Our last stop on defense brings us to the defensive line. Again, the 3-4 versus the 4-3 makes it a little difficult to compare apples to apples so we will be going with the 3 down lineman in the 3-4s and the two interior players plus a rotational piece in the 4-3s.
4. Miami Dolphins - Leonard Williams, Andrew Billings, and Davon Godchaux. The Leonard Williams addition made a ton of sense to us. The Dolphins were a little thin upfront and needed a leader for this unit. He instantly brings disruption up the middle and takes some pressure off of their edge rushers to cause chaos at the line. Billings and Godchaux are the weakest defensive lineman in our rankings and are a big reason Miami slides to 4 on our list. They will hold their own but Miami drafted a brand new crop of defensive big men and we know each one of them will be knocking on the door to play. We see the Dolphins rotating in some of their young guns (Daylon Mack, Greg Gaines, and Isaiah Buggs) to get experience and see if any are ready to play.
3. New York Jets - Henry Anderson, Steve McLendon, Danny Shelton. This is solid unit that, while their names won't blow you away, their production will. PFF had all three of these guys in their top 35 and while solid, goes to show you how deep the AFC East really is considering the Jets are number three on our list. Anderson will play all three downs moving from end to tackle in nickel sets. According to the Jets GM, the "dude is a baller." We tend to agree. McLendon will be the space eater in the middle and at over 300 pounds should have no problem doing so. The newly acquired Shelton rounds out the crew. Look for him to be rock solid in stopping the run this season. Realistically though, the Jets will have a five or six man rotation on the D-line and expect to see Mike Pennel and Nathan Shepard see snaps while Trey Flowers will also move inside occasionally.
2. Buffalo Bills - Geno Atkins, Vita Vea, Larry Ogunjobi. While the last two teams on our list will run mainly 3-4 sets, the next two will be primarily 4-3. Even though the Bills are second on our list, they would gladly argue they are number one. They love this group and it all starts and stops for Buffalo with future 3GML Hall of Famer Geno Atkins. The dude has been a one-man award winning wrecking ball the past 4 seasons and we don't expect it to stop anytime soon. He has 3 straight all league awards and should collect number 4 for Buffalo this season. Vea came into his own at the end of last season and is looking like the first round pick the Bills expected him to be. He is a big man that can move faster than someone his size should be able to. If Atkins gets doubled (which he will), Vea is going to feast. Ogunjobi would start on many other teams, but will rotate in on nickel for Buffalo. He can get to the QB from the inside and makes the 4 upfront formidable on pass rushing downs.
1. New England Patriots - Damon Harrison, A'Shawn Robinson, Maurice Hurst. What a unit. Arguably the best in the NFL. Harrison was one of the most productive defensive tackles in the game last year and has to be doubled if you want to move the ball on offense. His nickname of "Snacks" is apropos as he will be munching on his fair share of QBs. Robinson will be the other starter here and will benefit from playing alongside Harrison. He is an elite run stopper and will make opposing coordinators think about running on 1st down. Hurst will definitely see some time as he has quickly turned into a strong option for the Patriots. He gives them depth few other teams possess. Add to the mix Bilal Nichols and you legitimately have four quality starters on one team.
We will be assigning cumulative points to these rankings to determine the best overall team in the 3GML.
Buffalo - 31
New England - 29
Miami - 21
New York - 19
