Ranking 75 Off-ball LBs *For 2017 Only!*

[lukkynumber13]

1. Luke Kuechly - I have concerns about his career length, but for 2017? Not even a discussion for LB1 overall.

TIER BREAK!

2. Alec Ogletree - One of the rare combos of youth, elite real life talent, & elite fantasy production.

3. CJ Mosley - One of the best ILBs in the NFL, is still young, and his down years have still churned out startable numbers.

4. Kwon Alexander - Solid NFL player, but an elite fantasy producer. Sell-high candidate if you get a sweet offer, tho.

5. Lavonte David - (See Mosley, CJ)

6. Jamie Collins - No matter where he lines up play-to-play, we know he's an every snap guy. Absolute baller. Gets dinged up a lot.

7. Deion Jones - Grear rookie year and has a bright future. I'm afraid he may get injured a lot however, due to his smallish frame playing MIKE. Definitely a sell-high candidate.

8. Vontaze Burfict - He'd probably be in Kuechly's tier if he were a stand up guy, and sturdier.

9. Telvin Smith - (See Alexander, Kwon)

10. Bobby Wagner - Incredible talent, has serious trouble staying healthy for a full year.

11. Christian Kirksey - I love him. Will feast as an LB1 again this season.

12. Jerrell Freeman - Getting older but he's still ferocious and the most talented LB on his team by far (with Danny T hurt)

13. Sean Lee - He's one of the 5 most talented LBs in football. But (except for 2016) he's also made of glass.

TIER BREAK!

14. Deone Bucannon - We've seen him produce high-ceiling numbers at times, just not consistently. At least we know he has a 3-down gig locked up.

15. Jatavis Brown - A little enigmatic because he displayed a fantastic ceiling in some games last year, but there also exist question marks in regards to his durability at his slight size. Appears to be a potential stud in the making, tho.

16. Mark Barron - Some folks are very concerned about him becoming a 3-4 ILB as opposed to a 4-3 WILL. Regardless, he's a 3-down guy on a team that will get run on a lot.

17. Darron Lee - I'll admit, this is a ranking based a LOT on opportunity. He may not be cut out for a full time role for the length of his career, but I don't think the Jets have a choice this year. He could see 1000 snaps easily.

18. KJ Wright - Unlike a lot of the guys in this tier, there're no question marks here. Just a super solid starter who will get you 3-5 solos & 3-5 assists per game.

19. Zach Brown - I'm not expecting top 10 numbers, but he will make a fine LB2 on your squad. Easily the most talented ILB in Washington.

20. Jarrad Davis - Similarly to D. Lee, a lot of this ranking is based on the fact that, barring injury, we KNOW this dude will be on the field all game.

21. Kiko Alonso - I hate trying to predict Miami's LB corps this year, but I think the one "certainty" will be Alonso sticking on the field for every snap. Could be wrong, tho!

22. Derrick Johnson - Hate to admit it but this ranking makes me super nervous. He turns 35 this season, and is coming off another major injury. He could become 2017's D'Qwell Jackson.

23. Navorro Bowman - My thoughts for DJ are similar here too.

24. Reuben Foster - I'm sticking to my pre-draft analysis of Foster here. I think he plays like a smaller version of Kuechly.
*Crosses Fingers*

25. Benardrick McKinney - If he retains an every snap job, then this ranking is too low.

TIER BREAK!

26. Eric Kendricks - If he puts it all together he'll become an LB1 this season. But I'm baking in some risk.

27. Myles Jack - Similar to Kendricks in that he has a super high potential ceiling, but until I see him play a game, I'll assign some risk factor for sure.

28. Jordan Hicks - Not trying to be lazy, but I feel similarly about Hicks as I do Kendricks.

29. Brandon Marshall - Almost a clone of the Deone Buccanon synopsis except Marshall did NOT play an every snap role last year. Very concerning. But his ceiling is top 15, and we've seen it.

30. Donte Hightower - I hate this ranking. I really do. But I HAVE to believe he will see the field a little more after Bill opened up the wallet to re-sign him.

31. Ryan Shazier - The talent is there. The athleticism is beyond documented. But he can't stay healthy and struggles with basic linebacker duties. He is, however, probably the best ILB in Pittsburgh.

32. Reggie Ragland - Another ranking that feels way too high but there's a real chance he is Buffalo's only 3-down LB.

33. Haason Reddick - Remember, this is for 2017 only. I agree with TomK that HR probably won't be a full time ILB out of the gate.

