Washington Position Group Breakdown: Linebackers
June 13, 2024
by Steve Thomas
Welcome to the latest in The Hog Sty’s annual offseason post-free agency and draft look at each position group of Washington’s roster. This is our attempt to assess the state of roster after both free agency and the draft. This week, we’re going to take a look at the linebackers.
I’m doing this review under the assumption that Washington will run a 4 – 3 defense since we haven’t heard otherwise.
Probable starters:
MLB – Bobby Wagner (6’0”/242): Wagner was a 2012 second round pick out of Utah St. by the Seattle Seahawks. He stayed in Seattle through 2021, where he was a key member of the famed “Legion of Boom” defense that won Super Bowl LVIII in 2014. He then moved to the Los Angeles Rams for the 2022 season, then back to the Seahawks in 2023 before signing with Washington. In total, he’s played in 185 games, with 183 starts, and has made 1706 tackles, including 996 solo and 89 for loss, 33 sacks, and 13 interceptions. Last year with Seattle, he played 17 games, starting 16, and made 183 tackles, which was the most of his career, including 96 solo and 11 for loss, plus 3.5 sacks. He is a 9x Pro Bowler, including 2023 for the Seahawks, and 6x First-Team All-Pro selection, including 5 straight years from 2016 through 2020. Wagner is likely going to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame someday, but since he’ll be 34 years old when the season starts, he’s probably not as athletic as he once was. Nevertheless, this signing has a bit of a London Fletcher feel to it. Wagner is certainly the most accomplished free agent Washington has signed in a long time. He’ll be a team captain and the defensive signal caller. Fans can legitimately have high hopes for Wagner, particularly considering the pathetic state of this position during the Ron Rivera years. Wagner is only on a one year contract.
OLB – Jamin Davis (6’3” / 234): Davis was Washington’s first round pick in 2021 out of the University of Kentucky. He was drafted to be Washington’s middle linebacker and signal caller of the future, and in that role, he has undeniably been a bust. However, Davis seems to have found a bit of life on the weak side on the outside, a position which better fits his strengths and elite athletic profile. In total, he’s played 45 games in three seasons, with 36 starts, and made 269 tackles, including 166 solo and 20 for loss, 7 sacks, and 1 interception. Last year, he played and started 13 games, missing 4 due to injury, and had 89 tackles, including 50 solo and 8 for loss, 3 sacks, and 1 interception. Washington declined his fifth-year option, so he will be a free agent after the upcoming season and will have to prove himself in order to earn an offer of an extension. This year, though, expect Davis to serve as a starting outside linebacker. He doesn’t exactly scream “elite” in coverage, but he has improved quite a bit in run defense, so there may be hope for him in that capacity. He’ll probably start simply because of his draft status and the team’s lack of other options.
OLB – Frankie Luvu (6’3” / 235): Luvu originally entered the NFL when he was signed by the Jets in 2018 as an undrafted free agent from Washington St. He spent three seasons with the Jets before signing with the Carolina Panthers in 2021. He stayed in Carolina through last season before signing with Washington this offseason. In total, he’s played in 88 games, with 39 starts, and has 338 total tackles, including 212 solo and 46 for loss, plus 20 sacks and 1 interception. Last year with the Panthers, Luvu played and started 17 games, and had 125 total tackles, including 66 total and 10 for loss, and 5.5 sacks. Luvu is on a three year, $31M contract with more than $14.6M guaranteed, and cannot be cut this year at a cap savings. As a result, he’ll almost assuredly be a starter this year regardless of any other options that could fall out of nowhere. It stands to reason that Luvu will be on the strong side considering that Davis is clearly best on the weak side. Luvu is another quality signing that probably wasn’t possible in previous administrations. Don’t expect All-Pro level play, but there’s no reason to think that Luvu won’t be a solid pro with potential to be a plus-level starter.
