Michael Nania brings together a multitude of metrics to rank all 32 interior defensive line groups in 2019. Where did the New York Jets rank?
Back in March, I conducted a study that blended a bevy of different metrics to get a solid estimate of exactly where the New York Jets’ offensive line ranked amongst the league’s 32 units in 2019.
I decided to apply that concept to the rest of the game’s positions. Today, we look at the interior defensive line. Where did the unit led by Quinnen Williams and Steve McLendon stack up?
Here’s how the rankings work. For each statistic, every team is scored on a scale of 0-to-10. The worst team receives a 0, the best team receives a 10, and the other 30 teams are scored relative to those two points. The final rankings are assembled according to each team’s average score across all statistics.
Previous rankings can be found here:
Let’s dig into the metrics behind the 2019 interior defensive line rankings.
Run stop rate
Statistics are the combined totals of all interior defensive linemen to play for each team in 2019. These numbers are evaluating the 2019 season only and do not account for any moves made since the season’s conclusion.
The Jets’ 2019 interior defensive line group consisted of Quinnen Williams (512 snaps), Steve McLendon (465), Henry Anderson (446), Folorunso Fatukasi (390), and Nathan Shepherd (232) – I decided to exclude Leonard Williams‘ numbers.
We start off by looking at the run game, where the Jets defensive line has long been known as a terror. Here is how the league’s interior defensive line groups stacked up according to run stop rate – the percentage of run defense snaps in which a run stop was recorded (tackle in the run game that constitutes a negative value result for the offense).
Williams (8.9%, 83rd percentile), McLendon (8.7%, 79th percentile), and Anderson (8.0%, 67th percentile) all placed in the top-third among qualifiers. Fatukasi was dead-on with the positional average at 7.1%. Shepherd ranked at the 40th percentile with a 6.7% rate.
Sorry, the content stops here if you’re not a Jet X Member, not currently logged-in, or viewing from an outside source such as Google AMP or an RSS Feed where logged-in status is not possible.
Get Started with the button below to access this Jets X-Factor article and the best damn New York Jets content in the world for free (after becoming a member, search for this article near the bottom of the Membership Confirmation page):
Log In with the button below if you’re already a member:
Connect with the button below if you’d like to create a free account first:
Audio Version available to members only: Learn more here
