Defensive Position Rankings 2.0
Ranking the top ten players at each defensive position.
2024 NFL DRAFT
Top 10 DIs
Jer'Zhan Newton
Byron Murphy II
Braden Fiske
T'Vondre Sweat
Ruke Orhorhoro
Kris Jenkins
Leonard Taylor III
Brandon Dorlus
Michael Hall Jr.
Maason Smith
The defensive interior group has adequate depth, but given most skill sets, I see the majority of these guys being rotational pieces based on their traits and abilities. Newton and Murphy still live at the top in a tier of their own. I would consider both three-down linemen with the ability to defend the run and rush the passer. Following that I think that Sweat and Fiske both stand out in their unique ways. Fiske has explosion and quickness, but short arms, and Sweat has a massive frame that can hold up the run but lacks the stamina to contribute on every snap. I see both of those guys as early day-two picks. After that the rest of the group falls from the middle of day-two to early day-three.
Top 10 EDGEs
Dallas Turner
Laiatu Latu
Jared Verse
Chop Robinson
Darius Robinson
Bralen Trice
Chris Braswell
Jonah Elliss
Marshawn Kneeland
Adisa Isaac
Truthfully, you could put the top three in any order and I wouldn't argue with you. Turner is a freak athlete, Latu is as polished as a new chrome bumper and Verse is a heavy-handed monster that can bull-rush and cause issues for even the best of tackles. After that, I think Chop, Darius, and Trice fit nicely into tier two. They all have good floors and a great upside to grow into starting edges in the league. Look for them to go late Day 1 or early Day 2.
Top 10 LBs
Junior Colson
Edgerrin Cooper
Payton Wilson
Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
Cedric Gray
Edefuan Ulofoshio
Trevin Wallace
Marist Liufau
Jaylan Ford
Ty'Ron Hopper
This is probably the first group that I will sit apart from the consensus. I think that Junior Colson has the traits and a stellar collegiate pedigree in a high-quality defense. He is well-rounded in coverage, run defense, as well as pass rush. Cooper and Wilson also occupy a seat in tier one, but Colson sits firmly in front of me. With that being said, I see all of those guys going sometime in the middle of day two. Following this group, I think the drop-off is steep. I wouldn't be surprised to see the next linebacker come off the board in the 4th round. I think the rest of the class has players who have unique traits but also have glaring holes. Between their coverage skills and run defense, there will be deficiencies in major areas.
Top 15 CBs
Cooper DeJean
Terrion Arnold
Quinyon Mitchell
Nate Wiggins
Kool-Aid McKinstry
T.J. Tampa
Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
Kamari Lassiter
Mike Sainristil
Khyree Jackson
I was tempted to put down 15 CBs, but I left it at 10 for this specific list. This class is DEEP. CB is a premium position and that will warrant higher draft stock for these players, but each one of these players deserves to be a top 100 player drafted based on their play alone. On top of that, don't be surprised when over half of this list isn't even available at the start of the 2nd round. I wouldn't be surprised to see every one of those guys in a starting role by the end of the 2025 season.
Top 10 SAFs
Tyler Nubin
Jaden Hicks
Javon Bullard
Kamren Kinchens
Kitan Oladapo
Cole Bishop
Beau Brade
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson
Sione Vaki
Tykee Smith
While this list doesn't have a day 1 guy for me, similar to the linebacker group, once the safeties do come off I expect them to be steady picks throughout. I would expect all of these guys to be off the board by the fifth round. A lot of this group gets divided based on their roles and what they offer to different teams. Between the slot, free safety, and box safety, there are a variety of talents spread throughout and opportunities for these guys to fall into contributing roles.
Newt Westen
Post combine and with Pro days rolling, I wanted to get out my adjusted and expanded position rankings.
The Top 5 are tweaked and changed a little here and there, but a fair amount of the players stayed put. As I have started to evaluate players at the back of Round 3 and beyond, it has started to paint a picture of what the Top 10 (or even 15 for some) might look like. In my eyes, identifying those players outside of each position's Top 5 is where the draft is won and lost.
As always, let me know your thoughts and ideas on X. Until then, prost.