The offseason of lists and rankings continues. PFF continues its series of the top 32 players at each position. They ranked the top off-ball linebackers in the league.
Guess what?
The Arizona Cardinals were shut out of the list. They did not get a single linebacker in the top 32.
The truth is that they have a bunch of mostly nobodies.
Kyzir White probably would have cracked the list if he were on anybody's roster, perhaps.
But Mack Wilson became a full-time player last season after four years of not playing even 400 defensive snaps. They have Owen Pappoe, who has only been a special teams player through two NFL seasons. They added Akeem Davis-Gaither, the favorite to be the starting Mike linebacker, who only has 11 career starts in five seasons, seven of which came last season when he became the starter for the Cincinnati Bengals after Logan Wilson got hurt.
They added Mykal Walker, who played 77 defensive snaps all last season while logging over 300 on special teams.
And then they added Cody Simon in the fourth round out of Ohio State.
So of course the Cardinals don't have anyone ranked entering the season. Perhaps someone can perform well enough to earn a spot in these rankings next summer, but nothing about the linebacker room screams proven production.
But that is partly the point. The Cardinals will get better linebacker play with an improved defensive line and edge, which they vastly upgraded this offseason. They believe that you can get good enough linebacker play and not pay a lot for it, at least until you find an elite player. They don't have that.
Will the linebackers produce? Absolutely. White had 137 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, eight QB hits and three pass breakups. If the defensive line does its job, someone who plays the number of snaps White did last year will have similar production.
That's how it will go.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL top linebackers: Arizona Cardinals have nobody in top 32
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