Flag Plants, Big Calls on Defensive Linemen

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We asked our staff to make a call on a defensive lineman. Who will surprise - either good or bad? Here are their answers.

Joseph Haggan

Yannick Ngakoue could finish as a top-15 defensive lineman.

For starters, he is rejoining the defensive coordinator that drafted him, Gus Bradley. As a rookie under Coach Bradley, Ngakoue set the Jaguars' all-time rookie sack record with 8. Since that 2016 season, Ngakoue has had at least 8 sacks in every one of his seasons in the NFL. In 2021, Ngakoue had a tackling grade of 62.5 per PFF, the second best of his career. He has always been knocked for his tackling and run defense, yet he has still averaged a 72% snap-share per season. This shows that Ngakoue sees plenty of time on the field, even though he is a poor tackler.

He racked up 62 pressures in 2021, the third-best mark of his career. Ngakoue has been praised for his personality and leadership in a younger defensive end group consisting of Dayo Odenigbo and Kwity Paye. Ngakoue should see a lion's snap-share in a defensive line that should be stout. Add the fact that he is with a coordinator that knows how to use Ngakoue to his strengths, and this could be his best season yet.

Tripp Brebner

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat will be the DL2 you draft as a DL4 this month.

Sweat was a 5-star prospect that Florida State landed near the pinnacle of its football program. Sweat's college career was beset with injuries, and his stock plummeted alongside that of Seminoles football.

Sweat put himself back on football's radar at the NFL Combine by demonstrating the athleticism college scouts saw four years earlier. Kent Lee Platte of RAS.football scores him a 9.71 out of 10 for the position. Platte's research further shows the correlation between athleticism and NFL success is stronger at defensive end than at any other position.

Sweat barely played after the Eagles made him a 4th-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. His workload and production have steadily increased since. He earned the starting nod in Week 4 of 2021. From that point forward, he collected 35 tackles and 7.0 sacks in 13 games.

ESPN credited Sweat with a pass-rush win rate of 26%, good for third among NFL edge defenders in 2021. He accomplished this with very little help from the second and third levels of the Eagles' defense. Philadelphia blitzed on 16.4% of its snaps, the second-lowest rate in the league per Pro Football Reference.

Philly's additions of CB James Bradberry, OLB Haason Reddick, and rookie nose tackle Jordan Davis should open up more of the Eagles' playbook in 2022. More blitzing and more talent to command the attention of opposing pass protections should aid Sweat's efforts.

The Eagles franchise acknowledged Sweat's ability with a 3-year, $40M contract extension ahead of the 2021 season. Sweat was named to the Pro Bowl following the season.

In 2022, IDP gamers will join the rest of the football world in recognizing Sweat as one of the league's better defensive ends. He's a solid bet for 50 tackles and 10.0 sacks for your fantasy team.

Christian Williams

Brian Burns will finish inside the Top 5 at the defensive lineman position.

Further, Burns firmly establish himself as one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. The Panthers should be in more positive game scripts with the improved quarterback play, giving Burns more opportunities to pin his ears back and get after the quarterback. Burns has yet to turn in a ten-sack season, but with an improved secondary and the growth of Derrick Brown and Yetur Gross-Matos as running mates along the defensive line, a true breakout could be on the horizon.

Gary Davenport

Gregory Rousseau will finish as a top-12 defensive lineman.

I've been beating this drum all summer long, so I might as well push all my chips in. Last year, Rousseau posted a solo every 12.6 snaps. Meanwhile, Mario Addison and Jerry Hughes combined for 1,010 snaps. They are both gone, and while Von Miller is now breaking tables for Bills Mafia, the last time he played 850 snaps in a season was 2016. At that same 850 snaps (a reasonable estimate) and a solo every 15 snaps, Rousseau would hit 50 solos. That kind of tackle production and half a dozen sacks would make Rousseau a value given his low-end DL2 price tag. If the former first-round pick converts more of his 24 pressures and 10 QB hits to sacks playing opposite Miller? Jackpot.

John Norton

Robert Quinn is the best defensive lineman bargain in the game this year.

Quinn’s eleven-year career is filled with ups and downs, with most of the downs being injury related. In seven seasons, he played at least 14 games. In those seasons, Quinn has averaged 40+ combined tackles, just shy of 12 sacks, and 4 forced fumbles. Just last season Quinn totaled 49 combined tackles, forced 5 fumbles, and his 17.5 sacks were second only to T.J. Watt.

Some will overlook Quinn because he is old, while others will be nervous about the scheme change in Chicago. Some might even suggest that he will not be the same without Khalil Mack opposite him. As for the age, he turned 32 in May but please re-read the last sentence of the previous paragraph. Regarding the scheme change, the switch to a 4-3 should be no issue. This is a guy that has bounced back and forth between 3-4 and 4-3 more than any other active player in the league and has put up good numbers in both. The best numbers of his career came as a 4-3 end with the Rams when he racked up 57 combined stops, 19 sacks, 9 turnovers, and a recovery for a score in 2013. The Bears’ new aggressive, one-gap scheme is a great fit for Quinn’s skill set. Yes, it would be great to have another stud defensive end opposite Quinn. However, Mack missed over half of last season, and Quinn had at least half a sack in nine of the ten games without him.

The bottom line is that Quinn will be at least a quality DL2 and has a good shot at the top-12. Best of all, he can be picked up at a bargain price when other managers are taking backups.

Kyle Bellefeuil

Marcus Davenport will finish as a top-12 defensive lineman.

Saints fans and IDP managers have been waiting for Davenport to break out in a big way since his first-round selection in 2018. Unfortunately, Davenport has struggled with injuries to begin his career, hindering his play and availability. However, Davenport was fantastic in the 11 games he was available for last year. Davenport posted career-highs in tackles (39), sacks (9), and tackles for loss (9). Per Pro Football Focus, he also had a strong finish to the year, posting 23 pressures and four sacks over his last five games.

Davenport is entering a contract year and will be extremely motivated to carry the momentum he built last year into this season. The talent is apparent with Davenport, we just need him to stay healthy and log a full season of games. This is the year Davenport puts it all together and gets the DL1 finish that IDP managers have been waiting for.

Matt Montgomery

Darrel Taylor will finish as a top-10 defensive lineman.

Taylor is going into his third year as a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks. Last year, he finished with 6.5 sacks. This came even while missing games due to what many thought was a career-threatening neck injury. Seattle invested a second-round pick for Taylor, and this defense has lost more stars lately than they have gained. Someone will start carving away a role here as the big dog on the line, and my money is on Taylor.

Last year was also the first time he played significant snaps in his career. Look for him to have an even greater role which he’s proven will translate into meaningful statistics. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for a 50 total tackle 12 sack season for Taylor.