7. Zack Baun, Philadelphia Eagles
Zack Baun truly broke out for the first time back in the 2024 NFL Season for the Philadelphia Eagles. He earned Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors that year. He followed that up with a 3.5 sack, 123-tackle, Pro Bowl season in 2025.
Baun got a lot better in coverage in 2025, as he allowed a passer rating of 64.5, which was down from an already solid 80.5 in 2024.
Playing in a Vic Fangio defense certainly helps, but Baun's production and skill is something most defenses would want.
6. Devin Bush, Chicago Bears
In year seven, Devin Bush had the best season of his career. Bush signed with the Chicago Bears in free agency after two years with the Cleveland Browns. In 2025, Bush finshed with three interceptions, two defensive touchdowns, eight passes defended, and 125 total tackles.
Bush was obviously excellent in coverage and is going to be a huge boost to the middle of the Chicago defense. He was also the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, so I guess it's not much of a shock that we're seeing Bush play some elite football.
5. Devin Lloyd, Carolina Panthers
In a contract year in 2025, Devin Lloyd showed up big-time for the Jacksonville Jaguars defense, but he departed for the Carolina Panthers in free agency. While he didn't have gaudy tackle totals, Lloyd finished with five interceptions, seven passes defended, and also added 1.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, and 10 quarterback hits.
Lloyd's ability in coverage did a total 180, and that's really the main thing here. In 2024, he allowed a 109.6 passer rating in coverage. In 2025, that number dipped all the way down to 57.1. This is an awesome change and allowed Lloyd to emerge as one of the very best linebackers in the NFL.
He gets into the No. 5 slot in our linebacker power rankings for the 2026 campaign. Let's see which players we have as the best of the best.
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