New Broncos LB Dre Greenlaw Receives Top-5 PFF Ranking

The Denver Broncos haven't received the proper respect throughout the offseason's ubiquitous lists and rankings. However, in Pro Football Focus' latest linebacker rankings, the Broncos finally have a player who might be ranked a little too high instead of too low, as has been this year's theme.

PFF's Mason Cameron ranked the top 32 linebackers, where Denver's Dre Greenlaw came in fifth overall, and the last Tier 2 linebacker in his rankings. Greenlaw's former teammate, Fred Warner, was the top linebacker and lone player in Tier 1, with Zack Baun, Bobby Wagner, and Roquan Smith coming in second through fourth. 

“Although he played just 34 snaps in 2024, Greenlaw was on his way to the upper echelon of linebacker play before his injury. His profile as one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL was on full display from 2022 to 2023, when he posted a combined 88.9 PFF coverage grade. While there are questions regarding the level he can return to, Greenlaw's ceiling is high and worthy of this lofty placement," Cameron wrote.

The issue with Greenlaw, and the argument for him being too high, is his medical history, and that he's coming off a serious injury that kept him out for almost all of last season. As Cameron wrote, Greenlaw's ceiling is worth taking a chance on his medical jacket. When healthy, Greenlaw is among the elite at the position, but the question is how he will play when he comes back, as he's currently nursing an offseason quad injury, and isn't participating in the Broncos' voluntary minicamp this week.

If Greenlaw can return close to that level, he 100% deserves to be in the top five, but there is as much of a chance of that as there is of him cracking the top 15 with the linebackers in Cameron's rankings. The fact of the matter is that no one knows what level of play Greenlaw will produce on the field this season. 

The Broncos are clearly optimistic about him, but more players coming off a torn Achilles tear struggle to return to their pre-injury level of play than do. So, Denver can be optimistic, but the odds and history of the injury suggest Greenlaw won’t return to that level. 

The Takeaway

For now, the ranking is fair for Greenlaw, especially in the context of the last line of Cameron’s logic. Greenlaw's ceiling is still exceptionally high, but the floor is equally low because of the injury. The players behind him in these rankings all have questions over drop-offs in their play or injury concerns, but none of them have shown to be the elite player that Greenlaw has. 

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For once, the Broncos get some proper respect in PFF's position rankings, but time will tell whether it was deserved.