Jene Bramel
Footballguy
LB Post 1
DE/DT Post 36
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Tiers will be transferred to our rankings pages in the next few days, but I wanted to throw these out for discussion, argument and refinement before then. Have at 'em.LB1
P Posluszny, P Willis, J Mayo, J Laurinaitis, L Timmons, J Beason
Timmons and Beason have a lower floor than my top four, but their upside (95+ solos and a handful of big plays) earn them a spot in my top tier.
LB2+
D Ryans, S Tulloch, D Bishop, C Lofton, DJ Williams, B Ruud, D Johnson, D Levy
Tulloch and Ruud are unknowns, but I think it’s reasonable to assume that they land in good spots for now. The most striking thing about this tier right now is that it’s really thin. Ordinarily, I’ll have 2-4 players in this tier that are 5-15 spots higher than the consensus and argue that you can slough the linebacker position through about 10-15 players and 3-4 draft rounds and lose very little to your competition.
This year, unless you think you’ll be able to grab Bishop in the LB12-20 range, those names are in the next two tiers. I’d expect to see a couple candidates move up from the LB2/LB3+ tiers by late August, so it’s probably not a huge deal. But it’s worth noting anyway.
LB2
R McClain, K Dansby, B Urlacher, R Lewis, C Greenway, L Fletcher, J Vilma, B Cushing
I expect this tier (my LB13-21) will generate some discussion and argument.
LB3+
T Davis, P Lenon, L Briggs, DQ Jackson, N Irving, D Ware, C Matthews, C Wake, T Hali, J Harrison, C Session, S Weatherspoon, D Harris, D Washington, J Chaney, D Hawthorne, C McCarthy, J Mouton, M Foster, B Orakpo, D Smith, C Gocong, K Morrison, P Riley, B Siler/D Butler
25 players (including one two player hedge) in this monster tier. Things will even out as the summer progresses, with 2-4 guys moving into the LB2+/LB2 tiers and a handful dropping out of the top 40 altogether. Balanced leaguers who like a big play OLB as their LB2 should bump the five rush LB studs into their LB2 tier.
LB3
D Jones, G Brackett, EJ Henderson, J Farrior
Not much upside with these four, but a solid 80-85 solo tackle floor with some weekly upside.
Matchup LB4
L Woodley, S Phillips, Ma Williams, R Maualuga, J Anderson, P Angerer, M Boley, S Lee, Gn Hayes, B James, B Spikes, T Spikes, AJ Hawk, K Brooking, L Tatupu, S Bradley, W Witherspoon, Q Black, K Burnett, S Cooper, A Davis, A Curry, M Wilson, R Allen, K Rivers, A Ayers, V Miller, K Misi, S Nicholas, J Durant, AJ Edds, G Jones, E Sims, K Bulluck
I have high hopes for a few of these guys. They’re loosely broken into trustworthy rush OLBs, high upside backers with a shot at a very favorable role, semi-inspiring vets with strong single game potential and a few longshots who could surprise and make a run into the top 40.
Matchup LB3 Big Play Only
C Pace, K Wimbley, Al Smith, M Roth, J Cunningham, OB Schofield, C Barwin, C Kelsay
OLB group who won’t tackle well enough or rush the passer consistently enough to trust as LB3 in most weeks, but have enough talent to consider against strong matchups. For now, none would crack the top 50 in balanced and tackle-heavy leagues.
DE/DT Post 36
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Tiers will be transferred to our rankings pages in the next few days, but I wanted to throw these out for discussion, argument and refinement before then. Have at 'em.LB1
P Posluszny, P Willis, J Mayo, J Laurinaitis, L Timmons, J Beason
Timmons and Beason have a lower floor than my top four, but their upside (95+ solos and a handful of big plays) earn them a spot in my top tier.
LB2+
D Ryans, S Tulloch, D Bishop, C Lofton, DJ Williams, B Ruud, D Johnson, D Levy
Tulloch and Ruud are unknowns, but I think it’s reasonable to assume that they land in good spots for now. The most striking thing about this tier right now is that it’s really thin. Ordinarily, I’ll have 2-4 players in this tier that are 5-15 spots higher than the consensus and argue that you can slough the linebacker position through about 10-15 players and 3-4 draft rounds and lose very little to your competition.
This year, unless you think you’ll be able to grab Bishop in the LB12-20 range, those names are in the next two tiers. I’d expect to see a couple candidates move up from the LB2/LB3+ tiers by late August, so it’s probably not a huge deal. But it’s worth noting anyway.
LB2
R McClain, K Dansby, B Urlacher, R Lewis, C Greenway, L Fletcher, J Vilma, B Cushing
I expect this tier (my LB13-21) will generate some discussion and argument.
LB3+
T Davis, P Lenon, L Briggs, DQ Jackson, N Irving, D Ware, C Matthews, C Wake, T Hali, J Harrison, C Session, S Weatherspoon, D Harris, D Washington, J Chaney, D Hawthorne, C McCarthy, J Mouton, M Foster, B Orakpo, D Smith, C Gocong, K Morrison, P Riley, B Siler/D Butler
25 players (including one two player hedge) in this monster tier. Things will even out as the summer progresses, with 2-4 guys moving into the LB2+/LB2 tiers and a handful dropping out of the top 40 altogether. Balanced leaguers who like a big play OLB as their LB2 should bump the five rush LB studs into their LB2 tier.
LB3
D Jones, G Brackett, EJ Henderson, J Farrior
Not much upside with these four, but a solid 80-85 solo tackle floor with some weekly upside.
Matchup LB4
L Woodley, S Phillips, Ma Williams, R Maualuga, J Anderson, P Angerer, M Boley, S Lee, Gn Hayes, B James, B Spikes, T Spikes, AJ Hawk, K Brooking, L Tatupu, S Bradley, W Witherspoon, Q Black, K Burnett, S Cooper, A Davis, A Curry, M Wilson, R Allen, K Rivers, A Ayers, V Miller, K Misi, S Nicholas, J Durant, AJ Edds, G Jones, E Sims, K Bulluck
I have high hopes for a few of these guys. They’re loosely broken into trustworthy rush OLBs, high upside backers with a shot at a very favorable role, semi-inspiring vets with strong single game potential and a few longshots who could surprise and make a run into the top 40.
Matchup LB3 Big Play Only
C Pace, K Wimbley, Al Smith, M Roth, J Cunningham, OB Schofield, C Barwin, C Kelsay
OLB group who won’t tackle well enough or rush the passer consistently enough to trust as LB3 in most weeks, but have enough talent to consider against strong matchups. For now, none would crack the top 50 in balanced and tackle-heavy leagues.
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