Lance's 2022 Defensive College Players to Watch

I opened the offensive player list the same way, but in case you missed that: last year I did something similar to this where I took two positions at a time, made mention of who the players that were being highly talked about already were, and gave a handful of names at each position that you should keep an eye on. This year I’m just going to look at a handful of names on each side of the ball, so let’s jump in.

Edge Jordan Burch (South Carolina): Despite coming out of high school as the #8 overall player in the 2020 class for 247Sports, Burch hasn’t done much. But if you’re looking for an extremely talented player to burst onto the scene, Burch is a guy to keep an eye on. Also, he has fantastic size (6’6”, 275 pounds).

DT Jacob Slade (Michigan State): In my opinion Slade is the #3 D-Tackle behind Carter and Bresee. He’s not getting much love though despite a rock solid 2021 season that saw him hit 5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks as well as post an 80+ run defense PFF grade and a 75+ pass rush grade.

LB Payton Wilson (North Carolina State): North Carolina State is a sleeper team to watch in the ACC and one of the biggest reasons will be their Linebacking corps. Wilson is returning from injury after dominating the 2020 season (his stats were 108 tackles, 11.5 for loss, 3.5 sacks and 2 picks). Right now his running mate, Drake Thomas, is receiving all the buzz (and rightfully so), but if you’re looking for a Linebacker and are watching NC State this fall to see what Thomas has got, make sure you also keep an eye on Wilson.

CB Riley Moss (Iowa): Iowa dominated last season and it was entirely because of their defense. Moss, with his four picks and two defensive touchdowns, was the most exciting player of the bunch and his decision to return to school gives us all some defensive fireworks to look forward to again this season. I know Kelee Ringo, Antonio Johnson and Eli Ricks are talented and receiving almost all the attention, but there’s plenty of room to add Moss to the spotlight too.