Eric Kendricks Ranked as the Second-Best Linebacker in the NFL

CBS Sports ranked their top 10 off-ball linebackers in the NFL on Tuesday, and Vikings star Eric Kendricks checked in at No. 2 on the list. With Luke Kuechly retiring this offseason, you can make a strong argument that Kendricks trails only the Seahawks' Bobby Wagner at the position.

2019 was a breakout year for Kendricks. The 2015 second-round pick from UCLA began his career with four solid seasons, but he took his game to a different level last season. Kendricks recorded 110 tackles and 12 pass breakups, grading out as a top-four linebacker in the league against both the run and the pass, per Pro Football Focus. Overall, PFF rated him as the second-best LB in the league, trailing only the Saints' Demario Davis.

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Kendricks was a first team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement after being egregiously snubbed in the voting process.

Here's what CBS Sports' Sean Wagner-McGough had to say about Kendricks:

The anchor of the Vikings' defense, Kendricks has been a quality linebacker for a while now. But in 2019, he experienced a career season that vaulted him up this list. For the first time in his five-year career, he garnered a first team All-Pro selection, which was well deserved after a 110-tackle season that also included 12 passes defended. According to PFF, those 12 pass breakups represent

"the most we have ever seen over a season from that position."

He's consistently one of the best coverage linebackers in football, which matters more in the modern pass-happy version of the sport.

Since he entered the league in 2015, he ranks fifth in combined tackles and second in pass defended among all linebackers. As the Vikings try to overcome the losses of several key contributors on the defensive side of the ball, they'll need Kendricks to maintain his level of production in 2020. The good news is that there's no real reason to expect a drop-off. At the age of 28, after a career-best season, and entering his sixth NFL season, Kendricks is more likely to be entering his peak than his decline.

I think this is a very fair ranking. Kendricks was better than Wagner in 2019, but the Seahawks star has been one of the best of the best for much of the last decade. He absolutely deserves the top spot. And I agree that Kendricks belong at No. 2 ahead of players like Davis, Darius Leonard, and Lavonte David.

The only other linebacker from the NFC North in Wagner-McGough's top ten is the Bears' Roquan Smith at No. 8.

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