2022 NFL Defensive Linemen Rankings. Trey Hendrickson will likely be a downgrade from Carl Lawson, considering what he accomplished as a pass rusher last season. as the top three options on the defensive tackle depth chart form one of the weaker interior groups in the league following. The addition of. Youth is the theme across Carolinas defense. Ranking all 32 NFL defensive line units ahead of the 2021 season | PFF. He earned just a 30.0 run-defense grade in 2020. The Buffalo Bills remain on top, but their division rival New England Patriots are right behind them, with the Miami Dolphins improvement putting three of the divisions four teams at No. 2022 Basic Defensive Line Stats. Joey Bosa may be the best non-Aaron Donald pass rusher in the NFL. 2021 NFL Defensive Secondary Rankings, by Positional Unit The Tennessee Titans experienced a defensive revival in 2021, mostly thanks to a vaunted front four that was among the best in the NFL at getting after opposing quarterbacks. New England invested heavily in improving that group this offseason, adding. Brown and Gross-Matos still have plenty of room to grow heading into 2021, but Burns already began to show signs of becoming one of the NFLs elite pass rushers last year. Rankings&Projections |WR/CB Matchup Chart |NFL & NCAA Betting Dashboards | NFL Player Props Tool | NFL & NCAA Power Rankings He ranks in the 82nd percentile of players at the position in pass-rush grade and in the 88th percentile of edge defenders in run-defense grade since 2019. The Browns are struggling to deal with the loss of key players to injury or the COVID-19 list, and that has certainly had an impact on their defense. Some success stories have arisen such as Jonathan Greenards 87.0 overall grade but they have been few and far between. Clearly, this is not where a team paying two defensive linemen north of $20 million . Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, and Hassan Ridgeway all return, all with the addition of free agent Ryan Kerrigan, along with draft picks, Milton Williams and Tarron Jackson. The Dolphins have trust in their coverage players on the backend to hold up if the pressure doesnt get home and the ball comes out. And due to the Colts' inexperience on the edge, he may need to carry the unit next season. They have, this season, with the majority of them earning poor PFF grades. Slay now carries an 85.9 PFF coverage grade, is allowing a 73.9 passer rating when targetedand has multiple defensive scores to his name. The defensive line is at the center of both the pass-rushing unit and the run-defense unit. However, his pressure numbers are skewed toward sacks, where he has one of the best rates relative to pass-rushing snaps in the game. The folks at Pro Football Focus grade every player on every play, but PFF also scores the teams as a whole on different metrics as well. Sometimes they look excellent and cause real problems for opposing offenses, and on other occasions they little more than a speed-bump for the opposition. The next step will be adding more of a power element to complement his high-end burst and bend. Leonard Williams leads the team with 43 pressures and is one of New York's highest-graded players. The Buffalo Bills remain on top, but their division rival New England Patriots are right behind them, with the Miami Dolphins ' improvement . Indianapolis will be relying on rookie Kwity Paye and several players yet to produce at a high level in starting roles (Al-Quadin Muhammad, Tyquan Lewis, Kemoko Turay, Ben Banogu and Isaac Rochell). Here are PFFs top defensive lines heading into the 2021 NFL season, with 3-4 outside linebackers included since they fall under the edge defender label. The Jaguars' defense cant stop the pass well enough, and the problems originate in the secondary. Few defenses have as wide a range of performance as the Bengals this season. Hargrave ranks in the 91st percentile of qualifying interior defenders in pass-rushing grade since 2019. Simmons 57 pressures, two behind Harold Landry for the team lead. This time last year, they were leading the league in pressure rate and threatening all-time marks for how often they were putting opposing quarterbacks under duress. The questions for Arizona arise on the interior, where Watt should see more time than he has in the past few seasons with Houston. Defense . The recent addition of Sheldon Richardson also gives them a more viable pass-rushing threat on the interior than either Pierce or Tomlinson. He has above-average PFF grades across the board and a 75.2 overall mark, and his stat line in coverage includes an interception and four pass breakups. He ranks in the 82nd percentile of players at the position in pass-rush grade and in the 88th percentile of