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No player has arguably been better than their peers at their respective position than Fred Warner since the turn of the decade. But as the San Francisco 49ers’ star returns from a gruesome ankle injury that ended his 2025 season prematurely, is Warner still the NFL’s best linebacker ahead of the 2026 campaign? We ranked the 10 best linebackers in the league as we prepare for the new year. Warner, a four-time first-team All-Pro, was one of two players to receive first-place votes in our rankings, with the Detroit Lions’ Jack Campbell and the Baltimore Ravens’ Roquan Smith among those vying for the top spot. Here’s a full look at our top 10 linebackers entering the 2026 season. Greg Auman: Can takeaways be what takes Carolina’s defense from bad to good? In defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s first year in Charlotte in 2023, the Panthers had an NFL-low 11 takeaways, improving to 17 in 2024 and 21 last year. Lloyd signed a three-year, $42 million deal after a breakout Pro Bowl year with the Jacksonville Jaguars, in which he had five interceptions to help his former team record 31 takeaways, second-most in the NFL. It’s concerning that Jacksonville let Lloyd walk from the middle of its defense, but he and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips are two high-dollar additions to Carolina’s defense as they try to improve enough to repeat as NFC South champs. Lloyd is 27 and needs to show last year’s splash plays — notably absent his previous two years — can continue as a defensive spark. Ben Arthur: Bolton has been one of the NFL’s most steady off-ball linebackers since entering the league in 2021, helping the Chiefs win two Super Bowls. The former second-round pick is coming off his second straight season of 100-plus tackles, six pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble. In 2025, he tied for third in run stops (86) and 10th in hustle stops (15) among linebackers, according to Next Gen Stats. With Kansas City’s secondary undergoing a makeover this offseason, Bolton will take on a more pronounced role in Steve Spagnuolo’s back-seven as the green dot. Pass coverage is an area for improvement, though. Opposing quarterbacks had a 93.8 passer rating when targeting him in coverage last season, the third time in five seasons he’s allowed a 90-plus passer rating, per NGS. Eric D. Williams: Only 26 years old, Jones has won two Super Bowl rings in six NFL seasons. Since Seattle made a midseason trade for the South Carolina product with the Tennessee Titans in 2024, Jones has been the green-dot playcaller and a leader for one of the best defensive teams in the NFL. Jones finished with a career-high five interceptions (a franchise record for a linebacker) and 126 combined tackles in 2025, earning second-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his NFL career. Jones has finished with at least 100 tackles for four straight seasons. Jones spent his first three seasons in the league with the Los Angeles Rams, setting a single-season franchise record with 145 tackles in 2023, including a career-high 4.5 sacks. Arthur: Once in the shadows of Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw in San Francisco, Al-Shaair has come into his own as a star linebacker the last couple of years. His aggressive play style sets the tone as the green dot of the Texans’ juggernaut defense. In 2025, the former undrafted free agent registered his third 100-tackle season and posted career-highs in interceptions (two) and pass breakups (nine) to make his first Pro Bowl. Overall, Al-Shaair is one of the league’s best coverage linebackers. Among qualified linebackers last season, he ranked ninth in both tight windows forced rate and coverage EPA and 20th in ballhawk rate, per NGS. Auman: Brooks, 28, is the rare Dolphins star the franchise chose to keep this year, locking him up with a three-year, $48 million deal. He earned first-team All-Pro honors last year, leading the NFL with 183 total tackles, but he’s been productive for a while. Over the last five years, he has the third-most tackles in the league, with more tackles for loss (45) than anyone else in the top five. He’s aggressive at the line of scrimmage, with 3.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss last year, and he’ll need to be as part of a rebuilding Dolphins roster under new head coach Jeff Hafley. Can the Dolphins win enough games to stay ahead of the Jets and avoid the AFC East cellar? Brooks is a core piece in Miami that’s part of their past and part of their future as well. Ralph Vacchiano: It is still absolutely remarkable that the Eagles viewed Baun as little more than a special teams player when they signed him away from New Orleans in 2024, and instead they got a two-time Pro Bowler and one of their best defensive starters. He was one of the best defenders in the league in 2024 and he had almost identical production last season when he had 123 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions. Baun’s the perfect versatile linebacker for Vic Fangio’s scheme. He’s got the speed to rush the passer and