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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2556894-5-players-ready-to-challenge-jj-watt-as-nfls-top-defender
5 Players Ready to Challenge J.J. Watt as NFL's Top Defender
By Brent Sobleski, NFL Analyst Aug 29, 2015
Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is the NFL's best defender. One can easily argue he's the NFL's best overall player. He's the kind of wrecking ball that hasn't been seen since the late, great Reggie White roamed the field.
The NFL, though, remains in a constant state of competition with numerous players aiming to be considered the best of the best.
It won't be an easy task to dethrone Watt. Former NFL quarterback and current television analyst Joe Theismann summed it up nicely, per the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson:
J.J. reminds me of guys like [Lawrence Taylor], like Reggie White, like Kevin Greene.
What J.J. has accomplished is even more special in this day and age where they do everything they can to give the advantage to the offense. To be able to shine as a pass-rushing defensive lineman, you have to be exceptional. J.J. is very special, obviously. There’s no one else like him anywhere.
Only a select group of players own the type of talent to even enter the conversation about the NFL's best defender. There are, however, a crop of young players coming into their own who are ready to displace some of the league's defensive stalwarts.
Bleacher Report has identified five of the up-and-comers—listed in reverse order from least to most likely—ready to take the next step in their careers, become elite defenders and potentially push Watt for defensive supremacy.
Usual Suspects
J.J. Watt may be in a class by himself, but there are those who aren't too far behind the talented Texan.
Darrelle Revis, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Justin Houston, Luke Kuechly, Ndamukong Suh, Patrick Peterson and Joe Haden already push Watt for the honor of being called the league's best defensive player.
Young linebackers such as the Seattle Seahawks' Bobby Wagner and Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Lavonte David also demand respect because of their play, which resulted in mega contracts for the pair this summer. Also, C.J. Mosley made an instant impact as a rookie after the Baltimore Ravens selected him with the 17th pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
But each of these individuals has already been named to an All-Pro team. Their excellence warrants attention as the usual suspects to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Each of the defenders chosen in this piece is still coming into his own as an elite defender. None of them have been named to an All-Pro team yet and have only been the league for three years or less.
The following are the shooting stars opposing offenses will plan around for the next decade. Their overall upside presents an opportunity to become better than the rest once it's all said and done.
5. S Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings
Safeties Earl Thomas and Eric Weddle are generally considered the best at their position. A third needs to be accounted for as the NFL's regular season approaches.
A year ago, the Minnesota Vikings' Harrison Smith proved to be one of the game's best all-around safeties. Pro Football Focus graded Smith as the second-best safety last season behind only Weddle.
Thomas and Weddle are generally known for their ability to play along the back line of defense as free safeties, whereas Smith can easily swap between free and strong safety due to his athleticism and aggressiveness against the run.
Head coach Mike Zimmer's system allows Smith the freedom to make plays all over the field.
"Playing in Coach Zimmer’s scheme, especially as a safety, is awesome," Smith said, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Mark Craig. "You get to play everywhere on the field and pretty much every role that a defender can have, you get to do at some point."
Basically, the safety is allowed to roam. This freedom provides opportunities to make plays based on the player's ability to read offenses quickly or react on a hunch based on film study. The Pittsburgh Steelers' Troy Polamalu and Baltimore Ravens' Ed Reed built Hall of Fame-caliber careers by taking advantage of this level of confidence from their respective coaches.
Obviously, Smith shouldn't be considered among the greats, but he's working toward becoming the NFL's top safety.
Everything goes hand in hand as Smith's representation attempts to negotiate a contract extension before the start of the season.
"Do I want to be the best safety in the league some day? Yes," Smith said. "Whether I become the highest-paid safety, there are a lot of things that can happen one way or the other with that."
Overall, the safety position has changed over the past decade.
There isn't always a clear delineation point between free and strong with today's emphasis on the passing game. Thus, safeties with both the ability to excel in coverage and be a legitimate presence against the run are rare and very valuable commodities.
Smith's athleticism, length and physicality set him apart from the pack.
4. CB Stephon Gilmore, Buffalo Bills
The situation in which a player is placed often dictates just how successful he can truly be, as certain schemes play to those individual's strengths better than others.
In Buffalo, the Bills will feature one of the most aggressive and talented defenses in the NFL. A deadly combination.
Head coach Rex Ryan, one of the NFL's best defensive minds, will oversee the unit and find ways to best utilize the available talent on the roster. Ryan already knows what he has in Gilmore.
"I think the young man has got a big upside, but he’s pretty darn good now," the head coach said, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site. "I think Gilmore is a young man who is getting ready to be mentioned with some of the better ones in the league."
