What does life look like for the New Orleans Saints without Demario Davis? The veteran linebacker asserted himself as one of the best players at his position, aging like fine wine into the 2020s. He’s the headlining member of our All-NFC South Team of the 2020s at linebacker, but he isn’t alone. At the same time Davis was taking point for the Saints, Lavonte David was doing the same with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now both teams must move on without their longtime leaders. Here’s a look at both of them and other linebackers in the division who might take up their mantle.
Methodology
One key stat we’re relying on is Approximate Value from Pro Football Reference, which PFR defines as “an attempt to put a single number on the seasonal value of a player at any position from any year.” In practice, that means giving higher numbers to player who start more games, play more snaps, and do more to help their team win by racking up yards, scoring touchdowns, creating turnovers and sacking quarterbacks, and so on. We’re also assigning point values to being named a first-team All-Pro (ten points), second-team All-Pro (five points), and Pro Bowler (three points). And then we’re adding those numbers together. Remember, these are all-decade teams for the NFC South, which didn’t exist until 2002, and only contributions on the four teams in the division factor into our formula. So Drew Brees earning a Pro Bowl nod with the San Diego Chargers in 2005 doesn’t help him, for example.
First team: Demario Davis
- Team: New Orleans Saints (2020 to 20205)
- AV: 76
- Awards: All-Pro second team (4), Pro Bowler (2)
- Score: 102
You’d be hard-pressed to find a linebacker who has been more consistent than Davis over the last decade; his streak of seasons with 100-plus tackles goes back to 2016, when he finished with 99 of them on the Cleveland Browns. He made plays all over the field with the Saints since 2020, totaling 733 tackles, 56 tackles for loss, 45 quarterback hits, 32 passes defensed, 22.5 sacks, four interceptions, and three forced fumbles across 99 games. He only missed a single game with injury while continuing to play at a high level deep into his 30’s. Now he’s left for a reunion with the New York Jets team that drafted him.
First team: Lavonte David
- Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020 to 2025)
- AV: 52
- Awards: All-Pro second team (1)
- Score: 57
David notched 100 or more tackles in five of the last six years (he had 97 of them in a 12-game 2021 campaign) and made for a respectable runner-up behind Davis. All told, during this decade David appeared in 94 games, all starts, while racking up 708 tackles, 61 tackles for loss, 28 passes defensed, 27 quarterback hits, 20 sacks, and a dozen forced fumbles. He chose to retire this offseason and go out on his own terms after a 14-year run with Tampa Bay.
Second team: Devin White
- Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020 to 2023)
- AV: 41
- Awards: All-Pro second team (1), Pro Bowler (1)
- Score: 49
White had a couple of great years for the Bucs, going off for 100-plus tackles in 2020, 2021, and 2022 with 31 tackles for loss, 18 sacks, a dozen passes defensed and five fumble recoveries. But he fell off a bit in a 2023 contract year, was not re-signed, and was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles without playing a down. After signing with the Houston Texans for seven games he spent the 2025 season on the Las Vegas raiders and had a career-high 174 tackles but wasn’t brought back after playing on a minimum salary.
Second team: Kaden Elliss
- Team: New Orleans Saints (2020 to 2022, present) and Atlanta Falcons (2023 to 2025)
- AV: 32
- Awards: N/A
- Score: 32
Here’s a guy who could climb this list over the back half of the 2020s. Elliss emerged as a starter in 2021, his last year with the Saints, and did really well for himself after going turncoat and signing with Atlanta. Then he ripped off three consecutive 100-tackle seasons. Altogether he’s credited with 480 tackles, 45 quarterback hits, 37 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, 14 passes defensed and four forced fumbles (plus a couple of interceptions) despite being aa part-time player to start the decade. Now he’s back in New Orleans for a starring role.
More All-NFC South Team of the 2020s
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: All-NFC South Team of the 2020s: Which linebackers join Demario Davis?