drop back in tight coverage, and he has better instincts than many linebackers in the league. Linebacker hasn’t always been a strength in Philadelphia. But thanks to the 29-year-old Baun, it is now. Bucky Brooks: The second-year pro quickly established himself as a tackling machine in the middle of the Browns’ defense. Schweisinger’s instincts, range, and awareness as a “see ball, get ball” defender shrink the field for the opponents, leading to fewer explosive plays against the ultra-aggressive unit. With the youngster also controlling the game as the green dot wearer, the Pro Bowler’s intelligence and communication skills set him apart from others at the position. Henry McKenna: Let’s just start with last season when he had 176 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, five sacks and four pass breakups. Sort of like a quarterback whose rare arm talent allows him to use every blade of grass, Campbell has the athleticism, range and awareness to be a threat in just about every part of the field. There really isn’t a defensive phase where he doesn’t make an impact. I’m not sure Campbell gets the love he deserves, in part because he’s a defensive playmaker and in part because his position is no longer considered “premium.” But to that point, it takes a truly special linebacker to justify the draft position of 18th overall, where the Lions got Campbell in 2023. And he has absolutely made that pick worth it. Williams: One of the most explosive linebackers in the league, Smith can make plays from sideline to sideline and is one of the best tacklers in the NFL. A four-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro, Smith has eclipsed 100 tackles in all eight of his NFL seasons. But Smith will have to adjust to a new system with defensive-minded head coach Jesse Minter taking over as the team’s head coach. Smith is looking to take the ball away this season after finishing with zero forced fumbles, sacks and interceptions in 2025. Brooks: The NFL’s prototype at the position displays a rare combination of size, speed, intelligence, and violence. Warner is a menacing sideline-to-sideline defender who covers ground like a gazelle, but attacks runners and pass catchers like the Lion King tracking his prey. Given Warner’s penchant for producing big plays as a run defender and in coverage, the All-Pro is the “Mike” linebacker that every defensive coordinator would choose as a foundational piece.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

WASHINGTON — Roger Penske casually sat on the pit road wall Friday at a race course that he probably thought would only exist in his imagination. The chairman of Penske Entertainment Corp. soaked in the atmosphere as INDYCAR officials prepared to ring the bell for the New York Stock Exchange from pit road. One turn away, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was getting into a two-seater INDYCAR for a ride around the 1.7-mile course. INDYCAR is just two days away from what is expected to be an epic Freedom 250 race on the streets of Washington. The race is the result of a President Donald Trump executive order that allowed the fast-tracking of permitting and use of federal lands, a spend of millions and millions of INDYCAR dollars and plenty of hours of sweat and hustle from INDYCAR and its partners. “To think about just months ago that we came together with FOX and the president — obviously with his executive order — to be able to have an event in the nation’s capital is outstanding,” Penske told me Friday. “It’s iconic. “I think there would be something that can’t be demonstrated anywhere else in the world, and to have it here in the United States and to think INDYCAR is a premier event here. It’s terrific.” The 89-year-old Penske has chaired Super Bowl committees and owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (in addition to owning INDYCAR). But from when the executive order was issued in late January to today, he has seen a street race come to fruition much quicker than normal. Penske said the bipartisan support from the mayor’s office as well as from cabinet officials has been key. “I can tell you the complexity here has been amazing. We have to deal with so many different opportunities within the city that we need to cover, that we need to have them in alignment,” Penske said. “The Super Bowl, obviously, is really an event that’s worked on for three or four years. Here, we’ve had four or five months to get ready. “So I would say this is very, very difficult [to do].” With an estimated crowd of $140,000 each day and Trump expected to attend and wave the green flag, Penske hopes the celebration of the country’s 250th birthday and the buzz of the event will boost INDYCAR’s visibility. FOX coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. ET with the race green flag at 1:13 p.m. “It’s going to give us visibility that we’ve never had before, and you put this in the same class as the Indy 500 from the standpoint of national presence and worldwide TV audience,” Penske said. “It’s a super, super opportunity for us to showcase our sport.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports