2025 NFL Draft: Scouting linebackers using PFF+

• Carson Schwesinger stands out: The UCLA product’s 80.6 PFF defense grade and 50 stops were both above the NFL linebacker group’s average.
• Jailin Walker is a notable sleeper: Walker is the No. 234 overall prospect on the PFF big board. Walker’s 82.6 PFF defense grade and 84.5 PFF-run defense grade were both the NFL linebacker group’s average. 
• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

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PFF+ subscribers instantly have the work of the largest scouting department in history (in the form of the PFF data collection team) at their fingertips — much of the same information used by all 32 NFL front offices. And we’ll use that data here to scout edge defenders for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Thus far in this series of scouting players for the draft using PFF+, we have been examining successful rookie seasons in the NFL but only 13 rookie linebackers over the past seven draft classes had PFF defense grades above 70.0, so we must move beyond just looking at rookies.

To determine what is considered a successful season for an NFL linebacker, we will look at the players who have registered an 80.0-plus PFF defense grade over the last three seasons. During the last three NFL seasons, 24 linebackers have had a grade above 80.0.

Let’s examine what these players did in their last year of college to see if we can reverse engineer a successful NFL linebacker prospect. 

The grades and statistics we will be focusing on are PFF defense grade, PFF run-defense grade and total defensive stops. Here are the 24 linebackers who have had an 80.0-plus PFF defense grade over the last three NFL seasons and what they did during their last year of college football. 

• Zack Baun – DEF 90.6, RDEF 81.6, Stops 44
• Fred Warner – DEF 77.8, RDEF 90.4, Stops 41
• Bobby Wagner – Predates PFF college grades
• Edgerrin Cooper – DEF 90.8, RDEF 87.6, Stops 56
• Leo Chenal – DEF 91.2, RDEF 93.6, Stops 58
• Jack Gibbens – DEF 70.3, RDEF 67.7, Stops 40
• Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – DEF 76.5, RDEF 78.7, Stops 34
• Demario Davis – Predates PFF college games
• Tyrel Dodson – DEF 64.5, RDEF 72.3, Stops 49
• Jahlani Tavai – DEF 73.2, RDEF 76.0, Stops 32
• Blake Cashman – DEF 88.9, RDEF 84.3, Stops 54
• C.J. Mosley – Predates PFF college games
• Ernest Jones – DEF 68.8, RDEF 69.4, Stops 28
• Mack Wilson Sr – DEF 73.6, RDEF 70.5, Stops 17
• Quincy Williams – Predates PFF FCS games
• Roquan Smith – DEF 91.7, RDEF 90.7, Stops 59
• Markquese Bell – DEF 81.3, RDEF 84.7, Stops 42
• Frankie Luvu – DEF 72.4, RDEF 75.4, Stops 27
• T.J. Edwards – DEF 89.5, RDEF 87.1, Stops 52
• Lavonte David – Predates PFF college games
• Kaden Elliss – DEF 90.0, RDEF 80.5, Stops 12
• Dre Greenlaw – DEF 65.0, RDEF 70.8, Stops 25
• Germaine Pratt – DEF 90.3, RDEF 90.3, Stops 47
• Ja’Whaun Bentley – DEF 83.7, RDEF 91.3, Stops 47

Editor’s note: “DEF” is PFF defense grade while “RDEF” is PFF run-defense grade.

After examining the PFF premium stats of the linebackers to register an 80.0 PFF defense grade or higher during the last three NFL seasons, we are left with the following averages from their final year of college:

• PFF defense grade: 80.5
• PFF run-defense grade: 81.2
• Stops: 40.2

PFF defense grade

PFF defense grade is an overall grade that includes how a player grades as a run defender, pass-rusher, coverage player and tackler. The PFF defense grade isn’t an indicator of how a player will produce at the NFL level, it is solely based on how the player produced that season.

