ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy ranked the top 10 defensive line units entering the 2026 season.

Clemson’s D-line landed at No. 4 on the list – despite the key departures of defensive tackle Peter Woods and edge rusher T.J. Parker, who were selected by the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, respectively, in the 2026 NFL Draft.

“Peter Woods is gone. T.J. Parker is gone. Those guys are out. You watch two of the best defensive linemen in college football the last couple years leave for the NFL. That’s a really challenging thing to replace,” McElroy said.

“For many programs, that would not just be subtraction — that’s a detonation. And yet here we are, talking about Clemson being in the top four again. Because this is what Dabo Swinney does. If you look at since 2019, the Tigers have put nine defensive linemen in the NFL Draft. The developmental pipeline does not stop because two great ones graduate [to the NFL].”

Following an outstanding first year at Clemson in 2025, rising senior defensive end Will Heldt leads the Tigers’ rebuilt D-line heading into the upcoming season.

Heldt came to Clemson last offseason following two productive seasons at Purdue. His debut Clemson campaign saw him tally 48 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, four pass breakups and a forced fumble over 13 games (all starts). The third-team All-ACC selection led the Tigers in both sacks and tackles for loss while finishing fourth on the team (and first on the defensive line) in tackles.

“It just keeps running,” McElroy said of Clemson’s D-line, “because Will Heldt continues to do amazing things. He’s the guy that transferred in from Purdue and was really good, and was still one of the more effective edge rushers in the ACC. He had 15 tackles for loss. That led the team. He had seven sacks. That was terrific as well. He’s outstanding, and a guy that plays the game with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Now it’s projecting – if you look forward, this a guy that could very well hear his name called very [earlier] in the draft than you would have thought maybe a year or two ago.”

In addition to Woods and Parker, Clemson has to replace another staple of its D-line in tackle DeMonte Capehart, after he was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in this year’s NFL Draft.

Clemson defensive tackle Hevin Brown-Shuler will miss the 2026 season amid treatment and recovery following his Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis, while transfer defensive tackle Kourtney Kelly suffered a torn ACL during spring practice.

However, the Tigers added a number of other D-linemen via the transfer portal, including London Merritt, CJ Wesley and Markus Strong, as well as JUCO signee Andy Burburija and most recently, Texas State transfer Devarrick Woods. Clemson signed one defensive tackle (Kam Cody) and two defensive ends (Michael Foster, J.R. Hardrick) as part of its 2026 high school recruiting class, and the Tigers return other linemen who are expected to step into bigger roles, such as end Jahiem Lawson and tackles Amare Adams and Vic Burley.

“You also look at the interior, and maybe it’s a bit thinner than it was at one point,” McElroy said. “You lose a couple pieces — one transfers out [Stephiylan Green to LSU], DeMonte Capehart is off to the NFL — and then you go get a couple portal additions in C.J. Wesley and Markus Strong. Those guys have an awful lot to prove. And Jahiem Lawson returns as well. That gives a rotational complement off the edge.”

Oregon is the No. 1 defensive line on McElroy’s list, followed by Texas and Notre Dame. After Clemson, the rest of McElroy’s top 10 is comprised of Ole Miss, Michigan, Oklahoma, Indiana, Texas Tech and Georgia.

McElroy is a “big believer” in Clemson’s D-line and “bullish” on the unit entering 2026.

 “The depth question is legitimate, but I’m a big believer in what they have in the scheme, I’m a big believer in what they have coming back, and I’m a big believer in the upside — and the chip on their shoulder that it feels like Clemson is approaching the season with,” McElroy said. “So maybe a little higher than most, but still very optimistic and bullish on what the Clemson Tigers can be this season, which is why I have them at No. 4.”