In IDP leagues, no position is more important than linebacker—the reality is that in most leagues, if you don't have a strong group of linebackers, you're done. Roasted. All over but the crying. Linebackers are usually the highest-scoring and most consistent players in fantasy. By a wide margin.
The reason for that is tackles. Linebackers who rack up big-time tackle numbers have both a high fantasy ceiling and a high floor. And while talent is of course a factor in which linebackers pile up gaudy numbers of stops, there's another major consideration—opportunity.
The key to opportunity for most linebackers is simply being on the field. Snaps. It’s hard to tackle a guy from the sideline—unless you are Mike Tomlin.
That joke stays in this column for eternity. Forever.
The problem is that in this day of nickel sets as the base defense, the age of three off-ball linebackers being on the field a majority of the time is long since over. As a matter of fact, with many NFL teams playing either more dime or three-safety looks, there are quite a few situations in which just one off-ball linebacker is on the field for a team.
Often, that lone linebacker is wearing a sticker on his helmet—the “green dot” that signifies that player is wearing the helmet communicator on defense and making the defensive play calls. That player very rarely leaves the field, and while teams sometimes use a safety in that capacity, the overwhelming majority of NFL teams give that assignment to a linebacker.
With the number of every-down linebackers decreasing by the year, knowing who those “green dot” linebackers are is valuable information for IDP managers. In order to provide those managers with that information, once again in 2024 at Footballguys, we'll be maintaining an updated list of both who is wearing the green dot for all 32 NFL teams and who the other three-down linebackers are.
There will also be notes to keep fantasy managers apprised as to why any changes to the list happened--whether due to injury or performance, the dot can (and will) change hands.
IDP managers will notice there’s a fair amount of variance between this list and the last edition of this column at the beginning of June. Since then, we have gathered a fair amount of information from OTAs and training camp. Some has clarified situations. Some has muddied the waters that much more, because we can’t have anything nice.
The truth is we still have barely begun the preseason, where many of those uncertainties will be settled. This list still contains a fair amount of speculation. And even when we aren’t speculating, this list does not remain static for long.
With that said, at the outset of the exhibition season, here’s a look at the status of the dot across the National Football League.
Note: Here at Footballguys, we set the benchmark for three-down linebackers at a 75 percent snap share. Linebackers listed with an asterisk (*) may not hit that benchmark on a weekly basis this season.
| Team | "Green-Dot" LB | Other Three-Down LB |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Kyzir White | Mack Wilson Sr. (*) |
| Atlanta | Nate Landman/Kaden Elliss | Kaden Elliss/Troy Andersen (*) |
| Baltimore | Roquan Smith | Trenton Simpson |
| Buffalo | Terrel Bernard | Matt Milano |
| Carolina | Josey Jewell | Shaq Thompson (*) |
| Chicago | Tremaine Edmunds | T.J. Edwards |
| Cincinnati | Logan Wilson | Germaine Pratt (*) |
| Cleveland | Jordan Hicks | Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah |
| Dallas | Eric Kendricks | Damone Clark (*)/DeMarvion Overshown (*) |
| Denver | Alex Singleton | Cody Barton (*) |
| Detroit | Alex Anzalone | Jack Campbell |
| Green Bay | Quay Walker | Isaiah McDuffie/Edgerrin Cooper |
| Houston | Azeez Al-Shaair | Christian Harris (*) |
| Indianapolis | Zaire Franklin | E.J. Speed |
| Jacksonville | Foyesade Oluokiun | Devin Lloyd |
| Kansas City | Nick Bolton [INJ] | Drue Tranquill (*) |
| Las Vegas | Robert Spillane | Divine Deablo |
| LA Chargers | Junior Colson | Denzel Perryman (*) |
| LA Rams | Ernest Jones | Christian Rozeboom (*) |
| Miami | David Long Jr. | Jordyn Brooks |
| Minnesota | Ivan Pace Jr. | Blake Cashman |
| New England | Ja'Whaun Bentley | Jahlani Tavai (*) |
| New Orleans | Demario Davis | Pete Werner |
| NY Giants | Bobby Okereke | Micah McFadden |
| NY Jets | C.J. Mosley | Quincy Williams |
| Philadelphia | Devin White | Zack Baun (*) |
| Pittsburgh | Patrick Queen | Payton Wilson (*) |
| San Francisco | Fred Warner | Dre Greenlaw [INJ]/De'Vondre Campbell |
| Seattle | Jerome Baker | Tyrel Dodson (*) |
| Tampa Bay | Lavonte David | K.J. Britt |
| Tennesseee | Kenneth Murray Jr./Amari Cooper (S) | Cedric Gray (*) |
| Washington | Bobby Wagner | Frankie Luvu |
NOTES
Here are some notes on situations that have changed since the last update.
