How to Use Defensive Line Drills to Eliminate the 5 Mistakes Killing Your Front
Using the right drills at the right time for the right reasons accelerates the growth and development of your Defensive Linemen.
The key to stopping this Wing-T Offense Buck Trap play against the 4-2-5 Defense is the reaction of the Strong Tackle to the down block by the Right Guard. Squeeze the down block to create a natural wrong-arm and keep the Will Linebacker free.
NOVEMBER 28, 2025
Written by Joe Daniel
Joe Daniel Football
Your Defensive Line play is critical if you want to dominate on defense. By choosing the right defensive line drills you can take away top run plays and pressure the passer.
Self-scouting your film will show the problems. You need to know what to look for and identify the biggest issues first. After working with over 10,000 football coaches inside JDFB Premium Coaching Systems over the last 15 seasons, I see a lot of the same defensive line mistakes coming up over and over again.
I’ve also found some simple, reliable answers for our coaches to solve those defensive line mistakes. The solutions always come back to one of my core principles, the ASKA Principle.
Alignment, stance, key read, and assignment give a clear way to pinpoint the cause of any defensive line issue. When something breaks down up front, it comes back to one of those four levers. Once you identify the lever, you need a plan to pull that lever. Adjust the stance. Shift the alignment. Change the strike point. Or change the assignment (the hardest lever).
Knowing which lever to pull, you identify the right focus for your practice plans. Every day in every practice plan, there needs to be a focus on what problem you plan to solve. Then you write the practice plan for your position group to solve that problem.
Let’s look at the 5 most common Defensive Line mistakes. For each mistake, I’ll share the wrong drills you see most coaches using, and the right levers to pull to actually fix the problem.
Every Defensive Line coach knows the problems caused by high pad level. Most coaches are going about solving that problem the wrong way. High pad level is not fixed by one drill.
Problem 1: High Pad Level on the Defensive Line
High pad level shows up on film for a lot of defensive linemen. From the first step on the snap of the ball, the chest comes up. He loses his leverage. Once the pads come up, the offensive lineman gets control and the defensive lineman loses any chance to win the first part of the play.
The usual coaching go-to for solving pad level is to get in the chutes. Coaches spend hours working on get-offs in a metal cage. Players are banging their heads and scrunching in all kinds of awkward contortions to avoid a concussion. And it does not solve the problem.
We found two ways to solve this big defensive line mistake. The first was instead of creating new defensive line drills, remember one key principle: You’ve got to start right to finish right.
Fix the Defensive Line stance, first. That’s the most important lever for solving defensive line pad level problems.
In the stance, the down hand stays just in front of the face. The back stays flat with the butt slightly lifted and the eyes up. Players without much athletic background struggle with flexibility at first, but even a modest bend with a flat back puts them in a much better position to stay low through the snap.
The position of the feet is huge. From a shade, the feet are staggered with the inside hand down and the inside foot back. The “inside” is closest to the middle of the offensive lineman he’s lined up on - not the ball. The feet have to be under him to give stability. We teach having sixty percent of his weight on the hand.
Now that the stance is right, put the focus on his first step. A long first step pulls the chest up almost every time. We stopped teaching any “6-inch power step” idea to focusing on the simple idea of pushing the ground away. When players focus only on pushing the ground away underneath them, the body naturally takes a shorter, quicker step. That instinctive step keeps pads low and increases their get-off speed at the same time.
That step is slightly different for slanting defensive linemen, but the first step in a slant should put you into the same position as a shaded lineman starts. You slant to a shade, and strike the defender.
Even if a Defensive Lineman comes off the ball with good pad level, they often get in trouble by trying to look for the ball carrier before defeating the block. Keep the focus on winning the one-on-one game first.
Problem 2: Defensive Linemen with Eyes in the Backfield
Even when the stance looks right, defensive linemen often drift into the same habit. The eyes rise toward the backfield, the pads follow, and the ability to control the block disappears. You see it on film as soon as it happens. The player stops reacting to the key and starts searching for the ball.
The most consistent improvement for us has come from how the defensive line drills are structured around the key read. Nearly all of our drill work in individual drills focuses on our Defensive Line Key Read Drills. We build in fast, effective reps for key read reaction to base blocks, reach blocks, down blocks, pass sets and the screen-retrace key read.
This is all built on the principle of winning the 1-on-1 game. All of your drills should start with a focus on a specific 1-on-1 game that happens during the football game. Every play is built up by a collection of three or four 1-on-1 games.
If you win more of those games than you lose, you win more football games. Those 1-on-1 games should be simple, and require minimal natural talent. For a defensive lineman, the first one-on-one is always with the offensive lineman he is keyed on.
When Defensive Linemen get their eyes in the backfield, they have taken their focus off the Key Read Drill. Instead of trying to win the first one-on-one game, he’s getting his eyes in the backfield to find the football. If you skip the first step, you never make the play.
