2023 NFL Draft: Defensive Tackle Rankings

 

This year’s interior defensive tackle class was supposed to be elite heading into the 2022 season. Jalen Carter and Bryan Bresee were both surefire top 10 picks. Siaki Ika was even considered a first rounder by many at the time. Unfortunately, only Carter has lived up to expectations.

Despite some underperformers, there were other prospects who have since catapulted themselves up draft boards. Calijah Kancey is a top 15 player for many analysts. Adetomiwa Adebawore is now getting first round buzz after the combine, and Bresee is starting to rise once again in mocks after many analysts had him falling out of the first round.

While the undersized, twitched up interior prospects of Kancey and Adebawore are exciting, it is time to come back to reality after an electric combine. They certainly will be drafted within the first couple of rounds, but tempering expectations and going back to the film is necessary before making final decisions on these prospects.

There are seven defensive interior prospects who currently are graded as day one or day two players in this draft class. They can be divided into four tiers, each tier having very similar ranks on the big board, but not necessarily comparable skill sets.

Defensive Tackle Rankings

Tier 1

1. Jalen Carter

After watching his 2022 tape I just proclaimed him the top non-QB in this draft and left it at that. Linked is a slightly updated report from summer scouting in 2022, but a full new report is unnecessary.

Tier 2

2. Bryan Bresee

3. Calijah Kancey

This is still relatively chalk, although most people seem to have Kancey ahead of Bresee at this point. Let’s be clear on one thing – Kancey had far superior tape to Bresee in 2022. The reason Bresee is graded higher is because he can still become an every down difference-making defensive tackle. He has prototypical size, aside from perhaps slightly shorter arms, and the athletic profile to he still should be picked in a vacuum over someone who may be exclusively a role player.

Kancey should have a far better rookie season than Bresee based on current ability. Fundamentally speaking, an undersized lineman who will spend the entirety of his career in a limited rotational role should not be given a first round grade. An early second round grade also leaves him winding up in the 20s on most big boards due to the lack of high-end prospects in this draft class. Bresee, the project with hindered development having been riddled with misfortunes, just has more inherent upside over Kancey, the smaller and more talented prospect. Either way, they are closely ranked prospects, and thus together in the second tier behind Carter.

Here is where it gets a bit more interesting –

Tier 3

4. Keeanu Benton

5. Adetomiwa Adebawore

There is something to be said about a day two guy who can just be plugged confidently into a lineup as a good run defender right off the bat. While not particularly explosive, Benton is a safe pick who still has some pass rush upside. His upper body strength is unbelievable, and he is very experienced on the field for his age. If a team needs a plug and play starter on the interior, then Benton can be that guy regardless of scheme.

Adebawore is the more interesting prospect since many people still believe that he will be an end in the NFL. He may gravitate more towards the outside in odd fronts, but it is very clear from his 2022 tape that he is more effective as an interior player. He has almost no bend around the outside and lacks lateral agility. Despite taking 52.5% of his snaps from the outside and being listed as a defensive end at the combine, Adebawore still projects best to be an interior player given his current skill set.

He is also getting first round buzz from his historic combine performance. It is certainly understandable, but he has nowhere near first round tape. Many of his plays look all too similar. He flies off of the line of scrimmage, perhaps more impressively than any other prospect at any position in this entire draft class, then proceeds to do almost nothing after initiating contact. He clearly has the profile to favorably return an investment of a first round pick, but is so far away from becoming that dominant force that it would be hard to pull the trigger that early in the draft when other talented players are available. Especially if teams do want to keep him on the outside, the edge class is so deep that his risk seems too high at that stage of the draft.

It would not be surprising if he becomes one of the best interior pass rushers in the game several years down the road. It also would not be surprising if he never fully develops beyond his raw burst and measurables. Regardless of the belief in him, a first round pick for a developmental defensive interior role player is just a bit rich. That said, he is still a fun and exciting prospect who deserves his spot as a top five defensive tackle in this draft class.

Finally, we get to tier 4, the big boys –

Tier 4

6. Mazi Smith

7. Siaki Ika

Both coming in with third round grades, their reports were kept short and sweet. Basically, they both are wildly inconsistent with high-end reps sprinkled in between many “what are you doing” reps. Smith has the obvious athletic advantage between the two, but both still easily have the upside to jump the tier three and perhaps even tier two guys with the right coaching in the right situation. The behemoth nose tackles are only this far down due to inconsistent play that could be exacerbated in the NFL if they do not improve.

While the views of these seven players differs widely, they all should be able to carve themselves a role on an NFL field. It may not be the strongest positional group in this draft class, but there are enough different types of players to where teams can pick and choose which prototype they prefer. Not all of these guys will be bonafide studs, but none of them should drop past day two of the 2023 NFL Draft.