With the new league year just around the corner, it's time for all 32 NFL teams to turn their attention to NFL free agency in a bid to improve their rosters for a new campaign.
Here are the top free agents at interior defensive line, taken from PFF's free agency rankings.
Editor's note: For up-to-the-minute updates based on everything we’re hearing around the NFL, go to PFF's free agency rankings, where you can sort by position, team needs, and more all offseason long.
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QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | iOL | DI | EDGE | LB | CB | S
1. DI Javon Hargrave
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Hargrave moved from western Pennsylvania over to the East Coast during 2020 free agency and has been a force in Philadelphia, blossoming into one of the elite interior pass rushers in the NFL over the past few seasons. Since 2020, Hargrave’s 92.2 pass-rush grade trails only Aaron Donald and Chris Jones at the position, with his 18.8% pass-rush win rate also ranking third.
Hargrave will be 30 years old for the 2023 season, but we’ve seen many interior defenders maintain longevity well into their 30s recently. Hargrave is also intriguing, as different responsibilities between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have led to interesting splits as a run defender or pass rusher. His run-defense grades were much better in his first stop, but it seems he can excel at whatever is asked of him, which is good to know for interested teams that likely don’t frequently deploy a five-man front and do a lot of the other exotic things Philadelphia does up front.
2. DI Daron Payne
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
*Franchise-tagged, re-signed with Commanders
Payne showed early in his NFL career that he could be a stout run defender from the nose tackle position, with his 86 defensive stops against the run the most in the NFL from 2018 to 2020. And he has now continued to build on his pass-rush arsenal to the point where he’s a problem for interior offensive linemen trying to keep their quarterback upright. Payne has 95 quarterback pressures since the start of 2021, the 10th most among interior defenders, with his 11.8% pass-rush win rate over the same span a very respectable figure on the inside.
Payne still needs to put all his tools together for a complete season where he’s a positive factor in both facets, and he’s shown he has the talent to do just that.
3. DI Dalvin Tomlinson
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Tomlinson has been shuffled around on the interior after playing mostly nose tackle with the New York Giants to start his career, with Minnesota lining him up more as a three-technique when playing alongside Michael Pierce (in 2021) or Harrison Phillips. Tomlinson has never missed more than five tackles in a season, and his 83.0 run-defense grade since 2017 is a top-16 mark at the position.
While Tomlinson missed Weeks 9-12 due to injury, he managed to post a career-best 79.1 pass-rush grade and a sixth straight season to start his career grading above 74.0 overall. He’s a better fit as a zero- or one-technique, with his 55 tackles for loss or no gain since 2017 the third most among interior players and with his pass-rush upside better deployed as an added benefit but not the primary feature.
4. DI Dre'Mont Jones
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Jones still has room to round out his game, but the value of an interior pass rusher was never more apparent than during the 2022 season, and that’s exactly where Jones wins. Since he entered the league in 2019, Jones’ 138 quarterback pressures are tied for the 19th most among interior defenders, with his 14.5% pass-rush win rate ranking 11th best over the span.
Jones set career highs in snaps played, quarterback pressures and stops this past season. Players with his skill set don’t hit free agency too often, so teams looking for a 3-4 defensive end will be very interested in bringing him aboard this March.
5. DI Zach Allen
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Allen has taken advantage of mentorship from future first-ballot Hall of Famer J.J. Watt early in his career, and he took a big leap in 2022. Allen earned his first run-defense grade above 60.0 and first pass-rush grade above 70.0, with a career-best 35 quarterback pressures and 8.3% pressure rate.
Allen could be a big benefactor of the pending market explosion among interior defenders, though he will land in the second or third tier of the position group.
6. DI David Onyemata
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Onyemata started the 2022 season serving a six-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, and it’s fair to wonder if that had something to do with his 2020-21 season grades both being over 80.0 before earning his 64.0 mark in 2022.
