Former Georgia Bulldog Geno Atkins has long been one of the top defensive tackles in the NFL. He was named to the 2010’s All-Decade Team, despite being an undervalued fourth round pick out of Georgia.
Atkins measured at six-foot-one, 293 pounds at the 2010 NFL Combine, significantly smaller than the prototypical NFL defensive tackle, but his size, or lack there of, has not mattered one bit.
Pro Football Focus recently released their list of defensive tackles with the highest amount of quarterback pressures since 2010 and, no it’s not three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Aaron Donald.
QB pressures among DIs since 2010:
1. Geno Atkins – 580
2. Aaron Donald – 579
3. Ndamukong Suh – 559
4. Fletcher Cox – 503 pic.twitter.com/FY2Rhrr0nt— PFF (@PFF) February 18, 2021
Granted, Donald was drafted by the Rams in 2014, so Atkins has about a four-year head start, but regardless, Atkins has proved to be one of the best interior defensive lineman in this generation and looks to be on track for Canton one day.
Don’t forget the 8-time Pro Bowl selection got his start in Athens where he earned First-Team All-SEC honors in 2007 and Second-Team All-SEC honors in 2009.
Now, Atkins enters his 12th season for the Cincinnati Bengals in the third-year of a four-year, $65 million contract extension that he signed back in 2018.
Check out what Atkin’s opponents had to say about the two-time First Team All-Pro in this NFL Top 100 Players feature (2019):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isTi_molMVA