Bobby Wagner NFL top 100 ranking exposes glaring Commanders issue

In what may be the clearest sign yet that the list has fallen off from what it once was, future NFL Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner landed at number 81 on the NFL Top 100 list.

If you look at his season at a glance, the honor seems well-deserved.

Wagner tallied 162 tackles while playing in all 17 games, ranking him fifth in the league in that category, according to ESPN (Pro Football Focus records him with 158 tackles).

But he wasn't just a sure tackler, as he has always been throughout his 14-year NFL career; Wagner also tallied 4.5 sacks last season (again, according to ESPN, PFF has him with 5 sacks), placing him behind only Detroit's Jack Campbell and his 5.0 sacks among the 15 linebackers who had at least 130 tackles.

Wagner also added two interceptions and four forced fumbles last year.

So why did I say that the honor only seems well-deserved? Well, it's because Wagner wasn't very good last season in the eyes of most fans who watched all of the team's games.

There are very few times when the gulf between what the stats and advanced analytics say and what the eye test says is this wide.

Pro Football Focus graded Wagner as an elite run defender with a 90.3 rating that ranks him fifth among all qualified NFL linebackers. And according to PFF, Wagner only missed eight tackles the entire season.

But while he is a sure tackler, he is no longer an aggressive one.

Instead of attacking downhill, he would often let the offensive player come to him so he could make the tackle. While this way of playing still takes an incredible amount of skill and know-how on the football field, it also resulted in more yards gained and shorter to-go distances for the first down.

But even with that minor flaw, most of the Wagner criticism came from his pass coverage.

Bobby Wagner pass coverage

The Washington Commanders' defensive dropoff from 2024 to 2025 needs to be studied one day.

The squad went from a decent unit the year before to a good one to an absolute embarrassment last season. And linebacker play was a big reason (but certainly not the only reason; the team struggled on all three levels of defense).

At 35 years old, Bobby Wagner had clearly lost a step in coverage, and offensive coordinators matched up their tight ends and running backs against him to exploit that weakness.

And since he never came off the field, ranking first in total snaps among linebackers, according to PFF, oftentimes when offenses got into trouble, they would pick on Bobby in coverage.

He allowed QBs to have a 107.2 passer rating when targeting him, according to PFF, ranking him 41st among NFL linebackers. This was made even worse by the fact that his 588 coverage snaps ranked 6th among linebackers.

So OCs had plenty of opportunities to find Bobby.

Wagner and fellow linebacker Frankie Luvu were both named second-team All-Pros after the 2024 season. But Frankie Luvu's fall off in 2025 was even more pronounced than Wagner's.

Heading into 2026, Wagner is still a free agent and could actually be back with the team. He is an off-the-field fan favorite. He recently received his MBA from Washington D.C.'s own Howard University and was named the 2025 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.

His locker-room leadership and intangibles are qualities every team would value, and it has often been said that he has a future as a coach once he decides to hang up his cleats.

However, he is no longer an every-down backer like he used to be. Last season made that painfully clear.

Should Bobby Wagner return to the Commanders?

For their part, the Commanders completely retooled their linebacking corps in the offseason, anchored by the seventh overall selection in April's rookie draft, Sonny Styles.

While Frankie Luvu is back and looking for a bounce-back season, he will be flanked on either side by new linebackers after the Commanders also went out and signed Leo Chenal.

In one offseason, the Commanders have morphed from one of the least athletic linebacking groups to undoubtedly one of the most athletic ones, maybe ever.

But in the process, they may have also lost some of the leadership that comes with a veteran presence as big as Wagner's.

Most Commanders fans wouldn't mind having a sure-tackling backup linebacker who is great in the locker room and the community. But after tallying as many tackles as he did last season, Wagner may not see himself as a backup

Wagner ended last season with exactly 2,000 career total tackles, placing him third behind Washington Redskins great London Fletcher and Baltimore's Ray Lewis, who had 2,059.

If Wagner wants to catch Ray, he needs to play one more season. So far, Wagner is still a free agent.

But as we get closer to the season, teams will undoubtedly start looking for veteran help and Wagner will probably have a great opportunity to break the record somewhere.

I wouldn't mind that somewhere being in Washington.

Related: NFL Experts Agree: Commanders need More Help

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This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 11:56 AM.