Ranking NFLs top 10 linebackers entering 2022 New No. 1 as Bobby Wagner finally dethroned

The linebacker position in the game of football is one of the most important. These athletes are called upon to be run-stuffing defensive linemen on some downs, and hybrid cornerbacks on others. The strongest players are experts at open-field takedowns and make it hard for quarterbacks to feel comfortable throwing toward the middle of the field.Below, we will rank the NFL's top 10 linebackers entering 2022. To create this list, we took into consideration basic statistics, Pro Football Reference/Stathead's Approximate Value, PFF grades and a gue s on how the player will perform moving forward. Something to note is that 3-4 pa s Joe Montana Jersey -rushers will not appear on this list. Players like , , and are not included. With all that said, let's jump in.Honorable mentions: , , , Shaq Thompson, Alexander Johnson, ,, , , . GB OLB #59 Campbell was one of the big surprises of the 2021 NFL season, as he stepped his game up in a major way for the . He set career highs acro s the board, notching 146 combined tackles, six QB hits and two interceptions. Campbell recorded the second-highest PFF grade of any linebacker with an 85, and also was the second-highest graded linebacker in coverage with an 82.2. He went from having a one-year contract worth $2 million to signing a five-year deal that carries an AAV of $10 million! What a find he was for the Packers last year. Now, it remains to be seen if Campbell can replicate his 2021 campaign, but based off of how he played last year, Campbell deserves a place on this list. TB OLB #54 David mi sed five games in 2021 due to injury, but he still had a solid season, recording 97 combined tackles. He's been an Creed Humphrey Jersey All-Pro each year, and a Pro Bowler for three straight seasons now. SEA MLB #54 Some may think Wagner is too high on this list, and while he took a small step backwards in 2021, he's still one of the best linebackers in the NFL. It's funny how taking a "small step backwards" for Wagner is being a second-team All-Pro, a Pro Bowler and setting a career high in tackles even while mi sing a game. His 170 combined takedowns ranked third among linebackers this past season.Wagner's resume speaks for itself. In 10 seasons, he has been named an All-Pro eight times, made the Pro Bowl eight times and led the NFL in tackles twice. He's a Hall of Famer, no doubt, but the reason he's so high on this list is because he's not done just yet. Wagner is no longer with the , signing with the Super Bowl champion this offseason. The Rams have a great defense, and the 32-year-old Wagner could find himself rejuvenated in 2022. DAL LB #11 Parsons took the NFL by storm in his rookie season, recording 84 combined tackles and a rookie record 13 sacks. last week that 15 sacks are the "minimum" in 2022. Parsons was the No. 1 linebacker according to PFF, with a grade of 89.7. He also registered an absurd pa s-rushing grade of 93.We thought about if Parsons should even be included in this list since he played a fair amount of pa s-rusher last season, but the L'Jarius Sneed Jersey bottom line is that Parsons is a great linebacker who can wear several different hats on defense. Parsons is versatile, smart and instinctive. You don't do what he did in his rookie season if you aren't a star. NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler. for the folks who say Micah Parsons is an edgethere were four games where he played basically edge only because of injuries, and the rest of the games he was predominantly an off-ball linebackerMicah Parsons is a linebacker who can play edge defender Eric Eager (@PFF_Eric) While Pars