Skill position talent captures most of the attention on college football game days, but in order to win at the highest level, teams cannot afford to come up short in the trenches. Defensive alignments continue to shift in an era when getting pressure on the quarterback is of the utmost importance, and in turn, some of the best and most influential players for the 2024 season reside at the edge rusher spot. Formidable interior defensive linemen are also still tremendously important as the first line of defense against the run game.
There is a great disparity between supply and demand in defensive line recruiting, and that was quite apparent on the 2024 transfer market, where many of the biggest winners in this year's portal cycle are the ones who acquired game-changing help up front.
The likes of Walter Nolen, Nic Scourton, Princely Umanmielen, Trey Moore and others are in line for huge roles on College Football Playoff-contending rosters after they joined new teams via the transfer portal.
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Below are the top 20 defensive linemen and edge rushers in the transfer portal and where they landed ahead of the 2024 season.
