Defensive tackle occupies a fairly unique spot in the NFL positional hierarchy. The best players can single-handedly change a game, getting immediate pressure in a quarterback’s face in a way edge rushers rarely can. But there are very few people alive with both the athleticism to thrive as a pass rusher on the interior and a strength to hold up against the run, meaning that one of the most important positions in the league is typically cobbled together from spare parts found in later rounds. And this year is a good example, as there are no elite, complete players who are worth a major investment. But there are a variety of athletes to be found who can play part of that role in an NFL defense.
Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia
I am very reluctant to spend first-round picks on players who I don’t feel can contribute on every down, and Davis is a real test of that. The massive, space-eating defensive tackle has become something of a rarity at the top of the draft in recent years, as their value had diminished in favor of players who can offer some contribution against the pass. There has been some pushback in recent years, as teams have adopted strategies with more two-deep safeties that prioritize coverage with scheme and leave the run-stopping to individual players along the front. But I’m still a bit hesitant to embrace this approach, and it takes a rare player for me to even consider a non-pass-rusher in the first round.
Well, Davis is certainly a rare player. His Combine measurements of 6-6 and 340 pounds are certainly eye-popping numbers, and if anything they undersell how gigantic he is. On a field with SEC offensive linemen and one of the most talented defensive fronts ever assembled, he stood out on every play as the biggest and the strongest player out there. And then to top it off he went out an annihilated the athletic tests at the Combine, putting up numbers that would be terrifying from someone fifty pounds lighter.
The splash plays that Davis makes against the run certainly live up to his gigantic reputation, even if I would like to see a little more consistency. He can explode off the line and penetrate deep into the backfield, destroying a play before it has a chance to go anywhere. His range seems impossible for someone of his size, and he makes it extremely hard to simply run away from him. At times he could probably benefit from a little more awareness to avoid being cleaned off from the side and sealed away from the hole, but I expect this will come with NFL coaching. There is no doubt in my mind that Davis will become a truly disruptive force against the run.
But I still personally prioritize stopping the pass, and that’s where things get tricky. Davis regularly left the field on passing situations in college, and at least to start his NFL career he will likely be doing the same. This greatly limits his value, and it makes it hard for me to justify taking him in the first fifty selections.
Except that there are moments where I feel like he has something as a pass rusher. He certainly has the raw athleticism to be more than just a dead weight in the center of the defense, and once or twice a game he actually lives up to this potential, showing quickness and bend that would make life hell for a quarterback if applied more consistently. These flashes are interspersed with many more plays where he simply stands in the middle of the field and does absolutely nothing, which is why it’s understandable that Georgia tried to save his strength for when he’s most reliably able to contribute.
Playing every snap on defense is probably out of the question for Davis, if only because his size puts demands on his body that simply can’t be handled for more than forty to fifty snaps a week. The question is whether those forty or fifty snaps are on low-leverage running downs, or if he can be counted on to contribute on the most important plays of the game. I still struggle to give him more than a high second-round grade, but it would be awfully tempting to gamble on this sort of freakish talent.
Logan Hall, DE/DT, Houston
Hall isn’t a prospect for everyone. He’s a bit of a tweener with no clearly defined position, and that will make his fit hard in a lot of schemes. He started off his college days as a defensive end but gradually shifted inside, where he is likely to end up in the NFL. He doesn’t have the athleticism to play regularly on the edge, but he is also a bit on the small side to play regularly on the interior. He gets pushed around some in the running game, especially when he has a habit of playing too high with his 6-6 frame. The best spot for him would be as a defensive end in a pure 3-4 defense, but there are very few teams that actually run that these days, so the most likely path forward for him will be as a rotational pass rusher at a defensive tackle spot.
Hall does bring some impressive skills to the table for someone of this role. He isn’t super explosive, but he’s a good athlete in tight spaces, able to swim around blockers and get into the backfield. And he is incredibly strong, capable of blowing linemen backwards and using this advantage to get after the quarterback. His bull rush is sensational, and if he can work on using his hands to separate from blocks and finish through contact, he can become a very dangerous pass rushing force.
The best-case scenario for Hall is a poor man's Cameron Heyward, but that would require him to land in the perfect situation with a defense constructed to his talents and a patient coaching staff who can let him work to develop his game. Much more likely is that he starts as a third-down specialist and maybe after a couple years can add some weight and become strong enough against the run to be a full-time starter at defensive tackle. That sort of upside is probably worth a mid second-round selection, but it’s hard to justify using a more valuable pick unless your team is committed to building the defense around his slightly unorthodox skillset.
DeMarvin Leal, DE/DT, Texas A&M
Most of what I said about Hall can be applied to Leal as well, and I see them as having very similar value in the draft. I give Hall the edge because he is slightly more physically gifted, and I think that gives him a better chance of developing into a true every-down defensive tackle. But I wouldn’t be too opposed if a team decided they preferred Leal, who is slightly more polished and more ready to make an impact as a situational pass rusher.
Leal wins in a different way from Hall. He is a strong player who can pull off occasional bull rushes, but he never really manhandles people the way Hall does. He’s actually at his best when he uses his speed on the interior, with an explosive first step and good bend that allow him to shoot through a gap and make his way into the backfield. He has a couple different countermoves to this, and he can be dangerous on stunts. But most of the time he either wins with his first step or doesn’t win at all.
Where Hall is inconsistent holding his ground as a point-of-attack run defender, Leal is simply bad. If an offensive lineman comes off the ball straight at him, he is going to get moved backwards and sealed off from the hole. His ability to shoot through gaps means that he can make some tackles chasing down plays from the backside, but not enough to make up for the liability he is on most running plays. I’m not sure he’ll ever be more than a situational pass rusher, but the talent he has there is still worth including as part of a defensive line rotation.
Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia
The four defensive tackles I looked at are all incredibly close in value, and I wouldn’t be opposed to putting any of them at the top of the list. If you want a dominant run-stuffer, go with Davis. If you want to gamble on pass rushing potential, go with Hall. If you want an immediate impact as a rotational player, go with Leal. And if you want someone who is well-rounded and has the best chance of becoming an every-down player, go with Wyatt.
Based on my skepticism with the other players, you’d think that Wyatt’s ability to stay on the field on both passing and rushing downs would make him a candidate for a first-round pick. And I might be interested in him there, if I really believed he was going to put it all together and become a dangerous pass rusher. Because just based on his tools, it seems like he should be very good at this. He is very quick in space, and he has aggressive, active hands that he uses to avoid being caught on blocks. His first step is dangerous, and he can shoot into the backfield and wreak havoc before a lineman can even touch him. He’s absolutely lethal on stunts, and it seems like there should be a few snaps a game where he barrels downhill at the quarterback and ends the play as soon as it begins.
It just never really seems to come together for him. Sometimes he wins off the snap, then doesn’t accelerate through contact to get to the quarterback. Sometimes he keeps himself clean with his hands, but doesn’t burst through an opening to make a play in the backfield. He has potential in this area, but it will take a lot of development for him to get there, and there’s a decent chance it never happens.
So right now Wyatt is mostly effective as a run defender, and in this part of the game he’s simply just fine. He can hold his ground provided he plays with good technique, but too often he ends up playing high and getting knocked backwards. When he does stand his ground, he does a good job remaining head-up on the blocker and shedding to make a play if the ball comes near him, while never really being the same disruptive force as his teammate Davis. Wyatt is the player I feel most confident will be a starter, but the least confident he’ll become a star. And so I’d still feel better holding off on drafting him until the second round as well.
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