The 2027 NFL Draft defensive tackle class has already cultivated excitement in the summer months, as NFL Draft evaluators look ahead from a 2026 NFL Draft DT class that was relatively underwhelming.
Only two defensive tackles were drafted in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft: Caleb Banks and Peter Woods. And even those first-round DTs had pressing questions that prevented them from being consensus Round 1 players.
Additionally, only nine DTs went before the Day 2-Day 3 boundary, the lowest number since 2022. Coming off the heels of a 2025 NFL Draft DT class in which five DTs went in Round 1, 2026 was a step back. The 2027 class, however, looks more than ready to compensate.
Already, I’ve marked four 2027 NFL Draft DT prospects in range of Round 1 on preliminary viewings, and five more graded out in early-round range. David Stone is the trendy name, while Will Echoles is the emerging producer, but here’s how the pecking order stands on my board.
10) James Smith, Ohio State
James Smith is a mid-round DT prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft with early-round upside at his maximum.
Smith played the first three seasons of his career with the Alabama Crimson Tide, whom he joined as a five-star recruit.
After playing in nine games as a true freshman, Smith took on a premier rotational role in 2024, and broke out as a full-time starter in 2025. Starting 12 of 15 games played, Smith racked up 2.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss, as well as a respectable PFN DT Impact score of 77.2.
While Smith’s pass-rushing efficiency left room for improvement, as evidenced by a mere 3% true dropback pressure percentage, he proved more than competent in run defense, allowing just 0.88 yards per run stop while also achieving a 2.5% TFL rate.
At around 6’2″ and 294 pounds, Smith fits the “sawed-off” mold of DT with his pure measureables, but also boasts good proportional length for his size. That natural leverage and proportional length, combined with his elite linear explosion, forms his core overall proficiency.
Smith can surge off the line and drive power with his length and rotational torque, and he also has a build that lends well for leverage acquisition.
He’s a hot-motor defender off the snap with excellent lateral explosive range and agility, which he can use to work across-face or beat blocks with quick swims, and he flashes the requisite stacking and extension strength to one-gap and control solo blocks.
As his lacking rush production indicates, Smith is still relatively raw as an operator, and other factors also dilute his current utility. Despite his well-leveraged frame, he plays upright and without proper base load too often, he’s not very flexible in his lower half, and if he doesn’t get disruption on first efforts, he can stall out later in reps.
As an explosive one-gap penetrator with ideal size-adjusted stacking strength, Smith has clear rotational appeal in odd and hybrid-front schemes, but he needs more development to reach starting upside.
9) DJ Hicks, Texas A&M
DJ Hicks is a mid-round DT prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft, who has early-round upside with improved production. Recruiting pedigree is on Hicks’ side; he was a 5-star talent in the 2023 class, who totaled 45 tackles for loss in his final two high school seasons and earned 13 sacks as a HS junior.
Immediately upon joining the Aggies, Hicks entered the interior rotation. As a true freshman, he put up a sack and 2 TFLs. As a sophomore in 2024, he contributed 1.5 sacks and 2.5 TFLs. And as a junior in 2025, Hicks earned career-highs in all metrics, with 3 sacks, 6.5 TFLs, and a PFN DT Impact score of 75.4.
Despite his pedigree, Hicks has never been a full-time starter entering 2026. That said, Texas A&M’s trademark under Mike Elko has been deep DL rotations, and 2026 could be Hicks’ long-awaited emergence.
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At around 6’3″, 295 pounds, with solid proportional length, Hicks certainly looks the part. He’s lean and compact, with good proportions and an untethered type of athleticism that seeds dominant 1-on-1 reps.
Hicks boasts hyper-elite initial explosion and fast-striding acceleration, which in turn translates to overwhelming lower-body power drive, and he also has the hyperactive twitch to off-set blockers and feed into rotational torque and point-of-contact force.
As a pass-rusher, he’s relatively raw right now, without much of a counter arsenal beyond swim moves and pure power, but the upside is apparent and tantalizing, and his floor is already respectable as a run defender.
Particularly as a one-gapper, Hicks has displayed the stacking strength and extension power necessary to control gaps and reverse displacement, and he’s shown he can establish half-man relationships, violently shed, and close to run down ball carriers.
Hicks’ recognition on gap diversions can be a tick late still, which limits his two-gapping utility, and as a pass-rusher, he needs to expand his arsenal, improve his timing, precision, and power sequencing, and cut down on instances of upright pad level drift later in reps.
Nevertheless, if Hicks can keep building around his raw physical skill set, he has a quality rotational floor in one-gapping schemes, with impact starter two-phase potential at his maximum.
