Today’s NFL is about two things above all else — creating and defending explosive plays. In the effort to defend explosive plays, defenses align their pass-rushers all over the line of scrimmage in everything from stunts off of base fronts to overload fronts, where offensive linemen have to adjust more than they’d like to against numbers that don’t work for them.
Anything to get to the quarterback as quickly as possible.
Still, quarterback disruption is about more than just scheme — you also have to have a certain number of guys with the right tools and traits to blow things up from every gap.
In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) get into the traits needed to get after the quarterback from every gap — from 0-tech (right over the center) to wide-9 (far outside the offensive tackle).
Greg and Doug spent this week’s “Xs and Os” building the ideal defensive line with those specific traits, and here, we drill down to the best pass-rushers in the 2022 season from every gap. Who does it best, and what are the tools needed to do it?
You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:
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(All metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise specified).
0-Tech/1-Tech: Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants
0-tech players, who alight right over the center, and 1-tech players, who are in the gap between the center and a guard, are obviously required to use speed and power to get through all that mass to the quarterback.
“Normally, the guys we think of as the best at those positions, and there are exceptions, but they’re usually more run players than pass players,” Greg said. “Obviously, Quinnen Williams doesn’t come off the field [on passing downs]. Jeffery Simmons doesn’t come off the field. Dexter Lawrence had an unbelievable year last year, just with bull-rushing — just driving the center into the quarterback. There aren’t 100 of those guys. But normally, when you think of 0-techniques and 1-techniques, you think more in terms of playing the run.
“Keep in mind that we’re also seeing more “tite” fronts — 3-0-3 fronts and 4-0-4 fronts, meaning that we’re seeing two 3-techniques and a zero, or two four-techniques and a zero as part of a five-man front. So, having a 0-technique or a 1-technique who can control the center and win one-on-one versus the center, or if he’s being double-teamed by a down block from the guard as well as the center… he’ll either stalemate that, where he doesn’t get pushed back, or he’ll defeat it. And that’s where I think of those 0-techniques more than anything else — their ability to control their gap.”
Last season, Lawrence wasn’t just the most productive pass-rusher from over the center or to the center’s shoulder — he was the most productive by an absolutely crushing margin. Last season, from 0- and 1-tech, Lawrence had one solo sack, three assisted sacks, 34 quarterback hits, 30 quarterback hurries. Those 47 total pressures ranked first in the NFL by more than twice as much as No.2 on the list — Vita Vea of the Buccaneers with 18.
Lawrence has become such a dangerous interior pass-rusher because he combines formidable size (6-foot-4, 342 pounds) with speed to and through the pocket you’d expect from a man 40 pounds lighter.
On this sack of Washington’s Taylor Heinicke in Week 13, Lawrence had no trouble controlling and displacing the Commanders’ center and right guard at the same time. This is an example of a guy just bombing the inside of an offensive line, which Lawrence does more often and better than anyone else in the NFL from these positions.
2-Tech/2i: Quinnen Williams, New York Jets
When looking at 2-tech and 2i players, who work head over the guard and to the guard’s inside shoulder, strength and speed are equal requirements.
“In an ideal world, you need to be country-strong,” Greg said. “You need to move people. There’s nothing wrong with being quick as well — I think that Quinnen Williams and Jeffery Simmons have what makes people great at those positions, which is a combination of both. But in tight areas, you need the ability to control and displace [an offensive lineman]. Because you don’t have space on one side, like an edge-rusher does. You have to create your own space, and in order to do that, you need to control the man in front of you, and displace him.”
Control and displacement again, and here, we bring up the aforementioned Quinnen Williams as the ideal for these positions. Last season, Williams totaled five solo sacks, one half-sack, nine quarterback hits, and eight quarterback hurries from the 2 and 2i spots.
On this sack of Josh Allen in Week 14, Williams started against Bills left guard Rodger Saffold with the bull-rush, and he then went to the killer rip move to get to the pocket. When you have that combination of strength, speed, and technique, you are a very dangerous individual.
