Touchdown Wire names Bobby Wagner best off-ball linebacker

There is no denying the Seattle Seahawks have one of the best linebacking corps in all of football.

Mark Schofield of USA TODAY’s Touchdown Wire recently took a look at each unit around the league and named Seattle’s the best with Wagner earning the top spot overall.

Schofield acknowledges 2019 was a “down year” for Wagner, who has put up better numbers in the past. However, the Seahawks defense as a whole struggled last season.

“But given his talent and overall body of work, it is hard to put Wagner anywhere but the top spot on this list,” Schofield writes. “He is that rare type of linebacker that fits with the modern game, but you still feel that if he were dropped into the late 1970s or even the 1980s, he would fit right in with that style of football. He’s just as comfortable playing downhill against the run as he is dropping into coverage or running with receivers.”

New on @TheNFLWire: The linebacker position has changed situationally and schematically in the last decade as nickel and dime defenses have become de rigeur. But it's still an important set of positions, and here's @MarkSchofield's list of the 11 best. https://t.co/r7IwRXvVKF

— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) July 15, 2020

With some new additions around him like Jordyn Brooks and Darrell Taylor – and the return of Bruce Irvin to Seattle – Schofield believes Wagner will return to his “all-around elite form.”