And Gilmore believes he fits right into the hyper-aggressive defense:
I think this defense fits me as a player. It allows me to play how I want to play, get my hands on my receiver, no help sometimes, help sometimes. It’s going to give me a good opportunity to show what I can do.
The disguises they have for us now are more extreme. The opponent really doesn’t know what we’re in. Sometimes it looks like one thing and it ends up being something else so that’s going to help us out. As long as we work our disguises and they do what they do up front it’s going to allow me to play at a high level.
Ryan built one of the league's best defenses in New York based on the fact Darrelle Revis could take away the opposing team's best wide receiver. In essence, the scheme called upon 10 players to act in unison while Revis did his thing.
Gilmore will be used similarly. With a pressure-packed front four and a deep secondary, plenty of opportunities will arise for the fourth-year cornerback to make plays. And playing on one of the NFL's most talented defenses will go a long way toward helping him be recognized as one of the league's top cover corners.
"The guy’s an elite guy, no question about it," Ryan said, per the MMQB's Andy Benoit.
3. CB Desmond Trufant, Atlanta Falcons
Good players often get lost on bad teams. Atlanta Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant became a perfect example last season.
As the Falcons floundered to a 6-10 record, plenty of the blame fell at the feet of the team's defense. The unit finished 30th in sacks and dead last in both pass and total defense.
Considering how poor the Falcons defense was a year ago, it makes Trufant's play all that more impressive.
The 24-year-old cornerback finished sixth among 108 cornerbacks graded by Pro Football Focus last season. It's a rather amazing feat considering what little help Trufant received playing outside on an island. The one-time first-round pick dealt with poor safety play and was forced to cover longer because of the defensive front's inability to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks. And Trufant still finished among the league's best cornerbacks.
His level of play despite such circumstances is testament to his natural ability and overall potential. Very few cornerbacks display the same level of ball awareness and ability to drive on the football as Trufant.
Trufant should receive far more help this season because of the defensive overhaul orchestrated by new head coach Dan Quinn. The former defensive coordinator helped mold the Legion of Boom defense in Seattle before getting a shot to turn around the Falcons. Trufant will play the role of Richard Sherman in this version of the scheme.
The cornerback explained the differences between Mike Smith's and Quinn's defenses to ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure:
I think we were more of a multiple package last year [under Smith]. This year, it’s single high [safety concepts]. It’s primarily single high with a couple of switch-ups. There’s a lot of different rush packages. They switch the defensive line out. They have rushes, then they have run-stoppers. Both systems work, but this is what we’ve got going this year. It’s going to be good for us.
Trufant isn't as long as Sherman, but his 4.38-second 40-yard-dash speed certainly makes up for a lot of mistakes. Like in Seattle, the Falcons shouldn't have to worry about teams throwing to the right side of the field, because Trufant will lock down the left cornerback position. The entire defense will now be built around the young cornerback's immense talent.
2. LB Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders
Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press
The NFL has yet to experience the entire package from Oakland Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack, and that is a very scary proposition.
As a member of the Buffalo Bulls, Mack set an NCAA record with 75 tackles for loss during his career. The linebacker's ability to get into an opponent's backfield translated to the professional game.
They hybrid defender proved to be an absolute monster against the run during his rookie campaign. The fifth overall pick of the 2014 draft did his best impression of a brick wall by consistently setting the edge last season. Mack's 46.9 run grade from Pro Football Focus was the highest for any defensive player in the NFL by a rather large margin.
Mack is already one of the NFL's premier run defenders, but there is room for improvement regarding his ability to bring down opposing quarterbacks. The former All-American accumulated 28.5 career sacks in college, yet he only managed four as a first-year professional.
New defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. expects far more of Mack this fall, per the Contra Costa Times' Daniel Brown:
Everybody is saying how good he is and he got four sacks. I thought to myself, 'How many great players have four sacks?'
You have to get in double-digits. So he has a lot of growth to make. If they're thinking he's this good and he's done so little, imagine when he actually does what he's supposed to do?
Mack still led the team with 40 quarterback hurries. He simply needs to convert his disruptive presence into a higher sack total.
In order to become even more of a terror off the edge, Mack bulked up to nearly 270 pounds this offseason, even though the Raiders still list him at 252 pounds.
