2022 NFL Draft: Taking a look at the LBs this year and in past 10 drafts

Linebackers, especially edge rushers, figure to be hot commodities in the 2022 NFL Draft. But don’t expect a repeat of the 2021 draft.

That’s when eight linebackers came off the board in the first round; instead, expect it to be more like 2019 and 2020, when five linebackers went in the first round each year.

We have produced a list of the top available talent at the position in this draft using the rankings of draft analysts Dane Brugler of The Athletic and Lance Zierlein of NFL.com as well as the ESPN consensus (from among analysts Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, Matt Miller and Jason Reid). We also take a look at the position in the past 10 drafts.

We are using the defensive end, defensive tackle and edge designations from NFL.com’s 2022 NFL Draft Tracker, and we are including the edge group as linebackers. (The NFL started differentiating between “end” and “edge” in the 2018 draft.)

This is part 7 of an eight-part draft series leading into the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, which is Thursday, April 28 in Las Vegas. We looked at quarterbacks last Wednesday, running backs Thursday, wide receivers and tight ends Friday, offensive tackles on Saturday, interior offensive linemen on Sunday and defensive linemen Monday; it finishes with defensive backs Wednesday.

As a refresher, here are the underclassmen who are available in the draft. And if you want to look into the recruiting rankings of those taken in the past few drafts, you can have fun with the On3 NFL Draft by Stars database.

Consensus top 5 edge rushers in this draft

1. Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon

The skinny: On3 Consensus five-star prospect, from Thousand Oaks (Calif.) Oaks Christian, in the 2019 recruiting class. Thibodeaux has been in the spotlight since the start of his senior season of high school. While he did put up crazy-big numbers at Oregon, he did lead the Ducks in tackles for loss in each of his three seasons and finished with 35.5 in his career; he also finished with 19 sacks. The last Ducks defender to go in the first round was DeForest Buckner, who went seventh in 2016.

2. George Karlaftis, Purdue

The skinny: On3 Consensus four-star prospect, from West Lafayette (Ind.) High, in the 2019 recruiting class. Karlaftis lived in Greece until the eighth grade, when his family moved to West Lafayette. He was a national top-75 player as a high school senior and immediately lived up to billing ss a true freshman in 2019, leading the Boilermakers with 17 tackles for loss. Karlaftis only played in three games in 2020 because of injuries and COVID, then had a strong season in 2021 before turning pro. Purdue hasn’t had a defender go as early as the second round since DT Jawann Short in 2013. The last Purdue player to go in the first round was LB Ryan Kerrigan in 2011.

3. David Ojabo, Michigan

The skinny: On3 Consensus four-star prospect, from Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy, in the 2019 recruiting class. Ojabo’s draft stock took a hit when he suffered a torn Achilles at Michigan’s pro day in mid-March, but his pass-rush ability won’t be overlooked. He was second in the Big Ten in 2021 (behind teammate Aidan Hutchinson) with 11 sacks. Ojabo’s ascension as a prospect is remarkable: He redshirted as a true freshman, made one tackle in 2020, then burst on the scene in 2021. He is a native of Nigeria who also lived in Scotland before moving to the U.S. for high school.

4. Boye Mafe, Minnesota

The skinny: On3 Consensus three-star prospect, from Minnetonka (Minn.) Hopkins, in the 2017 recruiting class. His name is pronounced BOY-ay MAH-fay. He redshirted as a freshman, was a reserve in 2018 and ’19, then started in his final two seasons with the Golden Gophers. Mafe, who is on Nigerian descent, is ninth in school history with 15 sacks. The last Minnesota front seven defender to be drafted before day three was DT Ra’Shede Hageman, in the second round in 2014.

5. Arnold Ebiketie, Penn State

The skinny: On3 Consensus three-star prospect, from Kensington (Md.) Einstein, in the 2017 recruiting class. He signed with Temple out of high school and spent four years with the Owls, including a redshirt season as a true freshman. Ebiketie, who was born in Cameroon, was productive in his one season as a Nittany Lion in 2021, finishing with 18 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. Penn State has had seven defensive players selected in the past two drafts.

Consensus top 3 ILBs in this draft

1. Devin Lloyd, Utah

The skinny: On3 Consensus three-star prospect, from Chula Vista (Calif.) Otay Ranch, in the 2017 recruiting class. It took a while for Lloyd to make an impact – he redshirted as a true freshman, then played mostly on special teams in 2018. But he started to become a force in 2019 and ended up as a two-time All-American. Utah hasn’t had a defensive player picked in the first round since DT Star Lotulelei in 2013 and never has had a first-round linebacker.

2. Nakobe Dean, Georgia

The skinny: On3 Consensus five-star prospect, from Horn Lake (Miss.) High, in the 2019 recruiting class. Dean seems likely to be one of four Georgia defenders who will be drafted in the first round; he would be the first Bulldogs ’backer to go in the first round since Roquan Smith in 2018. He won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker in 2021.

3. Quay Walker, Georgia

The skinny: On3 Consensus five-star prospect, from Cordele (Ga.) Crisp County, in the 2018 recruiting class. Walker was a key reserve in his first three seasons on campus, then became a starter as a senior in 2021. Walker is one of three Georgia linebackers who will be drafted and one of eight Bulldogs defenders who seem likely to come off the board.

First-round LBs in past 10 drafts

+ There have been 42 linebackers (including edge rushers) selected in the first round in the past 10 drafts. (And, once again, the NFL started differentiating between “end” and “edge” in the 2018 draft.)

+ Five of those were On3 Consensus five-star linebacker recruits: Alec Ogletree from the 2010 class; Stephone Anthony from the 2011 class; Shaq Thompson from the 2012 class; Reuben Foster from the 2013 class; and Rashaan Evans from the 2014 class. (Five-star linebacker Jonathan Allen, from the 2013 class, was drafted as an end. In addition, three former five-star defensive linemen were drafted as linebackers: Dante Fowler from the 2012 class, Jaelan Phillips from the 2017 class and Micah Parsons from the 2018 class. They were covered in the defensive line story.)

+ The recruiting rankings of the other first-round linebackers broke down like this. On3 Consensus four-star prospects: Anthony Barr, Vic Beasley, Brian Burns, Devin Bush Jr., K’Lavon Chaisson, Tremaine Edmunds, Leonard Floyd, Donta Hightower, Jarvis Jones, C.J. Mosley, Jayson Oweh, Kwity Paye, Patrick Queen, Ryan Shazier, Roquan Smith, Isaiah Simmons and Devin White. Three-star recruits: Josh Allen, Jordyn Brooks, Zaven Collins, Jamin Davis, Jarrad Davis, Bud Dupree, Luke Kuechly, Darron Lee, Kenneth Murray, Gregory Rousseau, Montez Sweat (as a tight end), Joe Tryon and T.J. Watt. Khalil Mack was a two-star prospect, and Charles Harris, Haason Reddick and Leighton Vander Esch were unranked recruits.

+ The conference breakdown of the 42: Eighteen were from the SEC; eight from the ACC; seven from the Big Ten; three from Pac-12; two each from the AAC and Big 12; and one each from the MAC and Mountain West.

+ Eleven linebackers have been selected in the top 10.

+ Three times in the past 10 drafts, two linebackers have gone in the top 10 – 2019 (there actually were three), 2015 and 2014.

+ Alabama and Georgia each have had four first-round linebackers in the past 10 drafts. Clemson and Kentucky have had three each.

Total LBs taken in past 10 drafts

+ There have been 369 linebackers selected in the past 10 drafts, with a high of 48 in 2020 and a low of 25 in 2013.

+ Each of the past four drafts have seen at least 40 linebackers selected, and that coincides with when NFL.com started designating between “ends” (which we list with linemen) and “edge” players (which we list with linebackers).

The 5-star linebackers

We looked at the five-star linebackers in the 2009-19 recruiting classes (those in the ’09 class were eligible for the first time in the 2012 draft and those in the ’19 class are eligible for this draft). We stuck with their recruiting designation: If they were listed as a linebacker in the recruiting rankings at the time, they count as a linebacker.

+ There were 41 five-star linebackers in those 11 classes: five in 2009, five in ’10, six in ’11, two in ’12, four in ’13, four in ’14, two in ’15, four in ’16, seven in ’17, three in ’18 and four in ’19.

+ One five-star linebacker from 2018 (Ohio State’s Palaie Gaoteote IV) and two from 2019 (Auburn’s Owen Pappoe and TCU’s Marcel Brooks) will be playing this fall. Gaoteote is a USC transfer, while Brooks transferred from LSU.

+ Five former five-star linebackers are in the 2022 NFL Draft: Ben Davis (from the 2016 class (signed with Alabama and transferred to Texas), Adam Anderson and Quay Walker (both from the 2018 class, both attended Georgia; Walker is mentioned earlier), Dean (from the 2019 class, discussed earlier) and Brandon Smith, also from the 2019 class and who attended Penn State.

+ We mentioned the six five-star linebackers (including Jonathan Allen, drafted as an end) who were taken in the first round of the draft earlier. Another 12 former five-stars have been drafted. From the 2009 class: Manti Te’o (second round) and Jelani Jenkins and Nico Johnson (both in the fourth). From the 2010 class: Jordan Hicks (third). From 2011: Tony Steward (sixth). From the 2012 class: Josh Harvey-Clemons (seventh). From 2013: Jaylon Smith (second). From 2014: Raekwon McMillan (second) and Christian Miller (fourth). From the 2015 class: Malik Jefferson (third). From the 2016 class: Mack Wilson (fifth). And from the 2017 class: Baron Browning (third).

+ The 15 five-star linebackers who have completed their eligibility and weren’t drafted: Dorian Bell and Vontaze Burfict from the 2009 class; Christian Jones, Jeff Luc and Cecil Whiteside from 2010; Steve Edmond, Curtis Grant, C.J. Johnson and Ishaq Williams from 2011; Matthew Thomas from the 2013 class; Tre’ Williams from the 2014 class; Justin Hilliard from the 2015 class; Mique Juarez and Tre Lamar from the 2016 class; and Dylan Moses from the 2017 class.