After a 2025 draft that saw the Miami Dolphins successfully add three rookie defensive linemen, defensive tackle would not seem to be a top priority.
Zach Sieler will be 31 in early September and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has preached the team will go best player available, so every position needs evaluation.
Year two is usually the jump year for pros in general and a full NFL offseason is what Kenneth Grant needed most. Fortunately from the sound of a recent interview for the Dolphins in-house, Grant has spent “every day at the facility.”
Grant is huge and moves well at his size and fellow second-year player Jordan Phillips is 6-3 as well, but Zeek Biggers is the type of size Sullivan probably loves. But there aren’t too many of those in this year’s draft, the freakish Caleb Banks, an outlier.
This is part seven in an 11-part Aqua & Coral Report series breaking down and ranking potential Dolphins draftees by position
DOLPHINS DEFENSIVE TACKLE PROSPECTS
With the best defensive tackles clocking in at around 6-3 this year, it’s not clear what the Dolphins will do or if they will do anything at all.
But the players who have the most upside in this draft are mostly movers. They win more with skill than force. A few do both, but even fewer are in the 6-4, 6-5 range.
Below are the latest evaluations on defensive tackle prospects.
2026 ACR Dolphins Draft Guide bios included. (⭐denotes favorite players respective of projected draft range)
DT Lee Hunter, Texas Tech
Ideal NT size at 6-3½, 318; quick for his size; good first step and uses various techniques to win reps; regularly uses swim move effectively after initial burst; when he doesn’t win, he’s strong enough to continue fighting through rep, doesn’t get off balance; plays low; used him anywhere from 0 to 3 technique; makes a lot of plays in the backfield, including pressures; doesn’t get stopped by a first block, keeps battling to make plays; didn’t struggle with double teams; quickness really pops off the screen and you forget how big and strong he is; 33 ¼-inch arms+; his RAS numbers were awful (4.07), which could rule him out with Sullivan; also a complete character (R2)
⭐DT Gracen Halton, Oklahoma
6-2 ½, 293 and looks small on tape so that does not fit, but his burst and quickness may make him the exception; more importantly he doesn’t play small, has real heavy hands; played in virtually every game during his four years with the Sooners, but started only 10 including seven last year; 33 (11 solo) 3.5 sacks, 2 passes batted down, 1 FF, 1 FR in his final season; has a winning rate in pass and run defense so it’s curious why he wasn’t used much more at Oklahoma than as a rotational player; could be a real value pick; wins much the same way a RB or LB would by sidestepping or even juking a lineman to beat them and then they don’t have the angle or strength to stop him; wins with burst and then gets skinny, heady defender; would give him a chance if he slides, despite size profile; good is good and he could provide a different style on MIA defensive interior; resembles Fiske (Rams) from a few years ago; combine update: ran a 4.82 with a 1.70 10-yard split and posted a 36.5-inch vertical, all elite; NextGen stats had him at 20.92 mph during his 40++; favorite DT in the draft; but Sullivan history is in drafting tall interior players; capabilities as a disruptor could override size concerns (R2-R3)
DT Domonique Orange, Iowa State
6-2, 322 with long arms (33 3/8-inch) and big hands; played 50 games with 24 starts but posted modest numbers (1 sack and 7 TFLs for his career); committed just one penalty in four years; good quickness, explosion and upper body strength; good lateral movement but you’d like to see him focus on getting upfield more at times; upper body and base are real strong but can’t seem to shed with his hands/arms sometimes; nickname Big Citrus; feel like he’s a player who someone could unlock (R2)
DT Christen Miller, Georgia
6-4, 321 and one of the better 2-gap run game tackles in this draft; 50 tackles, 3.0 sacks the last two years so production isn’t tremendous; maybe as pro-ready as any of the DTs this year though, uses all his tools; not huge or physically imposing but uses his combination of strength and savvy to move blockers and get where he wants; won’t get drafted first but could end up the best; plays with his leverage and a great motor; not super quick and don’t think he’ll wow at the combine; comes off as super hard to move; best suited to a 4-3 as I wouldn’t use him as a 0 tech; a disruptor but could be a better finisher in the backfield; movement after shedding blocks needs to get sharper; 33-inch arms (R2-R3)
DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State
