In today’s NFL, after decades of trailing their teammates who play on the outside in pressuring the quarterback, interior linemen now have the inside track on generating sacks.
Led by defensive tackle Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams and his 19.5 sacks, interior linemen are seeing a resurgence in their sack numbers this season.
The last time an interior player like Donald led the league in sacks was in 2000 when La’Roi Glover, a defensive tackle, did it by racking up 17 for the New Orleans Saints.
Interior player Chris Jones is second in the NFL with 15.5 sacks and many more inside rushers like the San Francisco 49ers’ DeForest Buckner, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Geno Atkins, the Indianapolis Colts’ Denico Autry, the Seattle Seahawks’ Jarran Reed, and the New Orleans Saints’ Sheldon Rankins are up there in sacks and all rank in the top 25.
That’s a stark contrast to just seven years ago in 2011 when not a single tackle or nose tackle appeared in the top 25 of the sacks list.
The biggest reason for that, besides talented players like Donald having the ability to overcome the double-teams and chips, is coaches have realized they need to let their pass rushers loose in order to rein in elite passers.
“Passing is at such a high premium now, with Mahomes throwing a gazillion touchdowns, that coaches have lightened up on the way they’re teaching,” according to former player and current NFL Network analyst Akbar Gbaja-Biamila. “They’re allowing more freedom to defensive tackles.”
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