Way too Early SEC 2027 First Round Prospects: Defense

Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

By Chris Marler

Early today we talked about the way too early SEC first round prospects for offense. Now let’s take a look at the top defensive players projected to go in round one of next year’s draft.

LSU S Ty Benefield

This is the limb I’m going to go out on and is potentially the hill I will die on. Ty Benefield will be one of the most talked about defensive players in the league next season and he will work his way into first round consideration. Benefield has great size at 6-foot-3, 200 plus pounds. He is athletic and speedy enough to be elite in coverage and a willing hitter in the box and against the run.

What I love most about Benefield is the intangibles and the person, though. Every time we’ve had the opportunity to have media availability this spring, Benefield has been incredible. He takes the opportunity to go to each person individually to introduce himself and thank them for being there. At practice he routinely asks to stand in, behind the play, with coaches on plays he’s not in to see, coach, and absorb as much as possible. Benefield just feels like a guy who is built to be in the league for a long time.

LSU safety Ty Benefield can hit. Lowers his shoulder and knocks the ball free from the best running back in the country here. pic.twitter.com/5d7AFjcFbA

— Will Rosenblatt (@rozenwill) February 9, 2026

South Carolina EDGE Dylan Stewart

There are few players in the country that can move like Dylan Stewart can. His combination of size and bend are better than anyone else in the draft. He can speed rush, he can bull rush, and he can run sideline to sideline tracking down ball carriers. What makes him even more valuable is his ability to be disruptive and force turnovers. In just two seasons he’s already racked up 22.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, and has forced six fumbles.

Nobody on planet earth moves like Dylan Stewart pic.twitter.com/d0twJ8qyGN

— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) April 27, 2026

Alabama DB Zabien Brown

Brown is a former five star who has been Alabama’s best corner the last two seasons. He has good size at 6-feet, 196 pounds. He’s racked up five interceptions over his first two seasons and will be their top cover guy this year with Domani Jackson leaving for the NFL. Brown has great ball skills and has been great against elite competition so far in his first two years.

UGA S KJ Bolden

KJ Bolden is the best safety prospect in the draft. He’s a former five star with size, length, and excellent hips in coverage. There’s been at least one safety drafted in each of the last two drafts, and next year should see a lot of defensive players, especially in the SEC, with early round projections because of the depth at the position in the league. Still, Bolden is the premiere safety prospect and being a day one starter in Kirby Smart’s defense will go a long way in meeting rooms in the pre-draft process.

UGA CB Ellis Robinson IV

Ellis Robinson IV didn’t get off to the great start that some had hoped as a former five star in Athens. Last year things finally clicked, especially late in the season. Robinson isn’t the biggest corner from a physical standpoint, but he’s a shadow that stays in the hip pocket of opposing receivers better than almost anyone in the country. Robinson finished last season with 4 interceptions and showed all season that he has elite cover and ball skills. Robinson may not be CB1 next year, but a sub 4.4 cover corner that played for three years under Kirby Smart will not last long in the draft. Ever.