2023 NFL playoffs All eight divisional round teams have this one thing in common

Beyond , all eight of the remaining teams in these NFL playoffs have one commonality -- they're stacked at linebacker.And given how scarce high-quality linebacker play is in today's NFL and the importance of the position, it makes sense for the clubs that've advanced to the second round of the postseason to have it.Linebacker play is critical, even though in Andrei Kirilenko Jersey the past five years one linebacker has been almost universally removed from every base defense in the NFL. Because most teams are now rolling with two linebackers -- instead of the customary three -- it's truly become a premium position. Linebackers are the worker bees of the defense, loaded with nonstop responsibilities. And yet, in a game so laser-focused on pa sing and receiver-cornerback matchups, the duties carried out by linebackers are often overlooked.Linebackers, particularly the excellent ones, are legitimate full-time players. They rarely, if ever, leave the field. Beyond that requirement, they're tasked with playing big on inside runs with 300-plus pounders climbing to the second level. They have to showcase vision and speed while sorting through traffic to get to outside runs. And don't mi s a tackle! They have to blitz effectively, and of course there's the coverage aspect, a job responsibility that's expanded over the past decade. If your linebackers can't cover, the entire defense will be quickly be exposed, especially in the postseason. Each team participating in the divisional round this week boasts at least one total stud linebacker or a previously castoff linebacker who's drastically elevated his play of late Joe Ingles Jersey . The often overlooked, last line of defense has never been more important in the NFL.The have and . The -- and . Kansas City's linebacker,, has emerged as one of the best young three-down players at his position, while Willie Gay Jr. is a speedy specimen at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds. of the led the NFL with 184 tackles during the regular season, the second-straight year he had more tackles than anyone else in Donovan Mitchell Jersey football.San Francisco's has been elite at linebacker for years now, and he's towhatwas tofor the franchise in the early 2010s. After navigating through plenty of injuries, is rekindling the magic of his spectacular rookie season in 2018. The have the super-steady patrolling the middle of their defense. And the have gotten pleasantly surprising returns from former second-round pick turned journeyman . Counting the first round of the postseason, this is the collective stat line for those 12 second-level defenders. Pa Miye Oni Jersey ser rating allowedTotal tackles averageTFL averageMi sed tackle ratePre sure-creation ratePlayoff star linebackers93.71277.511.1%22.7%That 93.7 pa ser rating allowed may seem high. It's not. It'd rank as the 28th-lowest rating allowed at the linebacker position this season among 93 qualifiers.For more context, the total tackles average is equivalent to Greenlaw's total tackle figure in the regular season; had eight tackles for lo s for the this year; Gay himself was right at the collective average mi sed-tackle rate; and generated a pre sure on 22.1% of his rushes for the in 2022.The highlighted linebackers here are an eclectic group. Edmunds and Vander Esch were first rounders; Bolton, Gay, and Smith were second-round picks; Pratt, Wilson, and Warner third-round picks; and the rest Day 3 selections. Edwards, somehow, went undrafted after a long, ultra-productive career at Wisconsin.Pa s rushers are highlighted players on every defense Rayjon Tucker Jersey , and rightfully so. Cornerbacks also find themselves part of the spotlight covering household names at receiver every week.But it should come as no surprise each of the eight divisional-round playoff teams have monsters at linebacker. It's the all-encompa sing, do-everything position that appeared to be slipping into the shadows as the NFL drifted away from the run-heavy days of the past, but it has actually become the backbone of the game's best, most succe sful defenses.