Oklahoma defensive line has talent but could use portal reinforcements

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The Oklahoma Sooners deployed arguably the best defensive line in the country in 2025. And it was deep. The Sooners had 11 defensive linemen record a sack. Each of Oklahoma's top eight defensive linemen recorded at least 4.5 tackles for loss. The group was the tip of the spear for the Sooners in 2025, and ahead of the first official day of the transfer portal, despite the talent that's returning, Oklahoma could look to retool its defensive line depth chart.

The Sooners will lose four key players from their defensive line rotation to the NFL draft. R Mason Thomas, Gracen Halton, Damonic Williams, and Marvin Jones, Jr. will each be drafted. Despite the loss of four NFL defensive linemen, OU's defensive line is still incredibly loaded.

Taylor Wein will be back after leading the Sooners with 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Jayden Jackson will be back again in 2026. He's a two-year starter now for the Sooners and recorded 28 total tackles, five tackles for loss, and three sacks. David Stone was a breakout star this season, erupting for 42 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks, and is expected to return as well.

If there's a spot to watch going into the offseason, it's at the other defensive end spot opposite of Wein. Adepoju Adebawore and Danny Okoye will return for 2026. Both players contributed as part of the defensive end rotation and now will be expected to battle for a starting job at defensive end.

Brent Venables, defensive tackles coach Todd Bates, and defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis have done a great job at building out the depth through the recruiting ranks during their tenure in Norman.

At defensive tackle, Oklahoma has Markus Strong, who saw a significant jump in snaps from two as a true freshman in 2023, four in 2024, to 106 snaps in 2025. He'll continue to be a factor on the inside and could see an uptick in playing time in 2026.

Former four-star prospect Trent Wilson will have an opportunity to join Oklahoma's four-man defensive tackle rotation behind David Stone and will be pushed by Nigel Smith II, who looks to factor in more at defensive tackle than at defensive end in four-man fronts. Then there's the addition of 2026 signees Brian Harris and James Carrington. There shouldn't be an expectation that they'll come in and earn significant snaps in year one, and Oklahoma doesn't need them to. Still, they're athletic enough to create problems for interior offensive linemen. They could be a factor.

On the edge, the Sooners have intriguing young players like Wyatt Gilmore, Alex Shieldknight, and Bergin Kyser. They're bringing a trio of impressive defensive ends as well in Jake Kreul, Matthew Nelson, and Daniel Norman.

Oklahoma hasn't been shy about adding defensive line help in Venables' tenure. It's likely they'll look to add at least one player to compete for snaps on the edge as well as an interior defensive lineman.

All that to say, the defensive line is in good shape ahead of Friday's first official day of the transfer portal. But even with the talent the Sooners have, you can expect they'll try to find players who are looking for an opportunity to play in an aggressive downhill scheme.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Could Oklahoma Sooners add defensive line help in the transfer portal?

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