The Green Bay Packers know they need more juice from the interior of their defensive line, and that reality has pushed Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton squarely into the conversation as a potential mid-round target in the 2026 NFL Draft.

In 2025, Green Bay’s defensive tackle group too often disappeared when it mattered most, forcing the coaching staff to lean heavily on the edge rushers while the middle of the defense struggled to generate disruption or consistently win at the point of attack.

Devonte Wyatt, limited to just ten games due to injury, still led the position group with four sacks and tied for the team lead with six tackles for loss, a reflection of both his impact and the unit’s overall lack of depth.

Outside of Wyatt’s production, the rest of the defensive tackles combined for a single sack and seven tackles for loss, numbers that underscore how little interior havoc Green Bay generated over a long, physical NFL season.

Karl Brooks paced the group with twenty-five total pressures, while Wyatt added twenty-two before his season-ending injury, but the rest of the room managed just thirty combined pressures, a sobering total for a position critical to modern defenses.

It is, as one observer put it, a room of “sidekicks to the sidekick,” a collection of rotational contributors lacking the true interior wrecking ball who can command double teams, collapse the pocket, and change the math for opposing offensive lines.

Enter Halton, a four-star recruit out of California who steadily climbed the depth chart at Oklahoma Sooners and now looks like the type of ascending, disruptive defensive tackle the Packers could realistically target in the third or fourth round.

Halton checks in at No. 65 on the Unpacking Future Packers Countdown, signaling that he sits firmly in the range where Green Bay often looks for value, traits, and long-term developmental upside along the front seven.

Halton’s statistical arc at Oklahoma tells the story of a player who improved every season; after recording just one tackle for loss as a freshman, he bumped that total to three and a half in 2023 while carving out a rotational role.

The following year, he took a noticeable leap, finishing with six tackles for loss and five sacks, flashing the type of interior pass-rush ability that defensive coordinators covet in today’s attack-oriented, penetration-based schemes.

In 2025, his first full season as a starter, Halton delivered his most complete campaign, posting seven tackles for loss and three and a half sacks while anchoring one of the more consistent defensive fronts in the Big 12.

“Gracen played his best season of football in 2025,” said Carson Field of Sooners on SI, noting that the defensive tackle was a constant disruptor and arguably the most dependable player along Oklahoma’s stout defensive line.

At six-foot-two and 293 pounds, Halton is powerfully built, and his game starts with heavy, violent hands that allow him to shock offensive linemen at contact, stack blocks, and work quickly into his next move.

Scouts praise not only his initial power but also his ability to string counter moves together, with “counters to his counters,” giving him answers when his first rush plan fails and allowing him to win late in reps.

To complement that power, Halton flashes impressive get-off, showing good initial quickness off the snap that helps him shoot gaps, get upfield, and compromise the integrity of the pocket before quarterbacks can fully complete their drops.

Across the last two seasons, he has logged eight and a half sacks and fifty-nine pressures, numbers that highlight his disruptive presence and prove he is not simply a space-eating run defender but a legitimate interior pass-rush threat.

Field highlighted Halton’s knack for constant harassment of opposing quarterbacks, pointing specifically to a dominant performance against South Carolina in which he repeatedly found his way into LaNorris Sellers’ face throughout the game.

That said, his size does present some limitations when dealing with double teams; at just under 300 pounds, he can be overwhelmed if two interior linemen latch on and drive him rather than allowing him to stay in attack mode.

Technique and leverage help mitigate that issue, but scouts will want to see how well his game translates against NFL-caliber interior size, power, and combo-block timing, especially on early downs in heavier personnel groupings.

Athletically, Halton is flexible and balanced through contact, rarely ending up on the ground, and his ability to “wiggle” through tight spaces makes him particularly dangerous on stunts, slants, and gap-shooting assignments.

He covers ground laterally better than many tackles his size, flowing down the line to chase wide-zone concepts, and his 2025 tape features a career-high nineteen run stops, signaling improved play recognition and finishing ability against the ground game.

Field also noted that Halton consistently held up against top-tier running backs, citing strong outings against Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy, Michigan’s Justice Haynes, and Auburn’s Jeremiah Cobb as evidence that he can perform against high-quality competition.

From a fit standpoint, Halton checks plenty of boxes for the Packers, who are actively searching for more active, high-motor interior players capable of creating disruption rather than simply occupying space and playing reactively.

Green Bay’s defensive philosophy increasingly demands interior defenders who can penetrate, generate pressure on early downs, and force offenses into long-yardage situations where the pass rush and coverage structures can tilt the advantage back toward the defense.

Halton’s blend of quickness and play strength gives him a realistic trajectory toward becoming that type of interior disruptor, particularly if he continues to refine his hand usage, pad level, and ability to anticipate blocking schemes.

Field described Halton as having great upside and above-average agility for a defensive tackle, emphasizing that his steady year-over-year improvement contrasts with the many college tackles who peak early and stagnate before reaching the professional level.

In his view, Halton is one of the more underrated defensive prospects in the 2026 class, a low-risk, high-reward type of player who may be overlooked by teams drafting purely by size thresholds rather than explosiveness and production.

For the Packers, investing a third- or fourth-round pick in Halton could provide the interior “wrecking ball” they currently lack, injecting needed juice into a defensive tackle room that desperately needs someone who can live in the backfield.

His presence would not only help collapse pockets and generate negative plays against the run but also create more favorable situations for edge rushers, who benefit tremendously when quarterbacks cannot step up into clean interior lanes.

On paper, Halton looks like the type of swing Green Bay has to start taking if it wants to transform a line of sidekicks into a front that actually dictates terms to opposing offenses instead of simply surviving four quarters at a time.

If the Packers call his name on Day Two or early Day Three, they would be betting on traits, trajectory, and disruption—and that might be exactly the kind of calculated gamble this defensive line needs to finally turn the corner.