Grading the 2028 Defensive Position Groups

My “grading the position groups” articles are among my favorite to write. It can be extremely helpful when looking at a class as a whole to break it down by position to see what the strongest positions are in the class. It can add context to the class as a whole and give insight to college coaches about where the state's areas of strength lie for each class.   I've graded every position group in the 2026 and 2027 classes during their rankings rollout weeks. Now, I'm looking at the 2028 class. It can be tricky to try to grade a class so early, but I'm going to try, knowing these grades will change multiple times in the coming years. Here, I'm grading each of the offensive position groups based on depth, top-end talent, and potential. Let's grade the top 2028 defensive position groups.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Grading the 2028 Defensive Position Groups</h2>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Interior Defensive Line: B</h3>   The Numbers: 12 ranked, two top 25, six top 50, nine top 100   Highest Ranked: [player_tooltip player_id='1607430' first='Cory' last='Cunningham'] (No. 2 overall), Providence   Strongest Level: Group of Five   The interior defensive line class is thin, but there's some talent here. Several guys in the top 50 of the rankings already have great size with six of the top seven guys already weighing in near the 260-280 range. There's some quickness too, and the athleticism of this class really shines near the top.   Cunningham is the headliner as a guy who could end up the top overall player in this class, while guys like [player_tooltip player_id='366529' first='Blake' last='Hopkins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1046314' first='London' last='Delk'] have impressed us with their upside and flashes as freshmen.   There's a long way to go, but this defensive line class is solid and I'm excited to see how it develops.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Edge: B-</h3>   The Numbers: 12 ranked, three top 25, five top 50, 10 top 100   Highest Ranked: [player_tooltip player_id='1113123' first='Landen' last='Harding'] (No. 11 overall), Jay M. Robinson   Strongest Level: Group of Five   Potential, potential, potential. If classes were built on what could be, this edge class would be one of the best. It's thin, with just 12 players in the rankings so far--and none on the watchlist--this isn't the class that will put out dozens and dozens of college prospects, but it is one that could have some interesting evaluations.   What I mean is that I don't see many 20+ offer guys, but I see several players who could earn one or two huge offers as they develop. We have eight players listed at 6'3"+ and most of these guys are in the 200-220 range, a great place to be for rising sophomores.   In terms of potential, we have multiple players outside the top 50 with FBS athletic profiles. Trinity Christian's phenom duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1687761' first='Baganley' last='Donzo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1687767' first='Mohamed' last='Donzo'] each have elite upside. Baganley's raw athleticism is probably a tick above Mohamed's but both are explosive athletes with elite length. Parkwood's [player_tooltip player_id='1616109' first='Tyler' last='Surles'] plays both ways and could find a groove in 2025.   Near the top, [player_tooltip player_id='1598900' first='Deigo' last='Lewis'] has Power Four upside, and Shelby's [player_tooltip player_id='1655116' first='Tyler' last='Williams'] just received an early Group of Five offer after his first camp of the summer. There's huge upside here, but I think there will be a lot of difference in opinions regarding this class.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Linebackers: A-</h3>   The Numbers: 11 ranked, four top 25, seven top 50, nine top 100   Highest Ranked: [player_tooltip player_id='1044292' first='Skylar' last='Alston'] (No. 11 overall), Cardinal Gibbons   Strongest Level: FBS   This linebacker group is excellent. With multiple players with FBS offers ([player_tooltip player_id='1044292' first='Skylar' last='Alston'], [player_tooltip player_id='950969' first='Ryan' last='Peterson']) and a few others we have FBS grades on ([player_tooltip player_id='1046790' first='Brayden' last='Hunt'], [player_tooltip player_id='1616142' first='Lej'end' last='Lockwood']) the top of this group is one of the best we've had.   It's not the deepest group, but we have eight linebackers on the watchlist that could provide some more depth after we see some varsity film. I'm interested to see how this class develops. Hunt could move to the edge position in a future rankings update while we'll almost certainly gain some later additions from bigger schools who have sat behind older players.   On the whole I really like this group. Seven of the 11 ranked linebackers are in the top 42, so it's likely that we'll see some natural return to the mean as we add more players at other positions, but right now, it's the best defensive position in the class.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Defensive Backs: C+</h3>   The Numbers: 17 ranked, four top 25, seven top 50, 12 top 100   Highest Ranked: [player_tooltip player_id='1259782' first='Nate' last='Dollard'] (No. 13 overall), Country Day   Strongest Level: FCS   If the edge position is the position group of high athletic ceilings, this is the position group of high technical floors.   The defensive backs group as a whole is smaller in stature than past classes as six of the top 10 are listed at 160 or less. On the whole, it's not the fastest group either. There's some length here, though and the footwork and hip flexibility bucks a trend I've noticed in recent years of a lot of defensive backs struggling technically.   This group is really technically sound. Dollard, [player_tooltip player_id='424705' first='Zion' last='Malloy'], Domonic Williams, and [player_tooltip player_id='1646236' first='Malachi' last='Burt'] are three younger defensive backs who have impressed me in person. There are some guys with size too, like Fike's [player_tooltip player_id='1616207' first='Braylen' last='Loftin'] and East Forsyth's [player_tooltip player_id='1393949' first='Zion' last='Dobson'] each stand around 6'2".   It's a versatile class, with some talented true safeties and some linebacker/big slot hybrids.   If some of these guys can hit the necessary athletic benchmarks on the 40 and broad jump over the next few years, they'll see their recruitments take off.   Disagree with my grades? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter/X (<a href="https://x.com/whelms21">@whelms21</a>).

My “grading the position groups” articles are among my favorite to write. It can be extremely helpful when looking at a class as a whole to break it down by position to see what the strongest positions are in the class. It can add context to the class as a whole and give insight to college coaches about where the state's areas of strength lie for each class.