3-Tech: Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
3-technique players, who do their business on the guard’s outside shoulders, are the money guys among interior defensive linemen. This is the position where you’re generally getting the best and most cracks at the quarterback, and this is where you find the most popular and disruptive inside guys.
“Burst off the snap would be something you really want to start with,” Greg said of the requirements to take that responsibility. “Because you’re shooting into a gap, and you want to force the offensive lineman to be in a reactive position right off the snap of the ball, as opposed to proactive. You want him to really move his feet quickly, and now we’re talking about guards, who normally aren’t as light on their feet as offensive tackles are. You as a gap player are in a proactive position.
“That’s why… there are so many different fronts now in the NFL, but the basic one is what a lot of people call a ‘Jet front.’ That has two 3-techniques, and two wide-9s. There are other things to it as we know, but that’s the basic third-down pass-rushing front.”
Last season, Aaron Donald was working through some injuries, and though he’s still the standard at the position, Chris Jones of the Chiefs was the NFL’s most disruptive 3-tech. He had six solo sacks, six combined sacks, 18 quarterback hits, and 29 quarterback hurries from the 3-tech spot. Jones has the quickness to get through gaps, but his particular specialty is his ability to counter/club and pull/slide offensive linemen — he’s a master at pulling blockers in, and then moving them out of the way.
On this sack of the Chargers’ Justin Herbert in Week 11, Jones worked left guard Matt Feiler inside, and then swiped him out of the way. Jones’ knack for engaging and releasing is pretty special.
4-Tech/4i: J.J. Watt, Arizona Cardinals
4-tech and 4i pass-rushers — here, you’re working right over the tackle, or to the tackle’s inside shoulder — must encompass a hybrid phase to win. You’re ideally as quick as an edge-defender to a point, but you also need actual strength as opposed to just speed-to-power stuff.
“Now, you’re getting into whether you’re head-up on someone, or whether you’re in a gap,” Greg said of 4 and 4i. “In a gap is different than being head-up, because if you’re head-up on someone, unless you’re slanting or part of a stunt, there are two different elements. If you’re a gap player, you can shoot into what is essentially a little bit of an opening. If you’re head-up over an offensive lineman, you’re going right into another human being. Those are two different ways to rush the quarterback, and two different thought processes in attacking those guys.”
Nobody was more productive last season in working those two thought processes than J.J. Watt, who has apparently taken a job with CBS Sports after his retirement. Full marks to Mr. Watt in the post-football transition, but you almost wonder about at least one more season, because the future first-ballot Hall of Famer was ridiculous in these alignments. Watt had eight solo sacks from either 4 or 4i — Fletcher Cox and Milton Williams of the Eagles, and Morgan Fox of the Chargers, tied for second with four. Watt also had one assisted sack, 14 quarterback hits, and 13 quarterback hurries from these alignments.
One of the problems in blocking Watt from a 4i alignment? He could start on your tackle’s inside shoulder, and burn it all the way inside to the center’s left shoulder for the sack. The Broncos experienced this phenomenon in Week 15, to Brett Rypien’s great detriment.
5-Tech: Denico Autry, Tennessee Titans
5-tech rushers, who do their work right outside the tackle’s outside shoulder, also have to present hybrid skills — because as Greg said, the closer you are to the big guys trying to stop you from killing their quarterback, the tougher it is to just pin your ears back with nothing else in your toolbox.
“The closer you are to the offensive line, the less space you have. Pass-rushers who are quick and fast, they want a runway. They want space. That’s where you get a lot of speed-to-power off the edge from guys who are 240 pounds, who you wouldn’t necessarily think could win with strength and power against 320-pound offensive tackles. But when they have a long runway, they’re able to generate velocity and speed.