edge defenders in run-defense grade since 2019. should improve matters in 2021, but the Lions still have a ways to go to get back to average. All three ranked in the 83rd percentile or better at the position in run-defense grade last season. Seattle has made several additions to help alleviate those issues, starting with trading for Carlos Dunlap in 2020 and signing Kerry Hyder this offseason. A team can lean more on the blitz when its starting cornerbacks are, . The Steelers defense is no longer Blitzburgh, nor is it the best in the league at generating pressure. New York currently ranks 27th in aFPA to both the tight end and wide receiver positions, making the trio must-starts in Week 5. Offensive Line Rankings 2-11 This time last year, they were leading the league in pressure rate and threatening all-time marks for how often they were putting opposing quarterbacks under duress. Pro Football Focus Ranks Seahawks Defensive Standouts Heading Towards As a result, its difficult to field a great defense with a below-average defensive line. Mike Moraitis. Previously: 27th in NFL power rankings. This defense needs Chandler Jones, in particular,to be playing at his best, and his most recent elite PFF game grade came in Week 11. They are going to be without Shaquil Barrett for the remainder of the regular season at least due to a sprained knee, putting more on the shoulders of rookie Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. All three have recorded at least 250 pressures since 2015 despite significant stretches of missed time due to injuries. Denver ranks third in the league in touchdown drive rate and seventh in successful play rate as a defense. Its easy to forget, given how bad Detroits defense has been these past two seasons, that Flowers is one of the better defensive linemen in the league when healthy. Andrew Wilbar: Much like center, nose tackles do not go inside the top . Sign up for the Eagles Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. 17 overall in the NFL, according to PFF's Sam Monson . Much of the Ravens pass-rushing success in recent years has been a function of scheme rather than individual talent. Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 defensive lines heading into the 2021 NFL season and Philadelphia dropped three spots from last summer, coming in at No. Brandon Staleys Rams defense last season led the league in passer rating allowed to opposing quarterbacks, but the Chargers this season rank just 21st, and thats the stronger area of their game. at the 3-technique position, but they're without any candidates they should feel comfortable with as things stand. That should help replace J.J. Watt, whose pressure rate sunk to 8.9% in 2020. 5. He recorded a run-defense grade below 40.0 and a pressure rate well below 10% for the season. But the worst pick they made - and my vote for the stone-cold worst selection on Day 2 . We saw it this offseason in Cincinnati. AFC . Our O-Line expert Brad Wire is here to give you the latest updates on injuries for guys in the trenches for you to consider when setting your fantasy football lineups.. Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks inability to generate pressure with their defensive line last season, especially early in the year, became a national storyline. Few teams have been dealt as rough a hand as the Ravens when it comes to injuries. , all of whom made PFFs list of the top 32 players at their respective positions entering the 2021 NFL season. should give Cincinnati a major boost on the interior, though. A game against, The Rams boast the second-best pressure rate of any defense in the league, built largely on the back of, lead all interior players, and he is only six short of catching, is his best since he went to the AFC Championship game with. The strength of the Titans' defense is at the safety position, with both Kevin Byard and Amani Hooker arguably playing at an All-Pro level. Ngakoue. Those three all finished among the top 35 interior defenders in the NFL in overall grade last season. No edge defender graded higher as a pass rusher on true pass-rushing snaps than him in 2020. departure wouldnt have represented a major loss. Los Angeles will hope new head coach Brandon Staley can get the most out of the former first-round pick. He joins a group that already features T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu, all of whom made PFFs list of the top 32 players at their respective positions entering the 2021 NFL season. As a result, its difficult to field a great defense with a below-average defensive line. The next highest were the Green Bay Packers (79.9) and the Washington Football Team (76.6). 2023 NFL Power Rankings: Evaluating all 32 teams after the NFL Draft