As the 2025 NFL Draft approaches, evaluators are enamored with the deep defensive tackle group. The prevailing opinion is that you can find future starters as late as Day 3, but the top positional prospects stand tall on the 2025 NFL Draft board.
How does the 2025 DT class stack up, and what might their NFL projections be? Below, you’ll find our current top 10 DT rankings for the 2025 NFL Draft.
10) T.J. Sanders, South Carolina
Defensive tackles who struggle in run defense can be tricky to take gambles on in the Day 2 range. T.J. Sanders doesn’t have that issue. He’s a strong and sturdy point-of-attack player who functions as a slab of rock in the ground game, and offers additional upside.
At around 6’4″, 297 pounds, with over 33″ arms, Sanders size profile matches up well as an even-front defensive tackle or odd-front defensive end. With his explosiveness and power, he can barrel into blockers at contact and hold the line, as well as plow through gaps.
Sanders’ pass-rush arsenal is still developing, and his stiff midsection makes him less of a factor on the lateral plane. Nevertheless, Sanders brings immediate utility as an early-down displacement reducer, with the power and swim arsenal to be a solid pass-rush presence.
9) Shemar Turner, Texas A&M
Versatility plays in the NFL, and that’s something Shemar Turner has in spades. Turner played more EDGE earlier in his Texas A&M career, but transitioned to a role in 2024 that had him playing 1-tech, 3-tech, and even 5-tech on a situational basis.
At 6’3″, 290 pounds, with 33 5/8″ arms, Turner’s build is very intriguing. He’s well-leveraged and proportionally long, but also has more than enough mass and initial power output to hold up against down and base blocks in run defense.
With his strength and his amped-up upper-body motion, Turner can violently stack-and-shed 1-on-1, and he’s an agile, powerful pass-rush threat with a budding variety of moves in his arsenal. As an odd or hybrid-front player, Turner could grow to become an asset.
8) Darius Alexander, Toledo
A Senior Bowl standout and a top-flight Combine tester, Toledo’s Darius Alexander has been one of the most dramatic risers of the offseason. He’ll be a 25-year old rookie, which limits his prime projection, but he should be able to hit the ground running as a quality player.
At around 6’4″, 305 pounds, with 34″ arms, Alexander is well-leveraged and long-levered, with the elite explosive capacity to channel that length and mass into awesome point-of-attack power. He can overwhelm with his power element, and he can build off of it, too.
As a pass-rusher, Alexander understands rush angles and knows how to implement counters from various alignments, and he can be a tree trunk as a one-gapper on early downs. A simultaneously savvy and gritty trench warrior, Alexander has plenty of appeal.
7) CJ West, Indiana
An early producer at Kent State, CJ West transferred to Indiana after four years in the MAC, and was an immediate standout at the Power Four level. After racking up eight TFLs and two sacks, he was invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl, and his stock’s only risen since.
A sub-5 40-runner at 6’1″, 316 pounds, West has an incredibly unique profile. His heavy, low-to-the-ground frame makes him unflappable as a leverage player in run defense, but he also has the burst, quickness, and hand proficiency to provide pass-rush juice.
While West doesn’t have the mass to be a two-gapping space-eater, he would thrive as a one-gapping, penetrating 1-tech, with some 3-tech versatility. He’s strong, athletic, smart, and tenacious, and his ability to make life harder for the offense will make him valuable.
6) Alfred Collins, Texas
Often, teams will draft based not just on upside, but also standard body-typing. Some players have the physical and mental makeups to be impactful assets regardless of their projection, and Alfred Collins is one of those players.
Collins’ hand usage as a pass-rusher is still very raw and inconsistent even after five years of heavy contribution, but pass-rushing may never be his specialty. Rather, Collins is a two-gap, stack-and-shed machine in the run game at 6’6″, 334 pounds, with near-35″ arms.
It’s important to note that Collins isn’t just an immovable mass. He’s extremely explosive, especially on the lateral plane. That allows him to react to blocks, align to gaps, and wall off lanes. And that same athleticism and power gives him pass-down upside to unearth.
