NFL Divisional Rankings: Defensive Line

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE /

Part four in a series, I’ve already ranked the quarterbacks, Running-backs, and Wide Receivers and now I’m skipping to the defensive lines–I want to see how some camp battle shake out before I do the offensive line rankings. Defensive line is one of the most important positions in football, and not coincidentally the teams that have better defensive lines tend to have the better teams.

#8 N.F.C. South

New Orleans Saints

Atlanta Falcons

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Carolina Panthers

The Saints have the best starting defensive line in the N.F.C. South. The Buccaneers have spent a lot of high draft picks on their defensive line, but not Brian Price is gone, Gerald McCoy has battled injuries, Da’Quan Bowers has to show that he doesn’t have a career threatening knee condition. Adrian Claiborne looks poised for a big year, however.

#7 A.F.C. South

Houston Texans

Tennessee Titans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Indianapolis Colts

J.J. Watt is getting so much props that people are trying to put him into Canton already. The Texans defensive line is very good. The Titans are hoping that Derrick Morgan will step up and show him he’s worth a first round pick. Kamerion Wimberly is a good pass rusher, and Jurell Casey had a good rookie year and should only continue to improve. The best way to describe the Jaguars defensive line is average. The Colts will be running a 43/34 hybrid defense this year and in the 43 looks Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis will play DE. That’s very good. They have the young talented Drake Nevis as well. Not great, but not terrible.

#6 A.F.C. West

Oakland Raiders

Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs

San Diego Chargers

The Oakland Raiders have a very solid defensive line. Matt Shaughnessy could become a house hold name this year and Lamarr Houston is one of my favorite players to watch. This is a really good starting defensive line. Elvis Dumervil is a really good pass rusher, but Robert Ayers to show more. Ty Warren is not the player, Derek Wolfe was not a great pick in my opinion, but we’ll see if the Broncos were right about that one. The Chiefs have three top 15 picks in the first round along the defensive line. The Chargers put up good defensive numbers, but they don’t make enough impact plays.

#5 A.F.C. East

Buffalo Bills

New York Jets

New England Patriots

Miami Dolpfhins

This is a major projection on my part. The Buffalo Bills have probably the most raw talent on the defensive line in the league. Marcel Dareus and Kyle Williams are terrific players, Mario Williams is one of the league’s most physically gifted players. Between Merriman, Kelsay, and Mark Anderson the Bills should find a good starter. The Jets are young, but very talented at DE and have solid depth. Will a pass rusher emerge though? I like what the Patriots have done with the addition of Chandler Jones, and Jake Bequette.

#4 N.F.C. North

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Minnesota Vikings

Green Bay Packers

The Chicago Bears could have been absolutely devestating had they got to signed Mario Williams, but as it is they have a good defensive line. The Bears still play a lot of Tampa 2 and that relies very heavily on the defensive line, while the players outside of Julius Peppers are not huge names they are really good players. The Detroit Lions have pass rushing and big talented defensive tackles, the problem with them is discipline as a whole. The Minnesota Vikings have the reigning defensive player of the year, Jared Allen and Kevin Williams, but the rest of the line doesn’t inspire confidence. The Green Bay Packers have talent along the defensive line, but the whole defensive unit was inconsistent last year at best, or consistently poor at worst.

#3 N.F.C. East

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

Dallas Cowboys

Even though I live on the East Coast and am subject to some East Coast bias I do not think anyone can deny that the Eagles and Giants are two of the league’s best defensive lines (at least as far as pass rushing goes) but if you take into consideration that DeMarcus Ware plays a lot like a 43 DE it looks a little better.

#2 A.F.C. North

Cincinnati Bengals

Pittsburgh Steelers

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

The Bengals have one of the league’s most under-appreciated defensive lines and one of the most underrated players in the league in DT Geno Atkins. I like the Devon Still and Brandon Thompson additions and they have very intriguing defensive ends. The Browns two early round picks last year, Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard had very nice rookie years and look to have promising careers ahead of them. The Baltimore Ravens have one of the league’s best defensive linemen in Ngata, but I”m waiting to see more from the rest of the defensive line. The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line will rely a lot on former first round picks Cameron Hayward and Ziggy Hood. Casey Hampton is hurt, but is still a good player. Ta’amu should see action this year and is a very athletic big man. Brett Kiesel is solid, just really good depth along the defensive line for the Steelers.

#1 N.F.C. West

San Francisco 49ers

Arizona Cardinals

Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

The 49ers are one of the league’s best defenses, and the defensive line is a big part of that. Justin Smith should have been more in the conversation for defensive player of the year last year. Calais Campbell anchors an exciting and talented Cardinals defensive line–a defensive line that was among the league’s best during the final stretch of the season. Dan Williams continued improvement and the excellent play of Darnell Dockett makes this, potentially the best 34 DL in the league. The Seahawks run a goofy defensive system, but have a very good run stuffing defensive line, they need to rush the passer more. The Rams could have a very nice defensive line, but Robert Quinn has to continue to improve and they have to get something out of DT Michael Brockers.

Home/NFL