Florida football: 2021 All-Gator NFL D-line

With the recent sad passing of legendary NFL icon, John Madden, I have decided to honor him by putting together a “starting lineup” of the current best Florida Gators in the NFL. The Florida football program has put out some unbelievable athletes in the last decade, and we will look at the best Gator at each position.

Today it’s time for the defensive line. We’re going to roll with two defensive ends, as well as two defensive tackles.

Defensive end- Carlos Dunlap- Seattle Seahawks

Carlos Dunlap makes this team, as he would have quite frequently for the last decade. Dunlap was drafted in 2010 and is one of the longest tenured veterans from the Florida football program. Dunlap has filled in nicely for Seattle and they have managed his time on the field this season. Carlos has six sacks so far through week 16, including a 3 sack performance against the Rams. Dunlap also had 26 total tackles, with six passes defended on the year.

Defensive end – Jonathan Greenard- Houston Texans

Jonathan Greenard gets our second and final defensive end spot. Another good pass rusher, Greenard has made his living getting after the quarterback, he has eight sacks through week 16. Greenard has really raised his game for a struggling Texans team in his sophomore season, as he had just one sack in his Freshman campaign in 2020. Greenard also adds 29 tackles and 2 fumbles forced this season. The most impressive number for Greenard is that his eight sacks have come in just 10 games.

Defensive tackle – Tedarrell Slaton – Green Bay Packers

The Gators lack some depth up front with the real big boys. Our first selection is Tedarrell Slaton, a rookie DT currently playing for the Green Bay Packers. The 6’4 330 pound tackle hasn’t done anything overly impressive, but he has been a piece of a Packer defense who has been very solid all season. Slaton has 19 tackles and one sack on the 2021 campaign so far.

Defensive Tackle – Taven Bryan – Jacksonville Jaguars

This is another lack of depth selection. Taven Bryan, is our pick here, in 2021 he has been a back-up tackle for Jacksonville. He has played in 14 games on the year, where he’s recorded 14 tackles. His biggest game of the season came against the Buffalo Bills, he helped lead the Jags to a massive upset with his only two sacks of the season.

That concludes the list of our d-lineman today. Two pretty good pass rushers on the ends in Dunlap and Greenard, two average at best players at the tackle positions. Luckily the Florida football program has pumped out good linebackers and a great secondary to fill out the rest of the defense. We will take a look at the rest of the defense and special teams tomorrow.