5) Kenneth Grant, Michigan
Nose tackles aren’t often as productive as Kenneth Grant, who amassed 6.5 sacks and 12 TFLs in his final two seasons. But there also aren’t many nose tackle prospects who resemble Grant on the NFL Draft circuit in any given cycle.
At 6’3 5/8″ and 331 pounds, Grant has quantifiably elite size-adjusted athleticism — as evidenced by a 5.13 40-yard dash (with a 82nd percentile 10-yard split) and a 31″ vertical. On tape, he’s explosive, agile, and surprisingly nimble and fluid on stunts.
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Grant has all of the qualities you want from a 0-tech or 1-tech: He’s well-leveraged, strong at the point of contact, and hard to move against doubles and duo blocks. Additional pass-rush refinement and conditioning work is needed, but his potential is tantalizing.
4) Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
For a long time, there have been premonitions of Walter Nolen’s NFL Draft ascent. He was a five-star recruit in the 2022 cycle, and an immediate contributor at Texas A&M. But Nolen’s 6.5-sack, 14-TFL All-American 2024 campaign is what made him a potential first-rounder.
Nolen has one of the most compelling power profiles in the 2025 NFL Draft at 6’3″, 293 pounds, with near-34″ arms. His leverage and proportional length enable him to channel devastating force, but it’s his hyper-elite explosive capacity that sources his momentum.
In the past, Nolen operated more as a battering ram at 3-tech and 5-tech, but in 2024, his usage and his execution appeared more varied. There’s still room to keep growing, but his explosive element is a lot to handle in run defense, and his counter game is trending up.
3) Derrick Harmon, Oregon
There’s something to be said about a DT who’s reliable in both phases of the game. Whether you need a pass-rushing catalyst or a stout run defender with two-gapping ability, Oregon’s Derrick Harmon has what you need. That’s why he’s a popular Round 1 target.
At around 6’4 1/2″ and a playing weight of 320 pounds, with over 34″ arms, Harmon outmatches many blockers off size alone. In the run game, his anchor strength and shedding ability can be overwhelming, and his violent hands erode blocks on the rush.
Harmon’s pad level can drift high at times, and he has moderate hip stiffness, which can limit his versatility as a stunting lineman. That said, as a two-gapping Goliath with a ruthless power element and motor in the passing game, Harmon has impact starter upside.
2) Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
Few prospects in the 2025 class are more underrated than Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams. Williams was incredibly productive on a title team, was on pace to have elite testing at 6’3″, 334 pounds before a minor injury, and he’s only viewed as a fringe first-rounder.
Ticking off the boxes, it’s unclear if there’s a trait Williams lacks. He has the burst and mass to halt blocks in their tracks as a run defender from 1-tech, 3-tech, or 5-tech. Meanwhile, as a rusher, he can stunt, exert menacing power, and rocket through gaps.
Williams bears some similarity to Alim McNeill as a prospect: An athletic, heavy-handed collegiate nose who’s developed into a versatile lineman with high-level ability at both 1-tech and 3-tech. Like McNeill, Williams projects as an essential presence on the interior.
1) Mason Graham, Michigan
The top-ranked DT prospect on PFN’s 2025 NFL Draft Board is Michigan’s Mason Graham. It’s one of the few positions where the top-ranked player hasn’t changed from the start of the cycle. Graham was a near blue-chip prospect coming in, and nothing changed in 2024.
Earning All-American honors with a 3.5-sack, 7-TFL campaign, Graham saved some of his best film for last. At 6’3 1/2″ and 306 pounds, he’s a dense, compact, well-leveraged lineman with elite explosiveness and lateral quickness, and devastating hand power.
With his strength and pop, Graham can anchor, stack, and shed in run defense, and he can also use his athleticism and torque output to wreak havoc as a pass-rusher. His 32″ arms aren’t the longest, but it’s not a limitation that’ll stop him from being a three-down force.