davis | Bobby Wagner
Bucs linebacker Devin White took to Instagram to let the world know he and Lavonte David are ready to take the league by storm.
Bucs linebacker Devin White will be looked upon to take on more of a leadership role in his second season after a strong finish to his rookie year in 2019. Fortunately, White will have one of the game’s best, and most underrated, linebackers right by his side in Lavonte David.
White went on Instagram recently to post a few pictures of he and David on his story, seemingly putting the rest of the league on notice.
White also posted the below art piece of him and David on his story, which is pretty sweet if you’re a Bucs fan.
Based on a mix of film, stats and feel, here are our top 10 linebackers in the league going into 2020.
Luke Kuechly was the best linebacker of his generation. Now that he’s hung up his helmet and will serve the Panthers as a pro scout, it’s time to find out who will take his title.
Based on a mix of film, stats and feel, here are our top 10 linebackers in the league going into 2020.
10. Dont’a Hightower
(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
It’s no accident that Bill Belichick has entrusted Hightower to play an important role for his defense for such a long time. Modern linebackers need to do a bit of everything and Hightower excels at most of it, especially rushing the quarterback. Last year, he posted 5.5 sacks and 13 quarterback hits to go with eight tackles for a loss. Hightower has made the Pro Bowl twice and won three rings.
Adam Schein gave his list of nine NFL bandwagons to hop aboard in 2020, and not surprisingly the Bucs found themselves near the top.
The Buccaneers ranked 29th in home attendance last year, but likely won’t find themselves in that position in 2020 now that Tom Brady is the new sheriff in town.
With the additions of both Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Bucs will be one of the most exciting teams to watch this season, and the NFL made sure fans will get plenty of opportunities to watch them, scheduling them for five prime-time games, the maximum number allowed.
As great as national notoriety and exposure is, it also means the Bucs will likely have more than a few bandwagon fans looking to join the party. And in his latest piece over at NFL.com, Adam Schein listed the Bucs at No. 2 on his list of nine NFL bandwagons to hop aboard in 2020.
Here is part of Schein’s reasoning:
“Don’t sleep on this Bucs defense. The unit really started to come into its own down the stretch last season, as the young secondary caught up with the outstanding front seven. The front’s a brick wall against the run, while Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul terrify opposing quarterbacks off the edges. And it’s hard to find a better off-ball linebacker duo than [Lavonte] David and Devin White.”
We all know what the Bucs’ offense is capable of. Despite Jameis Winston throwing a league-high 30 interceptions last season, the Buccaneers still boasted the NFL’s third-best offense. But it’s the defense that will likely decide whether or not the Bucs make it back to the postseason for the first time since 2007.
As Lavonte David, himself, noted recently on Good Morning Football, he and White are the best linebacker duo around, just as Schein mentioned. So while the Bucs’ offense will be must-see TV come fall, the defense could offer just as much thrills, too.
See who players on the Buccaneers said was the best at hyping up the team during pregame.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t be lacking for star power when the season rolls around. With guys like Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Mike Evans in the locker room, you know there will be plenty of voices to be heard (and that’s just on the offensive side of the ball).
So, who actually gives the best pregame speeches out of all the Buccaneers? Take a look at this video the Bucs tweeted out showing players giving their answers. Even Gronk gets in on the action.
Find out who NFL analytics expert Cynthia Frelund named as the Bucs’ most underappreciated player.
There’s no shortage of talent on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ roster heading into 2020. With guys like Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Bucs look more like a team straight out of Madden or fantasy football.
Big things are expected out of Bruce Arians’ team in 2020, and if the Bucs are going to make a serious run at the playoffs, they’ll also need their defense to continue to improve under Todd Bowles. The D has plenty of talent as well, and retained key players this offseason like Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett. But, there’s another defender who is perhaps the team’s most underappreciated player, at least according to Cynthia Frelund of NFL.com, and that’s linebacker Lavonte David.
Using context-based models, Frelund came to this conclusion about David:
“With the most tackles on the team (122 — the next closest Buccaneer had 91), 10 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and an interception, David was the kind of productive middle-of-the-field defender Todd Bowles knows how to best deploy. PFF counted his coverage grade as 91.4, which was the highest among linebackers last season (among those with a minimum of 100 snaps).”
Bucs fans definitely appreciate David and what he brings to the table. With the Bucs appearing in five prime-time games this season, David will get the chance to showcase his skills on the national stage. Maybe then he’ll receive the attention and credit he deserves from the rest of the league.
Bucs linebacker Lavonte David believes he and teammate Devin White make up the NFL’s best LB duo.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping that 2020 first-round pick Tristan Wirfs can live up to the hype like 2019 first-round pick Devin White did.
White, the former LSU linebacker, had a slow start to the season but came on strong in the second half, dominating opponents and even making a little history along the way.
Tampa Bay is hoping that White will build off his successful finish to last season, and along with Lavonte David, they could make up the best linebacker duo in the game.
At least, that’s what White believes. Take a look at this clip from White’s interview today on Good Morning Football.
Do the @Buccaneers have the best LB duo in the NFL?
Bucs fans are excited to see what this new-look offense will be like with Tom Brady under center, but the defense will be just as fun to watch in 2020.
