Which teams are strongest in the trenches heading into the 2016 season?

On Friday, Athlon Sports published its rankings for the top 50 best defensive lines in college football. Depth, overall talent, production, level of competition and projected output in 2016 all factored into the list, reflecting projection for the upcoming campaign rather than looking back to 2015.

Despite having to replace three key members from last year’s rotation, Alabama leads the entire nation at No. 1 overall thanks to big-time names such as Jonathan Allen, Da’Ron Payne, Da’Shawn Hand, Joshua Frazier, and Dalvin Tomlinson. Four more SEC teams appear in the top 10, with 11 of 14 making the cut in its entirety.

It’s evident that if you’re a top defensive lineman prospect, you are likely headed to the SEC. Here are the complete rankings:

1. Alabama
2. Michigan
3. Utah
4. Florida State
5. LSU
6. Ohio State
7. Ole Miss
8. Texas A&M
9. Missouri
10. Clemson
11. Tennessee
12. Florida
13. Michigan State
14. Auburn
15. Arkansas
16. TCU
17. UCLA
18. Oklahoma
19. Houston
20. Miami
21. Pittsburgh
22. NC State
23. Notre Dame
24. Washington
25. Virginia Tech
26. Arizona State
27. Kansas State
28. Iowa
29. Boston College
30. Mississippi State
31. Wisconsin
32. Stanford
33. Texas
34. Oklahoma State
35. Louisville
36. Arkansas State
37. San Diego State
38. Wake Forest
39. Northwestern
40. Temple
41. Illinois
42. BYU
43. Oregon
44. Penn State
45. Rutgers
46. Georgia
47. Georgia Southern
48. USF
49. Akron
50. Ohio