Defensive Tackle

Defensive Tackle (DT) First Round Draft Trends

This page tracks every defensive tackle selected in Round 1 of the NFL Draft from 2021 through 2025, with pick-by-pick scoring under both the Huddle Report and FantasyPros systems. Use the year toggles to isolate individual draft classes or compare DT selection patterns across all five years.

Understanding how many defensive tackles go in Round 1 each year — and where in the round they cluster — is one of the most effective ways to improve mock draft accuracy. Position-specific trends help you decide whether to project a defensive tackle at a given slot or anticipate a position run that could push DTs into a different range than expected.

Build your 2026 mock draft with these historical DT trends in mind, then check the accuracy leaderboard after draft night to see how your defensive tackle picks scored.

Teams Likely to Draft a Defensive Tackle in 2026

Based on current team needs, the following teams have defensive tackle as a top-3 positional need heading into the 2026 NFL Draft. As a defensive position, defensive tackles are on the defensive side of the ball — see the offense vs defense analysis for how each side has trended from 2021–2025:

• Minnesota Vikings — Pick #18
• Carolina Panthers — Pick #19
• Los Angeles Chargers — Pick #22
• Chicago Bears — Pick #25
• Houston Texans — Pick #26

Related Analysis

• Offense vs Defense — how side-of-ball distribution shapes Round 1 each year
• Accuracy by Pick Range — where in the round predictions are hardest
• Position Runs — consecutive same-position picks that shift DT draft slots
• 1st Round Misses — projected Round 1 players who fell to Day 2
• Consensus Big Board — 86.3% of top-32 ranked prospects go in Round 1