Among the linebackers that have had an 80.0-plus PFF defense grade during the last three seasons the high mark among their college production was Roquan Smith with a 91.7 grade. Six players had a 90.0-plus PFF defense grade in college — Zack Baun, Edgerrin Cooper, Leo Chenal, Roquan Smith, Kaden Elliss and Germaine Pratt. The average PFF defense grade among these players was 80.5. Three players had PFF defense grades below 70 — Tyrel Dodson (64.5), Ernest Jones (68.8) and Dre Greenlaw (65.0).

To examine a player’s PFF defense grade, do the following:

• Open up “PFF Premium stats”
• Select “NCAA”
• Select “by position”
• Select “regular season”
• Click on “LB” in the “Defense Grades” box
• Select “2025” as the draft year
• Set “min snaps” at 20% to filter out small sample size players

The results show that 19 college players in 2024 had a PFF defense grade above 80.0, which was the average of the linebackers in college who went on to have a PFF defense grade above 80.0 in the last three NFL seasons.

• Shaun Dolac, Buffalo, 91.7
• Bryce Boettcher, Oregon, 90.4
• Jay Higgins, Iowa, 89.2
• Kobe King, Penn State, 88.3
• Cody Simon, Ohio State, 97.9
• Chris Paul Jr., Mississippi, 87.2
• Colin Ramos, Navy, 87.2
• Matt Salopek, Miami (OH), 86.0
• Brock Horne, Bowling Green, 84.4
• Carson Bruener, Washington, 83.0
• Jailin Walker, Indiana, 82.6
• Demetrius Knight Jr., South Carolina, 82.7
• Ahmad Walker, SMU, 80.7
• Jacob Dobbs, James Madison, 80.7
• Carson Schwesinger, UCLA, 80.6
• Jackson Woodard, UNLV, 80.5
• Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech, 80.3
• Jack Kiser, Notre Dame, 80.1
• Shay Taylor, Ohio, 80.0

Run-defense grade

The PFF run-defense grade focuses on how the player fared against blockers and ball carriers on run plays. Defeating blocks, disrupting plays and finishing plays are ways a player can earn a positive mark. Tackles for loss generally create a higher grade than a tackle for a short gain, and the severity of the defensive players win also factors in. Losing a gap, getting sealed out of a gap, getting pushed yards out of the play or losing outside contain will earn a player a negative grade.

Among the linebackers over the past three NFL seasons to have an 80.0-plus PFF defense grade, Leo Chenal had the highest PFF run-defense grade in college at 93.6. Five players had a 90.0-plus PFF run-defense grade — Chenal, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Roquan Smith, Fred Warner and Germaine Pratt. The average run-defense grade among these linebackers was 81.2. Only two players had a PFF run-defense grade below 70.0 during their last year of college — Ernest Jones (69.4) and Jack Gibbens (67.7).

To examine the player’s PFF defense grade, do the following:

• Open up “PFF Premium stats”
• Select “NCAA”
• Select “by position”
• Select “regular season”
• Click on “LB” in “Defense Grades” box
• Select “2025” to be the Draft year
• Set “min snaps” at 20% to filter out small sample size players
• Sort by “RDEF” under the “grades” heading

The results show that 28 college players in 2024 had a PFF run-defense grade above 81.0, which is what NFL linebackers averaged in college. This group is framed by Michigan State‘s Jordan Turner, who recorded a 92.2 PFF run-defense grade, down to James Madison‘s Jacob Dobbs, who post an 81.0 PFF run-defense grade.

Stops

Among the linebackers that have had an 80.0-plus PFF defense grade during the last three NFL seasons, the high mark among their college production was once again Roquan Smith with 59 stops. Five players had more than 50 stop — Smith, Leo Chenal, Edgerrin Cooper, Blake Cashman and T.J. Edwards. The average among this group was 40 stops. Only five of these players had less than 30 stops in their last year of college — Ernest Jones (28), Frankie Luvu (27), Dre Greenlaw (25), Mack Wilson Sr (17) and Kaden Elliss (12).

