If you watch the NFL, there’s a good chance you’ve played one of the Madden video games at some point. And if you’ve played one of the Madden games, there’s a very good chance you’ve had the experience of a linebacker leaping out of nowhere to intercept a pass. You may think it’s unfair, but the reality is this: the best teams have the tallest linebackers specifically to make those plays. So this week’s Absurd Power Rankings acknowledge that and determine which teams have the greatest linebackers by height.
Do the tallest linebackers make the best NFL teams?
Finally, there’s a rankings system where the Packers and Jets occupy the top two spots.
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
(The following heights and positions are all taken from team sites directly. Franchises with multiple tallest linebackers are ranked higher than those with only one of the same height.)
1. Green Bay. Julius Peppers, 6'7
2. New York Jets. Quinton Coples, 6'6
3. Minnesota. Anthony Barr and Audie Cole, 6'5
4 (tie). Miami. Chris McCain, 6'5
Philadelphia. Bryan Braman, 6'5
Washington. Trent Murphy, 6'5
Arizona. Matt Shaughnessy, 6'5
San Francisco. Aaron Lynch, 6'5
Atlanta. Tyler Starr, 6'5
10 (tie). Cleveland. Paul Kruger and Barkevious Mingo, 6'4
Dallas. Kyle Wilber and Rolando McClain, 6'4
Tennessee. Kaelin Burnett and Justin Staples, 6'4
13 (tie). Houston. Whitney Mercilus, 6'4
Jacksonville. A.J. Edds, 6'4
San Diego. Tourek Williams, 6'4
New York Giants. Mark Herzlich, 6'4
Seattle. K.J. Wright, 6'4
Carolina. Ben Jacobs, 6'4
Buffalo. Randell Johnson, 6'4
Cincinnati. Emmanuel Lamur, 6'4
21 (tie). Indianapolis. Jonathan Newsome, Shaun Phillips, Andy Studebaker, and Bjoern Werner, 6'3
Kansas City. Tamba Hali, Justin Houston, Josh Martin, and Frank Zombo, 6'3
23 (tie). Denver. Lerentee McCray and Von Miller, 6'3
Oakland. Ray-Ray Armstrong and Khalil Mack, 6'3
New England. Akeem Ayers and Jamie Collins, 6'3
Baltimore. Pernell McPhee and Terrell Suggs, 6'3
Chicago. Christian Jones and Shea McClellin, 6'3
28 (tie). Pittsburgh. Terence Garvin, 6’3
Detroit. Kyle Van Noy, 6’3
New Orleans. Ronald Powell, 6’3
St. Louis. Will Herring, 6’3
32. Tampa Bay. Dane Fletcher, Mason Foster, Ka'Lial Glaud, 6'2
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