Auburn Tigers’ latest news makes life tougher for Deuce Knight and QBs as transfer portal damage continues
Auburn loses offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin to the transfer portal, as the list of players lost continues to rise dramatically
The Auburn Tigers might not find immediate success under Alex Golesh, but two things are certain. First, it can’t be as bad as the Hugh Freeze era. Two, this team will look a lot different.
The Tigers have been shedding players left and right to the transfer portal this December as the program is obviously going through a major transition. Some Auburn players who have entered the portal haven’t been super important. Unfortunately, the latest news could prove to be a pretty significant loss for Deuce Knight and other Auburn quarterbacks. Fans just better hope the damage stops here.
Offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin joins long list of Auburn transfers
Xavier Chaplin, a top-tier transfer offensive tackle that Auburn acquired from Virginia Tech just last offseason, will enter the portal once again. Fans and some analysts might scoff at this being a major loss considering Auburn’s struggles with sacks this past year, but it’s tough to replace a 6-7, 350-pound offensive tackle, regardless of how many sacks the Tigers took last season.
Most of those sacks were not on Chaplin, either. He was only credited with three all season long, despite leading the entire team in offensive snaps. Whether it’s Knight starting or someone else, losing a left tackle with Chaplin’s size and experience hurts.
Still, Chaplin was certainly an imperfect player this past season. He’s definitely not completely irreplaceable. He was supposed to be a highly rated NFL Draft prospect one day, but our A to Z Sports NFL Draft expert and insider, Ryan Roberts, believes Chaplin is actually rather tough to trust as a blocker anyway:
“Heading into the 2025 season, there was a lot of love for Chaplin in NFL circles. There were even some first-round preseason grades, as people were excited to see Chaplin go from Virginia Tech to Auburn. Those scouts gravitating to Chaplin were infatuated with his massive frame and length. Unfortunately for Chaplin, his lone season with the Tigers didn’t go very well. Going back to school was the best option for him, which he obviously opted for.”
“While Chaplin has the requisite size that NFL teams covet, he is also naturally high cut and stiff in his lower half. That prevents Chaplin from changing direction well against good pass rushers, and also zaps his power in pass protection. Chaplin will have to play with a more consistent base and overall pad level. Right now, his biggest impact comes in the run game. Trusting him on an island in pass protection, however, is a troubling area right now.”
Auburn’s transfer portal tally is getting ridiculously high
The loss of Chaplin might hurt less if he were the only significant player to leave this offseason, but he is not. Auburn is now up to nearly 25 players transferring out this season, with Chaplin’s addition (full list in Taylor Korn’s post below). Per A to Z Sports’ sources, this list will grow, too, with even more starters from the 2025 season opting to leave in the near future.
The Tigers have already lost more than 2,500 snaps of offensive experience from last year’s team, and the defense has lost almost as many. If Knight (or perhaps Byrum Brown if he transfers in, following his former coach) hopes to find immediate success, this transfer portal damage has to slow down.
Golesh certainly has his work cut out for him already if he wants to find early success with Auburn. Losing Chaplin on top of a dozen other offensive players definitely hurts. Losing four defensive starters and tons of depth players isn’t great either.
How can Auburn stop the bleeding? The answer likely lies in part with Golesh getting full buy-in to how he’s going to run the program. However, the program also needs to make sure its NIL and full player compensation plan looks as enticing as it did this past offseason and in prior years.
Auburn has consistently ranked highly there in previous seasons, but the Tigers haven’t been emptying their pockets just yet with this particular cycle. We’ll see if they can hold on to critical talents like Cam Coleman, Eric Singleton, and more soon. If Golesh and company can keep those talents in-house, then there might be hope for Auburn’s short-term future after all. If not? 2026 is probably going to be another mess.
We’ll be back with more Auburn Tigers coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
