Top 10 Defensive Linemen in the 2018 NFL Draft

In this write-up, I’m looking at Defensive Tackles, Nose Guards & 3-4 Defensive Ends, basically anyone who plays on the defensive line that wouldn’t be considered a pass rusher.

The players considered here have a wide-ranging skill set. Power, strength, burst, athleticism, good motor, leverage – if the player has all those skills then they’re not doing too badly.

Here, I’ll outline my top 10 (pre-combine) regardless of team fit/scheme:

Vita Vea – Washington – Junior – 6ft-5 – 344lb

This guy is a beast, he’s extremely strong and powerful and constantly pushes the pocket even when double teamed. Vea is very athletic for his size and moves well laterally and in space. Vea gets off the snap well and shows good burst in to the block. When blocked, Vea is able to use strong hands to disengage and often punishes linemen even when he’s not around the ball. Vea mixes good anticipation with instinctiveness and awareness to give great play recognition and stuff running plays before they can develop. Vea could play in both a 4-3 as a UT or a 3-4 as a NT but he probably suits the latter better. Vea offers 3 down potential which is rare for a defender of his size. Vea isn’t offering much in pass rush but that’s not what he’d be selected for and he can work on that. He could do with working on his balance. Basically, Vea is a safe pick and in a quarterbackless draft he might be top 5. Regardless, he should be picked in the top 15 and go on to be a good starter for 8-10 years.

Da’Ron Payne – Alabama – Junior – 6ft-2 – 308lb

Alabama defenders are good, Payne is no exception. Unlike Vea, Payne is more of the classic 4-3 tackle prospect. Payne mixes good strength with good athleticism and it appears he will continue to improve and get stronger. Payne shows great finesse but he also plays hard on most plays. Payne plays with great leverage and is strong at the point of attack. Payne’s athletic ability is not in doubt but, disappointingly, he doesn’t offer quite as much as a pass rusher as you’d like. Payne is bright and has good play recognition, he’s well coached. As it stands, Payne is more of a run stopper for which he wouldn’t be considered to have ideal size/length. Payne can take some plays off but I don’t really see that as an issue going forward and he certainly has the ability to stay on the field for 3 downs. Payne should be chosen in the first round of the 2018 draft, his range is pick 15-25.

Taven Bryan – Florida – Junior – 6ft-5 – 293lb

I like Bryan a lot, he appears to have the character to overcome any physical limitations to find a way to make it in the NFL any way he can. Saying that, Bryan has great athletic ability and provides plus potential as a pass rusher. Bryan is an explosive athlete who gets off the line of scrimmage quickly. Bryan is tough, and sometimes dirty, and does have good strength at the point of attack. Bryan has had comparisons to JJ Watt which is high praise indeed, I’m not sure I could go that far but I do understand why that would be said. Bryan is tall but could do with adding more bulk/mass if he’s going to hold up as a 3 down player on the inside, he’s not great against the run. More likely, Bryan will fit well with a 3-4 front as an end. Bryan needs to improve on his feel for the game and he struggles sometimes with play recognition. Bryan may well have benefitted from another year in college but he easily could be a top 20 pick in this draft. I would say his range is pick 25-40.

Maurice Hurst – Michigan – Senior – 6ft-2 – 282lb

I have Hurst lower than on a lot of boards I’ve seen. I think he’ll be a good player but I wouldn’t use a top 15 pick on him. Hurst is athletic, he is explosive off the line of scrimmage and he plays with a good motor. Hurst is a versatile prospect and could play as a 3-4 end or a 4-3 tackle. Hurst offers decent pass rush potential and is a good tackler to aid in the run game. Hurst demonstrates good play recognition and he often seems to be around the ball even if not directly making the play. Hurst does lack strength, he’s not very weighty so could do with adding bulk especially if he is lined up to play inside. Hurst has technical issues to correct also, he needs to play with lower pad level and his hand use needs work. Hurst can be inconsistent which doesn’t appear to be linked to lack of effort so teams will want to investigate that side of his play further. Hurst may well be the first defensive tackle to be taken in the draft and, in the right system, he’ll excel but I would only be happy with him in the late first or early second.