8) Bear Alexander, Oregon
Bear Alexander is an embattled but uber-talented DT prospect who appears to be reaching his potential late in his collegiate career.
Famously, Alexander went to four different high schools in four seasons. That tumultuous path continued in college; he excelled as a true freshman at Georgia, but transferred to USC after one season. And after one year and one redshirt at USC, he’d transfer to Oregon in 2025.
With the Ducks, Alexander has found valuable stability, and it paid off with his best year yet in 2025. Working alongside A’Mauri Washington in Dan Lanning’s defense, Alexander racked up 50 tackles, a career-high 6.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and a solid PFSN DT Impact score of 77.6.
The prime appeal with Alexander is this: He’s a high-level run defender right out of the gate, with clear pass-rush upside imbued by his natural tools. At 6’3″, 302 pounds, Alexander is stout and well-built with good compact mass and proportional length, and he sports a hyper-elite first-step and energized quickness off the snap.
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From 2i, 3-tech, and 4i, Alexander can one-gap, stack-and-shed with violent efficiency, and close gaps instantly in lateral pursuit. And while his hand usage arsenal is unrefined as a pass-rusher, he can actively puncture gaps with his linear burst and speed, and he has inbuilt stunting and slanting versatility with his explosive power profile and ruthless motor.
Alexander does exhibit hip stiffness on recovery at times, and beyond initial power, he doesn’t have a well-defined counter arsenal or ideal recalibration efficiency.
His ultimate ceiling will be dependent on how much he can expand that counter arsenal, but he has immediate scheme-diverse rotational appeal and quality starter upside.
7) A.J. Holmes Jr., Texas Tech
A.J. Holmes Jr. is a mid-round DT prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft, who possesses early-round upside with another productive season.
Holmes, originally a three-star recruit, spent three seasons at Houston, performing as a regular rotational contributor in 2023 and a full-time starter in 2024. Over that two-year span, Holmes amassed 4.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss, leveraging that play into an opportunity with the Texas Tech Red Raiders in 2025.
Playing for Joey McGuire as a redshirt junior, Holmes took home first-team All-American and second-team All-Big 12 honors in a career-best campaign, accumulating 4.5 sacks, 9 TFLs, 4 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, and a PFN DT Impact score of 84.3 that ranked 10th in the entire nation.
At around 6’2″ and 300 pounds, Holmes has slightly below-average height, decent compact mass, and average length, and overall, size is not a calling card of his. But at his size, Holmes is lean, well-leveraged, and extremely explosive, with hyper-elite first-step explosion and gap penetrating speed.
With his sheer propulsive athleticism, Holmes can surge through creases in run schemes and disrupt plays before they develop, and that same explosive element lends well to power generation in the pass-rush phase.
Holmes logged a strong 11.3% pressure rate in 2025, and the high-end flashes are tantalizing on tape. Holmes can threaten blockers with raw power on bull-rushes, can stack rips and swims off power exertions, can levy chop and club combos working off euro-steps, and has the quickness to spin inside after off-setting.
Meanwhile, in the run game, Holmes is a heady, hot-motor presence who’s shown he can stack in isolation and split combo blocks with hip-drops, while limiting displacement.
Holmes’ play strength is good-not-great, as he can be washed off the line by persistent double-teams, and he occasionally overruns options and voids gap and contain discipline with over-aggression.
Still, as an even-front DT or odd-front DE, Holmes has the upside to make a clear two-phase impact as a quality starter, with inbuilt slant usage and alignment versatility from 2i to situational 7-tech.
6) A’Mauri Washington, Oregon
A’Mauri Washington is a potential first-round DT prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft, and is one of the top nose tackle prospects available.
Washington joined Dan Lanning’s Ducks as a four-star recruit in the 2023 cycle, and toiled as a backup for two seasons before starting all 15 games for Oregon in 2025.
In a breakout junior campaign, Washington accounted for 33 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 8 pass deflections. He also earned a respectable PFSN DT Impact score of 79, and allowed less than 2 yards per run stop.
Washington’s raw physical talent is a major selling point, and it’s verified by the numbers. Per The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, Washington boasts a 36″ vertical at 6’3″, 339 pounds, as well as a max speed of almost 21 MPH and a max squat of 755 pounds.
The explosiveness and lower-body power, in particular, is visible all across Washington’s tape. His burst off the line is exceedingly rare at his size, and he routinely uses it to both reset the contact point and blink through gaps as a penetrator.
While his frame and natural leverage profile project well at nose tackle, Washington has actionable alignment versatility across the front with his athleticism, and can reliably puncture blocking schemes with his elite explosive element, as well as compress the pocket and bowl through solo pass blockers with relentless bull-rushes.
