In IDP leagues, no position is more important than linebacker—the simple fact is that in most leagues, if you don't have a strong cadre of linebackers, you're toast. Linebackers are usually the highest-scoring and most consistent players in IDP leagues.
The reason for that tackles. And while talent is of course a factor in which linebackers pile up the stops, there's another major consideration—opportunity.
And the key to opportunity for most linebackers is simply being on the field. Snaps.
The problem is that in this day of the nickel as the base defense, the age of three off-ball linebackers being on the field a majority of the time is over. As a matter of fact, with many NFL teams playing either more dime or three-safety looks, there are plenty of 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 guy very rarely leaves the field, and while some teams 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 dwindling by the season, knowing who those linebackers are is valuable information for IDP managers. In order to provide those managers with that information. This year 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.
With that said, as we head into Week 18 of the 2023 NFL season, here's a look at the three-down and green-dot linebackers for all 32 NFL teams.
Note: Players denoted with an asterisk (*) will play in some subpackages but are not true every-down linebackers. They will likely see a snap count south of 75 percent, which negatively impacts their IDP value.