As is the case with most other defensive positions in the modern NFL, interior defensive linemen are generally asked to play more positions more adeptly than at any time in the history of pro football. It’s not often that you’ll see a defensive tackle playing just defensive tackle throughout a full season — the old-school difference between run-stopping behemoths and quicker 3-tech quarterback killers just doesn’t exist anymore. Whether you’re tipping the scales at 350 pounds like Tampa Bay’s Vita Vea, or terrorizing enemy signal-callers with an unholy combination of strength and quickness like the 6-foot-1, 280-pound Aaron Donald is able to do, you’d better be able to do it from just about everywhere along the line if you want to make it anywhere near any list of the league’s best Big Guys Who Disrupt.
We’ve called this list “The NFL’s top 11 interior defensive linemen,” but in truth, interior defensive linemen also play the edge, and they also stunt pressure from just about every gap.
When these guys do play inside, their ability to disrupt from the inside is more important than it’s been in previous generations. With the NFL moving to more of a quick (zero- to three-step drop passing game), edge guys don’t always have time to get home before the quarterback gets rid of the ball. So, the inside guys, who don’t have edges to bend, had better get there more often. Oh, and you still have to be a dominant run-stopper. Just a few things to keep together!
With that in mind, here are the top 11 interior (and often outside) defensive linemen in the NFL today.
(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions. PFF counts half-sacks as full sacks, and that is often reflected in our pressure totals).