diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 0c0134787b296..b6007f7d98807 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -70,6 +70,12 @@ version = "0.7.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "8da52d66c7071e2e3fa2a1e5c6d088fec47b593032b254f5e980de8ea54454d6"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "assert_matches"
+version = "1.5.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "9b34d609dfbaf33d6889b2b7106d3ca345eacad44200913df5ba02bfd31d2ba9"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "async-lock"
 version = "2.5.0"
@@ -2503,9 +2509,14 @@ dependencies = [
 name = "reth-headers-downloaders"
 version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
+ "assert_matches",
  "async-trait",
+ "once_cell",
+ "rand",
  "reth-interfaces",
+ "reth-primitives",
  "reth-rpc-types",
+ "tokio",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
diff --git a/crates/net/headers-downloaders/Cargo.toml b/crates/net/headers-downloaders/Cargo.toml
index 5ac5afa2e3788..b380bce065078 100644
--- a/crates/net/headers-downloaders/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/net/headers-downloaders/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,7 +10,12 @@ description = "Implementations of various header downloader"
 [dependencies]
 async-trait = "0.1.58"
 reth-interfaces = { path = "../../interfaces" }
+reth-primitives = { path = "../../primitives" }
 reth-rpc-types = { path = "../rpc-types" }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
+assert_matches = "1.5.0"
+once_cell = "1.15.0"
+rand = "0.8.5"
 reth-interfaces = { path = "../../interfaces", features = ["test-helpers"] }
+tokio = { version = "1.21.2", features = ["full"] }
diff --git a/crates/net/headers-downloaders/src/linear.rs b/crates/net/headers-downloaders/src/linear.rs
index e69de29bb2d1d..3b704ad195ae7 100644
--- a/crates/net/headers-downloaders/src/linear.rs
+++ b/crates/net/headers-downloaders/src/linear.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,357 @@
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+use async_trait::async_trait;
+use reth_interfaces::{
+    consensus::Consensus,
+    p2p::headers::{
+        client::{HeadersClient, HeadersStream},
+        downloader::{DownloadError, Downloader},
+    },
+};
+use reth_primitives::{rpc::BlockId, HeaderLocked};
+use reth_rpc_types::engine::ForkchoiceState;
+
+/// Download headers in batches
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct LinearDownloader<'a, C, H> {
+    /// The consensus client
+    consensus: &'a C,
+    /// The headers client
+    client: &'a H,
+    /// The batch size per one request
+    pub batch_size: u64,
+    /// A single request timeout
+    pub request_timeout: Duration,
+    /// The number of retries for downloading
+    pub request_retries: usize,
+}
+
+#[async_trait]
+impl<'a, C: Consensus, H: HeadersClient> Downloader for LinearDownloader<'a, C, H> {
+    type Consensus = C;
+    type Client = H;
+
+    fn consensus(&self) -> &Self::Consensus {
+        self.consensus
+    }
+
+    fn client(&self) -> &Self::Client {
+        self.client
+    }
+
+    /// The request timeout
+    fn timeout(&self) -> Duration {
+        self.request_timeout
+    }
+
+    /// Download headers in batches with retries.
+    /// Returns the header collection in sorted ascending order
+    async fn download(
+        &self,
+        head: &HeaderLocked,
+        forkchoice: &ForkchoiceState,
+    ) -> Result<Vec<HeaderLocked>, DownloadError> {
+        let mut stream = self.client().stream_headers().await;
+        let mut retries = self.request_retries;
+
+        // Header order will be preserved during inserts
+        let mut out = vec![];
+        loop {
+            let result = self.download_batch(&mut stream, forkchoice, head, out.get(0)).await;
+            match result {
+                Ok(result) => match result {
+                    LinearDownloadResult::Batch(mut headers) => {
+                        // TODO: fix
+                        headers.extend_from_slice(&out);
+                        out = headers;
+                    }
+                    LinearDownloadResult::Finished(mut headers) => {
+                        // TODO: fix
+                        headers.extend_from_slice(&out);
+                        out = headers;
+                        return Ok(out)
+                    }
+                    LinearDownloadResult::Ignore => (),
+                },
+                Err(e) if e.is_retryable() && retries > 1 => {
+                    retries -= 1;
+                }
+                Err(e) => return Err(e),
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// The intermediate download result
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub enum LinearDownloadResult {
+    /// Downloaded last batch up to tip
+    Finished(Vec<HeaderLocked>),
+    /// Downloaded batch
+    Batch(Vec<HeaderLocked>),
+    /// Ignore this batch
+    Ignore,
+}
+
+impl<'a, C: Consensus, H: HeadersClient> LinearDownloader<'a, C, H> {
+    async fn download_batch(
+        &'a self,
+        stream: &'a mut HeadersStream,
+        forkchoice: &'a ForkchoiceState,
+        head: &'a HeaderLocked,
+        earliest: Option<&HeaderLocked>,
+    ) -> Result<LinearDownloadResult, DownloadError> {
+        // Request headers starting from tip or earliest cached
+        let start = earliest.map_or(forkchoice.head_block_hash, |h| h.parent_hash);
+        let mut headers =
+            self.download_headers(stream, BlockId::Hash(start), self.batch_size).await?;
+        headers.sort_unstable_by_key(|h| h.number);
+
+        let mut out = Vec::with_capacity(headers.len());
+        // Iterate headers in reverse
+        for parent in headers.into_iter().rev() {
+            let parent = parent.lock();
+
+            if head.hash() == parent.hash() {
+                // We've reached the target
+                return Ok(LinearDownloadResult::Finished(out))
+            }
+
+            match out.first().or(earliest) {
+                Some(header) if self.validate(header, &parent).is_ok() => {
+                    return Ok(LinearDownloadResult::Ignore)
+                }
+                // The buffer is empty and the first header does not match the tip, discard
+                // TODO: penalize the peer?
