New York Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence is the NFL’s highest-graded defender through 14 weeks and is now considered in the Aaron Donald class.
In fact, some have begun to argue that Lawrence has eclipsed Donald as the league’s best interior defender.
PFF compares Dexter Lawrence to Aaron Donald:
"The battle between Dexter Lawrence and Aaron Donald rages on.
Lawrence currently leads Donald and all other defensive interior linemen with a 92.9 grade." pic.twitter.com/twXgGGFIZE
— Gridiron Media (@Gridiron_Media_) December 13, 2023
Lawrence’s Pro Football Focus grade is actually up to 93.2 and he leads San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bos (93.1) by a hair.
Even beyond the analytics, Lawrence’s dominance is evident. You can turn on the film of any Giants game this season, pick any random defensive snap and the odds are very much in your favor that you’ll witness Sexy Dexy destroying someone. Or perhaps even multiple blockers.
Dexter Lawrence throws two Packers to the side…the guy is a maniac on the field. pic.twitter.com/7DN6qp8p0Y
— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) December 12, 2023
Despite his utter domination of everything across from him and every single metric supporting what the film shows, NFL fans aren’t sold. Not even a tiny bit.
With fan voting for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games inching closer to its deadline (December 25), Lawrence isn’t among the top vote-getters. Even worse, he’s not even among the top 10 at his position in the NFC.
“Dexter Lawrence not being in there doesn’t make any sense to me. Dex is one of the most dominant defensive players in the league. Him not being in there, you’ve got to do better Giants fans, for sure,” running back Saquon Barkley told the New York Daily News.
Similarly, Barkley is also outside the top vote-getters at his position in the NFC.
“I can get why I’m not in the top 10, missing three games, and there are a lot of backs that are playing well, and it’s the first round of it,” Barkley said.
Four Giants are in the top 10 at their position, however. And that includes a newcomer from the previous update: Special teamer Nick McCloud.
McCloud is fourth in the NFL and third in the NFC in special teams votes. Meanwhile, punter Jamie Gillan is fourth in the NFL and second in the NFC, linebacker Bobby Okereke is seventh in the NFL and second in the NFC, and edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux is fifth in the NFL and third in the NFC.
Once fan voting concludes, NFL players and coaches will then cast their Pro Bowl votes, accounting for two-thirds of the total vote.
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