Bradley LockerAug 6, 2026
PFF's offseason ranking of the NFL's best linebackers heading into 2026 places Fred Warner first, followed by Detroit's Campbell, Devin Lloyd and Zack Baun, with Bobby Wagner 10th and Henley last at 32. The piece also expects Chenal to finally get a starter's workload in Washington in 2026.
Published in writing · Pro Football FocusRead the original
What Bradley Locker said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromFred Warner is still the best: Even in an injury-shortened season, Warner produced the highest overall PFF grade among NFL linebackers.
- Where it was published
- Pro Football Focus
- The piece
- PFF Linebacker Rankings: The top 32 players ahead of the 2026 NFL season
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Top Player Lists“With PFF's offseason rankings now entrenched on the defensive side of the ball, it's time to assess the NFL's premier linebackers. ... 10. Bobby Wagner, free agent”
- 2Leo Chenal to be 1st on the depth chart“The new Commander should finally receive a starter's share of playing time in 2026 and has a good chance to climb this list in short order.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “With PFF's offseason rankings now entrenched on the defensive…”1 | Top Player Lists | — | — | — | — | |
| Leo Chenal to be 1st on the depth chart2 | Depth Chart Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 2 calls · 2 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
2 checkable claims — 1 depth chart call and 1 top player list — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
“With PFF's offseason rankings now entrenched on the defensive side of the ball, it's time to assess the NFL's premier linebackers. ... 10. Bobby Wagner, free agent”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
2Depth Chart CallsLeo ChenalWashington Commanders
Leo Chenal to be 1st on the depth chart
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
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Manzano picked the Commanders, Lions, Chiefs, Browns, Packers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Saints, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens in Week 10.
More depth chart calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
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Previewing Week 9 running game matchups, Bodiford expects Jacksonville to win lopsidedly over a depleted Baltimore team, with Bhayshul Tuten sitting out and Chris Rodriguez taking over as lead back, while Joe Fagnano starts at quarterback for the Ravens. They also view Broncos rookie Jonah Coleman as an RB2 going forward.