Top 5 interior defensive linemen in college football for 2019

Now that we've started with the guys coming off the edge, it's time to look at the guys on the inside. This group includes everything from true 0-technique nose tackles to 3-tech upfield defensive tackles.

We just had a loaded draft class with interior D-linemen and once again, there is a lot of talent among that unit. While there is no Quinnen Williams or Ed Oliver out there, I definitely could see defensive tackles go in the first round in 2020. However, as I always see with these rankings, I am eventually ranking college players as of where they will be this season.

#1 Derrick Brown, Auburn

At 6’5” and almost 320 pounds, Brown is the type of monstrous defensive tackles who can give opponents nightmares every week. Last season he put up 10.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, but according to PFF he also forced 28 QB pressures and an elite run-defense grade. Brown has a tremendous amount of natural strength and puts a bunch of offensive linemen on their backsides. With his long arms and power he can grab an offensive lineman’s side of the shoulder pad and just yank him out of his way.

The Auburn phenom barely was primarily lined up in the A-gaps and received a lot of attention by offensive lines, but barely gave up ground to double-teams and was a big reason the Tigers gave up less than 50 rushing yards despite being such a dominant running team.

He is really good at getting push up the middle on the quarterback, but I need to see him finish his rushes better. With meetings of five teams in the top 12 of the preseason rankings on the schedule, Brown will have plenty of opportunities to receive draft hype and we will follow him closely to see if he can become a truly dominant interior D-lineman in 2019.

#2 Raekwon Davis, Alabama

After being an absolute terror for offensive linemen in the 2017 college football playoff, I expected Davis to emerge as a first-round draft pick his junior year, but instead, it was Quinnen Williams next to him who absolutely dominated college football.

Davis’ numbers plummeted from double-digit tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks to only 5.5 TFLs and 1.5 QB-takedowns. However, the athleticism for a 6’7”, 310-pound interior D-line is still out of this world and I expect this guy to finally put it all together in 2019.

Unlike most Alabama guys up front, Davis is more than a pure stack-and-shed run defender, although he can more than hold his ground in that regard. You see him rip through one arm of blockers to create penetration or pull those guys off himself with those long branches.

The giant has shown that he can flat-out run through big men as a pass-rusher, but he can also torque his upper body and win with club-swim or arm-over swim moves. Based on how much he improves on his snap anticipation and overall consistency, Davis could still become one of the most intriguing names in next year’s NFL draft.

#3 Rashard Lawrence, LSU

Similar to Alabama, their SEC-rival down in Baton Rouge seems to bring out one great defensive lineman pretty much every year and this is your next guy in line. At 6’2” and about 310 pounds, Lawrence put up 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, and three passes knocked down. He has unbelievable short-area quickness for a guy his size and he can run half a man consistently.

Lawrence is so damn strong, I remember a couple of times when he would actually grab ball-carriers at one ankle and just pull them to the ground. He also seems to have a feel for when to spin to the opposite gap simultaneously to the back running through it and take him down or at least hold him up.

Considering his weight, his get-off is pretty freakish and his quicks are oftentimes enough for those guards on the inside. I need to see him rush the passer with more of a plan and not just stop and try to look around at times, but he could soon be a big name.

#4 Joe Gaziano, Northwestern

This three-year starter actually played base defensive end for the Wildcats primarily last season, but throughout his career, he has been at his best as a 3-tech defensive tackle and will probably be evaluated for that position in the pros. In 35 career games Gaziano has recorded 32 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, ten passes batted down and five forced fumbles.

In 2018 he recorded a monstrous 49 QB pressures and 28 defensive stops. As an oversized 275-pound D-end you seem him just drive some guys down into the pile when the run is going the opposite way. He actually has excellent flexibility and is much quicker than you would think, which creates problems for blockers sitting on that power he works with, but once he catches somebody too high, he doesn’t mind going through their chest either.

Not only has Gaziano been one of the most underrated players in college these last few years, but I also really like the way he rips out the ball when he takes quarterbacks to the ground.

#5 Raequan Williams, Michigan State

I already talked about the best defensive lineman on Michigan State in Kenny Willekes, but when it comes to potential Williams is at the top. The 6’4”, 305-pound tackle has received the MSU Iron Man of the Year award in each of the last two years now. In 2018 he recorded 10.5 tackles for loss, a couple of sacks and five passes knocked down.

Williams can anchor against and stand up single blockers with the best of them. You see him pull cloth to disengage or even knock his guy backwards at times to force the running back to slam into that guy’s behind. He also flashes the flexibility to work around offensive linemen and get underneath them in the passing game.

Williams is probably at his best at shade nose or true 0-technique, where you see him just drive centers backwards off the snap at times and then has the long reach to catch ball-carriers on their way by. However, I think the talented D-lineman needs to do a better job fighting over the top of some blocks when the offense runs out wide away from him and he is caught off guard at times when teams use double-teams against him and then loses his leverage quickly.

Just outside: Justin Madaubuike (Texas A&M), Leki Fotu (Utah) and Javon Kinlaw (South Carolina)

Edited by Raunak J