AFTER THE CHICAGO Bears made their initial free agent moves in March, general manager Ryan Poles detailed what motivated him to spend big along the defensive line. Not only had the Bears added an edge rusher in Dayo Odeyingbo, Chicago also snatched up defensive tackle Grady Jarrett hours after he was released by the Falcons.
"We all watched the Super Bowl, right? You want to have waves of pass rushers," Poles said.
The Philadelphia Eagles sacked Patrick Mahomes six times en route to a 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. At the center of that barrage was defensive tackle Milton Williams, who registered two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery -- all while in a rotational role.
A month after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, Williams signed a four-year, $104 million deal -- $63 million in guarantees -- with the New England Patriots as the NFL's top free agent defensive tackle. He became the highest-paid player in franchise history.
Williams' whirlwind from rotational player to Super Bowl star to setting the Patriots' record for biggest contract reflects a position that is evolving rapidly in importance. And that evolution will continue next week when over 30 defensive tackles are projected to be drafted. Michigan's Mason Graham is slated to go No. 5 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest mock draft, as he attempts to continue the trend of defensive tackles rising in prominence.
"I just think the ability to wreck a game," Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said at the NFL combine, describing the importance of the position. "These guys that are elite up front push in the middle of the pocket, making the quarterback move, get off the spot. There's a premium on those guys.
"That's why you're seeing some of these guys getting paid and being drafted earlier, because of the impact they can have on all three downs."
Despite notching just 2.5 sacks in 17 games last year, the 31-year-old Jarrett signed a three-year, $42.75 million contract. Williams, who became the third-highest paid defensive tackle in NFL history, played just 48% of defensive snaps in seven starts last season and had five sacks.
As far as the draft, the 2019 class made history with six defensive tackles selected in the first round: Quinnen Williams (New York Jets), Ed Oliver (Buffalo Bills), Christian Wilkins (Miami Dolphins), Dexter Lawrence II (New York Giants), Jeffery Simmons (Tennessee Titans) and Jerry Tillery (Los Angeles Chargers). Byron Murphy II was the only DT drafted in the first round last year and seven DTs were drafted in the second round, the most second-rounders at the position in a decade.
This defensive tackle class is projected to be one of the deepest in recent years. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper lists 31 D-tackle prospects with draftable grades.
"When you get a 3-technique who can beat a guard very quickly, you put pressure at the quarterback's lap as soon as he's dropping back," Houston Texans coach Demeco Ryans said. "You feel like sometimes that impacts the quarterback a lot more than the edge rushers who have to run the hoop, so to speak, around the tackle.
"So you're seeing this year's draft class, you're seeing a lot more explosive young interior defensive linemen who will definitely impact the draft."
ON THE FINAL play of Super Bowl LVI, former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald burst into the Cincinnati Bengals backfield with 43 seconds remaining and sacked quarterback Joe Burrow on fourth down to secure a 23-20 victory. Two years later in Super Bowl LVIII, Kansas City's Chris Jones pressured the San Francisco 49ers' Brock Purdy into throwing the ball away on third down in the red zone to secure a 25-22 overtime win.
Over the years, there has been an emphasis placed on the pass rusher who has the shortest path to the quarterback.
"It's a combo of the interior and exterior guy to kind of sandwich the quarterback in the pocket, but winning the two yards behind the center has been the most critical space that you can really impact the football game," Poles said. "[Defensive tackles] create a shorter edge. So if you can win that two yards, the edge rushers can win more consistently rather than if you don't press it, the ability to step up, they start running around.
"I really think kind of puncturing the pocket from inside, the faster route to the quarterback has just become an emphasis."
Players lined up along the interior defensive line last season recorded the most combined total sacks and pressures (2,595) for the position in a season since tracking began in 2017, although the season expanded from 16 games to 17 in 2021. Those players accounted for 33.3% of the league's sacks last season. In 2020 that number was 32.4% and in 2016 it was 31.2%.
The Dolphins' Zach Sieler led all defensive tackles in sacks last season with 10. Tershawn Wharton had 6.5 for the Chiefs and then signed a three-year, $45.05 million deal with the Panthers. That contract ranks third among free agent DTs this cycle behind Williams and Jonathan Allen, who signed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings.
Jones leads all defensive tackles in average per year at $31.7 million, followed by the Las Vegas Raiders' Christian Wilkins at $28 million and the Detroit Lions' Alim McNeill at $24 million.
These free agent deals took some NFL executives by surprise because of the number of defensive tackles available in the draft. But sometimes quality doesn't match quantity.
"There's a lot of demand, but there's very little supply," Kiper said. "And even when they do come out, some of these guys [aren't drafted high]. Chris Jones goes in the second round. Aaron Donald didn't go in the top 10. Milton Williams was a third-round draft choice. It's a case where a lot of those guys slipped through the cracks. To me, this year is going to be a very similar situation.
"They're producing defensive tackles, but they're not elite guys. And there's very few of those out there."
IN KIPER'S RECENT two-round mock draft, Graham is selected fifth overall by the Jaguars, but there's a sizable gap before the next defensive tackle comes off the board with Oregon's Derrick Harmon headed to Pittsburgh at No. 21.
Four defensive tackles were taken on Day 1 in 2023.
"I don't see it as the best [class] ever," one veteran defensive line coach told ESPN. "I only see three to four in the first round, but the class is deep. You can still get a good player in the third to early fourth if there is not a run on them in the second round. It has not been that way in a long time."
One reason for the increased depth is the number of older players entering the draft. Nebraska's Ty Robinson is among the older players at defensive tackle at 23 years old after injuries and his position on the Huskers' depth chart encouraged him to stay in college for six seasons. The same can be said for Texas' Alfred Collins (also 23), who had to wait until his fifth college season for a significant opportunity after sitting behind former Longhorn Murphy, who was selected in the first round of the 2024 draft by Seattle.
Part of the reason some players stay in college longer is NIL money, according to ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller.
Regardless of age or experience, the role of the defensive tackle is changing.
"We're seeing even if you're a good linebacker in college now, [teams] are like, can you rush the quarterback?" Miller said. "Even with [Penn State's] Abdul Carter and [Georgia's] Jalon Walker, there's so many examples of -- OK, you showed some instincts and some speed, can you go get the quarterback?
"It's more so on the edge right now just because there aren't enough good offensive tackles to keep up with any type of speed rushers at all. But I do think we'll see that move inside more where that is going to become the priority."
It's a big change from when defensive tackles were mostly run stuffers tasked with occupying blockers to free up linebackers.
"You're not seeing more of the bigger run-stuffing nose tackles who just have to hold one gap," Ryans said. "You have to be athletic enough to run the quarterbacks down as quarterbacks are scrambling and running a lot more, so you can't have D-tackles who are just playing the run.
"You've got to be able to do multiple things."