2026 NFL draft, position by position: Why the Eagles must future-proof the D-line

From April 6-17, The Inquirer’s Eagles reporting team will be breaking down each position on the roster ahead of the 2026 NFL draft, looking at the depth chart and long-term personnel picture, as well as some names that could emerge as Eagles targets in the April 23-25 event.

Let’s take a look at the interior defensive line depth chart ahead of the draft:

The Eagles are poised to enter the 2026 season fairly set at the top of the depth chart on the interior defensive line. All three snap leaders from last season are under contract, including the newly extended Jordan Davis as well as Jalen Carter and Moro Ojomo.

Will that trio last beyond this season? Carter, the 2023 ninth-overall pick out of Georgia, is eligible to have his fifth-year option exercised this offseason and is a top candidate for an extension. When he inks a long-term contract, he will likely reset the market at the position (the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones currently leads the group at $31.8 million per year).

Ojomo, though, is entering the final year of his rookie deal, which could be his last with the Eagles. His role increased substantially last season following the departure of Milton Williams for the New England Patriots. Ojomo played a career-high 66% of the defensive snaps and ranked second on the team with six sacks (first among Eagles defensive tackles).

He could earn himself a hefty payday on the open market next offseason if he continues to play well in 2026, potentially following in Williams’ footsteps. While the team prioritizes building through the trenches on both sides of the ball, it’s hard to fathom that they would pay top dollar for three interior defensive linemen.

If Ojomo isn’t in the team’s long-term plans, the Eagles may look to Day 2 or 3 of the draft to identify his prospective replacement after 2026. Otherwise, their internal candidates are limited. Byron Young played a career-high 30% of the defensive snaps in 2025 and notched 2½ sacks, but he’s an unrestricted free agent in 2027 and hasn’t come anywhere close to Ojomo’s pass-rush production.

Ty Robinson, the Eagles’ fourth-round pick out of Nebraska, is still very raw. In 11 games as a rookie, Robinson totaled 104 defensive snaps (14.6%) and only eclipsed 10 single-game snaps twice (19 in Week 6 against the New York Giants and 51 in the season finale against the Washington Commanders). He finished the year with two pressures on 47 pass-rush snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

Robinson would need to take a big step in Year 2 if the Eagles were to eventually view him as a starter. Regardless, the Eagles could stand to make a couple of additions at the position, either through the draft or free agency, before the start of training camp. Last year, they went into camp with nine interior defensive linemen. — Olivia Reiner

With the star power the Eagles have in Davis and Carter along with Ojomo’s emergence last season, selecting an interior D-line early in the draft seems unlikely. And in a class that doesn’t have the star power of years past, the Eagles likely won’t be tempted to take one, anyway.

Clemson’s Peter Woods, Georgia’s Christen Miller, Florida’s Caleb Banks, Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald, and Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter are among the top players in the 2026 class at the position. Those players are unlikely to be Eagles, but the team should still draft a D-lineman in the middle rounds or on Day 3, and there are plenty of options to consider.

Here are four prospects the team could be eyeing later this month:

Despite being undersized for the position at 6-foot-1, 290 pounds, Durant is an explosive, gap-shooting lineman who has a lot of pass-rush upside. His explosiveness and first-step quickness was evident at the NFL Scouting Combine, where he ran a 4.75-second 40-yard dash, jumped a 33.5-inch vertical, and leaped a 9-foot, 4-inch broad jump.

Because of his small stature, Durant struggles in the run game and his lack of length can make it difficult at times for him to launch a counter move as a pass rusher. While he can win as a run defender with his athleticism and speed, he can be moved off the ball on double-team blocks.

Durant won’t be a three-down player early in his NFL career but projects as a rotational, disruptive player who will be pretty scheme-dependent and will need to play next to a defensive lineman who can eat up blocks.

Playing next to Davis would allow Durant one-on-one matchups against interior linemen, and he has a connection to Carter, whom he grew up with and played against in the Orlando area. The Penn State D-lineman projects to be a Day 3 pick.

After spending four seasons at Iowa State, Onyedim transferred to Texas A&M for his final season and it paid huge dividends, as he finished with 8.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, both career highs.

Playing multiple spots along the Aggies’ defensive line, Onyedim has short-area quickness and uses his length (34-inch arms) to bench press offensive linemen and make plays as a run defender. He also has some juice as a pass rusher and in shooting gaps.

While Texas A&M aligned Onyedim all over the defensive line, it was clear he was least effective as a nose tackle and handling double-teams, as he struggled to get off blocks in those scenarios. His pass rush effectiveness also needs to improve, as he generated a 7.4% pass rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus.

Onyedim projects as a rotational player along the defensive line who is at his best playing at three-technique or 4i, where he can get one-on-one matchups with offensive linemen. He could go as early as the third round, but will likely be selected on Day 3.

If the Eagles are looking for a run stopper to add behind Davis, Capehart fits the mold. The sixth-year defensive lineman played in 57 games across six seasons with just six starts, but played plenty and consistently clogged up running lanes for Clemson’s defense.

He has nearly 34-inch arms that he uses to control reps against interior offensive linemen, powerful leg drive, and has some lateral agility at 6-5, 313.

He does not offer much in the pass rushing department, mainly using bull rushes that only push the interior pocket, but Capehart is a nice Day 3 option who can rotate in, especially on run downs, and build depth behind Davis, Carter, and Ojomo.

If the Eagles are looking for a developmental option late in the draft with exciting upside, FCS prospect Kaleb Proctor is worth an extra look. Proctor finished with nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss in 2025, which included an eye-popping two-sack performance against LSU.

He is a twitchy athlete — evidenced by his 4.79-second 40 at the combine — who utilizes his speed and heavy hands to win as a pass rusher and run defender. He’s undersized at 6-2, 291, and struggles detaching from bigger, more powerful linemen.

Still, Proctor, a three-year starter, has traits worth betting on. He showed he belonged at the East-West Shrine Bowl earlier in the draft cycle and had a formal meeting with the Eagles at the combine. He could be this year’s Jalyx Hunt. — Devin Jackson