A 6-2, 326-pound fire hydrant, when he gets hit he doesn’t budge; played a bunch over center; good quickness and very good burst at the snap for someone his size; is a mauler; he’s 324 strong not 324 fat; arms seem average length; he’s going to start off being at least good against the run; dominates most one on ones with bull rush; will eventually require doubles as a pro too; had a monster 2025 (junior) with 65 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 FF, 1 pass batted down and 43 pressures; his pressures aren’t always direct but a ton of pocket disruption; good player, pass rush not great; short-ish arms (32¼) but consensus is he did great in positional drills at combine (R2)
DT Chris McClellan, Missouri
6-4, 313; good burst for a player his size; two years at UF then two at Mizzou, where he improved; kind of top-heavy looking to me; stacks okay at the line but could run into problems against the run in the league; 48 tackles and 6 sacks in ’25; if he can get his lower half stronger and be competitive against the run, his pass rush is already NFL good for an inside player; stack-and-shed is his game; has huge arms (34-inch) and hands (11-inch); his high pad level is one thing that he’ll get coached out of him (R4)
⭐DL Kaleb Proctor, SE Louisiana
6-2, 291 but has 33-inch arms and outstanding movement skills; potential hybrid player; 4.79 40 (1.68 10-yard split) with a 33-inch vertical and and 4.71 shuttle helped him to the 4th best combine athletic score among DTs; he’s definitely quick enough to play outside; 43 tackles, 9 sacks and 13 TFLs last year; crazy movement skills; more I think about it, could be a weapon in a system like Miami’s where movement skills on a lineman means versatility; not the typical DT profile JES would likely go after, but could play early down end and passing down tackle, which would be a size mismatch on many occasions; the arms make it realistic he could do it; 6 tackles and 2 sacks at LSU in 2025; 9.11 RAS despite height/weight; somebody could fall in love and move up for this guy (R4)
DT Deven Eastern, Minnesota
Jumps off the tape as a pass rushing interior threat; 6-5¼, 320 and crazy burst at the snap; long arms (34-inch) he gets up into a guards chest; if he doesn’t win with speed, is relentless with his bull rush to try and get home; he’s winning right now mostly with his burst and power; still has room in his game for advanced technique to make the most of his arms; doesn’t disengage blocks like he should at times; can get violent with his hands at other times; does a nice job bracing when double teamed; 38 tackles, 14 pressures and 2.5 sacks; developmental player but has some tools; crazy burst but after that, doesn’t move too great (R5)
DT Jeffrey M’ba, SMU: 42 tackles, 5 sacks in ’25; is 26 years old; surprised at his height (6-5 3/8, 315) that he’s batted down zero passes in 4 years; does a pretty good job of getting low despite his height in run defense and can overpower blockers; holds up pretty well against double teams; sometimes gets turned sideways in the wash; he’s strong but has very little game in terms of getting off or past a block, save a power bullrush; does show a pretty quick burst and he does not go backward very often, even when doubled; age not a fit for JES but maybe would consider late for size profile (R6)
DT Nick Barrett, So. Carolina: 6-3, 308, 42 tackles (27 solo), 2 sacks, 1 FR and 1 pass batted down; good at working half a man with force; his fumble recovery ended up with him rumbling 20+ yards for the score; pretty good mix of upper and lower body strength; arms don’t look too long; played mostly 3-tech with some nose tackle mixed in; run defense is definitely his forte; not too much going on as a pass rusher; not very athletic; 28 reps/225 (R7/UDFA)
NOTABLE DEFENSIVE TACKLE DNWs
DT Peter Woods, Clemson (R1/DNW)
DT Caleb Banks, Florida: 6-6, 330 and a lot of projecting going on for to his ridiculous length; movement skills are awful; 47 tackles and 6.5 sacks in four years (one at LOU); last year he broke his foot against LSU in late September, so his status on that is also an issue if concern; ridiculously long arms that he could utilize better in trying to get off blocks; lateral movement is pretty good, burst and small-area quickness are lacking; he just can’t unhook from a block; could still be a MIA target due to his length, but he is a total project; one elite NFL trait he has are those arms, he can be actively fighting a block and still use an arm to be disruptive to the QB; broke his foot at the combine; note: I don’t want the player but this is a major size fit for JES (R1/DNW)
DT Dontay Corleone; Cincinnati: 6-0, 340 (R3-R4/DNW)
DT Zane Durant, Penn State (R5/DNW)
DT Landon Robinson, Navy 5-11, 291 (R6/DNW)
DT Zxavien Harris, Ole Miss DUI felony fleeing in 2023, domestic violence and resisting arrest in 2024 (R6/DNW)
DT Jackie Marshall, Baylor (R7/DNW)
THE SCHEDULE
- Mon., Mar. 9 — Part 1, Cornerbacks
- Thu. Mar. 12 — Part 2, Interior Offensive Line
- Tues. Mar. 17 — Part 3, Tight Ends
- Thu. Mar 19 — Part 4, Edge rushers
- Mon. Mar. 23 — Part 5, Linebackers
- Tues. Mar. 24 — Part 6, Wide Receivers
- Today — Part 7, Defensive Tackles
- Tues. Mar. 31 — Part 8, Quarterbacks
- Thu. Apr. 2 — Part 9, Running Backs
- Fri. Apr. 3 — Part 10, Offensive Tackles
- Mon. Apr. 6 — Part 11, Safeties
Aqua & Coral Report 