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2026 NFL Draft Linebacker Rankings: CFN’s College Football Perspective
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- 2026 NFL Draft Linebacker Rankings: CFN’s College Football Perspective
Linebackers still matter.
Everyone loves the edge rushers and the hybrid types, but there's still a place for a linebacker who can stop the run, order everyone around, and be the leader and buck-stops-here tough guy for a defense.
Only two linebackers were selected in the first round last season - Jalon Walker
and Jihaad Campbell
were okay - but Carson Schwesinger
was taken with the first pick in the second round, and he tackled just about everything for the Browns.
This year, the position is a bit more about semantics. Are we counting Arvell Reese as an edge or a linebacker? (An edge, but he can move around.)
Sonny Styles
is a linebacker, but he can be used as a pass rusher. LSU's Harold Perkins
is like an edge, Pitt's Kyle Louis has safety tendencies, and ...
These guys have to do it all. Here's CFN's ranking of the top 15 linebackers - from the college angle - for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Nov 23, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. (0) celebrates after a stop against the Kentucky Wildcats on fourth down in the third quarter at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. © Ricardo B. Brazziell/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
2026 NFL Draft: CFN's Linebacker Rankings, Key Sleeper, and Best Value
Best Value Prospect
Bryce Boettcher, OregonGood size, good toughness, and for some bizarre reason, he'll probably still be on the board on Day 3. He's an inside linebacker and won't wow anyone with the raw tools, but get him out there and he'll lead your team in tackles.
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Top Sleeper Linebacker
Red Murdock, Buffalo
An all-around dominant playmaker over the last three seasons for the Bulls, he's a force at getting into the backfield and was a forced fumble machine from the start.
He doesn't have the NFL speed, and his style isn't totally polished, but the guy forced more fumbles than anyone in the history of college football. He can play, and he'll be there late on Day 3.
Will Go Too Early
Jake Golday, Cincinnati
Great frame, great athleticism, great attitude, but he's a tad bit of a tweener.
Terrific over the last two years with the Bearcats, he has a world of upside. Love him somewhere around the 100th pick, but there's a shot he goes in the top 50 based on his traits.
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Best of the Rest Linebackers
(In alphabetical order, with the projected draft round in parentheses)
Kaleb Elarms-Orr, TCU (4); Aiden Fisher, Indiana (6); Red Murdock, Buffalo (6); Jimmy Rolder, Michigan (5); Taurean York, Texas A&M (6)
Deontae Lawson
CFN LB Rank:10
College:Alabama
Projected Draft Round:5
Height/Weight:6-3, 226
2025 Stats:89 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4.5 TFL, 4 PBU, 2 FF
A leader you want on your team in some way, he has to find the right NFL fit. He's not a pass rusher from the outside, and he's not a thumper in the interior. He moves well enough to find a spot somewhere as a key Day 3 pick.
Bryce Boettcher
CFN LB Rank:9
College:Oregon
Projected Draft Round:4
Height/Weight:6-1, 233
2025 Stats:136 tackles, 1 sack, 5.5 TFL, 1 INT, 6 PBU, 2 FF
Quietly awesome over the last two years, he's a good-sized tackling machine who might not end up doing much in pass coverage at the next level, but he'll hit everything with a rare thump and fire - he never stops.
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Jake Golday
CFN LB Rank:8
College:Cincinnati
Projected Draft Round:2
Height/Weight:6-5, 239
2025 Stats:105 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 6 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 FF
Active and productive, there's a chance he turns into a monster if allowed to do more to get into the backfield - but he's an inside linebacker. A tough guy who'll make lots and lots of tackles if the NFL production matches the tools and potential.
Josiah Trotter
CFN LB Rank:7
College:Missouri
Projected Draft Round:2
Height/Weight:6-2, 237
2025 Stats:84 tackles, 2 sacks, 13 TFL, 1 PBU
Good at West Virginia, he was even better in his one year with Missouri. There's a shot he turns into one of the better pass-rushing linebackers in the draft with the athleticism and smarts to do whatever is needed.
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Harold Perkins
CFN LB Rank:6
College:LSU
Projected Draft Round:3
Height/Weight:6-1, 223
2025 Stats:56 tackles, 4 sacks, 8 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 FF
This is a little bit of wishcasting here.
He's not big enough, and there's no power. Worst of all, he isn't the same player he was before suffering a knee injury two years ago. However, if that groove comes back, he has gamewrecking, third-down pass-rushing specialist upside.
CJ Allen
CFN LB Rank:5
College:Georgia
Projected Draft Round:2
Height/Weight:6-1, 230
2025 Stats:88 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 8 TFL, 4 PBU, 2 FF
There are others in the draft who'll turn into pass rushers. Allen fits inside, will beat up everyone, and he'll lead your team in tackles. He's not bad in all phases, but he'll make his money as a team leader and a tough guy hitter against the run.
Oct 12, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Kyle Louis (9) reacts after a defensive stop against the California Golden Bears during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Pittsburgh won 17-15.© Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Kyle Louis
CFN LB Rank:4
College:Pitt
Projected Draft Round:3
Height/Weight:6-0, 220
2025 Stats:81 tackles, 3 sacks, 8.5 TFL, 2 INF, 3 PBU, 1 FF
A true tweener, he's too small and won't bring any big pop, but he can run, makes a ton of plays all over the field, and he can be a jack-of-all-trades for the linebacking corps.
He might not be the best tackler among the top linebackers, but none of the guys in this draft have his all-around skill set.
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Jacob Rodriguez
CFN LB Rank:3
College:Texas Tech
Projected Draft Round:2
Height/Weight:6-1, 231
2025 Stats:128 tackles, 1 sack, 11 TFL, 4 INT, 6 PBU, 7 FF
Don't think too hard about this. Some guys just know how to make lots of plays, and some just know how to play football.
Rodriguez is fast enough, tough enough, and will make up for his deficiencies - okay in pass coverage - with plenty of production. Someone will leap off his chair to take him in the second round.
Anthony Hill
CFN LB Rank:2
College:Texas
Projected Draft Round:2
Height/Weight:6-2, 238
2025 Stats:69 tackles, 4 sacks, 7 TFL, 2 INT, 1 PBU, 3 FF
You might want your star linebacker to be a little bit bigger - which is why he'll likely drop into late Day Two - but he's as smart as they come when it comes to getting away from the wash and having a clear shot at a play. He's a ten-year starter who'll fall too far.
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Sonny Styles
CFN LB Rank:1
College:Ohio State
Projected Draft Round:1
Height/Weight:6-5, 244
2025 Stats:82 tackles, 1 sack, 6.5 TFL, 1 INT, 3 PBU, 1 FF
The tools and traits are ridiculous. He's built like an edge rusher, runs like a defensive back - which he used to be - and is as quick as any running back.
He's impossibly talented, but there's still work to do - he's just getting started.
Already great at getting in on tackles, he's just scratching the surface as a pass rusher and playmaker behind the line.
Related: 2026 NFL Draft Edge Rusher, Defensive End Rankings: CFN's College Football Perspective
This story was originally published by College Football News on Apr 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL Draft section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
