Rankings
Top 20 Linebackers: Dynasty Value Score
The deepest position on the points board is also the one where trade value splits hardest by age. Two former Pro Bowlers who still project inside the season top 20 don't make this one at all.
By Kenny Flermoen · August 20, 2026
This is the companion to our Top 40 LB season projections — re-ranked by Dynasty Value Score (DVS) instead of next year's point total. Same Engine board that feeds the trade calculator, the IDP player hub, and the overall IDP / DL DVS boards. How the score is built is in What Is Dynasty Value Score?.
Top 20 LB by Dynasty Value Score
| Rank | Player | Team | Age | Value | 2026 Proj | 2025 Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordyn Brooks | MIA | 28 | 6,761 | 219.3 | 259.5 |
| 2 | Jack Campbell | DET | 26 | 5,934 | 199.4 | 259.8 |
| 3 | Ernest Jones | SEA | 26 | 5,737 | 198.4 | 188.0 |
| 4 | Carson Schwesinger | CLE | 23 | 5,694 | 204.8 | 200.3 |
| 5 | Tremaine Edmunds | NYG | 28 | 5,132 | 193.0 | 171.3 |
| 6 | Roquan Smith | BAL | 29 | 5,108 | 199.2 | 170.0 |
| 7 | Nick Bolton | KC | 26 | 5,035 | 190.9 | 206.3 |
| 8 | Quay Walker | LV | 26 | 4,908 | 192.2 | 167.0 |
| 9 | Brian Burns | NYG | 28 | 4,886 | 185.1 | 216.0 |
| 10 | Zaire Franklin | GB | 30 | 4,811 | 202.3 | 170.8 |
| 11 | Blake Cashman | MIN | 30 | 4,766 | 206.7 | 175.2 |
| 12 | Patrick Queen | PIT | 27 | 4,754 | 178.7 | 164.6 |
| 13 | Zack Baun | PHI | 29 | 4,675 | 194.7 | 195.2 |
| 14 | Devin White | FA | 28 | 4,622 | — | 239.7 |
| 15 | Tyrel Dodson | MIA | 28 | 4,604 | 192.4 | 205.3 |
| 16 | Edgerrin Cooper | GB | 24 | 4,585 | 183.8 | 160.8 |
| 17 | Nate Landman | LA | 27 | 4,471 | 183.1 | 208.1 |
| 18 | Devin Lloyd | CAR | 27 | 4,393 | 176.2 | 147.5 |
| 19 | Quincy Williams | CLE | 30 | 4,347 | 191.7 | 133.5 |
| 20 | Jamien Sherwood | NYJ | 26 | 4,333 | 178.4 | 200.3 |
Base IDP dynasty format. DVS is a trade-value score built on age, past production, and the 2026 projection — not a raw scoring ranking. 2026 Proj is the live Engine overlay that feeds this score; a dash means there is no overlay row yet.
Brooks, then a young cluster
Jordyn Brooks is clear of the field — same as on the points board. Jack Campbell, Ernest Jones, and Carson Schwesinger sit 2nd through 4th, and all three are 26 or younger. After that the board bunches. Linebacker is the deepest position on the season-points list, and the trade-value list is deep too — just not in the same order.
Ernest Jones jumps ahead of players who out-project him
Jones ranked 10th on the season-projection board. He is 3rd here. His 2026 line (198.4) is lower than several names below him — Blake Cashman and Zaire Franklinboth project higher for next year, and Schwesinger does too. What moves Jones up is age (26) and a real 2025 (188.0 points in 15 games). DVS is betting on the full body of work, not just next year's number.
Two former Pro Bowlers miss the board entirely
T.J. Watt ranked 13th on the season-projection board. He is 24th here. Foye Oluokun projects for 203.7 points — 6th on that points list, better than almost everyone in this twenty — and still sits 21st in trade value. Both are 31. At linebacker, that is enough to knock a real 2026 scorer out of the dynasty top 20. It is a sharper version of the age curve we have flagged at every position DVS touches: a great fantasy season and a strong dynasty asset stop being the same thing once a player crosses 30.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is the other way a points-board name disappears. He is 3rd on the published points board and 79th here, with no 2025 games on file. A 207-point projection cannot carry the trade-value score when last season is a blank.
Warner is the buy-low because he missed
Fred Warneris 27th, not inside this twenty. An ankle-shortened 2025 produced 78.3 points in six games. The live 2026 line is 150.6, and he is still listed as San Francisco's starting middle linebacker. If he plays a full year, this ranking looks cheap. It is a buy-low because he missed the board.
Model any of these players against your own roster on the Dynasty Trade Calculator.
Join the founding waitlist
Founding leagues lock in $2.00 per player, forever. Price rises to $3.00 once the founding cohort is full.
Founding leagues also get permanent Founding Franchise status in your Vault history.
FAQ
- How is Dynasty Value Score different from the LB season-projection rankings?
- Season projections rank who scores the most points in 2026. DVS ranks who's worth the most in a trade — it weighs age and actual 2025 production alongside next year's projection, so two players with similar 2026 outlooks can land far apart here.
- Why does a player with a lower 2026 projection sometimes rank higher than one with a bigger number?
- DVS isn't just next year's projection. Age and a real track record of production carry weight too, so a younger player with a strong 2025 can outrank an older one projected for more points in 2026.
- Why do proven veterans like T.J. Watt miss this Top 20 despite strong 2026 projections?
- Linebacker's trade-value curve gets steep past 30. A player can still be a legitimate weekly starter in 2026 and fall out of the dynasty top 20 if the model sees limited seasons left at a high level.