RYAN DUNLEAVY’S TOP 10 DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Player School Ht. Wt.
1. Byron Murphy Texas 6-0 297 Led FBS interior defensive linemen with 19.6 pass-rush win rate, per Pro Football Focus. Bull-rushes off the snap. Well-versed in facing double teams. Compact body lacks prototypical height and arm length but stays on balance. Scored touchdowns in goal-line offensive formations.
2. Jer’Zahn Newton Illinois 6-2 304 Hand and footwork technician who pushes the pocket. Uses one snap or one series to set up rushes later in the game. Four blocked kicks in 2023. High snap counts. Disappears in run game at times but will chase the ball.
3. Braden Fiske Florida St. 6-4 292 Crushed the combine with his 33.5-inch vertical leap, 9-feet, 9-inch broad jump, and 4.78-second 40-yard dash. Versatile across the line of scrimmage. Hustles until the whistle blows. Played in a deep rotation as sixth-year player. Has he reached his ceiling?
4. Kris Jenkins Michigan 6-3 299 Smaller but quicker than his father, a four-time Pro Bowl DT of the same name. Curious lack of statistics (4.5 career sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss) given family-inherited max effort. Most disruptive at end of last season.
5. Ruke Orhorhoro Clemson 6-4 294 Started playing football as a high school junior and steadily improved year after year. Combination of raw physical tools and alignment versatility to catch scouts’ attention. Uses wingspan to latch onto fly-bys even when “blocked.” Doubleteams can erase him.
Player School Ht Wt
6. Maason Smith LSU 6-5 306 Former five-star recruit with 22 career games played but lots of time lost to injuries (shoulder and ACL) and a onegame NCAA suspension. Untapped potential (6.5 career sacks) in his athleticism. Rushes sometimes lack a “plan.”
7. T’Vondre Sweat Texas 6-4 366 Bowls over with brute force. Disrupts passing lanes with active hands. Could become a clean-up linebacker’s best friend. Outland Trophy (nation’s best interior linemen) winner. DWI arrest in April feeds into scouts’ assessment of a “party animal,” according to The Athletic.
8. Michael Hall Jr. Ohio State 6-3 290 Played nose tackle last season but size dictates an NFL three-technique tackle. More flashes than consistency. Disrupted pocket regularly but didn’t finish the plays. Boosted stock as top defensive lineman at Senior Bowl, then again by crushing Pro Day.
9. Mekhi Wingo LSU 6-0 284 Team-first decision to return from fivegame absence after surgery and play in bowl game. Short-area quickness but will be limited if short arms can’t shake loose from power blocks. Averaged 55 defensive snaps over last two seasons, per PFF.
10. Fabien Lovett Florida St. 6-4 314 Anchors and hard to move off the ball. No-nonsense, workman-like way of approaching business. Played the most run snaps on Florida State’s line, per PFF. Tape lacks explosive highlights. Lost starting job as a sixth-year senior.