About this episode
The episode discusses the 2026 NFL Draft's rookie linebacker class, evaluation methods, and comparisons to the previous year's class.
IT. IS. DRAFT WEEK. With the 2026 NFL Draft days away, it's time to talk about everyone's favorite position with this year’s rookie linebackers—and what a class it is to talk about. We have thumpers, athletic freaks, and undersized studs. In this episode, Jake Kohlhagen and Scott Soltis discuss Scott's evaluation process, compare this class to the 2025 class, and put forth the names to know for your drafts (and others to keep an eye on). 0:00 Cold open: It's draft time, baby 1:04 Scott's approach to evaluating linebackers 1:46 Why PFF run defense grade is king for LBs 4:09 Why run defense grade beats overall grade 8:11 The 2026 LB class vs. the 2025 class 15:12 Arvell Reese, Ohio State 22:29 Sonny Styles, Ohio State 32:28 3rd round LBs: the logjam 37:49 CJ Allen, Georgia 43:10 Anthony Hill Jr., Texas 51:13 Jake Golday, Cincinnati 56:09 Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech 57:52 Josiah Trotter, Missouri 1:01:08 Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh 1:12:09 Closing thoughts Check out our free IDP trade calculator, powered by Adam's dynasty rankings: https://idptradecalculator.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel for our other shows, The IDP After Show and All IDP . If you'd like to support the show, you…
People in this episode
Host: Jake Kohlhagen
Guest: Scott Soltis
Topics covered
- 2026 NFL Draft
- rookie linebackers
- evaluation process
- PFF run defense grade
- comparison of LB classes
- draft strategy
Keywords
- rookie linebackers
- NFL Draft
- evaluation process
- PFF run defense grade
- draft strategy
- 2026 LB class
- Scott Soltis
- Jake Kohlhagen
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Cincinnati, Texas Tech, Missouri, Pittsburgh, PFF
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