Tennessee football: Top 10 Vols with 2020 NFL Draft potential

Emmit Gooden played sparingly in the defensive line rotation last year. But he still managed 33 tackles, a sack and 7 tackles for a loss. This year, though, with Tennessee football losing all three starting defensive linemen in Kyle Phillips, Shy Tuttle and Alexis Johnson Jr., Gooden will undoubtedly have a bigger role.

Sure, the Vols have two junior college transfers and another four-star defensive tackle arriving in the summer. And Matthew Butler stood out on the defensive line in the spring. But Gooden is the only rock-solid proven force up front.

As a result, you can bet that Jeremy Pruitt is going to rely heavily on the 6’3″ 302-pound senior to make a huge impact. A four-star junior college transfer himself back in the 2018 recruiting class, Gooden was always recruited to step into the role this year.

Now, in this position, expect him to make a major impact up front. He’ll get the bulk of the reps, and with so many questions on the line, he could see more action than usual. That’ll spike his NFL Draft potential along with his size. The only reason he isn’t higher is because he hasn’t proven enough yet. But this is his year to do that.