Back in 2024, I hypothesized with my good friend Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN's "NFL Matchup" that interior defensive linemen are more important to their defenses than ever before. The theory was based on the NFL's increasing trend toward RPO and other quick-game throws, and the geometric truth that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. There are more and more times when edge-rushers can't even get to the quarterback in time because the ball's coming out so quickly, so it behooves the larger men in the middle to be able to get past guards and centers to disrupt Mr. Quarterback in the allotted time given.