Highest-graded defensive linemen by alignment: Dexter Lawrence, Myles Garrett and more

• Dexter Lawrence was far and away the best 0-technique: He earned a 94.7 PFF grade when lined up directly over the center, more than 12 points ahead of second place.

• Jalen Carter more than impressed in his rookie campaign: Carter finished his first NFL season with 21 quarterback pressures from 211 pass-rushing snaps as a 2-technique, 2i-technique or 3-technique.

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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

PFF's vast database allows us to break down a football player in great detail, including how they perform in different alignments.

Here, we'll look at the defensive linemen who earned the highest grades at certain positions in 2023. Below is an image showing where each of the various techniques lines up.

We’re grouping players into five buckets for this exercise. These are the top-graded players at each alignment.

0-Technique

• Highest graded: Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants
• Honorable mentions: Vita Vea, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Michael Pierce, Baltimore Ravens

There is no better nose tackle in football right now than Lawrence, regardless of whether he lines up directly over or shades the center. His 94.7 PFF grade on 178 snaps directly over the center was far ahead of Vea's 81.6 second-place mark.

1-Technique

• Highest graded: Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants
• Honorable mentions: T.J. Slaton, Green Bay Packers; Johnathan Hankins, Dallas Cowboys

Lawrence also paced the field when shading the center, with his 88.4 PFF grade still significantly higher than Slaton's mark in second place (82.5). At either 0- or 1-technique, Lawrence racked up 41 quarterback pressures in 2023, 30 more than any other player.

2-Technique, 2i-Technique or 3-Technique

• Highest graded: Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles
• Honorable mentions: Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants; Quinnen Williams, New York Jets

Our next grouping covers players lined up on either side of or directly over a guard, and those shading a guard. It was rookie Jalen Carter who led the way here with a 90.1 PFF grade on 323 snaps. Carter finished his first NFL season with 21 quarterback pressures from 211 pass-rushing snaps at this alignment.

4-Technique, 4i-Technique or 5-Technique

• Highest graded: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
• Honorable mentions: Quinnen Williams, New York Jets; Arik Armstead, San Francisco 49ers

Moving close to the end of the defensive line allows us to highlight Aaron Donald’s final season, with the Los Angeles Rams legend finishing the year with a 90.8 PFF grade when lined up here. His 55 quarterback pressures as a 4-technique, 4i-technique or 5-technique were seven more than Ed Oliver in second place.

6-Technique, 7-Technique (6i) or 9-Technique

• Highest graded: Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
• Honorable mentions: Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers; Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders

It's no surprise to see Myles Garrett lead the way when looking at true edge defenders. However, what really stands is just how many good players there are at this spot in the NFL right now. Eleven players earned 90.0-plus PFF grades when lined up at 6-technique, 7-technique (6i) or 9-technique for 100 or more snaps in 2023.