Just who is the top defensive tackle in the 2026 NFL Draft?
This year’s draft class doesn’t seem to be a particularly strong one for defensive tackles, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t talent available. Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald might be the draft’s best combination of high level of play, run defense, and pass rush upside.
If so, he could have significant appeal to the New York Giants, who have questions behind Dexter Lawrence and Darius Alexander.
The question is whether McDonald will be yet another first round pick coming from the Ohio State defense, or could he fall to a team like the Giants at the top of the second round?
Prospect: Kayden McDonald (98)
Games Watched: Washington (2025), vs. Minnesota (2025), vs. Penn State (2025), vs. Indiana (2025)
Red Flags: None
Measurables
Strengths
Best traits
- Play strength
- Burst
- Short-area quickness
- Competitive toughness
- Hand usage
- Run defense
Kayden McDonald is a big, powerful, and surprisingly quick nose tackle prospect.
McDonald has an excellent frame for an interior defender at 6-foot-2, 326 pounds with obvious power in his upper and lower halves. His thick frame, however, belies surprising quickness and agility. He has a very good initial burst, firing off the ball low and hard which allows him to be far more disruptive than expected for a nose tackle.
He shows a wrestler-like understanding of leverages, consistently getting under blockers’ pads and maintaining a low center of gravity to fight off blocks and control double teams. He also understands how to get skinny, either using half-man leverage to bull his way into the backfield or put his hips in a gap to force cutbacks in one-gap defensive schemes.
McDonald is very strong, consistently driving solo blockers into the backfield and is also fully capable of taking on double – and even triple – teams. He does an excellent job of creating piles in the middle of the defense, allowing his teammates to flow to the ball.
He also has quick and powerful hands, allowing him to defeat linemen’s blocks early in the rep or disengage almost at will to pursue or make a play on the ball carrier. While McDonald is anything but fast over a distance, he’s perfectly willing to pursue across the field. He’s also willing to offer second or third efforts to muscle his way through stalled rushes or double-teams.
Weaknesses
Worst traits
- Arm length
- Long speed
There is really only one real weakness in McDonald’s profile, which is his arm length. Even for a nose tackle, 32 ¼ inches is short and far less than ideal, and it can impact a few areas of his game.
Most notably, McDonald needs to be aware of blockers’ hands and defeat them early in the rep to stop them from engaging and gaining control. He’s impressively strong and can still create piles even when locked up, however blocks can be sticky if linemen are able to gain purchase on his chest plate.
McDonald’s arm length can also impact his tackle radius. He’s quick and agile for a big man, however he doesn’t have the same kind of area of effect that a longer-limbed defender would possess. He can struggle to make plays off of blocks or to bring down nearby ball carriers if he isn’t able to meet them in the hole.
Finally, and this is more a limitation imposed by his frame and not a true weakness, McDonald has a definite lack of long speed. His rushes can slow significantly after the third step and he won’t be running many ball carriers down from behind.
Game Tape
(McDonald is the Ohio State defensive tackle wearing number 98 with white gloves and short socks)
Projection
Kayden McDonald projects as a starting interior defensive lineman at the NFL level. McDonald will almost certainly be looked at as a starting nose tackle by teams, though whether he winds up playing as a 0-technique or 1-technique will come down to the scheme into which he’s drafted.
His ultimate draft stock could come down to how teams view his pass rush upside. McDonald didn’t show much as a pass rusher until the 2025 season, and even then he only had 2 sacks, 0 hits, and 12 hurries. However he was also more disruptive than expected and seems to have more pass rush juice than he was able to show in Ohio State’s defense.
McDonald could line up as a 3 or 4i technique on occasion thanks to his quickness and agility, however he’ll likely make his money controlling A-gaps in the NFL. He shouldn’t have to wait too long to hear his name called and could be the first defensive tackle off the board.
Does he fit the Giants? Yes
Final Word: A late first round value
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