To examine the player’s number of defensive stops, do the following:

• Open up “PFF Premium stats”
• Select “NCAA”
• Select “by position”
• Select “regular season”
• Click on “LB” in “Defense Grades” box
• Select “2025” to be the Draft year
• Set “min snaps” at 20% to filter out small sample size players
• Sort by “STOP” under the “tackling” heading

The results show that 29 college players in 2024 had 40 or more stops. which was the average of the NFL linebackers in college who went on to have an 80.0-plus PFF defense grade during the last three NFL seasons. This group is framed by Buffalo‘s Shaun Dolac, who recorded 69 stops, down to Iowa’s Jay Higgins and SMU’s Kobe Wilson with 40.

Findings

While there is no guarantee that any of these players will become productive NFL linebackers, this group is a great place to start looking for the next NFL linebacker to have an 80.0 PFF defense grade in the near future.

Demetrius Knight Jr., South Carolina

Knight is the No. 33 overall prospect on the PFF big board. Knight’s 82.5 PFF defense grade as well as his 85.4 PFF run-defense grade were above the average of the NFL linebacker group during their final year of college.

Carson Schwesinger, UCLA

Schwesinger is the No. 52 overall prospect on the PFF big board. Schwesinger’s 80.6 PFF defense grade and 50 stops were both above the NFL linebacker group’s average. 

Chris Paul Jr., Mississippi

Paul is the No. 70 overall prospect on the PFF big board. Paul’s 87.2 PFF defense grade, 84.6 PFF run defense grade and 54 stops were all above the NFL linebacker group’s average. 

Jack Kiser, Notre Dame

Kiser is the No. 127 overall prospect on the PFF big board. Kiser’s 80.1 PFF defense grade was right on the NFL linebacker group’s average, and his 84.3 PFF run defense grade of 84.3 was above the average.

Kobe King, Penn State 

King is the No. 156 overall prospect on the PFF big board. King’s 88.3 PFF defense grade and his 89.2 PFF run defense grade were both above the average of the NFL linebacker group. King’s 38 stops came in just below the average of 40 stops.

Cody Simon, Ohio State 

Simon is the No. 166 overall prospect on the PFF big board. Simon’s 87.9 PFF defense grade and 89.2 PFF run defense grade were both above the NFL linebacker group’s average. 

Jay Higgins, Iowa 

Higgins is the No. 197 overall prospect on the PFF big board. Higgins’ 89.2 PFF defense grade was above the NFL linebacker group’s average, and his 40 stops were right on the average mark. Higgins also had a stellar 92.4 PFF coverage grade. 

Jailin Walker, Indiana

Walker is the No. 234 overall prospect on the PFF big board. Walker’s 82.6 PFF defense grade and 84.5 PFF-run defense grade were both the NFL linebacker group’s average. 

Jackson Woodard, UNLV

Woodard isn’t presently in the top 300 prospects on the PFF big board but his grades were stellar across the board and he was invited to the NFL combine. Woodard’s 80.5 PFF defense grade, 86.5 PFF run-defense grade and 53 stops were all above the NFL linebacker group’s averages. 

Shaun Dolac, Buffalo

Dolac isn’t presently on the top 300 prospects on the PFF big board nor was he invited to the NFL combine, but he graded very well in 2024. Dolac’s 91.7 PFF defense grade of 91.7, 88.8 PFF run-defense grade and 69 stops were all above the NFL linebacker group’s average during their final year of college. Dolac also had an impressive 82.0 PFF pass-rush grade and a 92.7 coverage grade.

Bryce Boettcher, Oregon

Boettcher isn’t presently among the top 300 prospects on the PFF big board nor was he invited to the NFL combine, but his 90.4 PFF defense grade, as well as his 83.0 PFF run-defense grade, were both above the NFL linebacker group’s average. Boettcher is a dual sport athlete for the University of Oregon, as he also played centerfield for the Ducks’ baseball team and was drafted by the Houston Astros.