Top five linebackers in college football for 2019

After having talked about the best defensive linemen on the edge and the interior, we move on to the second level of the defense. This group includes all linebackers that play off the ball - Mike, Will, Sam, Peg, Star - whatever you want to call them depending on the scheme.

The top two consists of two Big Ten standouts, while the other three spots are taken by players from three different Power Five conferences. As offenses go to more wide-open looks and throw the ball at a higher rate, pass coverage and range definitely become more important and you won't see any pure inside thumpers on this list.

However, I will say once again that these are college rankings, not draft grades and here are the top five linebackers for 2019.

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#5 Paddy Fisher, Northwestern

This young man came in for Northwestern and was a force to reckon with, recording 111 tackles, nine for loss, four fumbles forced and a pick, while taking over as the program’s leader of the future.

The 6’4”, 245 junior plays in the mold of his head coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was a two-time Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik award winner, and says he shapes his game after an NFL Defensive Player of the Year in Luke Kuechly – two guys who aren’t too bad to follow.

Fisher put up almost identical numbers his second year and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. He plays with a tenacious attitude and tackles people like a bear, while constantly ripping at the ball when he gets a chance. You see natural instincts for the position and good vision for the offensive backfield.

In the passing game, Fisher controls the middle of the field and punishes receivers coming into his area. While he is a violent downhill player, Fisher needs to work on his stack-and-shed technique and consistently play with good extension when taking on pulling guards or such as.

#4 Joe Bachie, Michigan State

When Michigan State was expected to be in rebuild mode two years ago, it was the play of quarterback Brian Lewerke and middle linebacker Joe Bachie that put the program right back in the mix for the Big Ten.

While Lewerke took a major step back last season, Bachie was one of the best linebackers in all of college football. Over the last two years, he has finished 100+ tackles in each of them, with 16.5 of those for negative yardage, while forcing four fumbles, recording four picks and eight other passes deflected.

Slightly undersized at 6’2”, 230 pounds, the Spartan standout loves to shoot gaps aggressively and rarely gets driven backwards by guys that outweight by almost 100 pounds because of the way he attacks one half of the blocker or just weaves around them.

He truly chases ball-carriers around sideline to sideline and plays with a ton of energy. When it comes to the passing game, Bachie does a good job in zone keeping guys in front of him while pass concepts develop and then jumps on shallow crossers when his area is cleared.

With two guys on that defensive line already making top five at their respective position and a physical secondary, this MSU defense should be tough to score on once again.

#3 Isaiah Simmons, Clemson

Isaiah Simmons is a safety/linebacker hybrid at 6’4”, 225 pounds. The athletic freak will probably be tagged as a SAM or star linebacker, but wherever you fill him in, he will wreak havoc.

Last season he recorded 88 tackles, nine of them for loss, two sacks, three fumbles forced, six PBUs and a pick-six. Simmons has the quick acceleration to track ball-carriers down from behind coming off the backside of run plays and can bend almost like a pass rusher to react to ball-carriers changing directions.

While he is a tough task in the box, he also played a ton of big nickel, where he shows the athletic tools to carry guys down the seam or run with them on deep corner or out routes. In coverage he has the length to redirect receivers and reach around those guys to disrupt them at the catch point.

On 59 targets in coverage over the last two years, Simmons has given up just one touchdown. In addition to that, he is a dangerous blitzer from the slot and was even utilized as a QB spy at times. The one thing that really needs work is his tackling form, as he needs to wrap up with his arms a lot more to cut down on his misses.

#2 Dylan Moses, Alabama

This guy returns to Bama as their top inside linebacker after the departure of Mack Wilson to the pros and he already made a case to be their number one guy last season. Moses recorded 86 tackles, with ten of those in the opposing backfield, and 3.5 sacks.

At 6’3”, 235 pounds, he is physical and fearless, running into big offensive linemen at full speed to stop the run. Even when he is not really moving downhill, you hear it when he meets the ball-carrier in the hole and he stops the forward momentum by shooting his hips through and standing up that guy.

Moses is also highly alert for cutbacks and rarely gets caught out of position when he is responsible for the backside. While his former teammate Mack was largely responsible for man-coverage duties, Moses is a ferocious blitzer.

He doesn’t mind mixing it up with guards and runs through some backs, while showing great closing burst in how quickly he makes up the distance to the quarterback. Once again, Alabama will have a highly drafted inside linebacker in 2020.

#1 Troy Dye, Oregon

While there's plenty of talks around the Oregon offensive line and their NFL prospect at quarterback, they have at least one real star on defense as well. Dye has put up 90+ tackles in three straight years now, including 109 in 2018, and was one of only two players in the FBS to lead his team in that category over that stretch.

He has also reached double-digit sacks through those three years and made an interception every year while adding ten more plays on the ball. Despite lacking some mass at 225 pounds, Dye doesn’t mind throwing his body around in the run game and is excellent as disengaging from contact by using his hands.

In zone coverage he quickly pulls the trigger once he sees the ball come out and is a very secure open-field tackler, while having the speed to run down the middle of the field with tight-ends or backs and knock down passes.

Even though he is a smaller body in collision, there are times where Dye is forced to settle for drag-tackles and he can be boxed out by bigger bodies every once in a while.

David Woodward (Utah State), Shaquille Quarterman & Michael Pinckney (Miami), Nate Landman (Colorado), Evan Weaver (California), Monty Rice (Georgia) and Khaleke Hudson (Michigan)