IDP Linebacker Rankings Week 1: Every Starting Off-Ball LB, Ranked

Linebacker is the position that wins IDP leagues, and it is the position where Week 1 lists go wrong most often, because a lot of them are still assigning players to the teams they played for last year. What follows is every starting off-ball linebacker on the Sunday and Monday slate, ranked, with his 2025 production, his team's spread and his game total. Edge rushers who appear at linebacker slots on a 4-3 depth chart are excluded here and covered in the defensive line piece.

1. JORDYN BROOKS, DOLPHINS at Raiders. +3, total 40.5. 183 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss in 2025 - the league lead in total tackles. The lowest-scoring environment on the slate is the only argument against him, and it is not a good enough one to bench a player who never leaves the field.

2. JACK CAMPBELL, LIONS vs. Saints. -7, total 49.5. 176 tackles, 5 sacks, 9 tackles for loss. Second in the NFL in tackles last season and now in the highest-total early game with a seven-point spread in his favour. New Orleans throwing to catch up is the single most reliable source of linebacker volume on the board.

3. CARSON SCHWESINGER, BROWNS at Jaguars. +8.5, total 39.5. 156 tackles and 11 tackles for loss as a rookie. The biggest underdog spread of the one o'clock window means Cleveland's defense is on the field, and that is all a tackle machine needs. He is the best value start of the week relative to draft cost.

4. NICK BOLTON, CHIEFS vs. Broncos. -2.5, total 43.5. 154 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 6 passes defensed. Monday night, a divisional game, and a spread close enough that neither offense runs away with it. 5. JAMIEN SHERWOOD, JETS at Titans. +1.5, total 38.5. 154 tackles and 8 passes defensed. The total is the lowest on the slate; he has been productive in low-scoring games his whole career.

6. BLAKE CASHMAN, VIKINGS vs. Packers. -1.5, total 46.5. 144 tackles. 7. BOBBY OKEREKE, PANTHERS vs. Bears. +3, total 47.5. 143 tackles, and Carolina getting points in a 47.5-point game is a strong script. 8. DEMARIO DAVIS, JETS at Titans. +1.5. 143 tackles. 9. ALEX SINGLETON, BRONCOS at Chiefs. +2.5, total 43.5. 135 tackles. 10. ROQUAN SMITH, RAVENS at Colts. -3.5, total 47.5. 130 tackles, and with Teddye Buchanan ruled out beside him the workload concentrates further.

11. QUAY WALKER, RAIDERS vs. Dolphins. -3, total 40.5. 128 tackles, 8 tackles for loss. 12. PAYTON WILSON, STEELERS vs. Falcons. -6, total 41.5. 126 tackles. 13. ZAIRE FRANKLIN, PACKERS at Vikings. +1.5, total 46.5. 125 tackles, 7 tackles for loss. 14. ZACK BAUN, EAGLES vs. Commanders. -6, total 44.5. 123 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 7 passes defensed. 15. PATRICK QUEEN, STEELERS vs. Falcons. -6. 120 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, in the same front as Wilson, which caps both.

16. EDGERRIN COOPER, PACKERS at Vikings. +1.5. 118 tackles. 17. AKEEM DAVIS-GAITHER, COLTS vs. Ravens. +3.5, total 47.5. 117 tackles, and getting points in a 47.5-point game is the best script any linebacker in this range has. 18. ERIC WILSON, VIKINGS vs. Packers. -1.5. 115 tackles with 6.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss, a genuinely unusual line for an off-ball player and a big-play profile in leagues that reward tackles for loss. 19. TREMAINE EDMUNDS, GIANTS vs. Cowboys. +3, total 48.5. 112 tackles, 9 passes defensed, Sunday night.

20. KADEN ELLISS, SAINTS at Lions. +7, total 49.5. 107 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss. Seven points in a 49.5-point game is the best pure tackle environment on the slate; the only reason he is not higher is that a blowout cuts the snap count late. 21. BARRETT CARTER, BENGALS vs. Buccaneers. -3.5, total 50.5. 106 tackles in the highest-total game of the week. 22. AZEEZ AL-SHAAIR, TEXANS vs. Bills. +1.5, total 44.5. 103 tackles, 9 passes defensed. 23. DAIYAN HENLEY, CHARGERS vs. Cardinals. -9.5, total 47.5. 103 tackles and 3.5 sacks, but laying 9.5 is the worst tackle script of the week.

24. DEE WINTERS, COWBOYS at Giants. -3, total 48.5. 101 tackles, 8 tackles for loss. 25. ALEX ANZALONE, BUCCANEERS at Bengals. +3.5, total 50.5. 95 tackles, 9 passes defensed, and the highest total on the board. 26. FRANKIE LUVU, COMMANDERS at Eagles. +6, total 44.5. 86 tackles, 3 sacks. 27. DEVIN LLOYD, PANTHERS vs. Bears. +3. 81 tackles, 7 passes defensed. 28. PETE WERNER, SAINTS at Lions. +7. 81 tackles. 29. CODY BARTON, TITANS vs. Jets. -1.5. 81 tackles and 11 passes defensed, with Cedric Gray out beside him. 30. JIHAAD CAMPBELL, EAGLES vs. Commanders. -6. 80 tackles.

OUT. Cedric Gray, Titans (concussion), who finished fourth in the league with 164 tackles in 2025 and is the most costly linebacker absence of the week. Teddye Buchanan, Ravens (knee). Patrick Jones II, Panthers (back). Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Browns. E.J. Speed, Texans. Jonathan Greenard, Eagles (pectoral). Jonathon Cooper, Broncos. Harold Landry III, Patriots. QUESTIONABLE: Christian Rozeboom, Buccaneers (foot); Tuli Tuipulotu, Chargers (hip); Za'Darius Smith, Falcons (shoulder); Austin Ajiake, Colts (hamstring); Ty'Ron Hopper, Packers.

ROOKIES STARTING AT LINEBACKER. Arvell Reese, Giants vs. Cowboys (+3, total 48.5), the fifth overall pick, opens as a starter on Sunday night. Josiah Trotter, Buccaneers at Bengals (+3.5, total 50.5), starts in the highest-total game of the week. Sonny Styles, Commanders at Eagles (+6), starts as a six-point road underdog. Malachi Lawrence, Cowboys, and CJ Allen, Colts, are on rosters and worth a stash. Rookie off-ball linebackers who play every down are the cheapest reliable IDP production in the format, and none of these three cost anything to add.

METHOD. Starters taken from current team depth charts, not last season's. Injury designations from the league injury report as of Friday, September 11. Spreads and totals as posted for the Sunday and Monday slate. All production figures are 2025 regular season totals. Every player's 2026 team was verified against his current roster page before this was written.