Fantasy Football Projections: Linebacker Rankings

You're not really playing fantasy football unless your league scores individual defensive players (IDP).

IDP leagues will help grow your appreciation for the other side of the ball. And they're just so much more fun.

Here are the Top 10 IDP rankings for linebackers heading into your fantasy football draft, plus a few other players to consider and a couple to stay away from.

TOP 10 LINEBACKERS:

1. Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers
Willis is an absolute beast at right inside linebacker for the Niners. In three NFL seasons, he's got 467 total tackles and nine sacks. His 2009 totals: 152 tackles (114 solo), four sacks, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and eight passes defended.

2. Jon Beason, Carolina Panthers
Beason is a very close second to Willis with 420 total tackles in his three seasons. Beason is moving to weakside linebacker in 2010 from the middle, but don't expect much, if any, drop in production. He had 142 tackles in 2009 (112 solo), to go with three sacks, three interceptions and seven passes defended.

3. David Harris, New York Jets
The top three fantasy football linebackers come from the rookie class of 2007, with Harris going 15th in the second round out of Michigan. He missed five games in 2008 but still has 329 tackles and 11.5 sacks in three seasons, including 127 (82 solo) and 5.5 sacks in 2009.

4. James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams
Former Ohio State star Laurinaitis is coming off a strong rookie season that saw him rack up 120 total tackles (107 solo), two sacks and two interceptions.

5. Paul Posluszny, Buffalo Bills
A Penn State product, Poz had minor groin surgery in the offseason and is working his way back into playing shape. The Bills say he'll be good to go by the regular season. He missed four games with a broken arm in 2009 and still had 111 total tackles (88 solo) and three interceptions.

6. Curtis Lofton, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta's 6-foot, 242-pound middle linebacker has 227 tackles in two NFL seasons, including 133 (105 solo) in 2009.

7. Barrett Ruud, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ruud continues progressing, with a career-high 142 tackles (107 solo) in 2009, his fifth season in the league. The middle linebacker hasn't dropped below 114 tackles in the past three seasons, and he has 13 passes defended over the past two.

8. London Fletcher, Washington Redskins
How long can this guy keep producing at a high level? Fletcher turned 35 in the offseason, and he's showed no signs of fading in recent years, with 142 tackles (95 solo) and two sacks in 2009. The middle linebacker hasn't dipped below 119 tackles in any of the past 10 seasons, and has never missed a regular-season game.

9. Jonathan Vilma, New Orleans Saints
The Saints' middle linebacker hasn't missed a regular-season game the past two years, and he's coming off a season in which he had 110 tackles (87 solo), two sacks, three interceptions and eight passes defended.

10. D'Qwell Jackson, Cleveland Browns
Jackson missed 10 games in 2009 with a pectoral muscle injury, and he suffered a setback when he re-injured the muscle in training camp. But the Browns say he'll be ready to go by the regular-season opener, and if he is healthy, he's an IDP monster, having recorded 154 tackles (95 solo), two sacks and three interceptions in 2008.

MORE LBs TO CONSIDER:

Karlos Dansby, Miami Dolphins
Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders
D.J. Williams, Denver Broncos
DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans
Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
Lance Briggs, Chicago Bears
Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers
Kirk Morrison, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots
Stewart Bradley, Philadelphia Eagles
James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers
Stephen Tulloch, Tennessee Titans
Nick Barnett, Green Bay Packers
Dhani Jones, Cincinnati Bengals
Lofa Tatupu, Seattle Seahawks
Brian Orakpo, Washington Redskins
DeMarcus Ware, Dallas Cowboys
DeAndre Levy, Detroit Lions
Aaron Curry, Seattle Seahawks

DRAFT WITH CAUTION:

Brian Cushing, Houston Texans: The 2009 defensive rookie of the year out of USC had 134 total tackles last season but will miss the first four games of 2010 while serving a suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

DON'T DRAFT:

Elvis Dumervil, Denver Broncos: Dumervil will miss the 2010 season with a torn pectoral muscle. The linebacker led the league with 17 sacks in 2009.

MORE FANTASY FOOTBALL PROJECTIONS:

• Click here for a look at quarterbacks for all 32 teams.
• Click here for fantasy football draft tips.
• Click here for a mock draft of the top 50 fantasy football players.

What do I know?
I've been playing fantasy football since 1998, and have participated in a keeper "dynasty" league since 2003. I also play in two or three single-season leagues each year, because as much as I love the keeper format, it's just fun to draft each season. I'm putting together these lists not because I think I'm a fantasy football expert (although I DID finally win my keeper league, plus another single-season league in 2009) but because I'm researching these players and stats and figured maybe I could help out other fantasy managers along the way. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these lists, and I'll continue rolling out positional and overall lists through the month of August, while fantasy football drafts are ongoing and while new information becomes available on players as they prepare for the 2010 season.