Technically, Washington’s game still needs further refinement. He’s raw as a pass-rusher outside of his mere power element, and in the run game, while he’s a capable power nullifier and one-gapper, his aggression getting upfield on the attack can play into him getting sealed off at times, and his two-gapping game at the fulcrum is inconsistent.
Having said all this, as an alignment-versatile 1-tech in one-gapping schemes, Washington has impact starter upside.
5) Mateen Ibirogba, Texas Tech
Mateen Ibirogba is a potential early-round DT prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft. An unrated recruit out of high school, Ibirogba began his collegiate career at Georgetown, as a 6’4″, 250-pound edge rusher.
As a true freshman, he contributed with 3 sacks and 4 tackles for loss, and in 2023, he increased his TFL total to 5.5.
That early-career production was enough to earn Power Four interest in the transfer portal, and he’d soon commit to Wake Forest. After a redshirt 2024, Ibirogba broke out as a vital rotational catalyst in 2025, logging 2 sacks, 3.5 TFLs, a PFSN DT Impact score of 79.3, and a pressure rate of 11.5%.
That production has led him to his third destination: The vaunted Texas Tech Raiders defense.
Since his Georgetown days, Ibirogba has beefed up to 300 pounds, but he hasn’t lost any of the truly special explosiveness that first drew eyes to his film. Ibirogba’s first step is volcanic, and that hyper-elite explosive element can aid him in beating combo blocks, knifing through gaps, and eroding blocking schemes before they develop.
Siphoning from that explosiveness in tandem with his compact mass and proportional length, he also flashes overwhelming power output on bull-rushes and long-arms.
More over-arching consistency remains a point of emphasis for Ibirogba, who can go quiet at times. His best reps are dominant, but upright pad level drift can make him easier to gather; his pass-rush arsenal still requires further expansion, and he can occasionally forfeit gap discipline in a desire to get upfield.
Still, Ibirogba’s explosive element is truly uncommon, as is his power profile at 3-tech, and in one-gapping, penetrating schemes with slant versatility, he has impact starter upside.
4) Ahmad Moten Sr., Miami (FL)
Ahmad Moten Sr. is an early-round DT prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft.
He first joined up with the Miami Hurricanes as a three-star recruit in 2022. At the time, he was one of the lesser-known players in Mario Cristobal’s inaugural class, but he’s since proven right Cristobal’s eye for talent.
After redshirting in 2022 and playing sparingly in 2023, Moten served as a key rotational player in 2024 before starting all 14 games in a breakout 2025 campaign.
Playing alongside future first-round picks Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, as well as fellow upstart Justin Scott, Moten amassed 4.5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss, while earning a strong PFSN DT Impact score of 83.7. He allowed just 1.29 yards per run stop, and produced an excellent 12.9% raw pressure rate.
At 6’3″, with a beefy, well-built frame weighing over 300 pounds, Moten has an ideal blend of natural leverage, compact mass, and proportional length, all of which is maximized by his hyper-elite first-step explosiveness.
He’s a flash off the line and can channel overwhelming amounts of raw power from those physical gifts, and he also has line-resetting force capacity and take-on strength. Moten’s motor runs red-hot, and as a pass-rusher, he flashes true independent disruption ability with relentless bull-rushes, swims and arm-overs, and rapid-firing rip combos.
As a dependable two-phase asset, Moten is still developing. His gap responsibility and double-team response can be inconsistent in run defense, and he has measured hip stiffness, which can impact his lateral explosive range, recalibration, and pad level maintenance.
In spite of this, Moten projects as an alignment-versatile gap intruder and explosion-based obstructor, well-suited for hybrid-front schemes, in the mold of David Onyemata.
3) Will Echoles, Ole Miss
Will Echoles is an early-round DT prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft with first-round upside at his maximum.
Echoles joined the Rebels as a four-star recruit in the 2024 cycle and immediately found a place in the rotation, playing eight games as a true freshman while logging 2 tackles for loss and a half-sack.
As a true sophomore in 2025, Echoles emerged as a high-end starter, amassing 5 sacks, 11.5 TFLs, and 5 pass breakups in 15 games. He earned first-team All-SEC recognition for his play in 2025, and took home a strong PFN DT Impact score of 82.6, all before he turned 20 years old.
Alongside that DT Impact score, Echoles also achieved a pressure rate of 10.3%, as well as a pressure-to-sack conversion rate of 15%.
At around 6’3″, 315 pounds, Echoles has a tantalizing interior DL skill set. He’s well-leveraged, heavy-set, and compact, and while he has middling length at best, he still showcases high-level point-of-attack power, extension strength, rotational torque, and violence at contact.
