{"id":771553,"date":"2026-02-23T18:06:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T18:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/771553\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T18:06:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T18:06:20","slug":"jaguars-2026-nfl-draft-targets-defensive-tackles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/771553\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaguars 2026 NFL Draft Targets: Defensive Tackles"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 NFL Draft is just around the corner, which means it\u2019s time for Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> fans to start familiarizing themselves with some potential targets. The lack of a first round pick will make things a little tougher to predict compared to last year, as\u2014barring another aggressive Gladstone trade up\u2014the Jags won\u2019t have a shot at any of the clear cut top players in the 2026 NFL draft. That said, Jacksonville\u2019s positional needs do happen to coincide with some of the deepest position groups in this class, so there is still a lot of talent to choose from when the team is finally on the clock at 56 overall.<\/p>\n

This new series will highlight those position groups by breaking down what players could realistically be had in that late-second round range, as well as identify which player is best in each specific area of the position. Today\u2019s highlighted group is defensive tackle, which has been the most frequently mocked position for the Jags at this spot for months\u2014for good reason.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville\u2019s defense in 2026 was mostly very good, with really only one glaring weakness the entire season, which was push from the interior of the defensive line. While the unit was excellent against the run, nobody on the inside could generate pressure, which just made the Jags\u2019 star edge rush duo\u2019s jobs much harder considering opposing QB\u2019s were able to consistently step up into the pocket.<\/p>\n

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Jacksonville desperately needs some juice at defensive tackle via the 2026 NFL Draft and there are a number of realistic targets that could be had.<\/p>\n

Best Overall: Lee Hunter<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, these designations are of the prospects that could realistically be available come the 56th pick, so names like Peter Woods and Kayden McDonald were not considered as they\u2019re expected to be first round picks. That said, Texas Tech\u2019s Lee Hunter has an argument to be DT1 in this class despite not having the name recognition of the aforementioned two.<\/p>\n

Hunter was dominant in his lone season (transfer from UCF) with the Red Raiders as he was a huge key to the success of one of the best defenses in the entire country. His size and athleticism allow him to switch between power and finesse on any given snap as he can hurt offensive linemen with both routinely. Hunter has some legitimate first round traits to his game and his performance at the Senior Bowl may have just bumped him up into that projection.<\/p>\n

The board would have to fall perfectly for Hunter to be in play for Jacksonville but if he\u2019s still on the board at 56 it would be a no-brainer for James Gladstone and company.<\/p>\n

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Highest Floor: Christen Miller<\/p>\n

Before the scouting process began, Georgia\u2019s Christen Miller was looking like a lock to be a first rounder but it now feels like there is a world where Miller could still be on the board when the Jaguars pick at 56. Not because tape has revealed flaws in his game or anything but simply because this defensive line class has proven to be arguably the deepest and most talented unit in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

Miller will be competing with Peter Woods, Kaydon McDonald, Caleb Banks, and the aforementioned Lee Hunter as interior players that could be taken in the first round so one, maybe even two, could slide and it\u2019s starting to feel like Miller is the one getting pushed to the background.<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s game is certainly not as splashy as Hunter\u2019s and his size doesn\u2019t jump off the page like McDonald and Banks but Christen Miller may just have the highest floor of any of them. He\u2019s a versatile player that can play both the run and the pass at a high level and he can be lined up anywhere from nose to 3-technique and win. Miller\u2019s does everything well but doesn\u2019t have that one stand out trait like the rest of the class but that doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s not a first round talent.<\/p>\n

Best Pass Rusher: Gracen Halton<\/p>\n

Oklahoma\u2019s Gracen Halton has been one of the biggest risers during the early pre-draft process in large part due to his performance in Mobile for the 2026 Senior Bowl. His explosiveness and relentless pursuit of the ball career really stood out as he was easily one of the most impressive players on the defensive line for either team.<\/p>\n

His tape with the Sooners was littered with much of the same as Halton had himself a terrific senior season on his way to being named second-team All-SEC. In his last two seasons in Norman, Halton had 8.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss as he proved to be one of the most consistent interior disruptors in the country. He relies mostly on his quickness both with his feet and his hands but he\u2019s got a decent anchor considering he\u2019s on the lighter side (293 at SB). Halton lacks length but it\u2019s not something that shows up often on tape. Reminds me a lot of Braden Fiske which is exactly the type of player Jacksonville is in need of.<\/p>\n

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Best Run Stuffer: Domonique Orange<\/p>\n

The Jaguars should prioritize defensive tackles with more pass rushing upside, but if they wanted to really lean into their current identity as a run stuffing unit then Iowa State\u2019s Dominique Orange could be in play for Jacksonville at 56.<\/p>\n

The man affectionately nicknamed \u201cBig Citrus\u201d has prototypical size for a nice tackle at 6-foot-4 and 325 pounds and that size shows up on tape. Orange is a very physical player that looks to have a strength advantage most of the time at the point of attack, which makes it no surprise that he was a two-time member of Bruce Feldman\u2019s Freaks List<\/a>. His motor really stands out as he is your classic \u201csee ball, get ball\u201d type of player. His physicality would be welcomed on this Jacksonville interior where that attribute appears few and far between.<\/p>\n

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Biggest Gamble: Caleb Banks<\/p>\n

If you looked at a cut up of the best plays of Caleb Banks during his time at Florida he may look like a can\u2019t-miss top 10 prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft. He has a truly rare blend of size and athleticism that you don\u2019t see in every draft class and there are definitely some tools in his bag.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Banks is probably the least polished player at the top of this defensive tackle class. He missed nearly the entire 2025 season with a foot injury and was in a rotation-heavy defense during his first two years with the Gators. His lack of extensive reps shows up as he can play high and a bit out of control at times. That said, when he\u2019s good it\u2019s very impressive as his length and quickness with his frame is hard to game plan for.<\/p>\n

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Caleb Banks is by far the biggest gamble of all the top prospects at the position which is why it\u2019s pretty tough to project how high he goes in the 2026 NFL Draft. His potential could get him taken as high as top-2o but medicals and a deep class could push him further into this mid Day-2 territory.<\/p>\n

Which player would you like to see in teal in 2026?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL Draft is just around the corner, which means it\u2019s time for Jacksonville Jaguars fans to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":771554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2060],"tags":[4955,5999,30253,32199,88727,3126,2793,7,450,212,125,2401,213,479,49567,6,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-771553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville-jaguars","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-braden-fiske","10":"tag-caleb-banks","11":"tag-christen-miller","12":"tag-college-football-game","13":"tag-defensive-lineman","14":"tag-defensive-tackle","15":"tag-football","16":"tag-georgia-bulldogs","17":"tag-jacksonville","18":"tag-jacksonville-jaguars","19":"tag-jacksonvillejaguars","20":"tag-jaguars","21":"tag-jordan-davis","22":"tag-lee-hunter","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-nfl-draft"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116121277945123079","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=771553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/771554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=771553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=771553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}