+                None if parent.hash() != forkchoice.head_block_hash => {
+                    return Ok(LinearDownloadResult::Ignore)
+                }
+                _ => (),
+            };
+
+            out.insert(0, parent);
+        }
+
+        Ok(LinearDownloadResult::Batch(out))
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use reth_interfaces::{
+        p2p::headers::client::HeadersRequest,
+        test_helpers::{TestConsensus, TestHeadersClient},
+    };
+    use reth_primitives::{rpc::BlockId, HeaderLocked, H256};
+    use test_runner::LinearTestRunner;
+
+    use assert_matches::assert_matches;
+    use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
+    use tokio::sync::oneshot::error::TryRecvError;
+
+    static CONSENSUS: Lazy<TestConsensus> = Lazy::new(|| TestConsensus::default());
+    static CONSENSUS_FAIL: Lazy<TestConsensus> = Lazy::new(|| {
+        let mut consensus = TestConsensus::default();
+        consensus.set_fail_validation(true);
+        consensus
+    });
+
+    static CLIENT: Lazy<TestHeadersClient> = Lazy::new(|| TestHeadersClient::default());
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn download_timeout() {
+        let runner = LinearTestRunner::new();
+        let retries = runner.retries;
+        let rx = runner.run(&*CONSENSUS, &*CLIENT, HeaderLocked::default(), H256::zero());
+
+        let mut requests = vec![];
+        CLIENT
+            .on_header_request(retries, |_id, req| {
+                requests.push(req);
+            })
+            .await;
+        assert_eq!(requests.len(), retries);
+        assert_matches!(rx.await, Ok(Err(DownloadError::NoHeaderResponse { .. })));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn download_timeout_on_invalid_messages() {
+        let runner = LinearTestRunner::new();
+        let retries = runner.retries;
+        let rx = runner.run(&*CONSENSUS, &*CLIENT, HeaderLocked::default(), H256::zero());
+
+        let mut num_of_reqs = 0;
+        let mut last_req_id: Option<u64> = None;
+
+        CLIENT
+            .on_header_request(retries, |id, _req| {
+                num_of_reqs += 1;
+                last_req_id = Some(id);
+                CLIENT.send_header_response(id.saturating_add(id % 2), vec![]);
+            })
+            .await;
+
+        assert_eq!(num_of_reqs, retries);
+        assert_matches!(
+            rx.await,
+            Ok(Err(DownloadError::NoHeaderResponse { request_id })) if request_id == last_req_id.unwrap());
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn download_propagates_consensus_validation_error() {
+        let tip_parent = gen_random_header(1, None);
+        let tip = gen_random_header(2, Some(tip_parent.hash()));
+
+        let rx = LinearTestRunner::new().run(
+            &*CONSENSUS_FAIL,
+            &*CLIENT,
+            HeaderLocked::default(),
+            tip.hash(),
+        );
+
+        let requests = CLIENT.on_header_request(1, |id, req| (id, req)).await;
+        let request = requests.last();
+        assert_matches!(
+            request,
+            Some((_, HeadersRequest { start, .. }))
+                if matches!(start, BlockId::Hash(hash) if *hash == tip.hash())
+        );
+
+        let request = request.unwrap();
+        CLIENT.send_header_response(
+            request.0,
+            vec![tip_parent.clone().unlock(), tip.clone().unlock()],
+        );
+
+        assert_matches!(
+            rx.await,
+            Ok(Err(DownloadError::HeaderValidation { hash, .. })) if hash == tip_parent.hash()
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn download_starts_with_chain_tip() {
+        let head = gen_random_header(1, None);
+        let tip = gen_random_header(2, Some(head.hash()));
+
+        let mut rx = LinearTestRunner::new().run(&*CONSENSUS, &*CLIENT, head.clone(), tip.hash());
+
+        CLIENT
+            .on_header_request(1, |id, _req| {
+                let mut corrupted_tip = tip.clone().unlock();
+                corrupted_tip.nonce = rand::random();
+                CLIENT.send_header_response(id, vec![corrupted_tip, head.clone().unlock()])
+            })
+            .await;
+        assert_matches!(rx.try_recv(), Err(TryRecvError::Empty));
+
+        CLIENT
+            .on_header_request(1, |id, _req| {
+                CLIENT.send_header_response(id, vec![tip.clone().unlock(), head.clone().unlock()])
+            })
+            .await;
+
+        let result = rx.await;
+        assert_matches!(result, Ok(Ok(ref val)) if val.len() == 1);
