- The Bengals will look for a defensive cornerstone: Devin Lloyd is the top free-agent linebacker this cycle, with a resume to back it up. The 27-year-old posted the second-highest PFF overall grade (89.1) among qualifying linebackers during the 2025 regular season, finishing as the only linebacker with an 80.0-plus PFF grade in run defense (83.2), coverage (81.1) and pass rushing (82.2).
- The Bills need a defensive chess piece: Nakobe Dean would give new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard the perfect skill set to amplify his aggressive, blitz-heavy scheme, with Dean posting the second-highest PFF pass-rush grade among linebackers since 2024.
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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
As NFL franchises evaluate and reload their rosters this offseason, we're identifying key pieces at each position and plugging them into teams based on scheme and usage.
Here are the best fits for each of the top five free-agent linebackers of the 2026 NFL offseason.
For more data on the 2026 free-agent class, check out the PFF free-agent rankings.
Devin Lloyd
- Best Landing Spot: Cincinnati Bengals
- PFF Free-Agent Ranking: 4
As PFF analyst Dalton Wasserman highlighted in his recent look at free-agent signings that make sense, Al Golden’s defense is in dire need of an overhaul, particularly at linebacker. Headlined primarily by a pair of rookies, Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter, the Bengals' linebacking corps ranked last in the NFL in PFF overall grade (34.4). A defensive leader and cornerstone will be Cincinnati’s biggest target this offseason.
Devin Lloyd fits the bill as the top free-agent linebacker this cycle, with a resume to back it up. The 27-year-old posted the second-highest PFF overall grade (89.1) among qualifying linebackers during the regular season, finishing as the only linebacker with an 80.0-plus mark in run defense (83.2), coverage (81.1) and pass rushing (82.2). That feat earned him a second-team All-Pro nod.
Devin Bush
- Best Landing Spot: Washington Commanders
- PFF Free-Agent Ranking: 8
With Bobby Wagner’s contract set to expire, the Commanders may be in the market for a new defensive centerpiece. While Washington could re-sign Wagner, the front office may be aiming to get younger on defense, and Bush would profile as a strong option to replace the veteran.
Bush revitalized his career in Cleveland. He took on an increased role in 2025 and posted a career-best 87.6 PFF overall grade, third best among qualifying linebackers this season. Like Wagner, Bush is a high-caliber run defender, having earned an 85.0-plus PFF run-defense grade each of the past two seasons. But Bush may be an improvement in coverage, where he produced a career-best 80.4 PFF coverage grade this past season.
Nakobe Dean
- Best Landing Spot: Buffalo Bills
- PFF Free-Agent Ranking: 11
The Bills struggled to fit the run in 2025, ranking 28th in rushing success rate (33.1%) allowed. Their linebacking corps was a contributing factor, as the group's 27.3% negatively graded run-play rate ranked 30th. With Matt Milano‘s and Shaq Thompson’s contracts set to expire, it would be prudent for Buffalo to explore the 25-year-old former Eagles linebacker.
After battling through a patellar tendon injury late in 2024 that cut short a breakout season, Dean returned to the field and continued to perform at a high level. The addition would give the Bills a plus run defender they’re in desperate need of, evidenced by Dean’s 96th-percentile run-stop percentage (10.3%) over the past two seasons.
Dean would give new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard a chess piece to amplify his aggressive, blitz-heavy scheme after posting the second-highest PFF pass-rush grade among linebackers since 2024.
Leo Chenal
- Best Landing Spot: Carolina Panthers
- PFF Free-Agent Ranking: 12
After playing a limited role as a situational run-stuffing and blitzing linebacker to start his career with the Chiefs, Chenal is ready to slot in full time elsewhere. He has posted a 70.0-plus PFF run-defense grade in each of his first four seasons. But it’s his improvements in coverage — headlined by a career-best 72.6 PFF grade in 2025 — that should make him an enticing option.
The Panthers' linebacking corps failed to produce a single player with a PFF overall grade above 55.0 in 2025. Adding Chenal to headline the group as the new green-dot communicator would project well for a defense that ranked 23rd in EPA per play allowed this past season.
Bobby Wagner
- Best Landing Spot: Dallas Cowboys
- PFF Free-Agent Ranking: 48
Wagner is another high-performing veteran whose market is worth watching. Although Wagner, at nearly 36 years old, isn’t near the player in coverage he once was, he still excels as a run defender and a blitzer. This season, he stood as the only linebacker to produce 90.0-plus PFF grades in run defense (90.3), pass rushing (92.4) and tackling (90.5).
Difficulties stopping the run this past season led to the trade that sent Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys. Although the massive defensive tackle alleviated some of those issues, the Cowboys still finished 28th in EPA per play allowed on designed runs and surrendered the seventh-most yards per carry on average. Adding Wagner — who has earned a 90.0-plus PFF run-defense grade in each of his past four seasons — to the middle of this defense would go a long way toward amplifying the entire unit.
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