BEST RATED TACKLING DEFENSIVE LINEMEN 2028 NFL Draft

2028 BEST RATED TACKLING DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

The tackling grade scores how reliably a defender finishes plays: tackles made against tackles missed, with extra weight for stops behind the line and penalties for whiffs that turn into long gains. For a defensive lineman it is mostly about finishing in the backfield. Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh) and Chase Young (Ohio State) rarely let a ball carrier out of their grasp.

The table ranks this year’s draft-eligible defensive linemen by tackling grade, alongside pass rush, run defense, coverage and overall rating.

2028 Defensive linemen ranked by TACKLING

RANK Player Pos Team TACKLING PASS RUSH RUN DEFENSE Rating
1

Zahir
Mathis

DL
/ED
Maryland   Mascot
Maryland Mascot
70 78 67
83.7
2

Gabriel
Reliford

DE
/ED
LSU   Mascot
LSU Mascot
70 70 62
63.6
3

Justin
Hill

LB
/ED
Alabama   Mascot
Alabama Mascot
69 61 74
82.5
4

Elias
Williams

DT
Missouri   Mascot
Missouri Mascot
68 52 68
64.4
5

Jahkeem
Stewart

DE
USC   Mascot
USC Mascot
63 76 75
81.6
6

Amaris
Williams

DE
/ED
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
58 65 66
77.0
7

Elijah
Griffin

DL
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
55 77 75
88.0
8

Ezra
Christensen

DL
New Mexico State   Mascot
New Mexico State Mascot
51 85 76
79.8
9

Darryll
Desir

DL
/ED
Florida State   Mascot
Florida State Mascot
49 75 64
80.2
10

Anthony
Smith

DL
Florida International   Mascot
Florida International Mascot
44 49 62
50.9
11

Yvan
Kemajou

DE
/ED
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
42 72 52
80.5