Ranking LBs in the AFC South entering 2023

The difference between the linebackers across the AFC South holds plenty of variety in terms of talent.

The Indianapolis Colts have one of the best tandems in the NFL with the return of Shaquille Leonard. The Jacksonville Jaguars have an underrated backer that doesn’t get talked about often and a first-rounder that is looking to take the next leap in Year 2. While the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans have veterans and young players they are developing.

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For this list, I took the top two linebackers from each team. Let’s take a look at how they rank:

8
Monty Rice, Tennessee Titans

Monty Rice has started in 10 of 23 games since being selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft. In two seasons he has 102 tackles (56 solo), four TFLs, two QB hits, and two pass deflections.

7
Al-Shaair Azeez, Tennessee Titans

Al-Shaair Azeez spent his first four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before signing with the Tennessee Titans this offseason. During his time out west he had 199 tackles (111 solo), 11 TFLs, two sacks, four QB hits, seven pass deflections, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.

6
Christian Harris, Houston Texans

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Christian Harris earned a starting role in his rookie season as a third-round pick. In 12 games he finished with 74 tackles (46 solo), six TFLs, a sack, three QB hits, five pass deflections, an interception, and a forced fumble.

5
Denzel Perryman, Houston Texans

Denzel Perryman has been a solid linebacker since entering the NFL in 2015 but his issue has been staying on the field. He has yet to play a full schedule. In the last two years for the Las Vegas Raiders, he had 237 tackles (156 solo), 19 TFLs, one sack, eight QB hits, five pass deflections, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.

4
Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville Jaguars

Devin Lloyd is coming off his rookie season after collecting 115 tackles (59 solo), two QB hits, eight pass deflections, three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.

3
Zaire Franklin, Indianapolis Colts

Zaire Franklin is coming off the best season of his five-year career where he broke the franchise record with 167 tackles. He also had 12 TFLs, three sacks, six QB hits, six pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.

2
Foyesade Oluokun, Jacksonville Jaguars

Since 2020 Foysade Oloukun is one of three players in the NFL that have 235+ solo tackles, 20+ TFLs, 15+ pass deflections, and five-plus interceptions in regular season action. He also has the most solo tackles (308) in the last three seasons.

1
Shaquille Leonard, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts defense will be getting a significant boost with the return of Shaquille Leonard this season. Despite missing the majority of the 2022 season, he has the second-most forced fumbles (11) since 2020.

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