Arizona
Kyzir White is locked in as Arizona’s defensive play-caller, but it appears the spot next to him is all but sewn up as well. Free-agent journeyman Mack Wilson Sr. has consistently been playing as the No. 2 linebacker for the Redbirds. But given Wilson’s career to date (and career-high of 82 stops), he’s likely to be a quasi-three-down linebacker (70-75 percent snap share) at best.
Atlanta
The Falcons are officially the muddiest linebacker situation in the league. Nate Landman recently told reporters that he was making play-calls while paired with Troy Andersen and then sharing duties with Kaden Eliss when they are on the field together. He also spent time running with the second team after making those proclamations. My money is still on Kaden Elliss to lead the linebacker corps in snaps, but that’s far from a sure thing.
Baltimore
The assumption in 2024 was that Trenton Simpson would slot into the starting spot vacated by the departed Patrick Queen. Queen even went so far as to endorse the second-year pro as his replacement. But the Ravens’ recent signing of veteran safety Eddie Jackson raises the possibility that Baltimore could be thinking more three-safety sets in 2024—especially if Simpson struggles adjusting to a larger role.
Cleveland
Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski recently talked up Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as a potential green dot LB. But frankly, that smacked more of a pep talk than a strategy shift. Could Owusu-Koramoah call the plays? Yes. But it’s not necessarily the role he’s best suited for, and veteran Jordan Hicks is still the favorite to do a job he’s done multiple times for multiple teams.
Dallas
Eric Kendricks will still all but certainly be Mike Zimmer’s play-caller in 2024—the pair goes way back. But second-year pro Demarvion Overshown is apparently making quite an impression as he returns from last year’s ACL tear—so much so that Jon Machota of the Athletic posited he’s being considered for a three-down role.
Detroit
Jack Campbell has had quite the offseason—he has consistently impressed this summer and appears just about locked into the starting role in the middle for the Lions. But talk of Campbell taking over play-calling duties feels premature—while Alex Anzalone is the linebacker IDP managers love to hate, he’s also a capable veteran who knows Aaron Glenn’s defense inside and out.
Green Bay
In the last iteration of this column, it was predicted that rookie Edgerrin Cooper would join Quay Walker as Green Bay’s three-down linebackers. But someone apparently forgot to tell super-sub Isaiah McDuffie—the two have been splitting first-team reps in what appears to be a battle that could last well into the offseason. Cooper’s the better talent, but McDuffie has the edge in experience and has played well when called on in the past.
Jacksonville
There’s a new wrinkle in Jacksonville—under defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, Devin Lloyd and Foyesade Oluokun are apparently switching spots—to MIKE and WILL, respectively. Frankly, it probably doesn’t mean much IDP-wise—taking over play-calling duties (if he did) might hurt Lloyd’s production as much as it helps. Oluokun will still get his—and if nothing else, it shows that the Jaguars staff is confident that Lloyd is ready to take the proverbial next step in his third season.
Kansas City
There’s no position battles or uncertainty about the pecking order at linebacker in Kansas City—it’s Nick Bolton’s world, and everyone else just lives in it. But Bolton was carted off the practice field on July 31 with an elbow injury, and given his status as a top-five fantasy option on most boards, Bolton’s health has now become one of IDP’s hottest topics as we enter August.
LA Chargers
To be clear, I still expect rookie Junior Colson to wind up the most valuable off-ball linebacker for the Chargers in 2024. I also think he still has a chance to be the Week 1 defensive play-caller after drawing raves from head coach Jim Harbaugh in minicamp. But Colson missed a chunk of camp due to an appendectomy, and rookies losing reps isn’t good. He’s been cleared to return, so seeing how much he plays in the preseason will be interesting.
Miami
David Long Jr. bounced from big weeks to the bench (and back again) last year with dizzying quickness and somehow wound up leading the Dolphins with 113 total tackles. Well, the new Freddie Krueger of IDP is back again—it will be Long, not Jordyn Brooks or safety Jevon Holland, who wears the green dot for the Dolphins in 2024. It doesn’t really hurt Brooks, who hasn’t ever worn it anyway. But it’s potentially a sizable IDP bump for our guy Freddie.
Philadelphia
The Eagles have hit IDP managers with the biggest surprise of the summer to date. Not only is third-year pro Nakobe Dean not wearing the green dot, but he has spent most of training camp playing third-fiddle, while free-agent additions Devin White and Zack Baun have been the top two linebackers. White appears slated to make the play-calls, while Baun is officially a full-on IDP “sleeper”—which means 14 people will mention him as one in the next fortnight.
Tennessee
Quite a few IDP pundits took new Titans defensive coordinator Frank Bush’s recent comments that Kenneth Murray Jr. had the “green light” after joining the team in free agency to mean that the same-colored dot will follow. But who wears the helmet communicator remains up in the air, and provided he still gets the snaps, Murray may well be more valuable with the “light” than the “dot.”
Gary Davenport (“The Godfather of IDP”) is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow him on Twitter (Can’t make him call it X) at @IDPSharks.
