A former Tennessee Vols defender was named by rival coaches (via ESPN) as a potential “sleeper” in the 2026 NFL Draft.

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg recently spoke to more than 30 college coaches in an effort to identify potential sleepers for the 2026 NFL Draft.

One of the players named was Vols defensive lineman Bryson Eason, a Memphis native who spent six seasons at Tennessee.

Eason, 6-foot-2/323 pounds, actually started his career at Tennessee as an inside linebacker under Jeremy Pruitt in 2020 before settling in as an interior defensive lineman.

“He got better every year,” said an SEC assistant to ESPN. “Whoever ends up taking that kid is going to be pleasantly surprised. He’s super strong, he can run. He’s a Day 3 guy that I think people are going to be glad they took.”

Eason totaled 105 tackles and 4.5 sacks during his six seasons on Rocky Top.

The former Vol is viewed as a “gifted” player, but he struggled with consistency at times during his career at Tennessee.

“Obviously, Bryson is very talented, and we’ve always talked about that every year,” said Vols defensive line coach Rodney Garner in 2025. “He’s one of the more gifted kids that we have, but just seeing him being more attentive to doing the little things. He is a talented guy, everybody when they are writing him up with the scouts and coaches, his talent jumps out.

“But there are some things that he needs to clean up in his game. And for him to come out and at least be focused on fixing certain things that we’ve talked about, that’s really encouraging, and it shows to me that he’s maturing. And that’s showing that he’s growing as a man and he’s taking it seriously.” 

A recent mock draft from ESPN has Eason getting selected in the sixth round by the Green Bay Packers.