Positional Pre-Draft Rankings of the All-22 Era (DEFENSE)
Every year, we look at a class of prospects and struggle to contextualize the significance of one class against others. I’ve taken a shot at doing just that. To rank the top prospects per position of the 2023 class against the top prospects of the All-22 era, which is now 2020 - 2023. In an attempt to keep things even, I’ve based my rankings on the data at hand, on post-combine and pre-draft information. In short, these rankings are primarily based on college film and production, combine workouts, and pre-draft news. These rankings exclude the round the prospect was drafted, and which team drafted them. Situation will always play an important role in final rankings which is why I am choosing to exclude that information since the data for the 2023 class is not yet available. As a bonus, if you see an “e” next to a player’s name that means I think of them as elite— in a class of their own.
DEFENSIVE INTERIOR
Jalen Carter leads a diverse group of Defensive Interiors for the class of ‘23. While others like Kancey and Bresee have more than one ways to win, Carter holds all the cards. His quickness at the snap and pure power is the best combination I’ve seen since Ndamukong Suh.
Speaking first to his quickness, Carter’s first step on stunts is good enough to blow past Guards and his instincts make it seem like he has the Offenses play script written on the back of his eyelids. His play strength is unparalleled. If he chooses not to beat you to the hole with his speed, he will just roll you over with his bull rush. Watch some of his tape against Tennessee and try and remember that the guys blocking him will also be drafted this year.
At just 20 yrs old in ‘21, Carter was the best player on an all-decade - National Championship-winning - Defense that included five 1st round picks. One of them was the #1 pick, Travon Walker. In ‘22 he continued his dominance and led a less star-studded defense to another National Championship all while improving his already impressive Run Defensive Grading by over 11 points.
In any year Carter would be a legitimate threat for the #1 pick but serious off-field concerns will certainly hold him back.
Edge
It is a great year to need the second most valuable position in All-22. Edge is my favorite position of the ‘23 class with 7 guys earning a spot in the top 15. Will Anderson leads the group. Anderson plays like an underdog even though he has been on the map since his freshman year. He is a high-motor player that treats every snap like there is someone coming for his job. His play has all the things I like for an elite player. He has a terrific balance of run-stopping ability and pass-rush moves. I ultimately decided not to put an “e” next to his name because his frame is slightly smaller than the guys I would put my name on.
Anderson is coming out as a junior after three starting seasons for Alabama. As mentioned, he has been a problem since his Freshman season where he finished 3rd in hurries. He only improved from there leading the country his Sophomore year with 56 more. During his senior season, I saw him work on a more complete pass rush and it helped him achieve his highest PRSH grade of 85.8. He also led the country in sacks with 14.
Linebacker
I hear a lot of shade being thrown at this LB class. Maybe I am alone in my position, but I think there are some very intriguing prospects. Two of them I have as my 2nd and 3rd at the position (falling short of an all-time elite - Micah Parsons).
Jack Campbell is an old-school instinctual linebacker that comes downhill fast and hits with everything he has. Just watch him drag S. Dakota State’s RB into the end zone for a safety. It reminded me of the old-school NFL Films highlights of Dick Butkus I watched as a kid. Campbell is brutal in his play and disciplined in his game. He is patient in his reads and keeps gap integrity. He rarely over-pursues and comes hard when he commits to making a play against the run.
He plays the pass even better. He is fantastic at getting where he needs to be quick. Against Ohio State’s CJ Stroud, he had a zone coverage interception where he covered flat to curl and came up with an almost one-handed interception 15 yards from the LOS.
Iowa rarely plays underclassmen so Campbell only had two years to showcase what he could do. In those two years, he left his mark. In his junior season he played over 900 snaps and in his senior season he had an 87 RDEF Grade and a 92.9 COV grade. His coverage grade was first among all Linebackers.
Campbell is a big dude at 6’5” and 250lbs and still did well on his athletic testing. He finished above the 90th percentile in the 3-cone and broad jump.
CORNERBACK
This year's Corner class lacks the high-end talent that we’ve seen the last couple of years with Sauce, Surtain, Horn, and Stingley coming out. What it lacks in elite talent it makes up for in depth. Six prospects make my top fifteen, starting with Christian Gonzalez at number five. Gonzalez started his career at Colorado. As a sophomore, his 72.4 COV grade represented his good, not great, play. He failed to pick the ball off until he moved to Oregon for his Junior year, where he did so 4x. His Junior year showed a much more developed game. He is a smooth man cover corner with press skills, route-matching ability, and hip sink. Did I mention he is smooth? He ran a 4.38 40 that looked like he was shooting a scene for Hollywood. He was above the 90th percentile on Vert and Broad jumps too. You see that twitch on film. I believe it will convert to more turnovers in the NFL as he continues to develop. And Oh, by the way, he is still 20 yrs old.
Safety
Of all the great talent in this year’s draft on the Defensive side of the ball, there is little to be seen at Safety after a deep 2022 class. Brian Branch is my #1 for this year’s group.
Branch is a tough, hard-nosed, and instinctual Saftey with Bubba Baker vibes. The biggest strength I see in his game is his positional flexibility. Branch is a chess piece. He played 569 snaps in the slot and 136 in the box. Branch’s 86.4 COV grade was good for 22nd and his 90.7 RDEF finished 3rd.
On film, I see a guy that loves being around the ball. Branch comes downhill fast to play the run, loves to apply his big hit ability whenever the opportunity arises, and will go after any ball thrown in his vicinity with gusto. He is the type of violent player that @All22_Ray should love.
With all of the positives to his game, it’s right to ask why I don’t have him higher. And it comes down to his size/athletic profile. Branch was below average at almost every athletic test at the combine and at 5’11” and 190lbs I needed to see more.
Want to hear about someone in specific? Don’t agree with my analysis? Let me know in the comments.