A linebacker with the ability to put his hand in the dirt and get after quarterbacks, the Raiders are placing Mack in a different position this season to improve his overall pass rush. He's slated to start at defensive end instead of strong-side linebacker. But head coach Jack Del Rio will keep all of his options open, per ESPN.com's Bill Williamson:
We’d like to keep him on the field. You end up—guys, no matter who you are, will typically get spelled occasionally. But he’s a guy that you definitely want on the field as often as possible. He’s a really good football player. He’s stout against the run. He rushes the quarterback. He does a lot of different things.
His conditioning will dictate that and then how hard and how many plays in a row we’re playing, and all those kinds of things, will be factored in. There are times when you need to give a guy a blow.
Once Mack finally puts everything together, his upside is limitless. An elite ability to play the run, combined with a higher sack total, will easily place him among the NFL's best.
Reed Hoffmann/Associated Press
Too short. Too small. Doesn't fit NFL schemes.
These knocks were placed on Aaron Donald during his senior season before he absolutely crushed the NFL draft process.
No one could question Donald's production or dominance as a member of the Pitt Panthers. As a senior, the defensive tackle recorded 28.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks on his way to winning the Outland Trophy, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Rotary Lombardi Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award and ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
The 6'0", 285-pound defender proved to be unblockable at the Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and his combine workout in Indianapolis blew everyone away—he ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash and lifted 225 pounds 35 times on bench press.
Size matters not for Donald. He might not possess an archetypal body for his position, but he said in an interview with USA Today that his height is an advantage:
It’s a bonus for me to have the leverage. When you’re double-teamed by two guys that are 300-plus pounds, it’s important for me to get low and use my technique. It’s important for me to get up under those guys and push up to control them.
Having that first step, using my natural instincts, and keeping my hands inside; it allows me to get that guy that’s over top of me. I don’t worry about the [offensive] tackle. If he’s trying to come down on me, I use my hands, push them up and dip my shoulder. It’s hard for a guy to come down and get a block if you pushing back the other lineman.
Donald's dominance continued at the NFL level. As a rookie, the defensive tackle finished second on the team with 29 quarterback hurries and nine sacks despite not starting the first four games.
Pro Football Focus even graded the Pitt product as the NFL's best defensive tackle last season.
Donald's combination of first-step quickness, leverage, athleticism and strength is unparalleled, which allows him to regularly create havoc in opposing backfields.
Now, it's too bad for quarterbacks and running backs that NFL offensive linemen will struggle to block Donald throughout his career.
5 Players Ready to Challenge J.J. Watt as NFL's Top Defender
By Brent Sobleski, NFL Analyst Aug 29, 2015
Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is the NFL's best defender. One can easily argue he's the NFL's best overall player. He's the kind of wrecking ball that hasn't been seen since the late, great Reggie White roamed the field.
The NFL, though, remains in a constant state of competition with numerous players aiming to be considered the best of the best.
It won't be an easy task to dethrone Watt. Former NFL quarterback and current television analyst Joe Theismann summed it up nicely, per the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson:
J.J. reminds me of guys like [Lawrence Taylor], like Reggie White, like Kevin Greene.
What J.J. has accomplished is even more special in this day and age where they do everything they can to give the advantage to the offense. To be able to shine as a pass-rushing defensive lineman, you have to be exceptional. J.J. is very special, obviously. There’s no one else like him anywhere.
Only a select group of players own the type of talent to even enter the conversation about the NFL's best defender. There are, however, a crop of young players coming into their own who are ready to displace some of the league's defensive stalwarts.
Bleacher Report has identified five of the up-and-comers—listed in reverse order from least to most likely—ready to take the next step in their careers, become elite defenders and potentially push Watt for defensive supremacy.
Usual Suspects
J.J. Watt may be in a class by himself, but there are those who aren't too far behind the talented Texan.
Darrelle Revis, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Justin Houston, Luke Kuechly, Ndamukong Suh, Patrick Peterson and Joe Haden already push Watt for the honor of being called the league's best defensive player.
Young linebackers such as the Seattle Seahawks' Bobby Wagner and Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Lavonte David also demand respect because of their play, which resulted in mega contracts for the pair this summer. Also, C.J. Mosley made an instant impact as a rookie after the Baltimore Ravens selected him with the 17th pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
But each of these individuals has already been named to an All-Pro team. Their excellence warrants attention as the usual suspects to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Each of the defenders chosen in this piece is still coming into his own as an elite defender. None of them have been named to an All-Pro team yet and have only been the league for three years or less.
The following are the shooting stars opposing offenses will plan around for the next decade. Their overall upside presents an opportunity to become better than the rest once it's all said and done.
5. S Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings
Safeties Earl Thomas and Eric Weddle are generally considered the best at their position. A third needs to be accounted for as the NFL's regular season approaches.
