Before the 2020 NC State college football season commences, here’s a look at the Wolfpack’s Top-5 highest graded returning defensive players from last season according to ProFootballFocus.

Junior Nose Tackle Alim McNeil (79.4) – As a Sophomore, McNeil had the highest grade of any Wolfpack defensive player, and the second highest overall grade of any player on the team. His overall grade of 79.4 ranked 5th in the ACC amongst Interior Defensive Linemen, and he ranked 5th in Pass Rush (80.8) and 11th in Run Defense (77.1). McNeil pretty much improved in every category from his Freshman season, but saw a devastating drop in his Tackle Grade.

2018: Overall (71.8)/Run Defense (71.9)/Pass Rush (69.4)/Tackling (69.4)
2019: Overall (79.4)/Run Defense (77.1)/Pass Rush (80.8)/Tackling (37.0)

PFF has very high expectations for McNeil in 2020, picking him as a 3rd Team Preseason All-American, and 1st Team Preseason All-ACC.

You’re not going to find a more productive heads-up nose tackle both against the run and the pass than McNeil. Over 88% of his snaps in 2019 were at 0-tech, and he was one of two Power Five interior defensive linemen to produce 75.0-plus grades in both facets there. (PFF)

Senior Linebacker Louis Acceus (74.3) – Acceus goes about his business, and isn’t the name most remember from the Linebacker corps, but he had the highest grade out of the group, and the 2nd highest on the entire defense. With more than double the snaps in 2019 from the year before, Acceus only saw his grades dip slightly.

2018: Overall (75.2)/Run Defense (75.9)/Pass Rush (78.7)/Tackling (68.2)
2019: Overall (74.3)/Run Defense (69.2)/Pass Rush (74.1)/Tackling (71.5)

Junior Nickel Tyler Baker-Williams (73.1) – Baker-Williams finally found a landing spot in 2019. After playing Linebacker and Wide Receiver at Southeast Raleigh High School, he started off at Safety at NC State as a True Freshman, before being moved over to Running Back for a bit due to injuries in the backfield. Heading into 2019 he landed at Nickel, and that’s where he stayed. Despite the fact that Baker-Williams only started 3 games at the position, he played more snaps than any other Nickel. He was far and away the Wolfpack’s best player in coverage in 2019, with a grade of 78.1 in coverage, which ranked 7th in the ACC. PFF put Baker-Williams on their 2020 All-ACC Preseason 3rd Team.

Senior Cornerback Chris Ingram (68.6) – Ingram started the first 6 games of the season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. In those 6 games, had the 2nd highest Tackling Grade (81.5) behind Cecil Powell (85.4), who only played in 4 games. Because Ingram likes to hit, he also ranked 4th on the team in Run Defense (73.8), and is the 2nd highest graded player returning behind McNeil. Ingram’s grades were all slightly down in 2019, but we didn’t get to see a full season out of him last year, so you’re left to wonder what might have been.

2018: Overall (71.8)/Run Defense (74.6)/Coverage (71.1)/Tackling (88.0)
2019: Overall (68.6)/Run Defense (73.8)/Coverage (66.7)/Tackling (81.5)

Sophomore Linebacker Drake Thomas (64.7) – As a True Freshman, Thomas graded out as the 2nd best Wolfpack linebacker overall. His grade of 64.7 on Run Defense was also the 2nd highest at the position. Thomas’ greatest area for improvement is in the pass rushing department, ranking 6th out of the NC State LB’s (57.8).