LSU Football's Defense Could Have a Position Change in the Front 7

LSU's first week of fall camp has concluded after four practices spanning from Wednesday to Saturday.

The first off day offers a good chance to take a look at what was learned from the first few days of practice and the individual periods that were open to media viewing. In all this week, the media has been able to view about 30 minutes of individual drills.

Head coach Lane Kiffin has mostly been sticking with the offense during camp, and defensive coordinator Blake Baker has been getting his side of the ball in shape. His defense could have some shakeups that were being tested out Saturday.

A potential new edge rusher

Bradyn Swinson chases the quarterback in a 2024 game against Oklahoma | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Redshirt freshman linebacker Jaiden Braker only appeared in five games last year and made two tackles, both coming against Southeastern Louisiana. This year, Whit Weeks and TJ Dottery headline the linebacking room, and Braker is likely to fall on the third line in the depth chart.

But its clear that the LSU staff has a plan for him. Braker briefly entered the transfer portal in January before recalling his name and deciding to stick with the Tigers. The former four-star out of Georgia's elite Gwinnett County got some reps in at edge during Saturday morning's practice.

Look at the arm length of @jaidenbraker_11!!!

He’s getting work with the Edge Rusher and this may be where he can get on to the field early.

The linebacker room is very deep

The Tigers just added depth to the Edge group by making this change!

He looks the part #LSU pic.twitter.com/2QxXfgfiJx
— AP (@AJP413) August 8, 2026

Braker would see a lot more playing time at edge, and has the build to easily switch into the group, standing 6'3 and weighing 223 pounds. He might just need to use the last few weeks of fall camp to add some more weight if the coaching staff wants to switch him over to edge full-time.

The starting group at edge is pretty much set, with two SEC transfers in Princewill Umanmielen and Jordan Ross getting all the first-team reps. Behind them, its obvious that elite freshman Lamar Brown will be in the rotation as the next man up.

"Lamar is a great height, weight, and speed combination and very rare to find," Kiffin said after the first fall practice. "He's an awesome kid, really intelligent, really well-spoken, and really has really good thoughts when you meet with him about being great and what it takes."

As of now, redshirt junior Dylan Carpenter, redshirt freshman Damien Shanklin and redshirt sophomore Jaylen Brown fill out the last spots for the second and third team at edge.

Carpenter appeared in 10 games last year and made 10 tackles with two sacks. He played 22 snaps in the Texas Bowl against Houston but only made two tackles. While he is built like a superhero, he could be pushed back in the depth chart if Braker has an emergence over the next few weeks.

Shanklin didn't get many snaps as a true freshman last year but did have a couple of sacks, and Brown is at his third SEC school in three years after missing all of last year with an injury.

The amount of time that Braker gets at edge will be something to watch during fall camp, and especially how he does compared to Carpenter. It is emerging as a surprising position battle before the season starts.

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