Last week, I began what will be a series of early 2026 NFL Draft positional rankings. We started with the EDGE rushers and are sticking with the defensive line for this one. Let’s continue my early positional rankings with my top five 2026 defensive tackle rankings!
2025 was an excellent class for defensive tackles, with guys like Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Derrick Harmon, and Tyleik Williams flying off the board in round one. This 2026 class boasts a lot of interesting names to keep an eye on this upcoming season, along with two rock stars at the top. Let’s dive in!
2026 Defensive Tackle Rankings
1. Peter Woods - Clemson
Clemson Tigers defensive tackle Peter Woods comes in at the top. He, along with Cade Klubnik, T.J. Parker, Antonio Williams, and Avieon Terrell, headlines a talented Clemson roster primed for a deep run in the College Football Playoff.
Woods is a plus athlete at 6’3” and 315 pounds. His ability to explode off the ball and engage with offensive linemen before they can even think about punching is exceptional.
He plays with strong, active hands that never stop fighting. Woods is able to lock out the chest of an offensive lineman with no problem, allowing him to see where the ball carrier is going and make a play.
Woods is an excellent run defender overall. He plays his gap with physical discipline. He also has a strong anchor, able to stonewall double teams and sometimes even split them to blow up a play.
He can be inconsistent as a pass rusher at times, but there are high-end flashes. He certainly has the athleticism and hands to be a productive pass rusher, there just needs to be more consistency.
Woods is a blue-chip prospect early on, and his ceiling is limitless. His shutdown run defense along with his upside for growth as a pass rusher make him my top defensive tackle prospect.
2. Caleb Banks - Florida
Florida Gators defensive tackle Caleb Banks just barely misses out on my top spot. Banks transferred to Florida from Louisville before the 2023 season. He had a nice 2023 season but exploded onto the scene in 2024.
Banks is a freaky, bendy athlete at 6’6” and 329 pounds, which helps him be easily the best pass rusher in this group in my opinion. His motor runs white hot, and he is relentless in getting after the quarterback.
He is lightning-quick off the ball and accelerates rapidly into his rush. He has twitchy, heavy hands in which he displays an advanced pass-rush plan.
Banks plays like a controlled bull in a china shop. You get all the violence and aggression but with refined technique in the pass rush.
He wins with both finesse and power. Banks boasts an excellent bull rush, a deadly swim move, and a violent club rip.
I would consider Banks a good run defender, but there are one or two lapses per game against the run where he flies upfield and takes himself out of the play. For the most part, though, he’s disciplined against the run.
Against the run, he’s more of a penetrator than a guy who takes on blocks and sheds. I prefer guys that take on blocks as opposed to penetrators due to NFL offensive linemen just being more athletic than college offensive linemen and closing gaps faster. Still, he’s an effective penetrator, and when he does take on blocks, he’s very strong in doing so.
Banks is another blue-chip guy for me. The battle between Woods and Banks to be the first defensive tackle off the board next April will be fun to monitor this fall.
3. Zane Durant - Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Zane Durant comes in third for me. Durant has improved every year he’s been in State College, PA.
Durant is a very interesting prospect to me. He’s listed at 6’1” and 290 pounds, which would lead you to assume he’s in more of that pass-rushing archetype. However, his run-defense tape is much better than his pass-rushing tape.
His most apparent strength is his hand usage in the run game. Durant is powerful, especially for his size. He’s able to lock out offensive linemen, as well as use swims and hand swipes to knife into the backfield.
Durant is also a twitchy lateral athlete. I don’t think he’s super explosive vertically, but his ability to travel two gaps over in the snap of a finger and make a play stands out.
There are flashes in the pass rush, but he’s very inconsistent. The pass rush plan isn’t super clear, and sometimes Durant’s plan is just to run forward into an offensive lineman and hope for the best. He does have flashes where he uses a swim move or generates push with a bull rush, but the hand usage especially needs to be better in the pass rush.
With how refined Durant’s hand usage against the run is, I would expect his hand usage to improve in pass rushing. Hopefully this fall, he’ll be able to showcase that.
Overall, Durant is a bit of a stylistic anomaly given his size. I do really like the flashes I saw, and he should be primed for a very productive senior season for the Nittany Lions.
4. Domonique Orange - Iowa State
Iowa State Cyclones defensive tackle Domonique Orange slots in at the fourth spot. Orange saw a lot of playing time in 2024 for Matt Campbell’s Cyclones and should be Iowa State’s best defensive lineman in 2025.
Orange plays with active hands, and when his hands land, he’s a strong and powerful player. His hand placement can be inconsistent though, and when he misfires, he tends to get moved around. I’d say his hands are stronger than his anchor.
He’s a really good athlete at 6’4” 325 pounds, and flashed a lot as a pass rusher. He mostly wins with power, but there were times when he broke out swim moves and even a spin move.
Something that I’d say is an underrated part of defensive tackle play is playing passing lanes. Sometimes, a defensive tackle’s rush gets stymied, but some get their eyes focused on the quarterback and try to read where he’s going with the football. Orange does a great job of playing passing lanes and is quick to get his hand up to knock a pass down.
Orange is a really fun prospect and could be a true three-down nose tackle. Hopefully, Iowa State doesn’t play as much 3-2-6 defensive alignment and creates more one-on-one opportunities for Orange.
5. Rayshaun Benny - Michigan
Michigan Wolverines defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny rounds out this list in the five spot. Benny has been a key rotational player for the Wolverines for the past two seasons. With the departures of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant to the NFL, Benny should see a big increase in playing time in 2025.
Benny is a lighter player at 6'4" and 296 pounds, but he is a really good athlete. He’s explosive and he’s very agile laterally.
His pass-rush film is what stands out the most. He plays with refined hands and has a really good swim move, along with flashing a bull rush and two-hand swipes.
The biggest area Benny needs to improve in is in run defense. He plays high, and losing the leverage battle results in him being washed out of a lot of run plays.
While I do prefer run defenders to pass rushers at this position, Benny’s pass-rush tape and athletic upside were enough to land him in my top five.
Honorable Mentions
Now let’s touch on a few prospects who didn’t make the cut for my top five, but are still names to keep an eye on this upcoming draft cycle.
Dontay Corleone - Cincinnati
Christen Miller - Georgia
Zxavian Harris - Ole Miss
Patrick Jenkins - Tulane
Final Thoughts
This defensive tackle class is headlined by two bonafide superstars in Woods and Banks, but there are fun prospects behind them that could make this position group rather deep. Rankings are fluid, but I like where my top five defensive tackle rankings stand in the summer scouting period.