Top 5 interior defensive linemen in college football for 2018:

#3. Dexter Lawrence, Clemson

The fact that Clemson has two defensive tackles, who could be top ten picks in 2019 is unheard of. Considering that I was much higher on Lawrence than I was on Wilkins a year ago, makes this even more stupid. After a monster freshman outing, in which he collected 6.5 sacks and 8.5 TFLs, Big Dex was held to a couple each in 2017.

However, he recently said that he “probably played at 45-50 percent” due to a blocked nerve and has now been practicing with an extra pep to his step since July. That’s scary for ACC offensive linemen. When healthy, Lawrence and stack and shed blockers in the run game with ease. He drew constant double-teams and still found a way to get on the stat sheet. Watching his 2016 tape, you see the upper body strength to yank pads around, craftiness as a pass rusher and the effort to win late on plays.