Vita Vea was snubbed by NFL’s top personnel on Top 10 DT’s list

ESPN polled NFL executives, coaches, and scouts to rank the top 10 defensive tackles, but omitted Vita Vea from the list.

Since he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Vita Vea has been one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the NFL. Now that Aaron Donald has retired the league is looking for a new top dog at the position, and with training camp just a few weeks away, plenty of players are looking to claim that spot.

ESPN polled NFL coaches, executives, and scouts for the league’s take on the top 10 defensive tackles in the league ahead of the season. A lot of the usual suspects were on the list, but Vea was left off in favor of players like Carolina Panthers star Derrick Brown and Javon Hargrave of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Over his six-year career, Vea has become known as one of the fiercest run defenders in the league. In three of those six years, Tampa Bay has had a top-five run defense in the NFL three times in terms of yards per game allowed on the ground.

A lot of that is thanks to Vea’s impact and ability to eat up space with not just his size, but his outstanding athleticism that comes with it. Although he doesn’t have the eye-popping stats of some of the other players on this list like Baltimore’s Justin Madubuike or Las Vegas’ Christian Wilkins, he’s consistently one of the league’s top run defenders.

As a pass rusher, Vea has 23.5 career sacks to his name, but his presence goes far beyond that. He consistently commands double teams (and sometimes even more attention, just like his days at Washington) from opposing offensive linemen in pass protection.

The 29-year-old is in line for another strong season while playing alongside two other former Huskies on the Tampa Bay defensive front in Greg Gaines and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, and has an opportunity to earn more recognition this year.