Run-First Defenders Phased Out 2016 NFL Draft 1st Round
By Matt LaPan
The NFL Draft is trending away from run-first defenders, and that trend was clearly shown in the opening round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
The opening night of the 2016 NFL Draft was a wild night. Laremy Tunsil fell out of the top-10 thanks to a video posted on his Twitter, 12 teams selected in a different spot than they were originally awarded thanks to trades and three receivers went back-to-back-to-back for the first time in the modern era of the NFL Draft.
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Among all of these developments, one of the more surprising happenings was the continued deemphasis of the middle of the defense. There were just four players selected in the 1st Round that play in the middle of the front seven, including no true inside linebackers.
The defensive tackle spot saw Sheldon Rankins come off the board at the number 12 pick, but did not see another interior lineman come off the board until Kenny Clark was selected by the Green Bay Packers at pick 27. The round ended with Robert Nkemdiche going to the Arizona Cardinals at 30 and Vernon Butler going 31st to the Carolina Panthers.
That means potential 1st Round picks A’Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed and Andrew Billings were all left on the board despite multiple teams with a need at defensive tackle. While the four selections at defensive tackle are the most since the 2013 NFL Draft, the quality of talent left on the board after day one shows a clear shift in the value of interior linemen in the draft.
While the defensive tackle spot showed a clear deemphasis, no position had a weaker showing than inside linebacker. The surprise of the draft so far has been the fall of Myles Jack. The highly-rated linebacker fell out of the 1st Round after revealing to teams that he will likely need micro fracture surgery on his ailing knees. Not only did Jack fall out of the 1st Round, so did Reggie Ragland – a linebacker many thought would be selected in the top-20 picks.
The common theme with most of these players (Jack being the exception) is that they are mostly run downs players. With the shift away from true power running games, big, run-stuffing linebackers and defensive tackles are becoming a thing of the past. All of these players provide little value in pass rushing situations and in coverage, meaning they will likely have to come off the field on passing situations.
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When looking at the interior players that were drafted, three of the four provide good pass rush value, and are three-down players. This new mold of defensive tackles is making pluggers such as Robinson and Reed less of a commodity in the 1st Round.
For linebackers, teams clearly showed that they are more focused on establishing a disruptive presence on the outside over the old mold of a run-stuffing linebackers. This was shown when only two linebackers were selected, both edge players who provide more value as rush linebackers.
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All of these players do provide value to the right team, but a clear trend has been made in the NFL Draft – run-first defenders are a thing of the past. That means players in the mold of Robinson, Billings, Ragland and Reed are quickly being phased out of the 1st Round, a trend that should only continue in the coming years.