
Scouts vs Stats: Top 10 NFL Defensive Players

Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire
Scouts vs Stats is back for another round on The Off The Charts Football Podcast, with our crew debating and discussing the NFL’s Top 10 defensive players.
Our CEO (and ex-NFL scout) Matt Manocherian and one of the members of our R&D team, Bryce Rossler, jointly rank the players as scouts would. Two of the other members of our R&D team, James Weaver and our VP of football analytics, Alex Vigderman, rank the players using a predetermined formula from stats we’ve tracked.
We’ll give you a little tease of the rankings below.
Scouts Ranking | Stats Ranking |
| 1. A player not in Stats Top 10 |
2. Micah Parsons | 2. Jeffery Simmons |
3. A player not on the Stats list |
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| 6. Christian Benford |
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9. Fred Warner | 9. Jack Campbell |
| 10. Brian Burns |
Here are three quotes on players that were ranked and we’ll leave it to you to guess who our crew is referring to.
“ This player is one of these examples where sometimes Total Points is onto things before we are, and we have to catch up to it. He might quietly be a better player than we've realized, and I think this one warrants a little further film study.”
“ This dude is awesome. He's got the best ball skills in the NFL. He's a dangerous player to throw the ball anywhere near because he's as likely to come down with it as anybody.”
“He had the best year of his career last year, and he's already been an All-Pro a few times. His 5.9% pressure above expectation plus/minus was the 11th highest out of the last two seasons of all qualifying players. 11 sacks was the highest of his career. Three forced fumbles was the highest of his career. And coming off a year where there was a lot of trade rumors and things like that going into last season he really took a step forward.”
Listen to the episode to get the full list of rankings.

The NFL Draft Website has scouting reports for more than 400 of the top players. With that, we’ve got ratings and rankings. It’s basically everything a GM would want to know about the NFL’s top rookies heading into the 2026 season.
Our statistical information package includes Total Points, our proprietary metric that values everything that happens on the field, as well as position-specific performance data in the form of raw totals, averages, and percentile rankings. And we explain our stats in our glossary.
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If you watched Game 1 of the Finals, you saw one of these key aspects in action (offensive rebounding). Read the article to find out other ones.
Earning the honor this month are Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages, and Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt.
What We’re Reading/Watching
A look at how being forced to sit in the pocket (for now) is going to help the Chiefs QB.
Mauricio Rodriguez of A To Z Sports uses our stats to break down the Cowboys’ tight end.
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More from the SIS Community

On Off the Charts, members of the R&D team, and special guests dig into statistical insights, tactical analysis, and personal opinions, aimed at providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the week's key matchups and the intricacies of the sport. On The SIS Baseball Podcast, we interview current players and coaches about defensive excellence and review the latest baseball news.
The Fielding Bible Website
The FieldingBible.com website is a great resource for your defensive stat needs. It features player and team stats, Defensive Runs Saved leaderboards, and more.