Nevertheless, Onyemata continued to be a very effective pass rusher from the interior, racking up 35 quarterback pressures. Over the past three seasons, his 11.4% pressure percentage ranks 11th among interior defenders, and he was still just shy of 10% in 2022. Onyemata turned 30 years old this past season but still has some good football left in him.
7. DI Sheldon Rankins
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Rankins signed a two-year deal with the Jets after the former first-rounder’s rookie contract expired in New Orleans. He had a strong start to the 2022 season before briefly going down with an injury but returned to finish the year on a stout Jets defensive front. Rankins’ 73.1 overall grade is the second-best mark of his career, with his 33 tackles a new high watermark.
Rankins is solid both as a run defender and pass rusher but isn't special in either facet. Nevertheless, he’s a solid target this offseason as a cheaper interior defender with the top of the market set to explode to new heights.
8. DI Larry Ogunjobi
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Ogunjobi agreed in principle to a three-year, $40.5 million deal with the Chicago Bears last offseason before it fell through because of concerns about a foot injury he sustained late in the 2021 season. Still, he landed in a good spot with the Pittsburgh Steelers and earned a 61.7 overall grade in 2022, his best mark since his rookie season.
While he’s not going to consistently win one-on-ones as a pass-rusher with his hand technique, Ogunjobi has 70 quarterback pressures over the last two seasons because of a quick first step off the line, illustrated by strong explosiveness testing — among interior defenders in PFF’s database, his 32-inch vertical is in the 78th percentile, while his 9-foot-8 broad jump is in the 91st.
9. DI Matt Ioannidis
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Ioannidis was one of the more surprising cap casualties heading into 2022, ultimately landing with the Carolina Panthers on a one-year, $5.9 million flier. He paired well with nose tackle Derrick Brown as a lighter pass rusher up the middle.
Ioannidis has missed time here and there in recent seasons with injuries, but he’s been a consistently strong pass rusher from the interior, earning pass-rush grades of 69.1 or better in each of the last six seasons with a pressure rate of around 10% in each of the past two. He can help a lot of teams make things tough on opposing quarterbacks.
10. DI Morgan Fox
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Fox set career-high marks across the board as an interior pass rusher in 2022, earning a 70.6 pass-rush grade with 40 quarterback pressures on an 11.2% pressure rate.
He fits the mold as a pure pass rusher — he has failed to eclipse 600 snaps in any season of his career and has earned run-defense grades below 50.0 for four consecutive seasons. He’s a late-down rotational player for obvious passing situations, but a lot of teams will covet that skill set come free agency.
11. DI A'Shawn Robinson
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Robinson signed a two-year, $17 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 and then had it reworked into a three-year deal during the pandemic, so he once again hits free agency. Despite entering his eighth NFL season, Robinson will be 28 through the entire 2023 campaign.
Robinson’s 73.6 run-defense grade over the past two seasons ranks tied for 12th among interior defenders, with his 46 defensive stops ranking inside the top 20 even though he missed the second half of the 2022 season with a torn meniscus. Fortunately, the standard recovery timeline indicates that he'll be back in time for 2023 offseason activities.
12. DI Poona Ford
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
Two years after signing an early extension, we have Ford effectively signing the same deal once again after a down 2022 season. The undersized interior defender earned his first sub-73.0 PFF grade but still displayed his improved pass-rush skill with 22 quarterback pressures. He also had his lowest missed tackle rate since his rookie season at 7.9%.
A team can bet on Ford bouncing back in 2023 and returning to form as a stout run defender with some minor pass-rush juice.
13. DI Jarran Reed
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
14. DI Greg Gaines
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
15. DI Taven Bryan
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
16. DI Dean Lowry
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
17. DI Fletcher Cox
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
18. DI Khalen Saunders
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
19. DI Akiem Hicks
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
20. DI Chris Wormley
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
21. DI Shy Tuttle
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
22. DI Andrew Billings
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
23. DI Jerry Tillery
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
24. DI Derrick Nnadi
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
25. DI Kerry Hyder
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
26. DI Isaiah Buggs
Contract projection: Available in PFF's free agency rankings
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