2024 draft DT preview; keep bringing it on! … By almost every measure available, 2023was a pretty darn good draft for the defensive tackles. Overall, 4 were selected in the opening round, tied for the second highest total this century behind the half dozen chosen in 2018. As well, the 11 DTs taken within the first three rounds this year was also tied for the second highest figure in years. At the same time, a total of 24 DTs were selected through the seven rounds this past April, tied for the most ever, or at least in the modern era. Leading the way for the DTs this year was Jalen Carter of Georgia who was the 9th player selected over, just the 4th DT taken with a top ten pick in the past decade.
And the early buzz for the 2024 draft is that it should be another pretty good year for defensive tackles, although it remains something of a long shot whether any are selected within the first ten picks. However, what there for the upcoming draft is a number of solid DTs with a better than even chance of getting selected in the opening round. That group includes Maasen Smith of LSU, Jer’Zhan Newton of Illinois, Michael Hall of Ohio State, Tyler Davis of Clemson and Leonard Taylor of Miami with Smith having myabe the best chance of sneaking into the top 10 if he’s 100% recovered from a torn ACL that cut short a promising 2022 season. Meanwhile, there is some outstanding depth at the position with Clemson’s Ruke Orhorhoro, Florida State’s Fabien Lovett, Oregon’s Brandon Dorlus, Mekhi Wingo of LSU, Georgia’s Nazir Stackhouse and Tyleik Williams of Ohio State headlining a very strong second-tier group at the position. For now, here is the GBN’s preliminary ranking of the top DTs for the upcoming draft.
