3 Bold Predictions for Auburn Tigers Defense in 2025

Southeastern Conference Media Days are in the rearview, and we are racing in the left lane towards the Auburn Tigers kicking off their 2025 football season. That being said, we are still over a month away from August 29, when the Tigers will travel to Waco, Texas, to take on the Baylor Bears.

That means we are still in speculation and prediction season. So, here are three bold predictions for the Tigers' defense in 2025.

Keldric Faulk Won’t Lead the Team in Sacks

After an impressive sophomore season, Keldric Faulk has garnered a heap of national attention this offseason, with many publications predicting the junior out of Highland Home, Ala. to be a top ten pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Faulk will almost certainly live up to these high expectations, but don’t expect his high-end play to result in high-end numbers. If the national media is this aware of the 6-foot-6 285-pound defensive end, then you better believe opposing coaches have already started gameplanning around the dynamic playmaker.

Faulk will certainly face double and triple-team blocking once again, and see plays specifically run away from him. And while this will impact the game in a major way, it won’t lead to the eye-popping numbers that many fans are probably expecting.

The immense attention Faulk will receive in 2025 will open the door for some of Auburn’s other talented defensive players to pad the stat column. Look for names like Keyron Crawford (second on the team in quarterback pressures in 2024), Amaris Williams, and Malik Blocton to benefit from the attention that Faulk receives.

Auburn Will Lead the SEC in Interceptions

Faulk stated at SEC Media Days that he believed Auburn could have the best defense in the country, and specifically mentioned the secondary in his reasoning. After uncertainty surrounded the position heading into the 2024 season, Auburn’s defensive backfield became a strength for the Tigers last season.

Young players like Kayin Lee and Jay Crawford were forced into early action after some key injuries, and performed well enough to secure the starting cornerback spots.

Though the Tigers’ defensive backs played well in coverage, they were only able to turn over opposing quarterbacks eight times in 2024, and four of those picks walked out the door in the offseason.

Safety Jerrin Thompson finished his senior season with two interceptions, safety Caleb Wooden had one pick and transferred to Arkansas, and cornerback Antonio Kite had one and transferred to Ole Miss.

So, how does a team that ranked 97th nationally in interceptions in 2024 turn it around and lead its conference in 2025?

Faulk mentioned the experience the young players gained last season as to why he expects a jump this season. Lee was just a sophomore last season and recorded two interceptions. Crawford was a freshman and snagged one pick. Both Lee and Crawford return this season and are expected to make major leaps after their solid 2024.

Junior cornerback Champ Anthony returns after a leg injury against Arkansas cut his season to just three games in 2024. Many were anticipating a breakout campaign for Anthony last season, and as he is expected to be ready for fall camp, perhaps his impact season will be 2025.

Joining the already established Tigers defensive backs will be transfers Raion Strader and Rayshawn Pleasant. Both bring a knack for finding the football. Pleasant had one interception at Tulane in 2024, and Strader had two picks and a whopping 17 pass deflections at Miami (OH).

Adding talented depth to experience should go a long way in boosting the defense’s turnover numbers.

The Tigers' front seven will contribute to the interception numbers, as well. The marriage of talent up front and talent in the tail end will allow defensive coordinator DJ Durkin’s defense to play with hair-on-fire level intensity and aggression. And aggressive players tend to find themselves in opposing teams’ passing lanes.

And speaking of Durkin…

DJ Durkin Will Win the Broyles Award

The Broyles Award is awarded to the nation’s top assistant coach. Durkin enters his second year as defensive coordinator for the Auburn Tigers and is coming off a pretty stellar debut season. The Tigers under Durkin in 2024 had their best rush defense in 14 years, giving up 117.8 yards per game. Durkin also led Auburn to their best marks in total defense since 2017, allowing 330.8 yards per game, and the best scoring defense since 2019 after giving up just 19.5 points per game.

All of this despite getting little help from other phases of the game, including a turnover-prone offense and shaky kicking game.

Durkin was named one of 65 nominees for the Broyles Award in 2024, and even after losing some big names and key contributors such as Eugene Asante, Jalen McLeod, and Jerrin Thompson, the Tigers expect to be even better on defense in 2025.

Durkin’s squad is young but refined, after many true freshmen and true sophomores played a considerable amount of meaningful snaps in 2024. Along with Lee and Crawford, players like Malik Blocton and Demarcus Riddick saw significant time and were impact players, with Riddick being named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

The Tigers also added a host of talented defensive recruits in the 2025 class, including Malik Autry and Jourdin Crawford on the defensive line.

Durkin finds himself at the head of a very enviable squad. The experienced youth and immense talent will allow Durkin to go deep into his bag and be extremely aggressive in 2025, which should lead to the defense easily topping its numbers from the previous season.

But it won’t just be up to the defense if Durkin is to win the Broyles Award this year. The award doesn’t generally go to an assistant on a losing team. Auburn will need to win at least nine, but realistically 10 games, for Durkin to secure the win.

For the Tigers to reach those totals in the W column, the offense will have to do its part. There has been a lot of hype surrounding the offense this offseason, and if they can hold up their end of the bargain, then expect Durkin to hear his name called in February at the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Ark.