Washington football is rich with NFL talent ahead of 2026 season
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Two Washington Huskies offensive linemen were among 49 players honored by the Panini Senior Bowl on Thursday as potential 2027 NFL draft targets to watch going into the 2026 college football season.
Fifth-year right tackle Drew Azzopardi, a 6-foot-7, 325-pound 25-game starter for coach Jedd Fisch over the past two seasons, and fourth-year center Landen Hatchett made the Senior Bowl Top 300 list with three dozen-plus other linemen
Azzopardi, a transfer addition from San Diego State after the 2024 season, and Hatchett, a former four-star recruit out of Ferndale High School who signed with the Huskies as part of the 2023 recruiting class, are the two veterans up front tasked with protecting third-year quarterback Demond Williams Jr. this coming fall. The pair have made 40 combined starts for the program with potentially 13 or more coming in the 2026 season.
In addition to the offensive line duo, five other UW football players were named to the 2026 Senior Bowl Top 300; fourth-year defensive lineman Ellineus Davis, fifth-year edge Russell Davis II, fourth-year linebacker Xe'ree Alexander, fourth-year safety Alex McLaughlin and Williams Jr. all saw their names on the preseason list.
Second-year defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has a loaded unit this coming fall with several returning starters—Davis, Alexander and McLaughlin being the three who received recognition from the Senior Bowl—and multiple key transfer additions, including fourth-year defensive linemen Darin Conley from Ball State and fellow fourth-year lineman DeSean Watts from Sacramento State who did not make the list but are eligible for next April's draft.
Alexander has the potential to be the biggest riser of the three over the coming months with his ability to play both inside linebacker and off the edge, mainly as a standup pass rusher. In his first season at UW, he finished second on the team behind McLaughlin with 70 tackles and tied with departed edge Zach Durfee for second with 5 tackles for loss.
The key Senior Bowl 300 selection is Davis II, a former transfer from Arizona with Fisch in 2024, has made just three appearances since joining the program two years ago.
If healthy, and even a sliver of what he showed against UCLA in his first season with the Huskies in 2024—a career-high three sack performance against the Bruins which earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for his effort—the son of nine-year NFL veteran defensive lineman and Super Bowl Champion Russell Davis Sr. could provide a significant boost to a defensive front that must improve its numbers in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington football is rich with NFL talent ahead of 2026 season
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