Texas A&M's 2026 season opener vs. Missouri State is just six days away, and with the conclusion of the preseason, which featured significant strides from several rising players on both sides of the ball, especially redshirt junior quarterback Marcel Reed, who has improved his decision-making and deep ball accuracy, at least based on what we witnessed during several scrimmages.
Among the 17 transfer portal additions, former Northwestern Edge Anto Saka has been widely described as a "grown man" who is all business on the field, while senior defensive end T.J. Searcy has been the most consistent defender outside of the Aggies' loaded secondary, entering the new season with an eye on improving as a pass rusher.
Texas A&M's offense, especially the wide receiver rotation led by Mario Craver and now including Alabama transfer Isaiah Horton, should lead to matching last season's production, but as I stated above, the Aggies' cornerback and safety rotation is chock-full of NFL talent, now including former Tennessee CB Rickey Gibson and Colorado transfer safety Tawfiq Byard.
One of the program's "sleepers" has to be sophomore Edge Marco Jones, who already looks like a force to be reckoned with physically and fits perfectly in Elko's scheme as the starting Jack as a hybrid Edge/linebacker.
Outside of a lack of continuity along the defensive line, all the preseason proved was that Texas A&M's defense could be better than last year's unit. Here are the final two-deep depth chart projections heading into Saturday's season opener.
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
The addition of Colorado transfer Tawfiq Byard will likely lead to Mike Elko and Lyle Hemphill deploying a three-headed safety rotation, while Dalton Brooks provides positional versatility and Marcus Ratcliffe thrives as the short-side safety, where he and Byard will provide run support in the box on early downs.
Cornerback and nickel- Starting cornerback: Dezz Ricks
- Backup CB: Adonyss Currie
- Starting nickel: Jordan Shaw
- Backup NB: Bravion Rogers OR Bryce Anderson
- Starting cornerback: Julio Humphrey
- Backup CB: Rickey Gibson III
- Freshman class: Brandon Arrington, Victor Singelton
Dezz Ricks is the clear No. 1 option after breaking out last year, while former Georgia transfer Julio Humphrey is healthy and, after stiff competition with Rickey Gibson, enters the 2026 season opener as the No. 2 cornerback in my final projection.
At nickel, one of the most important positions in Elko's man-heavy scheme, Jordan Shaw stood out this preseason and looks like the current leader to take over the starting NB role, with veteran corner Bravion Rogers and 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: Jordan Lockhart
- Starting Will linebacker: Daymion Sanford
- Starting WLB: Noah Mikhail
- Freshman class: DaQuives Beck, Tank King, Tamarion Watkins, Storm Miller
Daymion Sanford's miraculous return after suffering a fibula injury isn't the only takeaway from the linebacker room's preseason performance, as junior Jordan Lockhart is coming off an impressive string of practices and has all but locked up the backup middle linebacker job.
Transfer Ray Coney has done enough to start the season at MLB, while sophomore Noah Mikhail is versatile enough to play either position and provide important depth.
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
Nothing has changed here, as Anto Saka and T.J. Searcy will serve as the 1-2 punch off the edge, while senior defensive tackle DJ Hicks will pair well with transfer nose tackle CJ Mims, who are highly athletic defensive linemen with NFL upside. Depth-wise, Angelo McCullum is one of the strongest players on the roster, while Marco Jones, who needs no introduction.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Final Texas A&M post-preseason 2026 defensive depth chart projection
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