To keep our focus on the 1-on-1 game, give the defensive lineman a very specific “strike point” to look at for his key read. For an outside shaded defender, we use the bottom corner of the outside number on the Offensive Lineman’s jersey. Keeping that specific focus rather than being vague gives him eye control. By putting the focus on the bottom corner we also give another cue to keep his level down during the play.
Trap blocks use the advantage of angles to block a Defensive Lineman when he isn't looking for it. To solve the problem, your Defensive Linemen need to have one specific, non-negotiable skill.
Problem 3: Defensive Linemen Getting Trapped
The defensive lineman who charges straight upfield becomes an easy target for trap, power, and counter. The puller gets a clean kick-out, the running lane opens, and the offense gets a free downhill lane.
In our Umbrella Run Fits System, the Defensive Linemen are all spill defenders. They must control the inside half of the gap. They strike the inside half of lead blockers and ball carriers. Our Umbrella Run Fits System requires a natural “wrong arm” because it happens so fast.
Defensive Linemen have one non-negotiable in our system. Non-negotiables for each position definite the one skill our technique that a player must have to play in our system. The best non-negotiables are ones that require no special talent, which gives you a chance to develop every single one of your players to the point they can be effective on the field for you.
The non-negotiable skill for defensive linemen is squeezing down blocks. We teach that skill and reinforce it with our Key Read Drill. Early in the season, you might only work down blocks and base blocks in the defensive line individual drills. Until a player masters squeezing the down block, nothing else matters.
Alignment provided another effective lever. Tilting your outside shaded defensive linemen if you run an even front defense has helped many of our coaches reduce the up field drift that offenses rely on for trap and power. A tilt angles the body naturally down the line and changes the puller’s angle. Tilting does make it harder for defensive linemen to fight a reach block, but Linebackers can scrape and replace the open door.
From the Defensive Drill System inside JDFB Premium Coaching Systems, this is our 3-Man Rip Drill sheet. JDFB coaches get access to drill sheets, on-field drill install video and in-game drill execution videos.
Problem 4: Defensive Linemen Staying Blocked
A defensive lineman who remains engaged in the block can’t make the play. Old school coaches used to teach defensive linemen to eat up blockers so the linebackers can make plays. I think that is a huge mistake. We have great athletes on the defensive line, and they can make just as many players. In fact, a defensive lineman making plays is more likely to draw a double team, freeing up the linebacker even more.
Getting off the block starts with quick reaction from the Key Read Drill. Recognize what the block is, and then execute the correct response. Then it’s the job of the coach to reinforce that response. Teaching a dozen different defensive line block destruct techniques is a big mistake.
For block destruct, we teach one skill to the entire defense. The Rip Move is unparalleled in usefulness to undersized or overmatched defensive linemen. On base blocks, down blocks, and pass sets the reaction once he recognizes the block is to execute the rip move.
For our rip move drill, we work a 3-Man Rip Drill. The entire team works this drill and we do it in pre-practice before our 90-Minute Practice Plan. There is minimal contact so you do not need a full staff of coaches to run the drill. But it’s a chance for players to get dozens of rip move reps in before practice even starts.
The goal of drilling the Rip Move is to make it natural. After playing defensive line for years, I still find myself using a little rip move to get past a grocery cart in the aisle of the store. Or getting through a door frame when I take the turn a little too tight. It’s a natural reaction. That is your goal.
Defensive Linemen need to have active hands. They can’t lock on to the offensive lineman and just grab hold of him. Even a bull rush technique involves pushing and pulling, not just running the blocker over. Active hands means we post the outside hand, pull down and rip through with the inside arm. If it doesn’t work, try it again. Keep fighting and keep ripping and moving to get off the block.
The one-on-one pass rush drills defensive linemen usually do at camps are a joke. They teach bad habits that get you beat during the game. Our Defensive Line Pass Rush Drill in the Defensive Drill System gets more reps and forces Defensive Linemen to maintain pass rush lanes.
Problem 5: Defensive Linemen Lose Pass Rush Contain
Losing pass rush lane integrity is one of the most expensive defensive line mistakes. A defensive end jumps inside, the tackle crosses into the wrong gap, and the quarterback escapes into open space. That breakdown turns 3rd down stops into explosive plays for the offense.
The root cause usually comes from defensive line drills that don’t reflect real football. One-on-one pass-rush drills look great on the surface, but they encourage movements that don’t fit within a four- or five-man rush. When defensive linemen practice winning the rush at all costs, they often bring those same habits into games — and lose rush integrity.
Cut the one-on-one pass rush drills they do at the camps. Those are not developing your defensive linemen for the real world.
Our one-on-one pass rush drill inside our Defensive Drill System is actually a 5-on-5 drill. Like everything else, you want to minimize the number of players standing around. Everyone is getting work during this drill, but only one player is the active rusher.
Before the snap, the coach standing behind the offensive line points to one rusher. The defensive linemen are all shaded or slanting to the left or right. All five defensive linemen will get off on the snap and execute their first two steps. The offensive linemen also execute the first two steps. Only one rusher, the one the coach pointed to before the snap, is the live rusher.
