As football players and fans alike await the beginning of the quickly approaching NFL season, it seems as appropriate of a time as ever to preview how Pack Pros are shaping up on defensive lines league-wide.
With NC State expanding its player pool in the NFL each year, churning out some great pro talents in recent history, the defensive line holds plenty of depth as it pertains to former wearers of the red and white.
Bradley Chubb, Linebacker, Denver Broncos
While Bradley Chubb doesn’t see much time as a member of the defensive line nowadays, his utility as an edge rusher and playmaker on the line warrants his inclusion in this preview. Selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Chubb has risen to stardom in the league and shows no signs of slowing his improvement.
Chubb’s 2020 season was his best yet, making his first Pro Bowl as well as his first appearance on a first team All-Pro roster. Last season, Chubb amassed 42 combined tackles, nine tackles for loss, 19 QB hits, and 7.5 sacks. Chubb also got some experience being the centerpiece of a defense in a year where future Hall-of-Famer Von Miller was sidelined for the entire year due to injury.
With Miller’s return in 2021, expect for Chubb to perform even better than he did in 2020 as it will be almost impossible for offenses to scheme around both of them. The alleviated pressure of being the only star in Denver’s pass rush will only benefit Chubb’s production, which was already through the roof as the lone striker in the Broncos’ defense. Barring injury, Chubb is set up to have a monster year this season, on top of being a member of one of the better defenses league-wide.
Alim McNeill, Defensive Tackle, Detroit Lions
One of the newest members of the Pack Pros family, Alim McNeill is preparing for his first season as a Detroit Lion. Selected with pick No. 72 in round three of the 2021 NFL draft, the Lions hold high hopes for McNeill as they enter the post-Matthew-Stafford era.
McNeill stands at 6-foot-2 and with him weighing in at around 330 pounds, he is an absolute force to be reckoned with. His height, however, did draw some concern from combine analysts and scouts, claiming that his lack of length would hinder his ability to make tackles out of a block as well as shedding blocks in general.
Despite whatever concerns the scouts may have, McNeill proved himself as a stud at the college level during his time with the Pack. Amassing 77 total tackles with 17.5 for loss, as well as 10 sacks during his three seasons in the red-and-white, McNeill has a resume that shows promise for his career in the NFL.
B.J. Hill, Defensive Tackle, New York Giants
B.J. Hill is getting ready to enter the fourth year of his NFL career, where he has asserted himself as a solid option off the bench for a Giants team that was in playoff contention all the way up until the last game of the regular season.
Hill was drafted with pick No. 69 in the 2018 NFL Draft, and in the season following the draft he was given plenty of opportunities to prove himself to the Giants organization. Making appearances in 16 games and starting in 12 of them during the 2018 season, Hill recorded 48 combined tackles with six for loss, as well as eight QB hits. His stat line during his first year wouldn’t be enough to keep him on the starting roster, as his usage has dropped in every season since his first year.
In this past year, Hill made an appearance in all 16 games for the Giants but accumulated zero starts, tallying 32 combined tackles with two for loss, as well as three QB hits. If the past is any indication of the future, the continued improvement of the Giants defense is only going to continue to push Hill off of the field. His performance during this coming season could very well serve as either a resurgence for his career, or the nail in his coffin when he is attempting to sign a new contract.
Justin Jones, Defensive Tackle, Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Jones was also drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft with pick No. 84 and has established himself as a key piece to the Chargers defense in the time since. Jones’ career has had an opposite flow than that of B.J. Hill in the sense that his usage continues to improve as the years go on.
Jones made an appearance in 15 games his rookie season, totaling 17 combined tackles with one QB hit. He has made 12 starts in each season since his first year, with 12 games played in 2019 and 13 appearances made this past season. Over his career, Jones has accumulated 81 combined tackles with seven tackles for loss, as well as eight QB hits.
Those familiar with Chargers teams over the past few years would know that their defenses have been among the least dominant in the league. Their 426 points allowed in the league last season ranked them at No. 23 in the league, signifying the mediocrity of that side of the ball for the team. Regardless of how the team fares against NFL offenses, Los Angeles has been a great place for Jones to grow as a player without the pressure of having to maintain any sort of defensive mastery.
