Forgotten IDPs: 4 Linebackers Who Could Surprise in 2025

Which 2nd and 3rd year LBs are we overlooking headed in the season?

We're continuing our three-part series on overlooked or forgotten IDPs. First up, we looked at defensive linemen. Now, we shift focus to the linebackers.

These are second and third-year players who find themselves in ambiguous LB rooms or whose upside is unknown. We don’t want to over-invest in these players, but as drafts wind down, these late picks could emerge into weekly starters for us.

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Omar Speights, Los Angeles Rams

We all love rooting for undrafted free agents, and in Speights, we have a linebacker who stands a legitimate chance to defy the odds and remain an integral part of Chris Shula’s plans despite being all but forgotten by the IDP community with an ADP as the LB61 in The IDP Show’s best ball drafts.

Troy Reeder’s hamstring injury in Week 7 opened the door for Christian Rozeboom to inherit a full-time role and Speights to earn meaningful snaps as the LB2. Between Week 11 and the Rams' loss in the Divisional Playoffs, the rookie had an average snap share of 66.5%.

We know tackle efficiency is more a product of the scheme than a reflection of talent, but Speight’s 15.8% tackle efficiency rating, which ranked in the 89th percentile, is another string to his bow as we consider his future IDP value in Shula’s defense.

Granted, the weak depth at linebacker afforded him an opportunity he probably wouldn’t get on most teams, but he acquitted himself reasonably well. Per PFF, when compared to the 129 linebackers with a minimum of 100 snaps, his 82.3 tackle grade ranked 12th among all linebackers, and his 78.3 run defense grade placed 26th.

Many might point to the recent linebacker additions as a threat to Speights’ opportunities in 2025, and they may be right to be concerned. First, the Rams signed Nate Landman in free agency, then they brought back Troy Reeder, who opened the 2024 campaign as the Rams' LB1. And later, they added rookie Chris Paul in the 2025 NFL Draft.

What those cynics might have overlooked is that Landman is an extremely one-dimensional player, Reeder doesn’t excel in any one area, and first-year linebackers—especially fifth-round rookies like Paul—typically don’t emerge until the second year, if at all. What these signings say to me is that they’re keeping the door open for Speights.

But the biggest vote of confidence in Speights is what the Rams didn’t do. Almost everyone tipped them to target a linebacker early in the draft, and instead, they waited and waited before selecting Paul. And rather than making the position a priority in free agency, they added two flawed veterans on extremely cheap, one-year deals.

In my humble opinion, Speights’ struggles in pass coverage present the biggest obstacle to his chances of making an even bigger impact in 2025. We knew it would be a problem when NFL analyst Lance Zierlein flagged that he could be “exploited in coverage,” and true enough, it was the weakest part of the rookie’s game last year. With that said, it’s not like Reeder or Landman excel in that area either.

Keep a watchful eye on how first-team snaps are divided between the linebacker group throughout training camp. In the meantime, let's remind ourselves of some positive things Sean McVay has said about him in the past.

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Jaylon Carlies, Indianapolis Colts

As a lowly fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Carlies was an afterthought in IDP this time last year. He had spent four years with the Missouri Tigers playing safety, but experts considered his coverage ability too poor to play the position at the NFL level.

Recognising the truth in those assessments, the Colts immediately converted the youngster to linebacker. They must have liked what they saw, as they immediately handed him over 100 defensive snaps throughout the first five games behind Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed.

Unfortunately, after earning his first career sack in the Week 7 win over the Miami Dolphins, Carlies suffered a fibula injury which kept him out until Week 16. But when he came back, he returned with serious intent, playing every down and recording 10 tackles while E.J. Speed was sidelined with a knee injury.

Carlies ended the season with 242 defensive snaps, and truthfully, that’s not enough for us to determine who he is as a player. But what we saw in that small sample was very promising. He clearly has work to do in run defense, where his average depth of tackle was a worrisome 4.7 yards, but he missed only 10.5% of his tackle attempts, and was awarded an 83.3 PFF grade in coverage, which ranked fourth among all NFL linebackers.

The young linebacker has had offseason surgery, and there is uncertainty about whether he’ll return in time for training camp. Ordinarily, that would be a red flag for a youngster who hasn’t yet staked a claim for a starting role, but his recovery is going well, and the lack of competition at linebacker should make us a little more forgiving than we might be otherwise.

Jason King, Scott Soltis, and I talked about Carlies’ outlook on The IDP Show Dynasty Buy/Sell/Hold episode. Check it out:

What we know now that we didn’t know then is that Speed was on his way out the door, and the Colts would do absolutely nothing to replace him. So, unless they bring in a veteran between now and September, which seems unlikely given Chris Ballard’s recent praise of Carlies, it’s wheels up for the promising youngster with an ADP of 51!

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Junior Colson, Los Angeles Chargers

The main difference between Colson and the rest of the players mentioned in this article is that he was pretty dreadful last year. PFF graded him as one of the worst linebackers in coverage and gave him a pretty woeful 55.6 run defense grade, too.

It didn’t help his fantasy outlook that he got injured, and watched on as Daiyan Henley emerged as a difference-maker in 2024 in a Jesse Minter defense that only has room for one full-time linebacker.

For those reasons, IDP managers have been giving him a wide berth, taking him behind 51 other linebackers in The IDP Show’s Best Ball drafts. It’s somewhat understandable.

There are reasons to buy the dip that go beyond the tired trope of his ties to Minter and Jon Harbaugh from their Michigan days. That’s a factor, yes, but it’s not enough to warrant consideration here. Like many others in this article, the reason Colson has a chance to outperform his ADP is a combination of opportunity and potential.

Colson’s competition for the Chargers’ LB2 role and a 70-80% snap share is Denzel Perryman and Troy Dye. Both are pretty abysmal. Perryman’s best quality is his ability to take on blockers in run defense, but what good is that when he misses 20%+ of his tackle attempts? Dye is more athletic and is a fundamentally sound tackler, but he can’t cover, and the Chargers don’t want him to win this battle.

It might not happen immediately, but after a year adjusting to the speed of the NFL, and assuming he remains healthy, Colson has the draft capital and upside to emerge down the stretch as the clear winner of the battle behind Henley. If you don’t believe me, flip on any game from his junior year for Michigan in 2023. If you’re stuck for time, just watch the highlights.

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Cedric Gray, LB, Tennessee Titans

After a rookie year plagued by injuries and with only 48 snaps to his name, Gray certainly falls into the 'overlooked and forgotten' bracket. His ADP as the LB84 reflects the fact that the IDP community has no expectations for him, and perhaps they're right.

But we enjoy playing the 'what if' game, especially when there's a reasonable chance a player can far exceed their ADP.

Gray has a chance to do just that, as he's motivated to win what defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson called an "extremely wide open" competition between James Williams and Otis Reese IV to line up next to Cody Barton. It doesn't hurt his chances that Reese IV is dealing with a nagging ankle injury.

The potential reward on offer should excite IDP managers. Up for grabs is what we know to be a significant role in a scheme that utilized two full-time linebackers for most of 2024.

Given the lack of experience behind Barton, the Titans are one of the favorites to bring in a seasoned veteran to help bridge the gap. But what if they don't, and what if Gray wins the job? Wouldn't you prefer to be taking a flier in the 18th round on a guy who has a shot at becoming a fantasy LB3 rather than sinking the pick into a declining asset like Grady Jarrett or someone buried on the depth chart like Samson Ebukam? Because those are your choices at that spot, according to our ADP.

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