“There’s an argument to be made that Jarrett should be even higher on this list considering his importance to the Falcons, as he earned the most WAR (0.20) on the entire defense,” Macri wrote. “His 45 total pressures and six sacks were also the best on the team while the rest of the defense sunk the Falcons to the 31st-ranked team pass-rush grade (54.1). With the argument that Jarrett didn’t receive much help in 2022, the grades are still able to isolate individual performance, and while still playing at a high level, the 30-year-old former Clemson Tiger’s best years appear to be behind him.”
Pro Football Focus this week ranked the 25 best interior defenders from the 2022 NFL regular season.
A quartet of former Clemson standouts made the list, including two in the top six and three in the top 12 of PFF’s ranking.
Leading the way among the former Tigers is Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants. The 2019 first-round pick checks in as the second-best interior defender in PFF’s ranking behind only Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs.
“There isn’t much that separates Lawrence from Jones among the top two spots, and it doesn’t get much closer than the final grades,” PFF’s Jon Macri wrote. “Lawrence earned the highest run defense grade (81.9) and pass-rush grade (92.4) at the position in what turned out to be a career year across the board for the former Clemson Tiger, significantly out-performing his previous (strong) season marks.”
In 2022, Lawrence established career highs in a number of statistics, including sacks (7.5), quarterback hits (28), total tackles (68), tackles for loss (seven), pass breakups (three) and forced fumbles (two).
Lawrence’s outstanding season earned him Pro Bowl honors, as well as second-team All-Pro honors by the Associated Press. Additionally, he was named to the first Players’ All-Pro Team and the Professional Football Writers of America’s 2022 All-NFC team.
The next former Tiger on PFF’s list of the best interior defenders from the 2022 NFL regular season is Christian Wilkins, who comes in at No. 6.
A first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2019, Wilkins took another step forward in his fourth NFL season, amassing a career-high 98 tackles (59 solo) to go with 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery over 17 games in 2022.
“Wilkins’ greatest strength comes from his run-stopping ability, ranking second at the position in run defense grade (81.0) and leading the position in defensive stops (55),” Macri wrote. “Wilkins played all 17 games and posted career-high numbers in pass-rush grade (72.5) and total tackles (98) while also tying for the position-lead in batted passes (seven).”
Former Tiger D.J. Reader of the Cincinnati Bengals landed six spots behind Wilkins on PFF’s list at No. 12.
In his seventh NFL season in 2022, Reader tallied 27 tackles, a tackle for loss, five quarterback hits, four passes defended, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble in 10 games.
“Reader’s final grade was well inside the top 10 at his position but with only 10 games played in the regular season, he falls just outside that range for this final list,” Macri wrote. “Regardless of games played, Reader set a career-high pass-rush grade (84.3) and pressure rate (10.0%) despite not being able to fall into any sack luck.”
Rounding out PFF’s list at No. 25 is Grady Jarrett.
The longtime Falcons stalwart, in his eighth season with Atlanta since being drafted out of Clemson in 2015, had another highly productive campaign last season while posting 61 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, six sacks, 17 quarterback hits and three passes defended.
Dear Old Clemson has added the Tiger Sack Pack to our online store. Save by getting the Two Pack of signed cards from two of the nation’s top defensive ends, Myles Murphy and Xavier Thomas.
Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. 
Dear Old Clemson is doing NIL the ‘Clemson way’, but we need your help to make sure we build a sustainable, repeatable model that will help keep Clemson competitive with the other top programs around the nation.
Dabo Swinney: “We need your assistance more than ever to provide meaningful NIL opportunities. Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives allow student-athletes to utilize their voice and platform to maximize their NIL opportunities and strengthen their impact in the community.”
Graham Neff:
“Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives need your support to help provide meaningful NIL opportunities for our student athletes. We are doing things the right way, the Clemson way with integrity as a non-negotiable and we fully support the mission of these groups.”
Join the Tiger Club or Lady Tiger Club to help these great student-athletes and help the Tigers compete at the highest level!