A year ago, the Minnesota Vikings' Harrison Smith proved to be one of the game's best all-around safeties. Pro Football Focus graded Smith as the second-best safety last season behind only Weddle.
Thomas and Weddle are generally known for their ability to play along the back line of defense as free safeties, whereas Smith can easily swap between free and strong safety due to his athleticism and aggressiveness against the run.
Head coach Mike Zimmer's system allows Smith the freedom to make plays all over the field.
"Playing in Coach Zimmer’s scheme, especially as a safety, is awesome," Smith said, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Mark Craig. "You get to play everywhere on the field and pretty much every role that a defender can have, you get to do at some point."
Basically, the safety is allowed to roam. This freedom provides opportunities to make plays based on the player's ability to read offenses quickly or react on a hunch based on film study. The Pittsburgh Steelers' Troy Polamalu and Baltimore Ravens' Ed Reed built Hall of Fame-caliber careers by taking advantage of this level of confidence from their respective coaches.
Obviously, Smith shouldn't be considered among the greats, but he's working toward becoming the NFL's top safety.
Everything goes hand in hand as Smith's representation attempts to negotiate a contract extension before the start of the season.
"Do I want to be the best safety in the league some day? Yes," Smith said. "Whether I become the highest-paid safety, there are a lot of things that can happen one way or the other with that."
Overall, the safety position has changed over the past decade.
There isn't always a clear delineation point between free and strong with today's emphasis on the passing game. Thus, safeties with both the ability to excel in coverage and be a legitimate presence against the run are rare and very valuable commodities.
Smith's athleticism, length and physicality set him apart from the pack.
4. CB Stephon Gilmore, Buffalo Bills
The situation in which a player is placed often dictates just how successful he can truly be, as certain schemes play to those individual's strengths better than others.
In Buffalo, the Bills will feature one of the most aggressive and talented defenses in the NFL. A deadly combination.
Head coach Rex Ryan, one of the NFL's best defensive minds, will oversee the unit and find ways to best utilize the available talent on the roster. Ryan already knows what he has in Gilmore.
"I think the young man has got a big upside, but he’s pretty darn good now," the head coach said, Chris Brown of the Bills' official site. "I think Gilmore is a young man who is getting ready to be mentioned with some of the better ones in the league."
And Gilmore believes he fits right into the hyper-aggressive defense:
I think this defense fits me as a player. It allows me to play how I want to play, get my hands on my receiver, no help sometimes, help sometimes. It’s going to give me a good opportunity to show what I can do.
The disguises they have for us now are more extreme. The opponent really doesn’t know what we’re in. Sometimes it looks like one thing and it ends up being something else so that’s going to help us out. As long as we work our disguises and they do what they do up front it’s going to allow me to play at a high level.
Ryan built one of the league's best defenses in New York based on the fact Darrelle Revis could take away the opposing team's best wide receiver. In essence, the scheme called upon 10 players to act in unison while Revis did his thing.
Gilmore will be used similarly. With a pressure-packed front four and a deep secondary, plenty of opportunities will arise for the fourth-year cornerback to make plays. And playing on one of the NFL's most talented defenses will go a long way toward helping him be recognized as one of the league's top cover corners.
"The guy’s an elite guy, no question about it," Ryan said, per the MMQB's Andy Benoit.
3. CB Desmond Trufant, Atlanta Falcons
Good players often get lost on bad teams. Atlanta Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant became a perfect example last season.
As the Falcons floundered to a 6-10 record, plenty of the blame fell at the feet of the team's defense. The unit finished 30th in sacks and dead last in both pass and total defense.
Considering how poor the Falcons defense was a year ago, it makes Trufant's play all that more impressive.
The 24-year-old cornerback finished sixth among 108 cornerbacks graded by Pro Football Focus last season. It's a rather amazing feat considering what little help Trufant received playing outside on an island. The one-time first-round pick dealt with poor safety play and was forced to cover longer because of the defensive front's inability to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks. And Trufant still finished among the league's best cornerbacks.
His level of play despite such circumstances is testament to his natural ability and overall potential. Very few cornerbacks display the same level of ball awareness and ability to drive on the football as Trufant.
Trufant should receive far more help this season because of the defensive overhaul orchestrated by new head coach Dan Quinn. The former defensive coordinator helped mold the Legion of Boom defense in Seattle before getting a shot to turn around the Falcons. Trufant will play the role of Richard Sherman in this version of the scheme.