Possible backups:
Bo Bauer (6’3” / 253): Bauer was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seahawks in 2023 but was cut prior to the start of the season. He was out of the NFL until signing with Washington this offseason. Bauer played at Notre Dame for 5 seasons from 2018 to 2022, during which time he played 56 games, and had 121 total tackles, including 70 solo, 2 interceptions, and 2.5 sacks. Part of Bauer’s struggles were due to a major knee injury in October, 2022. Bauer will get his shot to make the active roster, but seems more like a practice squad candidate. Currently, he’s on a minimum value 3 year contract.
Keandre Jones (6’3” / 220): Jones was a 2020 undrafted free agent from the University of Maryland who originally signed with the Chicago Bears, but was cut in training camp that season. He was then picked up by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he stayed through 2023, bouncing around between the active roster and the practice squad. In total, he’s played 8 NFL games and has 4 tackles. Jones played 1 game last year but did not register any statistics. Jones is on a minimum value 1 year contract. He is principally a special teams and/or practice squad candidate. His height and weight would suggest that, as a linebacker, he would be more suited to a weakside role.
Jordan Magee (6’1” / 228): Magee was one of Washington’s two 5th round picks this year. He spent 5 seasons at Temple University. He redshirted his freshman year in 2019, but played a total of 40 games between 2020 and 2023, and started for most of the 2021 season and all of the next two seasons. In total, he made 235 tackles, including 139 solo and 31 for loss, 8 sacks, and 1 interception. In 2023, he played 11 games and made 80 total tackles, including 45 solo and 14 for loss, and 3.5 sacks, and earned Second Team All-AAC honors. At the NFL Combine, Magee ran the 40 yard dash in 4.55 seconds, and jumped 35.5 inches in the vertical leap and 10’4” in the standing broad jump.
Magee’s numbers at the Combine caught some attention, as his standing broad jump tied for the lead amongst linebackers, and both his 40 time and his vertical leap were in the top five for the position group. As a player, scouts view Magee as a quality downhill linebacker with athleticism, and see positives in his zone coverage play. He is also known as a high character person with football intelligence. On the negative side, analysts see his ability to read and diagnose plays as lacking, and see him as a player who could struggle in man coverage. He appears to be a downhill linebacker who will spend as much time as possible in the offense’s backfield. Magee is also a bit undersized. Since Washington likely has their starters already lined up, it seems more likely that Magee will be a backup outside linebacker and special teamer for at least the first year of his professional career.
Anthony Pittman (6’3” / 242): Pittman was a 2019 undrafted free agent out of Wayne St. who was originally signed by the Detroit Lions. He spent four seasons in Detroit, where he bounced between the active roster and the practice squad before signing a one year, $1.1M deal with Washington this offseason. In total, he’s played in 52 games, with 2 starts, and made 28 tackles, including 14 solo. Last year, he was active for all 17 games and had 4 tackles, including 2 solo. Pittman’s size would suggest that he could possibly play the middle linebacker position. His lack of experience may mean that he is yet another play who is destined for either special teams play or the practice squad.
Mykal Walker (6’3” / 242): Walker was a 2020 4th round pick by the Atlanta Falcons out of Fresno St. University. He lasted for three seasons with the Falcons before being waived in the 2023 offseason. Walker was then picked up by the Chicago Bears, but was waived again during training camp. He then spent time on the Raiders’ practice squad before being released in October, 2023. The Steelers signed him to their practice squad a few days later, but was activated in November. Walker signed a low-value, one year deal with Washington. In total, he’s played in 57 games, with 38 starts, and has a total of 220 tackles, including 125 solo and 7 for loss, 1 sack, and 4 interceptions. In 2023, he played in 8 games, with 5 starts, and made 33 total tackles, including 21 solo and 2 for loss. Pittman is a probably more of a middle linebacker and is the most experienced of Washington’s backup candidates.
Washington will probably keep four or five linebackers, although I suspect that five is more likely. Given that, behind the starters, Walker seems like the one who is most likely to make it on the active roster, simply because he has much more NFL experience than the rest. Magee will also has a good shot at making the active roster by virtue of his status as a 5th round draft pick. The rest of this group has long odds of being more than practice squad members.