5 BEST LINEBACKERS STILL AVAILABLE

BY ADAM GREENE

We continue our late offseason potential defensive additions with a stop at the linebacking corps. Running backs, safeties and linebackers are severely undervalued in the modern NFL, mainly because so many talented men come out of college each year. You have to be a next level talent to keep a job longer than the first contract with the same team.

That doesn’t mean veterans should struggle all that hard to find jobs. All of these guys are above average and all will likely land on a team by the time training camps start. Here are my suggestions for where my top five available linebackers should end up.

5. REGGIE RAGLAND, FREE AGENT

Age: 28

2021: 67 tackles, two for a loss, one fumble recovery, two passes defended

Ragland was a second round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2016 and never played a down for them due to injury. He landed in Kansas City in his second season and started 10 games. He’s been in and out of the starting lineup of the Chiefs, Detroit Lion and New York Giants in the years since. His best year was his third in the league. With KC, he recorded 86 tackles, two for a loss, half a sack and a pass defense.

Perfect landing spot: Detroit Lions

Detroit is still in the midst of a rebuild and has next to nothing at linebacker. Their best LB is Alex Anzalone in the middle. On the outside they have fourth-year player Chris Board and 2020 third round pick Julian Okwara. Ragland has played both inside and outside and would be a significant upgrade over Board on the strong side.

4. DONT’A HIGHTOWER, FREE AGENT

Age: 32

2021: 64 tackles, one for a loss, 1.5 sacks, one pass defended

Hightower has spent the entirety of his nine-year career with the New England Patriots after being selected in the first round in the 2012 NFL Draft, making two Pro Bowls and winning a couple of Super Bowls in the process. After sitting out the 2020 season with a COVID-19 exemption, Hightower returned in 2021 and the Patriots returned to the playoffs. He’s played every linebacker spot and had his second best season in 2017 with 71 tackles, eight for a loss, and 5.5 sacks.

Perfect landing spot: New York Jets

The Jets have a massive hole on the weakside of their linebacking corps. As of this writing, they have 2021 sixth rounder Hamsah Nasirildeen slotted there, but not only would Hightower be an upgrade, but he’ll be a legitimate leader in the locker room on a team that desperately needs it. Plus, it won’t hurt to have a former Patriot on the team considering the Jets have to face off against that team at least twice a year.

3. ANTHONY BARR, FREE AGENT

Age: 30

2021: 72 tackles, three for a loss, 2.5 sacks, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries, five passes defended

Barr is our second consecutive first round pick to find himself riding his chez lounge this late in the offseason. He was picked No. 9 overall by the Minnesota Vikings back in 2014 and started every game he was healthy for them since. And that’s the problem because his health has been an issue over the last two seasons. He only played in two games in 2020 and missed six games in 2021. His best year was his last full season, 2019, when he had 79 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, an interception and four passes defended.

Perfect landing spot: Houston Texans

Of all the weak spots on the Texans roster, they’re actually OK at two of the linebacker spots. Kamu Grugier-Hill is solid on the strong side and Christian Kirksey is good inside. It’s the weakside that lives up to its moniker with seventh year pro Neville Hewitt slotted in there. Barr would be an obvious upgrade on a team that needs help at every level on both sides of the ball.

2. ANTHONY HITCHENS, FREE AGENT

Age: 30

2021: 80 tackles, four for a loss, one interception, two passes defended

Hitchens breaks our first round streak and doesn’t even keep an NFL Draft Day one and two streak going. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2014 draft by the Dallas Cowboys and was a home run selection, starting 11 games as a rookie and every game he’s been healthy since. He spent the last four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and hoisted a Super Bowl trophy in the 2019-20 season. His best campaign was 2018 where he rung up 135 tackles, four tackles for a loss and one forced fumble.

Perfect landing spot: Seattle Seahawks

While it’s obvious to those of us outside the Seahawks that they are in a complete rebuild, I have no idea if head coach Pete Carroll has bought into that. They cut Bobby Wagner, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, and are looking to replace him with journeyman Joel Iyiegbuniwe, a guy that had a total of four tackles in 11 games last year and one whose name I could never spell without checking it multiple times as I type it. Hitchens would not only immediately start, he would do some damage control on the massive leadership gap left by Wagner’s exit.

1. JOE SCHOBERT, FREE AGENT

Age: 28

2021: 112 tackles, two for a loss, one forced fumble, one interception, six passes defended

Schubert was a draft day win for the Cleveland Browns back in 2016. Taken in the fourth round of that amateur player selection meeting, Schobert started four games as a rookie and every game in which he was healthy since. He spent his first four years with the Browns, spent a season with the Jacksonville Jaguars and then suited up for the Pittsburgh Steelers a year ago. Frankly, I’m shocked the Steelers cut him this offseason. He’s a very Mike Tomlin/Pittsburgh type of guy. His best season was his second when he led the NFL with 144 tackles, four for a loss, three sacks, three forced fumbles, four passes defended and one interception.

Perfect landing spot: Washington Commanders

Like the Texans, it almost feels bad to place a player, even with a suggestion, on a Commanders team that seems to always be imploding from the top down. Regardless of their ownership issues, Ron Rivera is a great head coach and he’s doing all he can in some pretty insane circumstances. As of today, Washington has David Mayo slotted in on the strong side and he has not recorded more than 30 tackles since 2019 and, before that 2018 year (his best by far) he didn’t even hit 20 tackles in the four seasons before. Schobert, in addition to be a Tomlin type guy, is absolutely a Rivera guy and the Commanders need all the help they can get.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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