Harrison Phillips – Stanford – Senior – 6ft-4 – 285lb

Phillips looks a really good prospect but I couldn’t have him higher as he’s likely only a 2 down player. Phillips is strong, he plays with great leverage and power despite his relative lack of size. Phillips is a former wrestler and he uses that grappling type technique to work off blocks well. Phillips is a playmaker with a great motor, he is a great run stopper. Phillips is consistent and he shows great effort. Phillips production in college was impressive and he had high numbers in both sacks and tackles. Phillips projects as the DT in a 4-3 front. Phillips is not athletic and he lacks balance and body control. Phillips plays a little too upright and needs to work on his technique going forward. Phillips is a bit of a polarizing prospect, I personally like him a lot because of the consistency and effort. Like Taven Bryan, he should find a way to succeed in the NFL. In terms of where he’s likely to be drafted, I would speculate that Phillips ceiling is very late first round but, more likely, second round.

Derrick Nnadi – Florida State – Senior – 6ft-1 – 312lb

Nnadi is relatively short for a defensive lineman but he has good bulk and he plays with great power and strength. Nnadi flashes explosiveness and he generally has a quick get off. Nnadi is a good tackler and he is able to take on blocks, disengage, and make plays. Nnadi is consistent, he’s a 3 year starter and it’s very difficult to find too many holes in his game when viewing his tape. Nnadi plays with great hands and uses his low pad level to gain good leverage. Nnadi doesn’t offer much in terms of pass rush but his effectiveness is as a sturdy run blocker. He isn’t a 3 down player but that’s not how Nnadi will be drafted. Florida State have produced great defenders in recent years and I think many teams will fall in love with Nnadi. If teams look at the tape rather than the size then Nnadi could be a second round pick, there’s a chance he could slip to the third round but that would be harsh.

Tim Settle – Virginia Tech – Sophomore – 6ft-3 – 335lb

Settle is a big man with good strength and physicality. Settle projects as a classic nose guard but he does provide some scheme versatility. Settle dominates at the point of attack and is able to get consistent pressure and push blockers back to the pocket. Settle plays with explosiveness and a high motor, he gives good effort. Settle is fairly athletic for his size and he does have some quickness and lateral agility. Despite his many pros, Settle is still very inexperienced. He struggles with play recognition and seems to be lost on some plays. Settle looks like he might struggles keeping his weight down and he has conditioning issues. Settle has tremendous upside and will appeal to a 3-4 team looking for a rotational player that they can develop to be an eventual starter. I would predict that Settle will be taken at some point on day 2 of the draft.

R.J.McIntosh – Miami – Junior – 6ft-4 – 293lb

McIntosh is an athletic, explosive defender with good size and a muscular frame. Mcintosh is disruptive, he uses his quickness and strong hands to shred blocks and make plays. McIntosh provides great scheme versatility as he can line up as a 4-3 tackle or a 3-4 end. McIntosh is able to provide good pass rush but he doesn’t have the sack production you’d hope for. McIntosh has the power to maintain gaps against double teams and he combines good instincts with good tackling ability to be a force against the run. McIntosh may well be one the most rounded defensive lineman in this year’s draft but he doesn’t excel in one area. McIntosh projects, at worst, as being a useful 3 down, rotational lineman with the upside of being a plus starter in the league. I see McIntosh as a sure fire day 2 pick in April.

Trenton Thompson – Georgia – Junior – 6ft-4 – 295lb

If it weren’t for injuries, Thompson would be higher up this list. Thompson is a well-rounded athlete with decent strength and long arms. Thompson has great size, mainly to play as a 4-3 tackle, and he shows great finesse. Thompson isn’t the quickest off the line of scrimmage but he pushes the pocket well. Thompson is a force against the run, he maintain gaps and wraps up well to limit runner’s forward momentum. Thompson has some body control issues which will need some work. Injuries may well have affected Thompson’s explosiveness but he keeps coming back and, in that sense, he should be considered durable. I can see a team taking a chance on Thompson is the third round but, with the attention being firmly on his battered body, he may slip down further.

Nathan Shepherd – Fort Hays St – Senior – 6ft-5 – 300lb

I’m going to take a flier on Shepherd as my last pick. I have to say, I agonized for a long time whether to have Shepherd as my #10 or go with Rasheem Green or B.J.Hill, it was really close. Shepherd has great size and he looks NFL ready. Shepherd can provide decent pass rush from the inside and he’ll only get better in that regard. Shepherd is a really good athlete for his size and has good length and lateral agility. Shepherd is intelligent and he appears to have good play recognition. The main two knocks on Shepherd will be that he is raw and that he has only played against a poor level of competition for Fort Hays. Raw often gets confused with potential but, in this case, it’s justified as Shepherd has tremendous upside. Shepherd needs to work on his technique and he could do with adding muscle to get stronger. Shepherd doesn’t appear to play with much nastiness so I’d like to see him be more aggressive. I’m not going to even guess where Shepherd will be taken, the range is second-sixth round.

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