Under Josh Heupel, Tennessee football has pumped out NFL draft picks. This includes two first-round picks in James Pearce Jr. and Darnell Wright, with Wright going inside the top-10 in 2023.

This year, the Vols have another crop of talented draft-eligible players who are likely to hear their names called. The top prospect on the list is defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam, who is sitting just outside the top-10 prospects list for the 2027 NFL Draft, compiled by ESPN’s Jordan Reid.

Reid slots Gilliam as the No. 11 prospect in the draft class. This makes him the No. 2 defensive tackle behind Ole Miss’ Will Echoles.

“Gilliam is an explosive, up-field interior defender who can penetrate the first level with ease,” Reid wrote. “His game centers around quickness, as his first step is difficult for blockers to match. Gilliam’s active hands help him win with multiple plans of attack in pass-rush situations. He is equally as strong as a run defender, anchoring his feet in the ground to withstand at the point of attack. He also can stack and dislodge blocking attempts to knock run concepts off-schedule.”

Xavier Gilliam is the most unblockable player in college football https://t.co/ThRS4DgZST

— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) October 21, 2026

So far, Gilliam has recorded 23 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. This is his first year with Tennessee after following defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to Knoxville out of Penn State. This also meant other assistants, such as co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter, got previous looks at him in Happy Valley and have seen his development.

“Well, probably just, I mean, he’s been on the grass,” Poindexter said on Gilliam’s improvement. “He played two years for us at Penn State. Now he’s in his third year, you can just see the maturity, the growth, the strength. He understands football, he understands the system, and he’s playing phenomenal right now.”

Next, Tennessee will play at South Carolina in another critical SEC showdown. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.