What is the definition of an “interior defender?” It’s something Pro Football Focus has been using as a positional designation over the last couple years, as the lines between defensive tackles and defensive ends have blurred severely. More and more in the NFL, there are interior guys working multiple gaps, playing everywhere from nose tackle to three-tech to end—sometimes, all three positions in the same drive.
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With that, the requirements to play these positions at a high level have changed. No longer is it enough to be a “power pig” between the tackles; the league now demands players who weigh over 300 pounds but have the quickness and agility to line up and play like defensive ends, just as they also must blow up run fits, take on double teams, convert speed to power, and carry the traditional defensive tackle tasks forward.
At no time in NFL history has more been asked of the men who play this position, and here are the 11 players who do it most adeptly coming into the 2019 season.
11. Kenny Clark, Green Bay Packers
Mike Daniels has been the main man in Green Bay’s interior defensive line over the last few seasons, but when he missed six games with a foot injury last season, it was up to Clark—the Packers’ first-round pick in 2016—to make up the difference. He did so in a season where he had 46 total pressures, six sacks, four quarterback hits, and 36 quarterback hurries. He also amassed 35 tackles, 14 assists, and 35 stops. His numbers would have been even more impressive had Clark not missed the last few game of the season himself with an elbow injury.
The 6’3”, 314-pound Clark works best out of the nose tackle position, either head over the center or shading between the center and guard. There, he uses his formidable upper-body strength to create a consistent bull-rush, and he also has the quickness and arm moves to rush past blockers. He’s also learned to read gaps as a three-tech, giving him the flexibility to work with stunts and games to create additional pressure. With Daniels returning in 2019 along with free-agent signings Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith and first-round draft pick Rashan Gary, Green Bay’s defensive line will be newly formidable—and Clark will be at the epicenter of it.
10. Damon Harrison, Sr., Detroit Lions
Historically, Harrison hasn’t been as impactful a pass-rusher as most of the top defensive tackles in the league, but those in the know consistently rate him as one of the best, regardless. Why? Because “Snacks” is the best run-stopping interior defender of his generation. With the Jets, Giants, and Lions over the last six seasons, he’s never had fewer than 39 stops, and he’s gone over 50 stops in three seasons, including 2018, when he had 51. And it’s not that Harrison can’t rush the passer—it’s just that it’s not a primary assignment. He had four sacks and 15 total pressures last season, but his job is to take on double teams to free things up for other defenders, and cave in slabs of offensive lines.
The tape shows how well he does both things. At 6’3” and 353 pounds, Harrison doesn’t just bull-rush guards and centers—he absolutely rag-dolls them. Few offensive linemen are capable of giving him a fair fight when it comes to pure strength, and Harrison also had freakish agility for his size that allows him to shade over to three-tech at times. Capable of jumping gaps as well as he wrecks opponents, Harrison is sui generis in today’s NFL. There’s not another player quite like him.
9. Kawann Short, Carolina Panthers
Carolina’s defensive line wasn’t exactly a hotbed of quarterback pressure in 2018, with end Mario Addison leading the team at nine sacks. And the line also struggled against the run at times, but that wasn’t Kawann Short’s fault—he was the one point of consistency throughout the season. In 2018, he put up 34 total pressures, 29 tackles, six assists, and 29 stops.
Capable of wrecking enemy offenses against the run or pass everywhere from nose tackle to five-tech end, Short has formidable quickness for his size, meaning that he can win against guards and tackles with everything from gap runs to swim and club moves to straight-up bull-rushes. And with newcomer Gerald McCoy now a part of Carolina’s interior line, Short should have more opportunities to make impact plays, as opposed to holding the line on his shoulders.
8. Jurrell Casey, Tennessee Titans
One of the most versatile defensive linemen of his era, Casey has moved all around Tennessee’s lines since the Titans stole him out of USC in the third round of the 2011 draft. And everywhere from end to nose tackle, Casey brings pressure and stops the run consistently. In a league where the ability to move from gap to gap is indispensable, Casey has proven to be just that. In 2018, he had 44 total pressures, eight sacks, six quarterback hits, and 30 quarterback hurries. He also had 38 tackles, 15 assists, and 35 stops.
