Lost in the Trenches: NFL's Top Nose Tackles Deserve More Credit

The Houston Texans' Vince Wilfork isn't afraid to bare all. Ironically, the work he does on the field is rarely noticed and not fully appreciated.

Nose tackle is the most thankless job in football. Those big boys up front must battle two or three blockers, be held on every play and receive little to none of the glory if the defense succeeds. Yet a great nose tackle can change the complexion of a game without recording a tackle.

Some may argue it's a part-time position in today's pass-happy league, but there are only so many men big enough, strong enough, athletic enough and smart enough out there.

These guys are anomalies. Players like Wilfork, at 325-plus pounds, are mountains in the middle of the defense and nearly impossible to move.

For nearly a decade, he served as the prototype. His days as the game's standard-bearer at nose tackle have passed, but he's given way to a talented group of interior defenders with the capability of dominating games.

Five stand above the rest...

5. Dontari Poe, Kansas City Chiefs

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When healthy, Dontari Poe is a force in the middle of the Kansas City Chiefs defense. However, the Memphis native required back surgery last offseason, and he had to play his way into football shape during the year.

According to his defensive coordinator, Bob Sutton, the 25-year-old wasn't himself until four months into the 2015 campaign.

"He said 'You're getting back to [being] the old Poe,'" Poe said, per the Kansas City Star's Terez A. Paylor.

Even so, the 346-pounder proved to be too much for most blockers. Poe might not have returned to Pro Bowl form—he earned the honor after the 2013 and '14 campaigns—but he made an impact once he returned to the starting lineup.

Poe's size and raw athleticism—he runs a sub-five-second 40-yard dash—cause offenses to change their approach. With another healthy season, he will once again find himself counted among the league's top nose tackles.

4. Dan Williams, Oakland Raiders

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Surely, Dan Williams' teammates over the last six seasons garnered more attention. After all, he played with Calais Campbell, Patrick Peterson, Karlos Dansby and Tyrann Mathieu during his time with the Arizona Cardinals. Last year, fellow Oakland Raiders Khalil Mack and Charles Woodson drew praise.

Yet they're all better because Williams did his job. Last year, the 330-pounder even played out of position at times to help a defensive front beset by injuries.

Williams' game doesn't pop off the screen. He's not as athletic as Dontari Poe, and he's not making huge plays. Instead, his consistency at the point of attack is his calling card; Williams can stack and shed blockers with the best of them.

Now going into his seventh season, he's the elder statesman among Raiders defensive linemen, and he'll be asked to take on a bigger role as a team leader.

"I feel like I took on a little bit of a leadership role last year, after Justin Tuck got hurt," Williams told CSNBayArea.com's Scott Bair. "The key to being a good leader is being consistent, being a good example and being available to share the knowledge I have."

With Williams in the lineup, the Raiders will remain stout along the front line.

3. Damon Harrison, New York Giants

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Damon Harrison is the NFL's best pure run defender, and the New York Giants signed the man known as Snacks to a five-year, $46.5 million contract during free agency.

"They invested a lot in me, and I know they're expecting a lot out of me," he said after signing with the team, per the Associated Press (via USA Today). "That alone is motivation to help the franchise get back [to the playoffs]."

Harrison is a load at a listed 350 pounds. According to Pro Football Focus, no interior defender graded higher against the run over the last three years, and it's not close. He's so powerful at the point of attack that he often can't be moved by one or even two blockers.

Snacks' only downfall is he's a two-down defender at best. Some might argue he's only effective on first down. He gives his team little as a pass-rusher (1.5 sacks in four years), and it prevents him from being counted among the league's top two nose tackles.

This could change now that he's playing in the Giants' four-man front instead of the Jets' 3-4 base defense. Until the William Penn product proves he can get to the quarterback on a semiregular basis, he can settle on being a dominant force against the run.

2. Brandon Williams, Baltimore Ravens

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Brandon Williams' story encapsulates his current station in life. 

He went from cleaning portable toilets during his off time in college to being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft. He's since developed into one of the game's best defenders.

"Sometimes you got to get a little poop on you," he told ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley. "That's in that job and in life. Sometimes you're going to get crapped on in life and you have to dust it off and keep going."

This mentality speaks to playing along the defensive interior. A nose tackle's primary responsibility is doing the dirty work to keep his teammates clean and productive.

Williams is a powder keg at only 6'1" and 335 pounds. He's well-proportioned with broad shoulders, thick arms and tree-trunk legs. This creates natural leverage when he explodes into much taller offensive linemen.

"He's out there—you can't block him [because] you have no pads on, but he's not getting moved, I can tell you that," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told Hensley during minicamp. "I'm just very impressed with him and expect him to play really well."

The Missouri Southern product's game continues to expand. Last season, his 741 total snaps only trailed Dontari Poe among nose tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Plus, he registered 10 quarterback hurries over the last two seasons, per sportingcharts.com.

Life might have thrown a lot at Williams, but he's proved to be up to the task.

1. Linval Joseph, Minnesota Vikings

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When Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Linval Joseph is operating at 100 percent, he's a sight to behold. Men as big as Joseph shouldn't be able to move as well as the 6'4", 329-pounder does.

Certain athletic feats defy logic. Even in the NFL, there are those who can throw other 300-pound men around like rag dolls or blow right by them with an astonishingly quick first step. They're gifted, and Joseph falls into this category.

After starting his career with the New York Giants, the Virgin Islands native developed into a difference-maker under Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer.

Unlike the previous four defenders, Joseph doesn't play nose tackle in a base three-man front. Instead, he primarily lines up as a 1-technique over the outside shoulder of opposing centers. This allows him to shoot gaps on a regular basis.

His 2015 stat line might not look impressive with 56 total tackles and only half a sack, but he still led Vikings defensive linemen in tackles despite missing four games with turf toe. Plus, he already displayed the ability to harass quarterbacks with 12 sacks during the previous four seasons.

Overall, Joseph's ability to defend the run, collapse the pocket and chase down a running back from behind is a rare commodity in a league where it takes a special athlete to stand out.