When you’re thinking of the most important positions in any defense, you’ll probably list edge-rushers and cornerbacks right off the bat. The increase in quick game at all levels of football has made interior disruptors more impactful and important, because it’s easier to get to the quarterback in a relatively straight line if you’re of a mind to. And in today’s NFL, where safety switches are all the rage, and the division between free and strong has disappeared, the rangy safety is a necessity.
What you wouldn’t say right off the top is “linebacker.” And that’s obviously a sea change from even one era ago. Today’s linebackers, for the most part, are not given the praise allotted to Dick Butkus, Jack Lambert, Mike Singletary, and Ray Lewis in their primes. NFL defenses have gone so far away from the base formations (think more obvious 3-4 and 4-3 sets) that defined the game for so long, and linebackers have had to adjust.