Quickness and agility are Casey’s two primary attributes—whether he has his hand on or off the ground, he moves a lot like a 260-pound edge-rusher as opposed to the 6’1”, 305-pound behemoth he is. Casey is also a master at exploiting leverage and angles; it’s a joy to watch him carry a guard on his outside shoulder, then move in with an inside counter. And if you leave a gap open on a pull or slide, watch out, because Casey’s coming right through that to the quarterback. Casey has become the very embodiment of the positionless defensive lineman in all the right ways.
7. Geno Atkins, Cincinnati Bengals
Selected by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, Atkins is one of many defensive tackles of his era undervalued because they didn’t fit an arbitrary size requirement. But the 6’1”, 300-pound Georgia alum caught my eye in his first NFL preseason, and it’s been all uphill ever since. Atkins put up yet another monster season in 2018, with 64 total pressures, nine sacks, nine quarterback hits, and 46 quarterback hurries. He added 24 tackles, 14 assists, and 28 stops to his statistical palette.
What some people don’t seem to get about shorter defensive tackles from John Randle to Atkins to Grady Jarrett to Aaron Donald is that the leverage created by height deficits is actually a huge advantage. Atkins has always been able to parlay this into an ability to get after quarterbacks and stop big plays. And while he’s always been great at getting under the pads of blockers and pushing them off their feet, he’s still quick enough to run right past any opponent to get into the backfield. Coming into his 10th NFL season, Atkins hasn’t lost a bit of his edge.
6. Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
Heyward wasn’t quite as dominant in 2018 as he was in 2017, when I would have rated him the second-best interior defender in the NFL behind Aaron Donald. But he was still above the bar, amassing 59 total pressures, 11 sacks, nine quarterback hits, and 39 quarterback hurries. Heyward also had 31 tackles, 10 assists, and 29 stops.
An upscale technician with tons of power, Heyward is capable of affecting the offense on any snap everywhere from nose tackle to end. He can bring a bull-rush, slow-roll a double-team with speed to power, skirt the edge around a tackle, or confound with an inside counter. It’s not that 2018 was a down year for Heyward; it’s more that he set a personal standard in 2017 that he could well live up to again in 2019.
5. Grady Jarrett, Atlanta Falcons
When I watched Jarrett’s college tape, I thought he’d go in the second round at worst. Everything about him screamed “Top-level NFL prospect.” Apparently, I forgot about the NFL’s ridiculous bias against shorter defensive tackles, despite the fact that shorter defensive tackles have natural leverage if they know how to use it.
The NFL’s myopia was to the Falcons’ benefit, as they were able to commit grand larceny by getting Jarrett in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. A part-time player in his rookie season, Jarrett has been a star ever since, both in the regular season and post-season—had the Falcons not blown the most famous 28-3 lead in sports history in Super Bowl LI, Jarrett had a good shot at Super Bowl MVP with his three sacks of Tom Brady. 2018 provided more of the same, as Jarrett amassed 53 total pressures, six sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and 36 quarterback hurries. He also put up 35 tackles with 14 assists, and 30 stops.
Jarrett is especially effective at nose tackle, where he uses his 6’0’, 305-pound frame to create power pushes inside. But he can also play three-the very well with his strength and agility, and he’s got the edge bend and inside counter to play end in certain packages. Wherever he lines up, Jarrett knows how to stun enemy blockers with stab moves right off the snap, and he gains the advantage from there.
4. Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs obviously thought Jones was going to be an impact player when they selected him in the second round of the 2016 draft out of Mississippi State, and he did a fine job of wrecking the intentions of opposing quarterbacks in his first two seasons. But 2018 was the breakout season in which Jones truly became one of the league’s best defensive players. He totaled 79 pressures, with 16 sacks, 15 quarterback hits, and 48 quarterback hurries, adding 19 tackles, five assists, and 27 stops for good measure.