The live rusher continues on his rush against the offensive lineman. The coach, or a stand up dummy, is 7 yards behind the center. The drill continues for 7 seconds, until the live rusher either gets to the quarterback or time runs out. No, I don’t expect the Quarterback to get 7 seconds, but I expect my offensive and defensive linemen to continue fighting for that long if the ball hasn’t been thrown.
When the drill is a defensive focus, stop the rush when your live rusher loses pass rush lane integrity. If we’re doing the drill as an offensive focus, I want the drill to continue (because in a real game, he has to keep blocking that). But always make sure the defensive lineman knows if he lost pass rush lane integrity.
Clear aiming points strengthen the drill. Outside rushers aim for the outside tip of the quarterback’s shoulder. Interior rushers aim for the inside eye. A middle rusher aims down the quarterback’s nose. Nobody trades lanes. This structure helps players understand exactly where their path fits inside the total rush.
Putting It All Together
These are the five most common defensive line mistakes to look for when you self-scout. Self-scouting your film is much more important than watching the opponent’s film. You also want to film practices so you can catch your players doing it right and celebrate their progress.
Use the ASKA to identify where the issues are for your defensive linemen: Alignment, Stance, Key Read and Assignment. Then pull levers - make small adjustments and use drills to reinforce those adjustments - to improve your ASKA. Don’t try to make major changes every week that confuse your players and set them back in their development.
Once you identify which mistake is causing the most problems for your defensive line right now and the lever you are going to pull, that goes into your practice plan. Every practice plan has a single focus that you are working to fix that day. All of your drill work from the one-on-one game in individual drills up through team defensive sessions need to focus on that focus.
Fixing the problem takes more than one drill, and more than one day. You keep working on that focus all week. Every week during the season, if you can fix the single biggest issue for each position, you’re making huge progress. The team that shows up for the playoffs will be unrecognizable compared to the team you had in Week 1.
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- Complete Guide to Coaching Football Drills that Win Games
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Defensive Line Drills for Fixing Most Common Mistakes FAQ
Q1: What are the most common defensive line mistakes coaches need to look for when self-scouting?
The most common defensive line mistakes you will see on film are high pad level, eyes drifting into the backfield, getting kicked out by trap or power, staying blocked too long, and losing pass rush contain. These issues show up over and over again because they come from the same core problems: alignment, stance, key read, and assignment. When any one of those breaks down, the defensive lineman loses the one-on-one battle up front and the mistake shows up on tape.
Q2: How do you decide which defensive line problem to focus on in your practice plan?
You pick the defensive line problem to focus on by watching your own film first. Self-scouting shows you which mistake is hurting you the most right now. Once you see the issue, look at what caused it: alignment, stance, key read, or assignment. That tells you the focus to put into your practice plan. Once you identify the focus, you choose your drills and build the practice around that single focus. It takes more than one practice to solve a problem, so you will usually keep the same focus all week.
Q3: What defensive line drills fix playing with high pad level?
The best drills for fixing high pad level start with correcting the stance and the first step. Players need a stance that keeps the back flat, the down hand just in front of the face, and the feet under the hips with sixty percent of the weight on the hand. Once the stance is right, focus on the first step. A long first step almost always pulls the chest up, so we teach defensive linemen to push the ground away under them. That naturally creates a shorter, quicker step that keeps the pads down. When you reinforce the stance and that first step in your individual drills every day, pad level improves fast.
Q4: How can you teach defensive linemen to keep their eyes out of the backfield?
To keep defensive linemen from getting their eyes in the backfield, build your drill work around reading the key they are responsible for. Use simple, fast reps where they react to base blocks, reach blocks, down blocks, pass sets, and screens. Give them a specific strike point to look at on the offensive lineman so their eyes stay controlled. When your individual drills are built on reading that key and winning that one-on-one battle, players stop searching for the ball and keep their eyes where they belong.
Q5: How do you keep defensive linemen from losing pass rush contain?
Defensive linemen lose contain when they practice drills that do not match real football. One-on-one pass rush drills encourage players to win at all costs, which leads to bad habits. Instead, use a five-on-five pass rush drill where all defensive linemen take their first two steps and only one is the live rusher. Give each rusher a clear aiming point so they understand their path in the total rush. When players practice staying in their lane and rushing with discipline, they stop losing contain.
GET THE FREE DIGITAL GUIDE FOR BUILDING THE ULTIMATE FOOTBALL DEFENSE THAT WINS GAMES
Shut Down Any Opponent When Your Team Misses Fewer Tackles, Allows Fewer Big Plays, and Gives Up Fewer Points. Enter your best email address below, and I'll send you a FREE copy of our latest Football Coaching Guide titled "What You Need To Know To Build The Ultimate Defensive Football Coaching System"!
Your information is safe with us and will not be shared
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