2027 Underrated Defenders

Abdullah-Tolson is an extremely versatile defender who has the athleticism to play in space in the secondary and the physicality to play at the line of scrimmage. He is an excellent blitzer off the edge, as he can time up the snap to disguise his pressures and remain unaccounted for against pass protection or run schemes. In fact, he is so fast off the edge that he will actually speed up the quarterback's read in the run game, forcing them into a rushed or poor decision. In coverage, his length and athleticism help him to cover receivers and tackle ball carriers in space. The explosiveness out of his breaks helps him to play both the ball and the receiver, making him a tough matchup for most receivers. Additionally, his athleticism is utilized on offense and special teams as well, making him a threat with the ball in his hands and on downfield throws.      Hill is a unique defender with a broad skill set as he has the size of a pure edge rusher or outside linebacker, but the speed and athleticism to play at free safety and even as quarterback on offense. When reduced down to the line of scrimmage, he is a force off of the edge, destroying perimeter blocks to tackle ball carriers for a loss or force them back inside. In the secondary, he can play in man or zone and is reliable open field tackler, not to mention he creates numerous big hits as 210 pounds flying downhill is not what any ball carrier wants to see in the alley.      Campbell is a long an athletic edge defender who creates negative plays for offenses by consistently disrupting blocking schemes. His long arms allow him to strike the blocker's chest first, allowing him to keep the blocker's hands off of him to "push-pull" or shed to play the ball carrier. He does an excellent job of keeping his outside arm free, stretching outside runs to the sideline so that ball carriers can never get outside of him. Campbell plays with a high motor that helps him to make tackles in pursuit from the backside of plays as well.      Pollard is an explosive player at the line of scrimmage who can play as a 3 down 4 - 4i or as a 5 tech in a 4 down. He has a violent first step which helps to gain leverage on offensive lineman, crossing face when slanting into B gap or beating the off the edge through C gap. This helps him to disrupt blocking schemes and tackle ball carriers for a loss and consistently pressure quarterbacks in pass drops. Because his get off is so fast off of the ball, they will slide him down into a 0 or shade in passing situations to beat interior OL with speed.