While Jones has the wherewithal to play the run well from the three-tech or end positions, he’s best-served going after the quarterback as one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL, regardless of gap responsibility. Tall for a defensive tackle at 6’6” and 310 pounds, Jones nonetheless creates leverage by getting low off the snap and poleaxing guards and centers with a difficult combination of speed and power. He also has the upper-body strength to stack and shed blockers, take them where he wants them to go, and close to the pocket through the empty spaces he creates.
Kansas City’s defense was a problem last season, but Jones was the rare standout, and he could be even more effective with new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his variable pressure packages.
3. Akiem Hicks, Chicago Bears
A bit of an afterthought as a third-round pick of the Saints out of Regina (Canada) in 2012. Hicks has developed over time into one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the league—to the point where there isn’t much difference between what he puts on tape, and what Aaron Donald and Fletcher Cox—the consensus best players at that position over the last few years—tend to do. In 2018, Hicks set the interior edge of the Bears’ top level defense with 53 total pressures, eight sacks, 11 quarterback hits, 34 quarterback pressures, 46 tackles, four assists, 48 stops, and three forced fumbles.
What makes Hicks so effective—and so much fun to watch on tape—is that he’s an absolute wrecking ball between the tackles with violent intentions on every play. Whether he’s lined up at nose tackle or three-tech, he nails guards and centers with a vicious side-swipe move, and he then shoots through gaps in a big hurry. Far quicker than you’d expect from a guy with a 6’5”, 332-pound frame, Hicks has perfectly merged strength and technique and become a prototype player at his position.
2. Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia Eagles
To put up more than 100 total pressures in a season is an amazing achievement for any player. Last season, regardless of position, Cox and Aaron Donald were the only players to do it. Donald led the league with 113, but Cox was right on his heels with 101. To put that in perspective, Dee Ford of the Chiefs (now of the 49ers) led all edge defenders with 83. Cox’s previous best was 77 in 2015, which indicates just what a breakout season this was for a guy who’s already been one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL for a good long time. Cox divided his pressure numbers with 11 sacks, 25 quarterback hits, and 65 quarterback hurries, adding 28 tackles, 10 assists, and 33 stops. It’s his relative misfortune to have his first seven NFL seasons during a time when Donald and J.J. Watt were redefining with interior defensive linemen can do—in a lot of eras, Cox would be the consensus top man at his position.
Unless the guard or center facing Cox gets a quick set and establishes strength with his lower body, he has no chance against Cox’s formidable bull-rush, which might be the league’s best. But there’s a lot more to his game than brute force—even at 6’4” and 310 pounds, he has the speed and agility to run the edge against tackles, or back off a double team and run point to the quarterback to either side. There’s no question about Cox’s greatness; he’s on a Hall of Fame track.
1. Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
Of all the players on all these positional lists, setting Donald at the top of his position is the easiest call of all. He’s the best defensive lineman in the NFL, the most impactful defensive player, and—it could easily be argued—the best player in the NFL. 2018 was another masterstroke for the back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year, as Donald amassed an absolutely ridiculous 113 total pressures, with 21 sacks, 24 quarterback hits, and 64 quarterback hurries. He also had 37 tackles, eight assists, and his 56 stops were the most for any defensive tackle.
It’s especially insane that Donald puts up pass-rushing numbers that would represent a career year for any edge defender, because he’s absolutely the focus of every offensive line at the snap. Whether he’s playing three-tech or 4i in a four- or five-man front, or big end in a sub-package, there isn’t a move Donald can’t use at a very high level. He can swim or rip past blockers, shoot through gaps right at the snaps with his amazing quickness, or simply bull-rush a center or guard right off the screen. Since he came into the league in 2014, Donald has set the pace for all interior defensive linemen, and he’s now doing so at historic levels.
