Sooners’ Jalen Redmond in Pro Football Focus’ top 10 returning Interior Defensive Linemen for 2022

John Williams
·2 min read
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The Oklahoma Sooners’ strength on defense in 2021 was their defensive front. Nik Bonitto, Isaiah Thomas, Perrion Winfrey, and Jalen Redmond made a fearsome foursome, especially when teams dropped back to pass.

One of the biggest questions heading into the 2022 offseason is how Brent Venables and his defensive staff replaces Bonitto, Thomas, and Winfrey, who have each declared for the 2022 NFL draft. While there’s confidence in the new coaching staff’s ability to retool the defensive line, it’s hard to lose that much talent and production off of your defensive front without experiencing a bit of a drop-off.

The good news is that the Sooners have one of the best interior defensive linemen in college football returning for the 2022 season in Jalen Redmond. According to Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus, Redmond is one of the 10 best interior defensive linemen coming back this year. Redmond comes in at No. 8.

Redmond showed no rust in his return to the field in 2021 after opting out of the 2020 season. He earned an 82.6 PFF grade as a key reserve in 2018 and a 78.4 mark across eight games in 2021, most of which he started. Redmond did miss some time midway through the season due to injury, but after his return in Week 9, his top-tier pass-rush production remained. His 19.6% pass-rush win rate and 18.3% pressure ranked tied for first and first, respectively, among Power Five interior defensive linemen in 2021. – Treash, PFF

Redmond’s experience and production will be huge for the Sooners defense in 2022. As they integrate younger guys getting more snaps and transfers like Jeffrey Johnson and Jonah Laulu coming into the fold, Redmond will be the anchor that carries the Oklahoma Sooners into the 2022 season.

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How did USA TODAY Sports grade each of the Big 12 teams from the 2021 season