Projecting Texas A&M's post-spring 2026 defensive depth chart

Texas A&M's spring season is officially in the rearview mirror after the annual Maroon & White Game on April 18, providing third-year coach Mike Elko and his staff with an early evaluation of how close or far the 2026 roster, now featuring 17 transfer portal additions, is to contending for a second consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff.

While it's too early to predict how the Aggies will perform this fall, projecting the program's depth chart is an offseason exercise we at Aggies Wire have already started, with the offense projections coming out on Wednesday morning.

The return of starting quarterback Marcel Reed will provide first-year offensive coordinator and playcaller Holmon Wiggins a baseline to work with, but four new starting offensive linemen will likely dictate Reed's improvement in the pocket and the offense's overall success.

Still, adding Alabama transfer wide receiver Isaiah Horton , combined with junior WR Mario Craver returning for his second season, should help create one of the better passing attacks. Focusing on the defense, which includes one of the deeper secondaries and an influx of transfer talent along the defensive line, Elko and new defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill will have some major decisions to make this fall.

Here is the two-deep defensive depth chart prediction.

Safety

• Starting free safety: Dalton Brooks

• Backup FS:Myles Davis

• Starting strong/boundary safety:Marcus Ratcliffe

• Backup SS: Tawfiq Byard

• Freshman additions:Chance Collins, Tylan Wilson

Similar to last season, the addition of Colorado transfer Tawfiq Byard will more than likely lead to Mike Elko and Lyle Hemphill deploying a three-headed safety rotation, while Dalton Brooks provides positional versatility, paired with Marcu Ratcliffe thriving as the short side safety, where he and Byard will provide run support in the box on early downs.

Depth-wise, Myles Davis looks like the best next option behind Brooks, while Rashad "Tom Tom" Johnson is also versatile and could work his way into the rotation on certain downs.

Cornerback and nickel

• Starting cornerback: Dezz Ricks

• Backup CB:Adonyss Currie

• Starting nickel: Jordan Shaw

• Backup NB: Bryce Anderson

• Starting cornerback:Julio Humphrey

• Starting CB:Rickey Gibson III

• Freshman class:Brandon Arrington, Victor Singelton

This newly formed cornerback rotation is not as cut and dry as some may believe, mainly due to Tennessee transfer Rickey Gibson, who entered the rotation after missing all but one game during the 2025 season. Dezz Ricks is the clear No. 1 option after breaking out last year, while former Georgia transfer Julio Humphrey is reportedly healthy and could easily be the No. 2 corner rep with Gibson and serve as the starter.

At nickel, one of the most important positions in Elko's man-heavy scheme, Jordan Shaw stood out this spring and looks like the current leader to take over the starting NB role, with former starting safety Bryce Anderson either serving as his primary backup or outright earning the starting job this fall.

Linebacker

• Starting middle linebacker:Ray Coney

• Backup MLB: Noah Mikhail

• Starting Will linebacker: Daymion Sanford (injured)

• Starting WLB:Noah Mikhail

• Freshman class:DaQuives Beck, Tank King, Tamarion Watkins, Storm Miller

Just minutes before halftime of the Maroon & White Game, senior Daymion Sanford suffered a lower-body injury and could miss the first half of the season after undergoing surgery just days later. Looking ahead, sophomore Noah Mikhail will likely serve as the starting Will backer before Sanford returns, while Tulsa transfer Ray Coney is slated to start at middle linebacker, replacing three-year starter Taurean York .

Behind all three players, Jordan Lockhart is versatile enough to play at middle or Will, and will be depended on early in the season before Sanford returns. Overall, Coney and Mikhail are bigger linebackers who should immediately help the run defense, which struggled at the second level last season.

Defensive line

• Starting defensive end: Anto Saka

• Backup DE:T.J. Searcy

• Starting Jack defensive end:Marco Jones

• Backup Jack defensive end:Sam M'Pemba

• Starting defensive tackle:DJ Hicks

• Backup defensive tackle:Landon Rink

• Starting nose tackle:CJ Mims

• Backup nose tackle:Angelo McCullum

For most of the other projected defensive line depth charts, this is a lineup you'll continue to see, starting with Northwestern transfer edge Anto Saka, starting as the sole big defensive end, while sophomore Marco Jones, who physically looks the part, looks to replace unanimous All-American Cashius Howell at the jack defensive end spot.

At defensive tackle, losing Albert Regis , one of the team's most trusted run defenders, leaves a hole in the middle of the line, but after landing productive lineman CJ Mims, who produced 42 tackles with North Carolina last season, the coaching staff is high on his athleticism to not just stop the run, but add to the interior pass rush. Behind him, Illinois transfer Angelo McCullum provides equally intriguing size and athleticism.

However, senior defensive tackle DJ Hicks is by far the most important defensive lineman, needing to take the next step as a pass rusher and become a leader among the transfer additions and younger defenders.

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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Projecting Texas A&M football's post-spring 2026 defensive depth chart