+        assert_eq!(*result.unwrap().unwrap().first().unwrap(), tip);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn download_returns_headers_asc() {
+        let (start, end) = (100, 200);
+        let head = gen_random_header(start, None);
+        let headers = gen_block_range(start + 1..end, head.hash());
+        let tip = headers.last().unwrap();
+
+        let rx = LinearTestRunner::new().run(&*CONSENSUS, &*CLIENT, head.clone(), tip.hash());
+
+        let mut idx = 0;
+        let chunk_size = 10;
+        let chunk_iter = headers.clone().into_iter().rev();
+        // `usize::div_ceil` is unstable. ref: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/88581
+        let count = (headers.len() + chunk_size - 1) / chunk_size;
+        CLIENT
+            .on_header_request(count + 1, |id, _req| {
+                let mut chunk =
+                    chunk_iter.clone().skip(chunk_size * idx).take(chunk_size).peekable();
+                idx += 1;
+                if chunk.peek().is_some() {
+                    let headers: Vec<_> = chunk.map(|h| h.unlock()).collect();
+                    CLIENT.send_header_response(id, headers);
+                } else {
+                    CLIENT.send_header_response(id, vec![head.clone().unlock()])
+                }
+            })
+            .await;
+
+        let result = rx.await;
+        assert_matches!(result, Ok(Ok(_)));
+        let result = result.unwrap().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(result, headers);
+    }
+
+    mod test_runner {
+        use super::*;
+        use reth_interfaces::{consensus::Consensus, p2p::headers::client::HeadersClient};
+        use reth_rpc_types::engine::ForkchoiceState;
+        use tokio::sync::oneshot;
+
+        type DownloadResult = Result<Vec<HeaderLocked>, DownloadError>;
+
+        pub(crate) struct LinearTestRunner {
+            pub(crate) retries: usize,
+            test_ch: (oneshot::Sender<DownloadResult>, oneshot::Receiver<DownloadResult>),
+        }
+
+        impl LinearTestRunner {
+            pub(crate) fn new() -> Self {
+                Self { test_ch: oneshot::channel(), retries: 5 }
+            }
+
+            pub(crate) fn run<C: Consensus, H: HeadersClient>(
+                self,
+                consensus: &'static C,
+                client: &'static H,
+                head: HeaderLocked,
+                tip: H256,
+            ) -> oneshot::Receiver<DownloadResult> {
+                let (tx, rx) = self.test_ch;
+                let downloader = LinearDownloader {
+                    consensus,
+                    client,
+                    request_retries: self.retries,
+                    batch_size: 100,
+                    request_timeout: Duration::from_millis(100),
+                };
+                tokio::spawn(async move {
+                    let forkchoice = ForkchoiceState { head_block_hash: tip, ..Default::default() };
+                    let result = downloader.download(&head, &forkchoice).await;
+                    tx.send(result).expect("failed to forward download response");
+                });
+                rx
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn gen_block_range(rng: std::ops::Range<u64>, head: H256) -> Vec<HeaderLocked> {
+        let mut headers = Vec::with_capacity(rng.end.saturating_sub(rng.start) as usize);
+        for idx in rng {
+            headers.push(gen_random_header(
+                idx,
+                Some(headers.last().map(|h: &HeaderLocked| h.hash()).unwrap_or(head)),
+            ));
+        }
+        headers
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn gen_random_header(number: u64, parent: Option<H256>) -> HeaderLocked {
+        let header = reth_primitives::Header {
+            number,
+            nonce: rand::random(),
+            parent_hash: parent.unwrap_or_default(),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        header.lock()
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/net/rpc-types/src/eth/engine.rs b/crates/net/rpc-types/src/eth/engine.rs
index 2559f40677e68..85850f2326ded 100644
--- a/crates/net/rpc-types/src/eth/engine.rs
+++ b/crates/net/rpc-types/src/eth/engine.rs
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ pub struct ExecutionPayload {
 }
 
 /// This structure encapsulates the fork choice state
-#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+#[derive(Default, Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 #[serde(rename_all = "camelCase")]
 pub struct ForkchoiceState {
     pub head_block_hash: H256,