SEC football has a long history of being built in the trenches with many of the best teams in the history of the league dominating on the defensive line. While the best defensive lines work together as a unit, it is always good to have a superstar or two among the position group who is capable of making a game-changing play when it is needed most.
By Steve Wright
Here are the five best defensive linemen in the SEC headed into the 2021 season:
5. Jordan Davis – NT – Georgia Bulldogs
It is hard for nose tackles to get the recognition they often deserve as a big part of the job is to eat up blockers for other – flashier – defensive linemen to make plays. Anyone that has played with Jordan Davis during his tenure in Athens, however, will tell of just how important he is to the defensive structure of the Bulldogs. Accounting for 16 tackles, one tackle for a loss, and one sack in 2020, the 6-foot-6, 330-pounder has surprising mobility and quickness for his immense size. A first-team All-SEC selection this preseason, expect Davis to finish his career in style.
4. Kingsley Enagbare – DE – South Carolina
A senior with bags of experience on his side, Enagbare is a pass rusher who can play on either side of the defensive line to devastating effect. The Gamecocks’ defensive captain, Enagbare is a high level athlete who is able to translate his raw power and speed into effective play off of the edge. In a shortened 2020 season, for obvious reasons, Enagbare picked up 30 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, six sacks and a pair of forced fumbles. Expect a big season before a selection in the first-round of the 2022 NFL Draft for Enagbare.
3. Brenton Cox Jr. – DE – Florida Gators
An All-SEC second-team pick in his first year in the league, Brenton Cox Jr. is one of those players that looks set to break out into a place of national recognition this fall. Cox uses his length to his advantage coming off of the edge in the Gators ‘havoc’ defensive system and last season he was able to rack up 41 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, and four sacks. Another year in the system will only lead to these numbers being improved on this fall.
2. Trajan Jeffcoat – DE – Missouri Tigers
Trajan Jeffcoat missed more than a year of football before being brought back into the fold by first-year head coach Eli Drinkwitz in 2020. That he ended the 2020 season as a first-team All-SEC player per the Associated Press was an astonishing achievement. Jeffcoat will look to be even better in 2021 and improve on his totals of six sacks and 13 hits on the quarterback, both numbers in the Top 5 in the SEC in their respective categories. The 6-foot-4, 276 pounder will have to deal with the added pressure – and shifted blocking schemes – of being one of the best pass rushers in the SEC this fall.
1. DeMarvin Leal – DT – Texas A&M Aggies
One of the reasons that many are looking at the Aggies as a team to make some serious noise in the SEC this season is the talent and depth they have on the defensive line. DeMarvin Leal isn’t just one of the best defensive linemen in the league, he is one of the top defensive prospects in the nation regardless of position. An impossibility to move off of the line of scrimmage at times, Leal had a mighty 37 tackles as a run-stuffing machine in 2020 to go along with 2.5 sacks, four passes deflected, an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Leal can – and often does – do a little bit of everything.
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