Previewing Oklahoma Sooners 2025 defense depth chart: Can Brent Venables replicate elite 2024?

The 2024 offseason brought plenty of changes to the Oklahoma Sooners' depth chart heading into next season. Over 30 players departed in the transfer portal, some starters, others not, and the Sooners brought in a decent haul of replacements to fill in the gaps and upgrade at a few spots. What does the team look […]

AJ Schulte — College Football Trending News Writer
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Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Kip Lewis (10) return an interception for a touchdown during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. Oklahoma won 24-3.
BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2024 offseason brought plenty of changes to the Oklahoma Sooners' depth chart heading into next season. Over 30 players departed in the transfer portal, some starters, others not, and the Sooners brought in a decent haul of replacements to fill in the gaps and upgrade at a few spots.

What does the team look like heading into next season? Previewing and predicting the depth chart is tricky with the turnover on the roster. Admittedly this early on is entirely guesswork, but I think it's good practice to see just what the team could look like moving forward.

Oklahoma's defense is much easier to predict than the offense, given the talent that returns from last year's team. The Sooners have the opportunity to once again be one of the best defenses in college football next season. 

Oklahoma Sooners 2025 defensive depth chart

Left Defensive End: Marvin Jones Jr., Taylor Wein

Marvin Jones Jr. was a massive pull for the Sooners to add a talented plug-and-play starter at defensive end opposite of R Mason Thomas to replace Ethan Downs. He's not a finished product, but Jones is an NFL-caliber athlete and the Sooners have been terrific developers here under Brent Venables. 

Taylor Wein saw his snap counts tick up at the end of the season, and I would expect him to be a rotational player for the Sooners here in 2025. 

Right Defensive End: R Mason Thomas, PJ Adebawore, Danny Okoye

R Mason Thomas is the best returning player on Oklahoma's defense and will be a crucial player for them next season. One of the best Sooners' pass rushers in recent memory, he will be a key player as the Sooners look to keep SEC offenses in check.

PJ Adebawore is a player on the cusp of a breakout season. He has tremendous tools and has made an impact when he plays in games. However, just when it feels like he's turning a corner, he has suffered an injury or some sort of setback. If he can stack a healthy offseason though, expect him to be a crucial rotational pass rusher. 

Danny Okoye is another young pass rusher the Sooners are excited about, and he's nipping at the heels of these other veterans to earn playing time. The coaching staff raved about him virtually as soon as he stepped foot on campus. 

Defensive Tackle: 

Defensive Tackle: Jayden Jackson, Gracen Halton/David Stone
Nose Tackle: Damonic Williams, Jayden Jackson

Truthfully, the defensive tackle rotation will see all of these players play a good chunk of snaps throughout the season. This feels like Oklahoma's deepest defensive tackle room in years. 

Jayden Jackson was a breakout freshman last year who looked like a future top NFL Draft prospect. David Stone didn't earn a ton of playing time, but everytime he took a snap, he made an impact, with multiple stops and pressures. 

Damonic Williams and Gracen Halton are the returning veterans. Williams is a good space eater up front for the Sooners, and Halton is a quality interior pass-rushing tackle for the front.

Still, I wouldn't be surprised if the Sooners added another player here in the spring portal to add depth. 

MIKE Linebacker: Kobie McKenzie, Jaren Kanak

We're mostly playing guesswork with the linebacker room and responsibilities here. However, I do feel like Kobie McKenzie will be the most likely player to step up and fill in where Danny Stutsman played last year.

Jaren Kanak has been rumored to make the switch to offense, but the Sooners don't have the depth to afford that, which makes it puzzling. I'd expect Oklahoma to add at least one linebacker in the spring portal. 

WILL Linebacker: Kip Lewis, Samuel Omosigho

Kip Lewis played the WILL role last season for the Sooners, and I imagine they will want to keep him there and let him make plays all over the field. The Sooners don't pull off the win over Auburn and their upset over Alabama without Kip Lewis.

Samuel Omosigho rotated out at Cheetah last year, but with the depth issues at linebacker, seems likely to move back inside at linebacker for Oklahoma. 

Cheetah: Kendal Dolby, Kendal Daniels, Reggie Powers 

The Cheetah role is similar to the "Star" position that has become a craze in the NFL. It's a pseudo-safety/linebacker/corner position, mainly playing as an overhang and slot corner.

Kendal Dolby has held the position down for years and was playing at a high level here last season before suffering a season-ending injury early in the season. 

The Sooners added Kendal Daniels out of the transfer portal from rival Oklahoma State. We don't know if Daniels will rotate at Cheetah or move inside to linebacker, but he played this role early at Oklahoma State and seems like a natural fit here for Oklahoma. 

Cornerback

LCB: Eli Bowen, Devon Jordan, Courtland Guillory/Maliek Hawkins
RCB: Gentry Williams/Jacobe Johnson, Jeremiah Newcombe/Trystan Haynes

The Sooners got elite play out of Eli Bowen outside last season, so he is a safe assumption to return as a starter. The spot opposite of him feels like more of a question mark. Gentry Williams is talented but has battled injuries every year. Jacobe Johnson is young and still learning the position. 

Behind those three are all freshmen and players who barely played in Newcombe and Jordan. This is a young, but talented secondary for Oklahoma. 

Free Safety: Robert Spears-Jennings, Michael Boganowski

Robert Spears-Jennings was a crucial do-it-all player for the Sooners at safety last season, making plays as a coverage defender, blitzer, and run defender. He will likely be a captain and leader for the team next season. 

Michael Boganowski is a hard-hitting player who flies up with mean intentions. I'm excited to see what he can do with a bigger role next season.  

Strong Safety: Peyton Bowen, Jaydan Hardy

With Billy Bowman off to the NFL, it's up to Peyton Bowen to step up and fill that role for the team next season. He has the talent to pull it off, and a good season could put him firmly on NFL Draft radars. 

Jaydan Hardy is another young safety that has already made several plays for Oklahoma in his career, most notably an interception against Temple in the opener. He's a gifted athlete in his own right who should figure into Oklahoma's plans for 2025 and beyond.  

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