With the Chargers sporting one of the best young quarterbacks in NFL History, the team will have some more pressure on it this coming season to be more successful than its 7-9 finish last year. Majority of that pressure will fall on the defense to pick up the slack it left out last season, as Justin Herbert will be tasked to lead one of the more exciting offenses in pro football this year. Jones will have to contribute to that growth just as much as any other starter on the Chargers squad if they want to have a chance at making an impact in one of the more challenging divisions in football, the AFC West.
James Smith-Williams, Defensive End, Washington Football Team
Drafted with pick No. 229 in the 2020 NFL draft, James Smith-Williams joined one of, if not the, most surprising defenses in the league this past season. As a member of the Washington Football Team last year, Smith-Williams accumulated 10 total tackles and three stuffs during the regular season, as well as a single tackle in Washington’s lone playoff game against the eventual champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Despite having one of the worst offenses in the league statistically in the 2020 season, Washington ranked No. 2 in total defense last year. This came as a surprise to many who had written Washington off as a nonfactor in the league during its first year under its new head coach Ron Rivera, who always made it a point that this team would be a constant work in progress.
That situation has worked out perfectly for Smith-Williams, who was able to join an environment centered around growth rather than immediate success. As that mindset carries into this year, Washington will look to continue developing its young, but dominant defense and Smith-Williams is poised to benefit from it. Expect for him to make a splash coming off of the bench, providing great utility to such a young defensive core.
Kentavius Street, Defensive End, San Francisco 49ers
Kentavius Street joined the San Francisco 49ers in 2018, following his selection at No. 128 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. Street joined one of the best defenses in football during the 2019 season, who were good enough to lead the 49ers all the way to the super bowl where they would eventually fall to the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs.
In that 2019 Super Bowl run, Street wasn’t given much opportunity to see the field on such an established defense. That season, he totaled four combined tackles with one tackle for loss in three appearances. While most would agree that the “Super Bowl hangover” tends to affect the winning team, it was quite the opposite in 2020 where the Chiefs made it back to the final game and the 49ers suffered a 6-10 season plagued by injuries.
Those injuries paved a path for Street to see more time on the field, appearing in 15 games in the 2020 season and starting two of them. In that time, he posted 11 combined tackles with one tackle for loss, an improvement over his rookie year. With the majority of San Francisco’s injured players returning from injury for the beginning of the 2021 season, it’s expected that Street’s role will see a reduction similar to his rookie year. Don’t expect that to stop him from trying to make a name for himself, however, as year three proves pivotal in the long-term success of any NFL career.
T.Y. McGill, Defensive Tackle, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagle T.Y. McGill is entering his seventh season as a pro football player and his second consecutive season with the Eagles. Up to this point, McGill has served as a journeyman in the league, never remaining with one team for more than two years in a row. With that lack of stability in his environment comes a lack of consistency in his play, totaling more than 10 combined tackles only once in his career in 2015.
Last season with the Eagles, McGill tallied nine combined tackles with one tackle for loss, as well as three QB hits and 0.5 sacks. Despite his appearance in seven games during the 2020 season, his highest since 2016, McGill is not expected to make any sort of jump in his quality of play. However, with Philadelphia entering the post-Carson-Wentz era and a small rebuild since its 2018 Super Bowl, McGill’s experience around the league will prove useful to teaching young defensemen about life in the NFL.
Larrell Murchison, Defensive Tackle, Tennessee Titans
Selected with pick No. 174 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, Larrell Murchison joined a sporadic Titans defense that is still looking for its identity in the league. Despite having one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL, led by one of the best running backs of this generation, the Titans defense has held them back from the postseason successes they would have achieved in the past couple of years.
Murchison was picked up by the Titans in the draft following their 2019 season where the team made it all the way to the AFC Championship. The Tennessee defense letting up 28 straight Kansas City points would be its downfall, sending the Titans home earlier than they would have liked. In his first year, Murchison made appearances in 10 games, accumulating five total tackles with one tackle for loss. Murchison certainly still has a lot to prove if he hopes to retain his spot on this roster in the years to come, but a struggling Titans defense will continue to give him the opportunity to do so.
