In its ongoing summer series, The Pewter Report examines and ranks each position group in the NFC South. So far, we’ve documented and ranked quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends and offensive lines in the NFC South. Now for the NFC South defense.
quarterback
running back
wide receiver
For this series, we treat the defensive line as including traditional pass rushers. Within the NFC South, Saints defensive ends like Cameron Jordan, Karl Granderson and Peyton Turner will be rated alongside Bucks outside linebackers Shaq Barrett and Joe Tryon-Soyinka. .
The NFC South features a solid defense overall, with little separation between the four teams. The Falcons are restructuring through free agency, the Bucks are investing in the draft, and the Saints are an interesting grouping for the division as they’re reshaping their internal structure.
Tampa Bay Bucks
The Bucks lead the NFC South rankings with a strong combination of youth and experience. Starting from the edge, the Bucks have hedged their bets on the starter position by investing deeply. Shaq Barrett, who has been a top 20 edge rusher for the past four seasons, is coming back from a torn Achilles tendon that usually takes two years to recover and get back to form.Mr. Barrett 234 pressures from 2019 to 2021 Finished in the top 10 in the entire football world. If Barrett can get back to his pre-injury form, he’ll be the best edge rusher in the division by a small margin.
Bucks OLBs Anthony Nelson and Joe Tryon Soyinka – Photo Credit: Cliff Welch/PR
Meanwhile, some Bucks fans have openly mocked fellow starter Joe Tryon-Soyinka for his play. Not enough sacks in the first two seasons Located in Tampa Bay. The lack of productivity may be infuriating, but the fact is he’s still the most consistent number two Edge in the division, and creating pressure is Edge’s primary responsibility. Tryon Soyinka has a solid pressure rate and an improved run defense compared to the second half of last year, but the Bucks leadership has contingency plans in case one or both of these players fail to step up. Of course I wanted to. In 2023, they were able to get the roles they envisioned.
Behind these two is Anthony Nelson. He’s a very good running defender and can take the edge off when his opponent’s offensive tackle misses. Nelson offers a high-floor, low-ceiling depth option for the Bucks to throw in early rundowns to help spell Barrett.
In addition to Nelson, the Bucks have invested in young talent development by picking Yaya Diaby in the third round and Jose Ramirez in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Diaby brings size, athleticism and explosiveness to the Bucks’ outside linebacker room and should be a strong complement to Barrett and Tryon Soyinka. Ramirez is a smaller player with some great results below. Lost on 18.5 sacks, 30.5 tackles Last two years at Eastern Michigan University.
In the interior, the Bucks start with 2021 Pro Bowl nose tackle Vita Vea. Baer led the team with 6.5 sacks in 2022 and developed a solid pass rushing arsenal to compensate for his bulk and athletic prowess. All of this combined with his run defense makes for one of the best nose tackles in the game. Bear is next in a three-man rotation consisting of veteran Greg Gaines and youngsters Logan Hall and Kariya Kansi.
Gaines offers a consistent and versatile skill set. 3 It can be used as a nose tackle as a technique or as a sub-in. 2022 is far from his best year, but Gaines has been in good shape since the second half of the season, recording 11 pressures in six games from Weeks 11-16. Hall has put on weight and strength in hopes of doing so. He will be better able to handle the physical requirements of an NFL-level inside defender. But it’s fair to question whether he’ll be able to pay for the 33rd overall pick.
Kansi is the real wildcard here. In college football, there has never been a defensive tackle with a better pass rush tape than Cansi did last year. But the question is whether the 6’0 tall, 283-pounder can survive on the inside against double-teams and 330-plus-pound guards. If he can land somewhere between the two closest physically (Aaron Donald and Ed Oliver), he and Vair could be the best defensive tackle pair in football. .
NFC South has some talented defensive line rooms. But Bucks has the highest ceilings and is deep enough to make a decent floor. They are ranked #1 in the NFC South Defense Line rankings.
Atlanta Falcons
Former Bucks QB Tom Brady and Falcons DT David Oniemata – Photo Credit: Cliff Welch/PR
It feels odd to put the Falcons so high on the list of defensive lines. Their pass rush has been almost non-existent in recent years and has been a veritable Achilles heel for defense during the same period. Despite having the best pass rush defensive tackle in this game in Grady Jarrett, there has been little to no help from edge positions since then, John Abraham?
Interestingly enough, the Falcons’ edge rusher has yet to dominate this year.Arnold Eviketi shines in rookie season, sports 28 kinds of pressure and 9.2% pressure rate. It’s safe to say that he will continue to rise and possibly become a legitimate number one. But he’s unlikely to make it in 2023. Acquired as a free agent, Bud Dupree has always focused on name recognition over production. Dupree has a career pressure rate of less than 10% and he hasn’t finished above 70.0 per Pro Football Focus since 2019.
Considering Dupree signed a relatively modest deal, incumbent Lorenzo Carter could beat Dupree for the starting position opposite Ebiketi. The former Giants’ jack of all trades is good at nothing, providing average to moderate pass rushing and run defense while being one of the best covering outside backers in the league. The Falcons selected Ohio State edge rusher Zach Harrison in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He may end up pushing some of the veterans to the Snap this year, but the analyst rated Harrison relatively high in my draft ratings.
