The recent addition of Sheldon Richardson also gives them a more viable pass-rushing threat on the interior than either Pierce or Tomlinson. The only interior defensive linemen worth more wins above replacement than Jones last season were, , on the other hand, has not, earning PFF grades of 63.3 and 54.3 in his two seasons with the team. The Buccaneers ranked fifth in the NFL in team pressure rate (37.1%) and first in rushing yards allowed before contact per attempt (1.0). They rank eighth and seventh, respectively, in PFF WAR at their positions since the start of the 2019 season. Cornerback Trevon Diggs may not be quite as good as his league-leading interception total suggests, but those picks are the most valuable plays a defense can generate outside of also scoring on the turnover. He earned PFF grades of at least 85.0 in each of his final two college seasons and could earn a more prominent role on Clevelands defensive line in 2021. . No defense has forced more turnovers than Dallas. In Smiths absence, Rashan Gary has developed into an elite pass-rusher, racking up 68 pressures and an 86.0 PFF pass-rushing grade this season. The Steelers defense is no longer Blitzburgh, nor is it the best in the league at generating pressure. Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat and Chase Young all look to be impact starters through the early stages of their NFL careers. The less said about the fourth team the better, as the New York Jets prop up the rankings in 32nd place. Bell averaged 2.57 yards per route run in his final season in college. Across the past five seasons, Clowney ranks in the 86th percentile at the position in pass-rushing grade and in the 97th percentile in run-defense grade. 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. The Broncos could very well have the best edge duo in the NFL with Bradley Chubb and Miller if Miller does return to 100%. Steelers OL Continues Climb Up The Board In Latest PFF Positional Rankings The concerns begin to arise on the edge. pairing has been at the core of the unit for nearly a decade, but. The biggest issue for the Raiders, though, is that their pass defense has nose-dived, with the team allowing a 107.1 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks. The Raiders no longer lead the league in pressure rate. Its not often that a team signs a defensive end to a four-year, $60 million contract in the offseason and gets worse at the position. How good Kansas Citys offense is remains somewhat up in the air, but there's little doubt that their defense is cooking at this stage. Losing. ranked only 14th in team pressure rate, in part because there arent many above-average pass rushers on their roster. The group was led by Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry and . I think the ranking is based on total PFF score and then factoring in schedule and conference so I don't think it cares your WR room is injured. When a team invests four consecutive first-round picks into one unit, this is the result theyre hoping for. 2021-22. NFL News, Rankings and Statistics | PFF They rank just eighth in blitz rate (28.5%) and 18th in pressure rate as a unit. Only the, At some point, its time to accept that the Dallas defense isnt just vastly improved from a year ago, but its actually one of the best in the NFL, driven by elite performances from several key players. A game against Cincinnatis high-flying offense this week may propel them even further up the rankings. 2021 NFL Team Defense Stats & NFL Team Defense Leaders Even with Miller at a level or two below his peak, Denver has a lot of talent up front. Those numbers could even improve with a healthy season from. PDEF - Passes Defended . 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. Miami did just that, blitzing at a top-five rate of 41.2%. Injuries hindered his impact in stops with Seattle and Tennessee, but he has still been disruptive when healthy. But that's a big ask, as he's 32 years old. The Indianapolis Colts defensive line, led by All-Pro DeForest Buckner, was ranked 19th in the NFL entering the 2021 season by Pro Football Focus. The team now has a pressure rate of just 20.2%, by far the lowest mark in the NFL. He earned PFF grades of at least 85.0 in each of his final two college seasons and could earn a more prominent role on Clevelands defensive line in 2021. Kenny Clark and ZaDarius Smith are tremendous individual talents. The Chiefs allowed over 17 points just once in their past eight games, and that came against Justin Herbert and the Chargers. Here is how the production of each player on a team's defensive line was valued. That includes key players along the defensive front in Shaquil Barrett and Ndamukong Suh. Tyrod Taylor, Lamar Jackson, Joe Flacco, Cam Newton, PJ Walker, Mike Glennon, Zach Wilson, Ian Book. 2022 Basic Defensive Line Stats | Football Outsiders Right tackle Lane Johnson and center Jason Kelce are arguably the two best players at their positions in the NFL, while Jordan Mailata is a top-10 offensive tackle. But the Raiders are thin on the interior. 1) Nick Chubb / Cleveland Browns PFF O-line Ranking: No. Bobby Wagner is, predictably, the only member of the unit with at least above-average PFF grades in every facet of play, and he has 51 defensive stops to his name. DeForest Buckner was everything Indianapolis hoped he would be last season. Safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde are the highest-graded members of the defense, and neither carries an overall PFF grade higher than 85.0. The questions for Arizona arise on the interior, where Watt should see more time than he has in the past few seasons with Houston. It would be harsh to say the wheels have fallen off this defense, but cracks have started to appear where none were earlier in the season. Allens 2020 campaign was somewhat overshadowed by Washington's starting edge tandem, but he was excellent when rushing the passer.