Pro Football Focus Comes In Rather Low On Colts' DL In Positional Rankings
Though DeForest Buckner is considered one of the top interior defensive tackles in the NFL and came in at No. 5 in Pro Football Focus's defensive tackle rankings in late May, PFF is rather low on the Colts' defensive line as a whole, according to its 2021 positional rankings.
Coming in at No. 19, the Colts' defensive line seems lower than it should be, especially with talents like Buckner and Grover Stewart holding down the interior of the defensive line, and the addition of one of the top defenders in the 2021 NFL Draft in Kwity Paye.
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However, Buckner is the only Colts' defensive lineman that cracked PFF's defensive tackle or defensive end rankings, which played a factor in the positional group ranking rather low across the league.
Here's what PFF's Ben Linsey had to say about the Colts' defensive line ranking:
DeForest Buckner was everything Indianapolis hoped he would be last season. He earned a career-high 89.6 overall grade in 2020 and was the sixth-most valuable interior defender in the league, according to PFF WAR. And due to the Colts' inexperience on the edge, he may need to carry the unit next season. Indianapolis will be relying on rookie Kwity Paye and several players yet to produce at a high level in starting roles (Al-Quadin Muhammad, Tyquan Lewis, Kemoko Turay, Ben Banogu and Isaac Rochell).
Yes, Buckner was special last season as he was well worth the first-round pick the Colts traded to San Francisco, and the massive contract extension he eventually received. But PFF had a massive miss not having Stewart in its top 32 interior defensive tackles list, which pushes the Colts' unit value down as a whole.
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Stewart is arguably the best 1-tech in the NFL and is a legitimate disruptor inside, giving the Colts two elite-level interior DL that are ridiculously hard for opposing offenses to try and block.
With guys like Paye, Turay, Rochelle, Lewis, and Banogu outside, there's a lot of projecting that needs to be done there, but there's plenty of talent and potential at pass rusher once again for the Colts.
Though the group overall appears rather low on the list, it's worth mentioning that they're the AFC South's highest ranked defensive line, giving them the division's two best groups in the trenches, which is a big win for Chris Ballard and the Colts.
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