ESPN Analyst Ranks Auburn Linebackers Top Three in College Football

Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach DJ Durkin will have lofty expectations ahead of a 2026 season that has the Tigers going in underrated.

The Auburn defense was its best unit of 2025, and the linebackers played a vital role in that. Can they do it again in 2026? | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Look, we always knew that the Auburn Tigers’ linebacker core was good. In fact, we even knew it was great.

Even the national media is giving them their flowers.

However, ESPN’s Greg McElroy recently shared his stance on the best groups of linebackers in college football, and the Tigers cracked the list at a staggering No. 3 in the nation.

“This is kind of a clean story here,” he said. “If you look at the whole list, this one is pretty easy, and when you look at the defense last year, Auburn retained pretty much every meaningful piece of their linebacker room from a year ago. Xavier Atkins is back, he’s been unbelievable.”

The Tigers’ linebacker group is no stranger to high rankings, as recently, On SI’s Carter Long ranked the Tigers as the third-best group in the SEC. McElroy, though, is giving the Tigers much more credit than that.

Headlined by the aforementioned Xavier Atkins, who was a First-Team All-SEC player in his first year with the Tigers, Auburn’s linebacker room is certainly talented and very, very deep. Joining Atkins this year are Demarcus Riddick, a former All-SEC Freshman teamer, former four-star prospect Bryce Deas, 2025 SEC All-Freshman Teamer Elijah Melendez and a host of other top names.

The best part? The Tigers’ linebacker dominance is not expected to end anytime soon, at least if Golesh’s recruiting has anything to say about it. Already on the roster is Shadarius Toodle, a true freshman who was recruited as part of the 2026 class, along with Adam Balogoun-Ali, a former two-way player who has made the transition to linebacker.

Even the Tigers’ 2027 class boasts top linebacker talent, including Isaac McNeil, who joined the Plains after what was a huge recruiting win against the Georgia Bulldogs. McNeil is a four-star prospect who is currently rated as the fourth-best linebacker in his class, as well as the second-best player from his home state of Alabama.

Even in a 2025 season where the Tigers struggled to get any forward momentum on offense, DJ Durkin and his defense consistently kept the Tigers’ offense in games that they certainly had no business being in. Couple a DJ Durkin defense with an Alex Golesh offense led by Byrum Brown? Things could get interesting on the Plains before we even know it.

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