34. Avery Williamson - He's the best ILB the Titans have, and I don't think it's close.

35. AJ Klein - Like all NOLA 'backers this year, he has a wide range of possibilities. I can envision a world where he finishes as a top 15 guy, and I also wouldn't be shocked if he loses his starting job by week 7 to one of the half dozen LBs on their roster.

36. Danny Trevathan - I know, I know. Starting out on PUP perhaps. But he is so much more talented than Nick K. Danny T will return to a starting gig and when he does, he will be an LB2 or better for your fantasy playoffs.

37. Nigel Bradham - As far as I know, he's still the starting WILL on an NFL team. Sign me up for cheap shares.

TIER BREAK!

38. Shaq Thompson - Almost exactly what I said about Myles Jack except Shaq isn't assured a starting spot at one of the 2 prime positions. A messy timeshare between him & TD could be a reality.

39. Kevin Minter - I'm of the belief that he will be the starting MIKE in Cincy. Even if that's a 2-down role, he should be a fine LB 4 or 5 on your team.

40. Ramik Wilson - We are only 40 deep and already getting into speculation mode. Yikes. Obviously there is a risk that Wilson goes back to the bench but I strongly doubt it. Looked good on the field last year.

41. Jaylon Smith - This is purely a home run-or-strikeout type of ranking. The way I see it, either he doesn't play yet or he is a full time MIKE.

42. Gerald Hodges - It would appear that he has the WILL job in Buffalo, but that's far from certain. And even if he starts, will he play a full complement of snaps?

43. Denzel Perryman - If he can become even decent in coverage, we could be looking at a stud LB2 in the Charger's 4-3. Probably won't happen, but he'll still be a serviceable LB4-5.

44. Kamalei Correa - Huge risk here. We don't even know if he's going to earn a starting gig, but he's getting the early nods. And that job next to Mosley is a corner office with a view, in the IDP world!

45. Tahir Whitehead - My thoughts of TW mirror those of Bradham. Until/unless he gets demoted, he's a starting LB.

46. BJ Goodson - Like Correa, it's looking like he will be a starter. Unlike Correa, the LB jobs in New York are not historically great for IDP.

47. Vince Williams - This ranking could turn out to be about 20 spots too low. But I'm of the opinion that he may lose his starting ILB job to Watt.

48. Duke Riley - I hesitate to assume he will play 100% of the snaps, but he should be Atlanta's starting WILL.

49. Edwin Jackson - He's not that good. But he's the most experienced ILB the Colts have. They may very well continue to play him every down due to that fact.

50. Lawrence Timmons - As I alluded to earlier, nobody knows what Miami will do with their LB spots this year. But Timmons should be good for at least 8-12 startable weeks, even if he does cede his gig to McMillan late in the year. There's also the distinct possibility that he keeps his gig and never lets go. In that case he will be an LB2-3 this season.

51. Thomas Davis - Same as Timmons, substitute Shaq for Raekwon.

52. Zach Cunningham - He will play right away, but he may not start until 2018.

TIER BREAK!

53. Blake Martinez - Probably someone you'll never WANT to start, but he appears to be the ILB that will get the most work in GB.

54. Todd Davis - He was a starter in 2016 but only played about 60% of the snaps. With how Denver likes Corey Nelson, IDK that Davis sees too much more work. But, he is still a "starting" ILB and that counts for something.

55. Demario Davis - Full Disclosure: I think Davis sucks. This is wholly an opportunity-based ranking. It would appear that he is the 2nd best ILB on the Jets' roster.

56. Sean Spence - I'm fairly certain he will play heavy snaps for Indy this year, but that could end up being only 40-50%. If that's the case, this ranking is too high. I don't see a huge ceiling here.

57. Jelani Jenkins - I think he's very little more than a name at this point. Maybe he shows up tho, the opportunity is surely there. I won't hold my breath.

58. Will Compton - Low ceiling, fairly low floor. We saw his absolute ceiling last year and that was without a superior LB next to him. Even if he keeps a starting gig, LB2-3 is best case. Worst case, he gets benched for the more physical Foster.

59. Craig Robertson - Again, I want no part of ranking the Saints linebackers. Between him & Klein, plus Te'O, Anzalone, Anthony, Ellerbe, etc... ugh. I suppose Robertson could return top 25 numbers. Feel free to find out.

TIER BREAK!

60. David Harris - If he goes to Oakland, Indy, Pitt, Denver, NYG, Tenn, KYC, Philly, or Baltimore I could see him as an LB2-3 for sure.

