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April’s Top 5 Rookie DLs for Building Your IDP Dynasty
In my defense, what is there to say?
All the mistakes we made, must be faced today
It’s not easy now knowing where to start
Extrapolating rookie performance is more complicated than reading Descartes
–Freddie Mercury (probably)
Well I’ll be, is it nearing the middle of April already? It feels like the start of 2023 was yesterday, and here we are about two weeks out from the 2023 NFL Draft. After some delays and reorganization, we are back with our Top 5 Rookie DLs series with our last pre-draft installment. You can’t always predict what an NFL team is going to do, but all of these players should end up as a defensive tackle, or a base 4-3 defensive end.
Click the links for our full, up-to-date, Dynasty IDP Rookie Rankings (2023) and our Rookie PPR and IDP Combo Rankings (2023) over on the website.
Top 5 Rookie DLs #1: Myles Murphy, Defensive End, Clemson
The #7 overall recruit out of high school in 2020 class, Myles has made a big impact at Clemson in a short period of time. He played as a true freshman, and while he did not have dramatic improvements, his sophomore and junior years were both better than that first year. Not only that, but he has quality grades from PFF in run defense, pass-rushing, and coverage; not too bad for a man who is 6’5″ and 268 lbs.
Myles is versatile enough that he could play as a 3-4 outside linebacker, but he is better suited as a 4-3 defensive end. His length, burst, and power are shown on the field where he is active in the run game and pass-rushing. He does not have top-end speed, and will have to add more pass-rushing moves to stay effective in the NFL, but all signs point to a long, effective NFL career for him.
Top 5 Rookie DLs #2: Jalen Carter, Defensive Tackle, Georgia
On pure NFL talent, Jalen Carter may be the best player in the NFL draft. His numbers do not immediately jump off the page at you as amazing, but then you remember that he is a defensive tackle. He has great size at 6’3″, 314lbs, and he can do everything you want from a defensive tackle. Even with that amazing Georgia defense around him the past two years he has managed 15.5 TFL and 6 sacks, while being an All-SEC 1st Team member and a Unanimous All-American. He is always on the move, with his hands and feet, he is aggressive yet under control in pass-rushing, and a quality tackler.
So why is he at number two on our list? For one, he is a defensive tackle and historically speaking, in most leagues, they are not as productive in leagues that play a strict DL position to encompass all defensive tackles and defensive ends. This of course varies from league to league (*cough* know your scoring and settings *cough) but generally speaking defensive tackles produce less more often.
The real elephant in room though is maturity/off-the-field concerns. Availability is the best ability for fantasy teams, and he has shown a severe lack of judgment in a few ways. On March 23, 2023 he pled no contest to charges of reckless driving and racing in an event that led to two deaths. Less tragic but still important for our purposes, he showed up overweight to the Georgia Pro Day and couldn’t even finish position drills (he opted to not even try the testing portion). He also appeared to have conditioning issues towards the end of some games, like against Ohio State on December 31, 2022. Some teams have supposedly already removed him from their draft boards.
If I had to bet my life (not that I am) I would say Jalen ends up having a long and productive NFL career. There are just enough red flags for NFL teams that should give us pause, hence why he is at two here.
Top 5 Rookie DLs #3: Isaiah Foskey, Defensive End, Notre Dame
Isaiah is not close to being a finished product like Myles and Jalen, but he has the traits and positional versatility that the NFL craves. At 6’5″ 264lbs he was used as a both stand-up outside linebacker and a normal defensive linemen and had an impact in the run game and as a pass rusher. He played four years at Notre Dame and started to blossom the last two years when he had 96 combined tackles, 23 TFL, and 20.5 sacks.
The elite-level athleticism he has leaves us salivating at what could be in the NFL, but he will have to become more consistent in his play to be an NFL starter. He gives great effort, but is not always in the right place, and does not always make the right decision in pursuit or coverage. He will also have to add on functional strength and better hand usage to make it as an NFL pass-rusher. That said, his mix of production in college and NFL-level traits have us thinking he will be a quality NFL, and IDP league, player.
Top 5 Rookie DLs #4: Lukas Van Ness, Defensive End, Iowa
That’s right, we are onto the Luke-Ness Monster! Lukas only played two years at Iowa, but with ideal size (6’5″, 272 lbs) and quality production both years there, he has climbed up draft boards and is expected to be a 1st round pick in the upcoming draft. An explosive, strong (even for NFL standards) player, he utilizes his base to move pass blockers and run blockers alike.
As with most players with only two years under their belt, Lukas is going to need to show more consistency to stay on the field, and he is a true defensive end. He does not do as well he moves inside on the defensive line, and does not have the quickness/flexibility you would want in a stand-up rusher. He will have to add more pass-rushing moves and improve his hand usage to excel at the NFL level, but with his traits and how he looked in two years at Iowa, Lukas has been one of my favorite defensive line prospects in this draft.
Top 5 Rookie DLs #5: Bryan Bresee, Defensive Tackle, Clemson
Bryan Bresee was the #1 overall high school player in the 2020 recruiting class. He has one of the best combined athletic testing scores of anyone in this year’s defensive linemen group. His freshman year at Clemson made him look like the next big thing. Unfortunately, he has not been able to stay healthy. During his three years at Clemson, he had a torn ACL, he missed games due to a kidney infection, and he had right shoulder surgery. His past injuries are not related to each other, however which is great when looking at long-term health potential. Finally, not that it is a knock on him by any means, but he also missed while attending to family issues.
Overall he was limited to 25 games in three seasons, and his production in his 2nd and 3rd years failed to match that of his true freshman year. On tape he is explosive in pass-rushing, and has great agility moving down the line and around blockers. He maintains good leverage, has a strong base, and has a high motor on the field.
Bryan does need to stay low more often as to not lose leverage against NFL-caliber offensive linemen (which can be hard to do when you are 6’5″ and 300 lbs) and will need to add moves to his pass-rushing repertoire. When it comes down to it, more experience and consistency are needed for Bryan to reach his potential, but his ceiling is as high as any defensive tackle in this class if he can hit it.
Thank you for reading April’s Top 5 Rookie DLs for Building Your IDP Dynasty
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