Nobody is asked to do more on defense than a linebacker in Madden NFL 22. They have to stop the run and the pass. They have to blitz and drop back into coverage. The first string wide receiver is just as much their responsibility as the second string halfback. They're assigned to contain the league's fastest QBs and RBs. They have to change their coverage from man to zone on almost every play.

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Truly great defenses are built on linebackers, who frequently lead the team in tackles. So anybody hoping to play with a championship team in Madden NFL 22 will want to make sure the linebacker situation is in good shape. These are the best of the best for a position that already requires athletes that are the best of the best.

Updated on April 24th, 2022 by Hodey Johns: It's always expected to have some hits and misses when predicting the best linebackers in the game. Ratings are always sensitive subjects and are prone to wild fluctuations. A player can get five sacks in one game and then five sacks for the rest of the season. What's to be made of that? Ten sacks are great, but should the player be elevated in OVR for that one burst game or have the rating sink due to a lackluster stretch? Give the folks credit, while the top linebackers traded places and moved in OVR, these names were all on the list at the start of the season. The shuffled places have been updated on this list.

12 Bobby Wagner - MLB - 91

Madden NFL 22 Bobby Wagner Cutting Toward The Pass

How's this for domination? In every season of his ten-year career, Bobby Wagner had recorded at least 104 tackles. Wagner was the last remnant of the Legion of Boom, but he's hardly a relic. His 170 combined tackles last year were the highest of his career.

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The man is simply on fire and his eleven picks show that he's not merely a hard-hitting monster. Shockingly, the Seahawks decided to let him go without so much as giving him a phone call. With the Rams, it's scary to think that his 91 OVR could increase.

11 Lavonte David - MLB - 91

Madden NFL 22 Lavonte David Waiting For The Call From The Sideline

It's hard to think of anybody who deserved to win the Super Bowl more than Lavonte David did. In ten years, David has recorded triple-digit tackle totals in eight of them and he has never started less than twelve games in any season.

The best offensive linemen know to account for David when he's on the field, as he's prone to popping through the line an uncharacteristically high amount of times for a middle linebacker. His twenty-six sacks are a testament to that.

10 Demario Davis - MLB - 92

Madden NFL 22 Demario Davis Celebrating A Win With Fans In The Stands

Demario Davis has bounced around the league in his career, starting with the Jets, going to the Browns, then back to the Jets, before finally landing in New Orleans. Those moves aren't because of a lack of toughness; in ten seasons, he's been available for sixteen-plus games every season.

With the Saints, Davis has been an All-Pro twice and he won the Bart Starr trophy last year for being a positive role model. Younger players can boast about athletic ability, but as team captain of the defense, Davis combines his intelligence with superior talent to strike fear into his opponents.

9 Joey Bosa - LOLB - 92

Madden NFL 22 Joey Bosa Sizing Up The Quarterback Play Calling

When Joey Bosa is playing on the line, he's one of the most feared defenders in the game. Unfortunately, he's only had three complete seasons during his six-year NFL experience. Chargers fans know that a few healthy years and their defense could be regarded as an all-time great.

That hasn't stopped Bosa from getting double-digit sack totals in four years and forcing twelve fumbles during that time (seven of those occurred in this last season). Bosa's speed off of the line creates matchup nightmares for head coaches in the AFC West.

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7 Von Miller - LOLB - 93

Madden NFL 22 Von Miller Waiting For The Snap

Von Miller is fresh off of a huge Super Bowl win, got paid big bucks, and now suits up in Buffalo to continue ruining the dreams of the competition. In his ten years terrorizing quarterbacks, he's recorded 115.5 sacks.

He's a forced fumble machine. His Super Bowl 50 MVP performance was no fluke, as he's batted 27 balls out of the hands of the offense over his career. And don't underestimate his ability to play coverage, either. He's saved the Broncos more than once by swatting away balls in coverage against elite tight ends, did it again with the Rams, and will continue to do so for the Bills.

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5 Chandler Jones - LOLB - 93

Madden NFL 22 Chandler Jones Breaking Toward The Pocket

It took a season-ending injury in 2021 to interrupt Chandler Jones' consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks at five. In his entire career, he's recorded at least 41 tackles in every season besides that one, no matter how halfbacks have improved to try and avoid getting clobbered by him.

It's hard to say why Jones moved down on this list. In fifteen games, he still recorded over ten sacks and forced six fumbles. He's still one of the game's elite talents. Recently moved to the Raiders, it will be fun to see him operate alongside Maxx Crosby.

4 Fred Warner - MLB - 94

Madden NFL 22 Fred Warner Celebrating A Big Play

Analysts had tagged Fred Warner as the best middle linebacker in the game going into 2021 and they feel no different after the season ended. Running up the gut always seems like a good idea, until they run into Warner, who has never recorded less than 118 tackles in a season.

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He's also never missed a game for the 49ers, giving him the dependability that San Francisco sorely needs. Additionally, he's starting to pick up his game when it comes to turnovers, so of all the X-Factor abilities in Madden, it makes sense to give Warner as many superstar traits as possible.

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2 Khalil Mack - LOLB - 94

Madden NFL 22 Khalil Mack Playing At Home Against The Packers

Here's something to consider: If Khalil Mack plays as he has over the first seven years of his career, then in a sixteen-year career, he will have broken Robert Mathis' all-time forced fumbles mark. He's already got 23 to his name and he's still in his prime.

The former Defensive Player of the Year has also recorded 8.5 sacks or more in each of his last six seasons, so even the best quarterbacks in the game have a reason to fear him on the field. He fell from number one or number two on this list, which might have more to do with his season shortened by injury than his actual play on the field.

1 T.J. Watt - LOLB - 96

Madden NFL 22 TJ Watt In His Signature Kick Pose

Aaron Donald once again won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020, but Pittsburgh fans had every right to feel robbed. It was actually T.J. Watt that had the best statistical season of any player. Voters got their minds right in 2021 and recognized Watt's superiority.

Much like how Madden needs to change as a series, opposing teams are going to have to adjust next year to keep Watt off of their quarterbacks. Watt was ranked fourth on this list at the start of the year, now he's got the top spot all to himself.

Madden NFL 22 was released on August 17th, 2021, and is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

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