“The closer you are to the offensive line, the more you have to win with your hands. The more you have to win with short-area quickness. You don’t have a runway to generate velocity and speed, so it becomes more of a hand-fighting game — more of a short-area quickness game. Those are the things you look for — can you win in a confined space?”
Kansas City’s George Karlaftis was the most disruptive pass-rusher from the five-tech alignment, but as we’re about to discuss Mr. Karlaftis in the next panel, I want to discuss the efforts of Denico Autry of the Titans, perhaps the most underrated pass-rusher in the NFL. Autry had two solo sacks, two combined sacks, three quarterback hits, and three quarterback hurries as a 5-tech on just 79 pass-rushing snaps there. Which is another reason we want to feature Autry here — the Chiefs liked to throw their guys in 5-tech roles more than any other team in 2022; Karlaftis led the league with 133 pass-rushing snaps there, Carlos Dunlap finished second with 119, and Frank Clark finished third with 115.
So, Autry was pretty good with his ratio of disruption to opportunity here. On this sack of Washington’s Carson Wentz in Week 5, Autry started out on left tackle Charles Leno’s outside shoulder, worked quickly inside to left guard Andrew Norwell, and blew the whole thing up. At 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds, Autry is that perfect hybrid disruptor, no matter where you stack him.
6-Tech: George Karlaftis, Kansas City Chiefs
Now onto Mr. Karlaftis, the first-round 2022 rookie from Purdue who worked well into Steve Spaguolo’s hyper active fronts. Karlaftis is another hybrid guy at 6-foot-4 and 263 pounds, and he was highly disruptive as a 6-tech rusher, head-up over the tight end in formation — basically, the gap over from the offensive tackle. In 101 pass-rushing snaps from 6-tech, Karlaftis totaled two solo sacks, a combined sack, four quarterback hits, and nine quarterback hurries.
The 6-tech is over the tight end spacing whether the tight end is there or not, and on this sack against the Raiders in Week 5, Karlaftis started out head head over Darren Waller before Waller motioned to the other side. That gave left tackle Kolton Miller one-on-one with Karlaftis, and that did not work well for Miller.
7-Tech: Jerry Hughes, Houston Texans
The same positive attributes that apply to 6-tech rushers basically apply to 7-techs, and here, we have to point to Jerry Hughes, the veteran pass-rusher who amassed seven solo sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 17 quarterback hurries in the 7-tech position, to the tight end’s outside shoulder. HUghes was a stalwart in this role because he’s able to combine speed and bend around the edge with power moves to foil the best left tackles. Here, against the Eagles in Week 9, left tackle Jordan Mailata got a taste of what that looked like.
9-Tech: Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
Finally, we have the rock stars of most defensive lines — the 9-tech pass-rushers who do their stuff in a wider alignment than the 7-tech. Here, you have the runway that Greg talked about before, and it’s about your ability to make the most of it.
“One thing I’ve learned, not only from watching tape but also from talking to coaches, is that to be a good edge-rusher, you have to be able to control the high side,” Greg said. “If you cannot win off the edge, it’s very hard to be a quality pass-rusher. Because winning off the edge and being able to threaten and challenge off the edge, forces offensive tackles more often than not to break down their technique. They do not want to get beaten off the edge, and if you get them to break down their technique, then you can work with your moves and your counters. Then you can work back inside.
“And you see this with a lot of guys — they’ll take two or three steps to the edge, and they get the offensive tackle to do what we call an ‘over-set. They’re so conscious of not being beaten off the edge, because that’s a quick path to the quarterback, that they turn their bodies to the sideline, and that opens them up to the inside quick counter.”
No matter the technique, Nick Bosa of the 49ers was the NFL’s most disruptive pass-rusher from a wide-9 alignment, totaling 15 sacks, one assisted sack, 48 quarterback hits, and 42 quarterback hurries. Bosa brings just about every technique to the field, but his bull-rush, as seen in this sack against the Seahawks in Week 15, is the kind of force multiplier that’s just tough to deal with, no matter how good you are.
