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Clemson’s ridiculous D-line
I don’t even know if ridiculous is a big enough word to describe this unit. Let’s be honest here – had Austin Bryant, Dexter Lawrence, Christian Wilkins and Clelin Ferrell been available in April’s draft, none of them would have made it past the second round and all four could easily hear their name called on day one next year. It’s really interesting to watch them work together and look forward to them as eventual NFL prospects, because they offer very different skill-sets and might all different positions.
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Bryant looks like a 3-4 outside linebacker, Lawrence is that stack-and-shed D-lineman to line up straight across his man, Wilkins is more up an upfield-penetrating 3-technique and Ferrell looks more like a base 4-3 D-end. So what do these guys bring to the table? Bryant was the fourth guy on this front to join the party.
He emerged last season as a big, physical player with the athleticism and skill to play in space, as well as the effort to chase down faster opponents. Lawrence had an incredible 2016 campaign, when he showed up in the backfield continuously despite facing double-teams at a high rate.
He is a rock against the run and has a good feel for how to rush the passer. Wilkins is much more slippery and likes to get up the field. He has an edge-rusher like get-off and can stress offensive linemen with his ability to slant aggressively, plus he can line up anywhere along the line. And finally, Ferrell is a guy who will squeeze gaps and doesn’t mind throwing his body around to create a mess at the point of attack. He shows a lot of football smarts and excellent pursuit.
Overall, this unit produced a combined 45 negative plays and a lot of times it was the linebackers behind them who cleaned up what they had already forced. I truly believe this could be one of the all-time great position groups this season. Clemson held their opponents to 3.1 yards per rush attempts last year, but it’ll be up to an inconsistent offensive group to put up points this season and allow that ferocious front-four to pin their ears back and get after the quarterback.
