PFF compares Michigan and Ohio State defensive lines: Who has the better front?

The Michigan Wolverines defense is going to be the factor that keeps them in the conversation for a Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff appearance again this season, led by a stout defensive front.

However, the Ohio State Buckeyes return a heck of a group, too. Both sides of the Michigan vs. OSU rivalry feature a plethora of talent, but which unit takes the cake?

Pro Football Focus started the conversation this week, but let’s break it down below using PFF’s grading and data. This is not an exercise to disparage the players, but simply look at what we have available to make an informed judgement between both teams

Defensive tackles: Mason Graham (90.0) and Kenneth Grant (80.4) vs. Tyleik Williams (77.6) and Ty Hamilton (76.4)

The conversation here starts where the next one probably begins, too. One team has a pair of potential first-rounders, and the other does not. PFF’s big board has Graham as its No. 2 overall prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft class, which puts in the same type of draft conversation that Aidan Hutchinson was in at the tail end of his Michigan career. Once thought to be a maxed-out prospect as a high schooler, he has only built onto his advanced skill set and is positioned to be the best defensive tackle in college football.

Despite how dominant he has been at times at Michigan, he is the other with a first-round upside and is still a bit raw, which is scary considering how much he has shown early on in his career. He and OSU’s Tyliek Williams are fairly close right now in PFF’s draft rankings (Grant 36th, Williams 42nd). Grant has the edge in pressures (23 to 22) over Williams, and the grades and numbers are essentially the same. From an NFL prospect perspective, Grant might be more of a traits-based darling between the two, but their output on the field essentially is a wash here

Ty Hamilton is a very good run defender and adequate pass rusher grades-wise but logged only 9 pressures in 350 snaps played last year and is a bit above average as a tackler. The Wolverines have the better duo, and that is probably hard for the Buckeyes fans to argue, too.

Winner: Michigan

EDGEs: Derrick Moore (77.8) and Josaiah Stewart (84.0) vs. JT Tuimoloau (74.5) and Jack Sawyer (89.5)

JTT and Sawyer are tremendous players, there is no doubt about that. The former five-star recruits hardly come off the field for the Buckeyes and racked up a combined 74 pressures in 1287 snaps last season. Both are considered potential first-round picks with PFF tabbing Sawyer and Tuimoloau as the 20th and 23rd best players in the 2025 NFL Draft class, respectively. In terms of the PFF grades, Sawyer is elite and in the blue across the board, while JTT is well-rounded and rock solid.

While there is an established pedigree here between the two OSU stars, and perhaps a bit of an advantage depending on how you view the inkblot test, Michigan’s projected pass rush duo was almost as effective in way fewer snaps played. In 759 snaps played combined last season, Moore and Stewart combined for 55 pressures and 11 sacks. Stewart had 6 sacks in 349 snaps and 29 pressures in 349 snaps played, while Moore had 5 sacks and 26 pressures in 410 snaps.

A lot of what made Michigan’s guys so effective was the ability to rotate and stay fresh. They may have less than that this year, and OSU’s dynamic should more or less stay the same. Neither Stewart or Moore appear on PFF’s top 150 ahead of the season, but it would not be a surprise to see one or both end up there.

We will (reluctantly) give the edge to the Buckeyes, but this group has a chance to be neck-and-neck the entire way.

Winner: Ohio State

Conclusion

Looking at the composite of the grades between the players, Michigan tops Ohio State overall by a margin of 332.2 to 318. All eight of the players mentioned above should play in the NFL at one point, and most will be selected fairly early. There is some special trench talent on defense heading into 2024’s ramp up to The Game, but the narrative all offseason is how loaded the Buckeyes are on defense and why that can get them to a national title game.

Michigan’s not being overlooked defensively by any means, but what they have is as good, and arguably better than what its rivals have heading into the season. Regardless, The Game is set to feature four of the top 43 players in the 2025 NFL Draft cycle on the defensive line alone. That’s before accounting for Stewart and Moore.

The stage could be set for another classic brawl come the last weekend in November.

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