​Ranking 2027 NFL Draft DT Prospects: Miami’s Justin Scott Tops PFSN’s Surprise No. 1 on the Hot List
Justin Scott, not David Stone, leads PFSN’s first top-five defensive tackle board for the 2027 NFL Draft. Miami’s breakout interior disruptor edged out two more-hyped names, and the reasoning reveals how PFSN’s Ian Cummings weighs traits and projection against early production.
Why Justin Scott Leads PFSN’s 2027 Defensive Tackle Rankings
Cummings did not hide that his No. 1 pick would surprise many. “This might be a surprise for a lot of people. I know David Stone and [Will Echol es] have a lot of DT1 hype early on in 2027, but Justin Scott graded the highest on my initial evaluation,” he said on today’s Hot List. The selection runs counter to Scott’s own PFSN DT Impact score of 76.8. Cummings preferred Scott’s traits and run-defense profile, including a 5.2% tackle-for-loss rate and just 0.76 yards allowed per run stop in 2025. Standing 6-foot-4 and around 300 pounds, the former five-star project is seen as a scheme-diverse gap controller with elite hand use and gap discipline.
“I’m a big fan of the immediate utility and the pre-existing upside that he has,” Cummings noted, adding that “Scott has the upside to be a high-end starter and is already very, very good at what counts.” Stone sits at No. 2, with the gap between them being slim. Stone, a five-star signee who joined Oklahoma and quickly earned a role, then broke out in 2025 with 1.5 sacks and 8 tackles for loss. His 85.9 PFSN DT Impact score was the fourth-best in the FBS, the highest among players on this board.
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Cummings believes there’s a first-round ceiling if Stone continues to refine his polish. “With more growth, Stone has true blue-chip potential across schemes, and you can already see with the raw tools alone how disruptive and how hard to handle he is,” he said.
PFSN’s 2027 DT Board Rounds Out With Echol es, Moten and Ibirogba
Ole Miss’s Will Echol es lands at No. 3 after a breakout sophomore season with 5 sacks and 5 pass deflections across 15 starts, plus an 82.6 PFSN DT Impact score. The four-star recruit brings power, agility and a developed rush arsenal at 6-foot-3 and 310 pounds, though his middling length can slow his release off blocks. Cummings views him as a starting-caliber, two-phase presence inside.
Miami’s Ahmad Moten Sr. sits at No. 4 after posting 4.5 sacks, 9 tackles for loss and an 83.7 PFSN DT Impact score. A three-star signee under Mario Cristobal, Moten combines a high motor with genuine pass-rush independence, and Cummings compares him to David Onyemata. He remains a work in progress against double teams, but “Moten projects as an alignment-versatile gap intruder and explosion-based obstructor, well suited for hybrid front schemes,” Cummings said.
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Texas Tech’s Mateen Ibirogba rounds out the top five, a projection-based pick aimed at future upside.