Fred Warner, Roquan Smith, Zack Baun Top NFL Off-Ball LB Rankings by Coaches, Execs

It's Fred Warner's world, and every other linebacker in the NFL is just living in it.

The San Francisco 49ers superstar topped the ranking of off-ball linebackers going into the 2025 season in a survey of coaches, scouts and executives conducted by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

ESPN Top 10 Off-Ball Linebacker Rankings

1. Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers
2. Roquan Smith, Baltimore Ravens
3. Zack Baun, Philadelphia Eagles
4. Nick Bolton, Kansas City Chiefs
5. Frankie Luvu, Washington Commanders
6. Tremaine Edmunds, Chicago Bears
7. Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
8. DeMarvion Overshown, Dallas Cowboys
9. Dre Greenlaw, Denver Broncos
10. Quincy Williams, New York Jets

Warner and Smith continue to dominate at their position. This marks the third consecutive year they have ranked 1-2 in Fowler's annual survey.

The voting wasn't particularly close, with Fowler noting Warner received more than 80 percent of the first-place votes and his lowest ranking on any ballot was No. 2. Smith was the only other player who appeared on every ballot, but he was as low as No. 10.

One NFL coordinator explained to Fowler what separates Warner from everyone else at the position:

"I think Fred has gotten much more productive defeating core blocks and tackling with more physicality. He's always been the best in the world in the passing game—range, instincts, ball production. But he was incredible last year, and then you factor that with the forced takeaways, durability, and all the other rare intangibles, he's the best."

Warner is one of the few 49ers players in recent years who has never really been hindered by injuries. He has only missed one game in his NFL career. The 28-year-old, who signed a three-year, $63 million extension in March, has been named to the All-Pro first team in each of the past three seasons and four times in the past five years.

Smith has sat alongside Warner on the All-Pro first team in each of the previous three years. One executive for an AFC team told Fowler that Smith is special because of his ability against the run and pass without necessarily being the most physically gifted player.

"Roquan isn't necessarily the most physically talented, but he's very productive in both phases, is the catalyst for their defense in the middle of the field and a guy you have to account for in phases. When you factor all that plus the elite leadership he brings and attitude for their team, I think he deserves to be up there."

The third member of the 2024 All-Pro first-team linebacker group was one of the most pleasant surprises from last season.

Zack Baun, who came in at No. 3 in Fowler's survey, signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent in March 2024 after four seasons primarily spent as a backup for the New Orleans Saints.

The move turned out to be a game-changer for an Eagles defense that had been notorious for not prioritizing the off-ball linebacker spot. Baun recorded more combined tackles (151), solo tackles (93), tackles for loss (11) and sacks (3.5) in 16 games with Philadelphia than he had in 62 games with the Saints.

Philadelphia rewarded Baun with a three-year, $51 million contract in March after he helped the team win Super Bowl 59.

The back half of the list was adjusted in the aftermath of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah being ruled out for the 2025 season due to a neck injury suffered in a Week 8 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Fowler noted Owusu-Koramoah would have ranked sixth on the list if not for the injury.

One thing that does speak to how different people within the NFL view the off-ball linebacker position is the range of voting throughout the list. Every player ranked in the top 10 received at least one vote as high as fifth, with eight receiving at least one second-place vote.