The cornerback explained the differences between Mike Smith's and Quinn's defenses to ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure:
I think we were more of a multiple package last year [under Smith]. This year, it’s single high [safety concepts]. It’s primarily single high with a couple of switch-ups. There’s a lot of different rush packages. They switch the defensive line out. They have rushes, then they have run-stoppers. Both systems work, but this is what we’ve got going this year. It’s going to be good for us.
Trufant isn't as long as Sherman, but his 4.38-second 40-yard-dash speed certainly makes up for a lot of mistakes. Like in Seattle, the Falcons shouldn't have to worry about teams throwing to the right side of the field, because Trufant will lock down the left cornerback position. The entire defense will now be built around the young cornerback's immense talent.
2. LB Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders
Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press
The NFL has yet to experience the entire package from Oakland Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack, and that is a very scary proposition.
As a member of the Buffalo Bulls, Mack set an NCAA record with 75 tackles for loss during his career. The linebacker's ability to get into an opponent's backfield translated to the professional game.
They hybrid defender proved to be an absolute monster against the run during his rookie campaign. The fifth overall pick of the 2014 draft did his best impression of a brick wall by consistently setting the edge last season. Mack's 46.9 run grade from Pro Football Focus was the highest for any defensive player in the NFL by a rather large margin.
Mack is already one of the NFL's premier run defenders, but there is room for improvement regarding his ability to bring down opposing quarterbacks. The former All-American accumulated 28.5 career sacks in college, yet he only managed four as a first-year professional.
New defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. expects far more of Mack this fall, per the Contra Costa Times' Daniel Brown:
Everybody is saying how good he is and he got four sacks. I thought to myself, 'How many great players have four sacks?'
You have to get in double-digits. So he has a lot of growth to make. If they're thinking he's this good and he's done so little, imagine when he actually does what he's supposed to do?
Mack still led the team with 40 quarterback hurries. He simply needs to convert his disruptive presence into a higher sack total.
In order to become even more of a terror off the edge, Mack bulked up to nearly 270 pounds this offseason, even though the Raiders still list him at 252 pounds.
A linebacker with the ability to put his hand in the dirt and get after quarterbacks, the Raiders are placing Mack in a different position this season to improve his overall pass rush. He's slated to start at defensive end instead of strong-side linebacker. But head coach Jack Del Rio will keep all of his options open, per ESPN.com's Bill Williamson:
We’d like to keep him on the field. You end up—guys, no matter who you are, will typically get spelled occasionally. But he’s a guy that you definitely want on the field as often as possible. He’s a really good football player. He’s stout against the run. He rushes the quarterback. He does a lot of different things.
His conditioning will dictate that and then how hard and how many plays in a row we’re playing, and all those kinds of things, will be factored in. There are times when you need to give a guy a blow.
Once Mack finally puts everything together, his upside is limitless. An elite ability to play the run, combined with a higher sack total, will easily place him among the NFL's best.
1. DT Aaron Donald, St. Louis Rams
Reed Hoffmann/Associated Press
Too short. Too small. Doesn't fit NFL schemes.
These knocks were placed on Aaron Donald during his senior season before he absolutely crushed the NFL draft process.
No one could question Donald's production or dominance as a member of the Pitt Panthers. As a senior, the defensive tackle recorded 28.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks on his way to winning the Outland Trophy, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Rotary Lombardi Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award and ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
The 6'0", 285-pound defender proved to be unblockable at the Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and his combine workout in Indianapolis blew everyone away—he ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash and lifted 225 pounds 35 times on bench press.
Size matters not for Donald. He might not possess an archetypal body for his position, but he said in an interview with USA Today that his height is an advantage:
It’s a bonus for me to have the leverage. When you’re double-teamed by two guys that are 300-plus pounds, it’s important for me to get low and use my technique. It’s important for me to get up under those guys and push up to control them.
Having that first step, using my natural instincts, and keeping my hands inside; it allows me to get that guy that’s over top of me. I don’t worry about the [offensive] tackle. If he’s trying to come down on me, I use my hands, push them up and dip my shoulder. It’s hard for a guy to come down and get a block if you pushing back the other lineman.
Donald's dominance continued at the NFL level. As a rookie, the defensive tackle finished second on the team with 29 quarterback hurries and nine sacks despite not starting the first four games.
Pro Football Focus even graded the Pitt product as the NFL's best defensive tackle last season.
Donald's combination of first-step quickness, leverage, athleticism and strength is unparalleled, which allows him to regularly create havoc in opposing backfields.
Now, it's too bad for quarterbacks and running backs that NFL offensive linemen will struggle to block Donald throughout his career.