Given such a lackluster edge group, you can probably imagine the Falcons ranking second in the NFC South on the defensive line thanks to their interiors. Jarrett is still a great player and tied for seventh in pressure in last year’s defensive tackles. Next to him, the Falcons have added two talented players, David Oniemata and Curry Campbell.
From 2017 to 2021, Oniemata was one of the best interior defenders in the NFL, averaging 32 pressures per year while regularly scoring a PFF grade of 80.0 or better. he fell last year His pass rushing ability was close to what it was last season, but his run defense has dropped significantly. As for Campbell, you’d have to go all the way back to 2010 to find a season where his play earned him less than a 70 PFF rating.
Though his days playing as an elite are long gone, Campbell is still a very capable rotation run defender and pass defender. These three of him make up his one of his three best members in the NFL as well as being the best interior his triad in the NFC South. Eddie Goldman is IDL4 for the Falcons. He didn’t play in 2022 and struggled in 2021, but was a solid nose tackle for Chicago from 2015-2019.
The Falcons are looking to add a few free agents and boost their pass rush. It won’t hit everyone, and the end rooms still look suspicious, but that inner group could be special. And assuming incremental improvements from Ebiketie, it gives him solid prospects heading into 2023, giving him the #2 ranked defensive line in the NFC South.
new orleans saints
Saints DE Cameron Jordan and former Bucks RB Leonard Fournette – Photo Credit: USA Today
The Saints have had a talented defensive line over the past decade.it is partly Hall of Fame career Cameron Jordan on the defensive end. Jordan is not a player in his prime. His play has steadily declined over the past four years, with his pressure rate dropping from 14% in 2019 to 7.9% last year. At 34, Jordan is still a good run defender and represents a quality lineman.
Opposite Jordan is a three-man rotation that should provide effective production in short. The leader of that rotation is probably Karl Granderson. The former undrafted free agent had a solid career as a rotating edge rusher from 2019-21, during which he recorded 50-plus pressures and nine sacks on 500-plus pass rush snaps.
Granderson had a bit of a breakout in 2022. 80.4 PFF grade, 22 pressure And 5.5 sacks in a slightly larger role. Granderson will be paired with 2021 first-round pick Peyton Turner. Turner has played well in limited games but has been plagued by injuries in his short career so far. His career pressure rate is 11%, but he’s only played 13 games in the last two years. Still, Turner has potential.
Compensating for the Saints’ edge is 2023 second-round pick Isiah Foskey. Foskey is an amazing athlete, weighing in at 264 pounds and running the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds, and has the physique and length the Saints covet. However, he was very project and the pressure rate he recorded in his final year at Notre Dame was just 10.6%. Still, he can’t perform much better than him as edge4 (and most teams can’t).
With such deep edge room, it might come as a surprise to some that the Saints rank third in the NFC South in the defensive line rankings. The reason is that there is a legitimate concern about how good the line’s interior looks. Gone are last year’s starters Oniemata, Sheldon Rankins and Malcolm Brown. He will be replaced by first-round pick Brian Brissey and former Kansas City rotation lineman Karen Sanders.
Sanders is more of a run defender and does little as a pass rusher. Brézet has an athletic side and a great flash of tape, but in a position notorious for taking at least two years for players to arrive, he lacks the inside rush needed to complement edge rushers. It’s hard to believe that Brazet can deliver.
The Saints are rebuilding their defensive line and looking to transform from an aging team. I like the plan they have put in place, but with such a hard reset internally, I have good reason to believe that 2023 could be a struggle. This is why I ranked them #3 in NFC South.
carolina panthers
Panthers DE Brian Barnes – Photo Credit: Getty Images
The Panthers have two of the best defensive linemen in the NFC South. Defensive end Brian Burns is most likely to sign a $100 million-plus contract in a year. And defensive tackle Derrick Brown had a Top 10 season at his position last year and was in the Top 5 defensively. These two make for a strong base for a good defensive line. Unfortunately, the Panthers have a lot of talent on defense, but they don’t have more than that on the defensive side.
Yetul Gros-Matos is the default starter at the other defensive end position. But the former second-round pick didn’t earn the spot with lackluster play on run defense and inconsistent pass rush play. It’s possible the Panthers will turn to veteran Marquis Haynes over Gros Matos, but the move would be like replacing one six-man with another. Alternatively, the team could acquire 2023 third-round pick DJ Johnson.Johnson, like most players, was a surprising choice. consensus draft board He was a lot lower than the 81st place he was drafted.
The interior of the Panthers is in slightly better shape. Mr. Tuttle, who is shy, plans to start the project after Mr. Brown. Tuttle performed well in his first four years in the league. He was just a rotation player in New Orleans, but now has a bigger role. Tuttle is more of a run defender than a pass rushing threat, but it works as a nice compliment to Brown. Behind those two are Deshawn Williams, who has been on a downward trend in recent years, and Bravion Roy, an average and best DT4.
Despite having real stars at the top, the Panthers suffer from a severe lack of layers in their defensive line. This moved him to No. 4 in the NFC South Defense Line Rankings.
