Linebacker
Linebacker (LB) First Round Draft Trends
This page tracks every linebacker selected in Round 1 of the NFL Draft from 2021 through 2025, with pick-by-pick scoring under both the Huddle Report and FantasyPros systems. Use the year toggles to isolate individual draft classes or compare LB selection patterns across all five years.
Understanding how many linebackers go in Round 1 each year — and where in the round they cluster — is one of the most effective ways to improve mock draft accuracy. Position-specific trends help you decide whether to project a linebacker at a given slot or anticipate a position run that could push LBs into a different range than expected.
Build your 2026 mock draft with these historical LB trends in mind, then check the accuracy leaderboard after draft night to see how your linebacker picks scored.
Teams Likely to Draft a Linebacker in 2026
Based on current team needs, the following teams have linebacker as a top-3 positional need heading into the 2026 NFL Draft. As a defensive position, linebackers are on the defensive side of the ball — see the offense vs defense analysis for how each side has trended from 2021–2025:
- New York Jets — Pick #2
- Arizona Cardinals — Pick #3
- Tennessee Titans — Pick #4
- New York Giants — Pick #5
- New York Giants — Pick #10
- Dallas Cowboys — Pick #11
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Pick #15
- New York Jets — Pick #16
- Detroit Lions — Pick #17
- Dallas Cowboys — Pick #23
- New York Jets — Pick #30
- Tennessee Titans — Pick #31
Related Analysis
- Offense vs Defense — how side-of-ball distribution shapes Round 1 each year
- Accuracy by Pick Range — where in the round predictions are hardest
- Position Runs — consecutive same-position picks that shift LB draft slots
- 1st Round Misses — projected Round 1 players who fell to Day 2
- Consensus Big Board — 86.3% of top-32 ranked prospects go in Round 1