Film Breakdown: Seahawks' Poona Ford Evolving Into One of NFL's Best Defensive Tackles

Already a stout run defender in the trenches, Ford has elevated his game to another level in his third NFL season by becoming a consistently productive interior pass rusher for Seattle, quickly developing into an elite talent at the position.

After going undrafted out of Texas, Seahawks defensive tackle Poona Ford quickly rocketed up the depth chart and became a full-time starter alongside Jarran Reed in just his second NFL season.

But despite starting 15 games in 2019, Ford's overall production didn't jump quite as Seattle hoped after coming on late during his rookie season. He finished with a career-high 32 tackles, but only recorded one additional quarterback hit and 0.5 sacks while playing twice as many snaps, creating questions about whether or not he could develop beyond being a traditional two-down run stuffer.

However, in his second season as a starter for the Seahawks, Ford's quickness and overall athleticism have finally started to translate into consistent production pressuring quarterbacks. Over the past four weeks alone, per Pro Football Focus, he's registered 13 total pressures, two sacks, three quarterback hits, and eight hurries, receiving a stellar 74.5 pass rushing grade.

In a Monday night victory over the Eagles, while he only had three tackles, Ford may have played his best overall game. He dominated at the line of scrimmage all night long, making a pair of run stops and winning in a variety of ways as a pass rusher from multiple alignments, racking up three quarterback hits and a sack against Carson Wentz.

Check out my latest film breakdown as I revisit several of Ford's top plays from an outstanding performance in Philadelphia and examine how the third-year defender continues his ascent to become one of the best at his position.