Atlanta Falcons interior defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus is getting another look as a breakout candidate, this time from ESPN’s Ben Solak. The question is whether the label still fits after what Dorlus already did last season.
Atlanta has plenty of young players who could credibly be pointed to as rising names, which makes the Falcons a tricky team to sort through. NFL Network recently went with safety Xavier Watts, though some would say he already flashed like a rookie who had arrived. Solak took a different route and landed on Dorlus, who may not be a household name nationally but has clearly started to make noise.
"The lightbulb is coming on for Dorlus, and I'm loving it," Solak wrote on ESPN. "He had 8.5 sacks last season, seven of which came in the back half. A true tweener out of college, Dorlus spent most of his time with Oregon on the edge but has bulked up to play on the interior over two years in Atlanta.
That production was no small thing. Dorlus finished with 8.5 sacks and led NFC interior defensive linemen in that category.
He came into the league with real questions attached to his profile, too. He was viewed as too small to live on the interior and not athletic enough to stay on the edge, which left him in a tough in-between spot.
His rookie year barely gave him a chance to settle in. Dorlus was essentially redshirted, along with fellow draft pick Ruke Orhorhoro, while first-time defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake leaned on a two-man front in his base 2-4-5 prevent defense.
The second year brought a different setup and a better fit. Atlanta hired Jeff Ulbrich as defensive coordinator, and the change helped Dorlus as much as anyone on the roster. After bulking up following his injury, Dorlus was used on the interior and started showing exactly why the Falcons were interested in him in the first place.
He made his money by slipping through traffic and creating havoc in the backfield. His frame lets him slide between blocks and squeeze through double teams, and his athleticism shows up on stunts. Solak also pointed to how dangerous he can be in pressure packages.
"He is especially effective as a looper or crasher in blitz packages, with a great knack for becoming skinny as he works through the line of scrimmage," Solak continued.
So where does that leave the breakout conversation? That depends on how you define it.
Last season already looked like a breakout to some observers, and Dorlus certainly has not yet become a nationally recognized premier defensive tackle. There’s still another level for him to reach.
The next step is about more than sack totals. A chunk of Dorlus’ 8.5 sacks came as cleanup behind pressure from the edge rushers, which still matters but doesn’t quite place him among the game’s top interior linemen. If he can sharpen his “win now” pass-rush moves, raise his pressure rate and improve against the run, then he starts pushing into that upper tier.
For now, Dorlus looks like a solid defensive tackle. Another breakout year would mean becoming an elite one. That’s a big ask for a former fourth-round pick heading into his third season, but there are people around the league who think he can handle it.
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