In tandem with his authority at contact, he’s also an exceedingly fleet-footed, agile, and twitched-up mover, with great explosion and cornering ability around blocks at his size.
As a pass-rusher, Echoles already has a well-developed rush arsenal complete with bull-rushes, long-arms, hump moves, rips, and club-swims, and his cornering ability and angle IQ enable him to exploit blockers who over-set or plant too early.
Meanwhile, in run defense, Echoles has good gap discipline, can easily stack to control blocks, limit displacement, and anchor at contact, and he’s just as capable shedding and discarding solo blocks to make plays in pursuit.
Echoles’ middling length profile does impact his ability to get off blocks on counters at times, and despite his natural leverage, he can still improve his pad level maintenance, as upright pad level drift can nullify his lower body at times.
To that end, Echoles also lacks the elite length-explosion combination that other early-round DTs possess, but nevertheless, Echoles has unique alignment-versatile upside between 1-tech, 3-tech, and 4i, and can be an impact starter with quality two-phase value.
2) David Stone, Oklahoma
David Stone is a potential first-round DT prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft.
He first drew attention as a standout All-American high school player at IMG Academy, where he earned a five-star recruit billing and accepted an offer to play for the Oklahoma Sooners.
One of Brent Venables’ highest-rated career commits, Stone provided immediate value as a rotational defender in his true freshman season and emerged as an impact contributor in 2025. The 2025 campaign saw Stone amass 42 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a pass breakup.
Along the way, Stone earned a PFSN DT Impact score of 85.9 that ranked fourth among all qualifying DTs in 2025. He achieved a fearsome 5% TFL percentage in run defense while allowing just 1.9 yards gained per run stop, and he put up a pressure percentage of almost 10%.
At 6’3″, 315 pounds, with near-elite proportional length, Stone has a lab-built combination of natural leverage, compact mass, and power capacity, all of which is magnified by his otherworldly first-step explosiveness off the line.
With his explosiveness, size, power profile, and unhinged motor, he’s a double-team magnet and can draw attention from 0-tech to 3-tech and 4i.
He’s a consistent pocket pusher on the attack with a devastating bull-rush, and his line-resetting power serves as an asset in run defense, where he can both puncture gaps and reverse displacement in its tracks.
Stone is relatively reliant on his dominating traits at this stage; he can further develop his pass-rush plan, counter arsenal, and precision in the run game, and his leverage game is very inconsistent as well.
Nevertheless, with more growth, Stone has true blue-chip potential, and he can challenge for the 2027 NFL Draft DT1 mantle with another year of development.
1) Justin Scott, Miami (FL)
Justin Scott is a potential first-round DT prospect and overall DT1 candidate in the 2027 NFL Draft class. As it stands, he’s my preliminary DT1 off of summer viewings.
Scott joined the Hurricanes as a five-star recruit who, in spite of his modest high school production, stood out as a tools-rich, high-floor addition.
It didn’t take long for Scott to live up to that reputation. He was an immediate rotational contributor as a true freshman in 2024, and in 2025, he started nine of 16 games played while amassing a sack, 6.5 tackles for loss, and a respectable PFSN DT Impact score of 76.8.
One can argue that Scott’s numbers don’t come close to quantifying his actual impact, but a few select advanced metrics come close. In particular, Scott’s elite run defense ability can be quantified by an excellent 5.2% TFL percentage and a paltry 0.76 yards allowed per run stop.
Despite having the build of a disruptive 3-tech at around 6’4″, 303 pounds, with serviceable length, Scott makes his money as an alignment-diverse gap controller between 0-tech and 4i.
His athletic foundation lifts his floor; he’s exceedingly explosive, twitched-up in spite of slight hip stiffness, fluid in his lower half, and he can channel his size into awesome bouts of power drive and resetting stacking strength at the point of attack.
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Scott’s ceiling, however, can be defined better by his sharp operational prowess. In run defense, he has elite hand usage, extension placement, balance on-engagement, and gap discipline, and he’s capable of two-gapping, resisting combo blocks and double-teams, and recovering positioning quickly to force runners into secondary lanes.
And while the sack and pressure production hasn’t come along consistently yet, there are bright flashes of Scott both driving power as a pocket pusher and using smooth euro-chop-rip combos, or weaponizing his burst and ankle flexion to curve into the pocket on stunts.
Ultimately, Scott’s unrelenting motor ties it all together. Projecting as a scheme-diverse DT with vast alignment versatility, elite run defense utility, stunting and slanting value, and independent pass-rush upside, Scott has impact NFL starter potential.