61. Mason Foster - Just in case he wins the 2nd LB job over Compton.

62. Jake Ryan - Like Martinez, but with even less sex appeal if you ask me.

63. Elandon Roberts - Theoretical upside. That is all.

64. Karlos Dansby - IDP equivalent of Deangelo Williams (Steeler version). Not sexy but he will be an LB2-3 for at least a few weeks while they bring Reddick along.

65. Nick Kwiatkowski - I could make an argument for him being as high as the mid-40s in redraft rankings, as he's almost guaranteed to be a starting LB as Trevathan recovers. However, I personally think Nick K is a terrible linebacker. He plays weak, slow, & without any instincts. Granted, he was a rookie, but still. You can do better.

66. Jonathan Casillas - He's probably going to play about 600 snaps this year. Theoretically, that matters.

67. Preston Brown - He looks set to be Buffalo's LB3, but just in case he beats out Ragland or Hodges, I'll throw him up here.

68. Alex Anzalone - I doubt he will make much impact at the NFL level, but the skill is very real. Super fragile.

69. Jalen Reeves-Mabin - See above.

70. Raekwon McMillan - I'm skeptical we get to see much from him in 2017, but he should be very relevant in the case of an injury or demotion to Alonso or Timmons.

71. Anthony Barr - Supposedly he's relevant. Whatever.

72. Anthony Walker - As a diehard Colts fan, I HOPE he can be a difference-maker for us this year. Doubtful, tho.

73. Marquel Lee - Just in case he wins a starting job in wide-open Oakland.

74. Kentrell Brothers - Even if he wins the WILL job in Minny, he probably won't be hyper-relevant in IDP.

75. Devondre Campbell - His experiment as a playmaker appears to be over.

[lukkynumber13]

Others in consideration:

Malcom Smith
Wesley Woodward
Jayon Brown
Darryl Washington
Corey Nelson
Paul Worrilow
Brian Cushing
Paul Pozluzny
Perry Riley
Corey James

[boobam13]

Amazing write up man! Great read

[Dyno_7]

Good write up. I dig it!

[NY CAT]

Awesome work. Great write up and detail.

[Oslo Oildrillers]

Nice! It's very difficult to rank players like that, it's much easier to find your favourites and just go drink at that well rather than rank all the different wells. Your list definitely made me go "oh, yeah, that's right" a few times on some players that I'm probably too high or too low on.

[TB3falcons]

Wow, excellent list. Loads of thought went into it, awesome job

[Deloyshus]

Great list! Thanks so much!

[IR1]

Thanks, great work- helps confirm my plans!

[bruiser]

I think I'm on an island about Gerald Hodges. Admittedly, I've been following him from Minny to San Fran to Buffalo. He's never had an opportunity like this, so he's certainly not worse for wear. I'm pretty certain that everyone (even some of my better rivals) were asleep when he signed in Buffalo. Reggie Ragland is a bigger question mark than Hodges, imo.

Good work (as usual), lukky!

[boobam13]

I think I'm on an island about Gerald Hodges. Admittedly, I've been following him from Minny to San Fran to Buffalo. He's never had an opportunity like this, so he's certainly not worse for wear. I'm pretty certain that everyone (even some of my better rivals) were asleep when he signed in Buffalo. Reggie Ragland is a bigger question mark than Hodges, imo.

Good work (as usual), lukky!

I'm on the island with ya boss - no man love though

[SteveVolk]

Great list, and I think it speaks to the variability of how this might all work out. If Correa does start in Orr's spot he is a mid-range LB2 at worst, though, right? And sure, the Giants seem to get low IDP productivity out of their linebacker squad. But they have also paraded a long line of chumps through that position. Goodson looks like a guy they've groomed to be on the field for three downs. I bring these two up only as a way of showing how tough it is to project on the IDP side of things. Both those guys could be LB2s. I also have to admit I am a Shazier owner and when he plays he's a low end LB1, to high end 2. Love having him on my squad.

[pjoner]

very nice work, any thoughts on Lorenzo Alexander?

[bruiser]

very nice work, any thoughts on Lorenzo Alexander?

Old, one-hit wonder. Situational SAM gonna see fewer snaps, sacks, etc. Easy sell, imo.

[dawgs4life]

Nice! It's very difficult to rank players like that, it's much easier to find your favourites and just go drink at that well rather than rank all the different wells. Your list definitely made me go "oh, yeah, that's right" a few times on some players that I'm probably too high or too low on.

just read it....nice work....above 2X