2023 NFL DRAFT: TOP 6 DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

BY ADAM GREENE

While the edge rusher list was difficult to limit to just ten, I did not have the same issue with the interior defensive lineman. This list is just six players long, but there’s some real quality here and a few guys, who I have ranked pretty high, that should be available on Day Two, if not Day Three of the NFL Draft.

So, while the overall numbers are low, I feel the quality of talent is bordering on elite and, when it comes to Nos. 2 and 3, real steals in the third round on are possible for a team looking to add a body in the middle of the defensive trenches.

Here are my Top Six interior defensive lineman available in the 2023 NFL Amateur Player Selection Meeting.

1. JALEN CARTER, GEORGIA

Age: 22

Size: 6-3, 314 pounds

2022: 32 tackles, 7 for a loss, 3 sacks, three passes defended, two forced fumble

PFF Grade: 92.3

Odds to be 1^st defensive player selected: +600

Odds to be the 2^nd player selected overall: +3300

Odds to be 3^rd player selected overall: +1200

Odds to be 4^th player selected overall: +1600

Odds to be the 5^th player selected overall: +375

There’s little question that Jalen Carter is the best defensive lineman prospect in this draft pool. Right now, the only thing that hurts him is some off the field issues that might not really be issues at all. He was a unanimous 2022 All-American, helped the Georgia Bulldogs win back-to-back national championships and, barring injury, will likely be a 10 year starter and regular Pro Bowler in the NFL.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: No. 5 overall to the Seattle Seahawks

2. TULI TUIPULOTU, USC

Age: 20

Size: 6-3, 266 pounds

2022: 46 tackles, 22 for a loss, 13.5 sacks, three passes defended, two forced fumbles

PFF Grade: 82.1

Here’s where my draft rankings go completely off the rails compared to the rest of NFL punditry because someone is about to steal Tuli Tuipulotu in the second, but more likely third or fourth rounds. The dude, playing in the PAC-12, had 22 tackles for a loss last season and 13.5 sacks. Those are Aaron Donald numbers. And his size helps that comparison too. Do I think Tuipulotu is the next Donald? No, but if he’s 80 percent of Aaron Donald he’ll still end up a Top 5 defensive lineman in the NFL. I would draft him in the second and not think twice about it.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: N/A Projected to be a round two or three selection

3. CALIJAH KANCEY. PITTSBURGH

Age: 22

Size: 6-1, 281 pounds

2022: 31 tackles, 14.5 for a loss, 7.5 sacks

PFF Grade: 91.8

Speaking of Aaron Donald, Calijah Kancey is the first consensus All-American from Pitt since the future Pro Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion. Kancey finished 2022 second in the ACC in pressure rate at 18 percent and did it by producing identical numbers in both his last seasons. Seriously. In 2021, he had 33 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss and seven sacks. This is an NFL ready player, undersized, but, you know, so was AD99.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: N/A Projected to go in the second or third round

4. BRYAN BRESEE, CLEMSON

Age: 21

Size: 6-5, 298 pounds

2022: 15 tackles, 5.5 for a loss, 3.5 sacks, two passes defended

PFF Grade: 73.5

While I have Bryan Bresee ranked lower than most, that doesn’t mean this guy isn’t going to be a productive starting NFL defensive lineman at worst. He does have star potential after putting up consistent numbers for the Clemson Tigers against some of the best college football programs in the country. Bresee is a three-time All-ACC selection, earning a second team nod in 2022. Back in 2020, he was the No. 1 rated high school recruit in all of America and did not disappoint the Tigers in his three-year stint with the team. He does have an injury history and that might make him drop. Still, because of his status and pedigree, most of us have him going in Round 1.  

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: No. 31 overall to the Kansas City Chiefs

5. ADETOMIWA ADEBAWORE, NORTHWESTERN

Age: 22

Size: 6-2, 282 pounds

2022: 27 tackles, nine for a loss, five sacks, one pass defended, two forced fumbles

PFF Grade: 75.2

Adetomiwa Adebawore is a project, who will likely be a rotational player, at least for half a season, for the NFL team that drafts him. He has great stats, getting better each season he took the field for Northwestern and kept himself healthy. What you really like about him, as a third (or even fourth) rounder, is his athleticism as an interior defensive lineman. At the NFL combine he recorded the fastest 40-yard dash ever put down by a 270-plus pound player at any position, 4.49. Yeah, that’s right. This dude ran a 4.49 40. There are wide receivers and running backs that will be taken in the first three rounds that aren’t that fast. After a pretty solid senior season, he was named a third-team All-Big Ten selection.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: N/A Projected to go in the second or third round

6. MAZI SMITH, MICHIGAN

Age: 21

Size: 6-3, 323 pounds

2022: 48 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, 0.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble

PFF Grade: 79.9

Mazi Smith is your classic nose tackle for a 3-4 defense and, because of that, he’s not going to light up the stat sheet. What he is going to do, with his athleticism and size, is eat up blockers, clog run lanes and allow the linebackers behind him to make plays. He was a 2022 consensus first team All-Big Ten selection and the 2022 Michigan defensive player of the year.

NFL Mock Draft 2.0 Prediction: N/A Projected to go in the third or fourth round

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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