Phil Steele ranks Washington football's D-Line among nation's top 20

Ahead of the 2026 season, the Washington Huskies made a massive overhaul along their defensive line after seeing ten players exit via the NFL draft, graduation, and the transfer portal.

However, between the portal and the 2026 class, Jedd Fisch, defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, and defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi were able to reload the position. According to college football analyst Phil Steele, the Huskies have been able to build one of the nation's best defensive line units, ranking it at No. 17 ahead of the 2026 season.

Led by junior defensive tackle Elinneus Davis along the interior and senior outside linebacker Jacob Lane on the edge, the Huskies are hoping to combine veteran experience from the portal with the high-end young talent coming in from the high school ranks like defensive tackles TI Umu-Cais and Derek Colman-Brusa, and outside linebackers JD Hill and Ramzak Fruean.

Phil Steele’s Top DL Units:

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas
5. Notre Dame
16. USC
17. Washington
25. SMU
26. BYU
39. Fresno State
40. Arizona
41. Utah
43. Boise State
45. UCLA
50. Stanford
53. Cal

— WestCoastCFB (@WestCoastCFB) July 11, 2026

But the Huskies can't rely solely on youth, and turned to the transfer portal to upgrade the interior, bringing in a trio of defensive tackles in Ball State's Darin Conley, Mississippi State's Kai McClendon, and Sacramento State's DeSean Watts.

"DeSean is a player who immediately ratchets up the ruggedness, the power, and the physicality of our interior defensive line," Washington's senior director of player personnel Matt Doherty told ESPN's Billy Tucker. "His toughness and motor are evident on every snap, and he's one of the strongest tacklers amongst all the interior defenders we evaluated this past cycle. He has the kind of line-of-scrimmage stopping power that is critical to truly competing in this league."

Combined with a promising unit of outside linebackers, where Ohio State transfer Logan George, along with seniors Isaiah Ward and Russell Davis II and sophomore Devin Hyde, are all expected to play a role, the Huskies have a great opportunity to improve on the 24 sacks they managed in 2025.

If the Huskies' pass rush can take a step forward, while Walters maintains the team's elite run defense, which finished No. 12 nationally in 2025, allowing 100.08 yards per game, the defensive line should be able to live up to Steele's ranking.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Phil Steele ranks Washington football's D-Line among nation's top 20