NFL Draft Defensive Tackle Rankings 2021: From The College Perspective

Which defensive tackles will matter in the 2021 NFL Draft, and what’s the college perspective on all of the top prospects?

4. Tyler Shelvin, LSU

Size: 6-2, 350

The Good: There’s no secret to his game or his style. If you want a quick interior pass rusher, look elsewhere. If you want a versatile D linemen who can work in a variety of ways, nope.

Stick him in the middle of your line, let him occupy blockers and occasionally stop the run, and let him go. You need a stop on 4th-and-1? No one’s going up the gut against him.

He’s got the strength to go along with the mass. He’s not just a big-bodied guy who takes up space – he can’t be moved off his base and allows everyone else around him to do all the fun flashy things.

The Not-So-Good: Don’t expect him to be on the field for all three downs, or for a whole lot of plays. He’s got to keep his weight to at least the 350 range and could do a whole lot more at a hard 335 or less.

He’s not going to get into the backfield and he’s not going to be a pocket-collapser who’ll make quarterbacks worry. Again, you know exactly what you’re getting.

NFL Draft College Perspective Thought: There’s always going to be a place in the NFL for a massive guy who’s stronger than everyone else and will do all of the dirty work. It’ll be interesting to see if a team wants him to get a little lighter and quicker, or if the goal is to stick him in the middle of a line for 25 plays a game and dare teams to try running inside the hashmarks.

Projected Round: Third

NEXT: 2021 NFL Draft Defensive Tackle Rankings No. 3