As the NFL has shifted to being primarily an offensive-oriented league, the importance of having young defensive superstars has never been more important. Getting stops is getting harder and harder by the year, so having guys who can make game-altering plays is paramount.
Outside of Aaron Donald, there aren’t many defensive players in the NFL that can almost single-handily shut down an offensive scheme, but there are some really special young talents in the NFL that are making their presence known.
Pro Football Focus ranked their top six defensive players under the age of 25 which included two former Alabama standouts in Patrick Surtain II and Trevon Diggs.
Surtain has cemented himself as arguably the best corner in the game, regardless of age, as the corner piece of the Broncos’ defense. While Trevon Diggs of the Cowboys has shown the best ball-hawking skills of any defensive back in the NFL as he led the league with 11 interceptions in 2021, the most in the NFL since 1981.
Alabama’s reputation for producing DBs is already the best in the college game, and with players like this coming out every other year, it is easy to see why.
The other four players who qualified for the list are Micah Parsons, Sauce Gardner, A.J. Terrell and Tariq Woolen. Outside of Parsons, the entire list is made up of DBs, which further shows the importance of slowing down NFL offenses and some of the elite receivers we have in the game today.
The Top defenders under 25, per @TampaBayTre pic.twitter.com/57Dcw1R9oW
— PFF (@PFF) May 19, 2023
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