- San Francisco's Patrick Willis. - Yahoo! Sports
For fantasy football leagues that count individual defensive points (IDP), having a group of high-scoring linebackers is the key to a prolific defense.
The Class of 2007 boasts the top three linebackers in the 2010 fantasy football rankings.
1. Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers
Willis is the head of a stellar 2007 linebacker class, with 467 total tackles and nine sacks during his three seasons in the league. He had 152 total tackles, including 114 solo tackles, plus eight passes defended, four sacks, three forced fumbles and three interceptions from his right-inside linebacker spot in 2009.
2. Jon Beason, Carolina Panthers
Beason is moving over to the weak-side linebacker spot from the middle, where he's been a big-time IDP producer in three NFL seasons, with 420 total tackles. He had 142 total, 112 solo, seven passes defended, three interceptions and three sacks in 2009; don't expect much, if any, dropoff in production at the new position.
3. David Harris, New York Jets
Harris has 329 tackles and 11.5 sacks during his three years in the NFL despite missing five games in 2008. The Michigan product had 82 solo tackles, 127 overall and 5.5 sacks in 2009.
4. James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams
Laurinaitis came up with 120 overall tackles — 107 solos — during his rookie season of 2009, and also had a pair of sacks and a pair of interceptions. He's holding down the middle linebacker spot on the Rams' defense and should crank out similar stats in 2010.
5. Paul Posluszny, Buffalo Bills
Coming off minor groin surgery in the offseason, Poz hasn't gotten in much work early in the fall, and the Bills intend to ease him back in slowly. He turned in 88 solo tackles and 111 overall in 2009 despite missing four games with a broken arm.
6. Curtis Lofton, Atlanta Falcons
The third-year pro had 105 solo tackles and 133 total tackles in 2009, giving him 172 solos and 227 overall in his two seasons in the league.
7. Barrett Ruud, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ruud came up with a career-best 142 total tackles (107 of which were solos) in 2009, his fifth year in the NFL. He also had seven passes defended, giving him 13 over the past two seasons.
8. London Fletcher, Washington Redskins
Fletcher turned 35 in the offseason, but he remains a tackling machine in the middle of Washington's defense. He turned in 95 solo tackles in 2009, with 142 total tackles and two sacks. And aging though he may be, Fletcher has never missed a regular season game in his career.
9. Jonathan Vilma, New Orleans Saints
The middle linebacker led the Saints' defense during their Super Bowl season of 2009, racking up 87 solo tackles, 110 total tackles, eight passes defended, three interceptions and two sacks.
10. D'Qwell Jackson, Cleveland Browns
After missing 10 games in 2009, Jackson aggravated his previously injured pectoral muscle during the 2010 fall camp and will probably sit out the entire preseason. Cleveland staffers say Jackson will be good to go when the regular season starts, and if he's healthy, expect production similar to his 2008 statistics: 95 solo tackles, 154 total, three interceptions and two sacks.
Cushing Just Outside the Top 10
The 2009 defensive rookie of the year lost his appeal of a four-game suspension for a positive drug test, otherwise he'd be a top 10 fantasy football linebacker heading into the 2010 season. Cushing had 134 total tackles as a rookie, and should still make some noise once he returns to the Texans in 2010.
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