Gracen
Halton.
Gracen
Halton.
Oklahoma· 6'3"· 293 lb· 4.82s 40
R4 · #107 · San Francisco 49ers"Undersized penetrator DT with rare 4.82 wheels and a violent first-strike hand; senior sack production dipped, but the 2024 tape shows a rotational three-tech with plus recovery quicks."Pre-draft read
Halton primarily aligns as a three-technique in even fronts, shifting to a shaded nose in obvious passing situations. He wins with an explosive get-off, quick hands, and short-area burst. He fires out of a two-point stance with consistent pad level and times the snap well, delivering a heavy first-strike punch that disrupts offensive linemen.
As a pass rusher, his best move is a long-arm-to-swipe counter, generating pressure later in downs, and he converts speed to power effectively. He is a high-motor player who chases screens and outside zone. Against the run, he operates as a penetrating one-gap defender, disrupting the mesh point from the guard's outside shoulder and occasionally splitting combo blocks.
This prospect projects to a one-gap 4-3 penetrating front scheme, relying on explosive get-off and short-area quickness to disrupt the run and collapse the pocket.
Year 1 rotational interior pass rusher in sub-packages with the ceiling to develop into a 30-snap three-technique as an all-situation penetrator.
A 3-4 two-gap scheme would diminish his value due to a lack of elite mass and length to consistently anchor against double teams and control two gaps.
Halton's elite short-area burst and quickness make him a valuable one-gap penetrator, ideally suited for schemes prioritizing disruption over raw power at the defensive tackle position.
Gracen Halton Full College Football Highlights💥 | Oklahoma Defensive Tackle
Game film cut-up of Gracen Halton's Oklahoma tape.
Gracen Halton Highlights | San Francisco 49ers Defensive Lineman
Game film cut-up of Gracen Halton's Oklahoma tape.
Gracen Halton - Oklahoma | 2025 Highlights
Game film cut-up of Gracen Halton's Oklahoma tape.
Halton projects as a rotational interior defensive lineman whose athletic testing significantly elevated his draft stock. Teams are buying a player with elite short-area quickness and a disruptive first step, ideally suited for sub-package pass-rush duties as a penetrating three-technique.
After two seasons developing behind veterans at Oklahoma, he had a breakout 2024 season, recording 5 sacks and 6 TFLs in 13 games. While his 2025 production saw a dip in sacks, his Combine performance, including a 4.82 40-yard dash and an 8.09 three-cone, underscored the athletic potential evident in his 2024 tape, despite some evaluators attributing the 2025 statistical regression to a scheme change.
Evaluators consistently flagged his arm length and ability to anchor against double teams, which projected him into a specialized role. Consensus saw him as a mid-Day 3 interior rusher with sub-package upside, and he was drafted at pick #107 as a developmental piece.
- 01
Explosive first step
His explosive first step helps win inside twists and stunts, consistently beating slower interior linemen.
- 02
Elite short-area athlete
His 4.82 forty and 8.09 three-cone at 293 lbs demonstrate elite short-area athleticism, aiding perimeter pursuit.
- 03
Technical hand usage
He displays heavy, technical hand usage, including a precise long-arm-to-swipe counter, converting speed to power effectively.
- 04
Rotational versatility
He shows positional versatility as a three-technique and shaded nose, holding up against double teams better than expected.
- 05
High motor player
He maintains a high motor and strong finish, evidenced by forced fumbles from second-effort pursuit.
- 01
Limited arm length
His limited arm length of 31 1/8 inches reduces his tackle radius, allowing centers to win punch-and-latch battles.
- 02
Anchor struggles
He struggles to anchor against jumbo double teams and downward blocks, leading to displacement against gap schemes.
- 03
Inconsistent pad level
His inconsistent pad level during bull rushes diminishes the effectiveness of his long-arm technique.
- 04
Limited starting experience
He has limited career starting experience with 10 starts in 47 games, indicating a developmental projection.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.82sp50
- Vertical
- 36.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 114inp50
- Three-cone
- 8.09sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.79sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Oklahoma | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Oklahoma | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Oklahoma | 13 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Oklahoma | 13 | 33 | 3.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | — | 47 | 82 | 8.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Stocky, quick-twitch interior rusher who carves out a decade-long sub-package role with situational pass-rush juice.
Best-case outcome is a 290-lb interior disruptor whose athleticism turns him into a starting three-tech after a rotational apprenticeship.
Undersized DT who bounces around as a rotational fifth lineman because the anchor and length never scale to a full-time role.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context
Halton spent five years at Oklahoma without ever becoming a full-time starter, appearing in 47 career games with just 10 starts. His 2024 season under the previous staff produced the pass-rush production that made him a legitimate NFL prospect — 5 sacks and 6 TFL across 13 games while rotating with more established interior players. The 2025 senior tape looked more like a supporting cast performance in a rebuilding front, but Combine testing rescued his stock: the 4.82 forty and 8.09 three-cone at 293 lbs are elite marks for the position, and they backed up the burst that showed up on his 2024 pass-rush reps. The evaluation flags were consistent across every draft board — sub-31.5" arms and a frame that cannot anchor against SEC-caliber doubles limit the role to sub-package rush snaps.
NFL fit — 49ers
San Francisco spent pick #107 on a developmental piece behind a veteran interior rotation. Under the current defensive staff, Halton profiles as a designated pass-rush three-tech whose first step and hand quickness fit the aggressive one-gap principles the franchise has favored for the better part of a decade. The realistic Year 1 role is 15-20 sub-package snaps a game as the fifth lineman in the rotation, with special-teams field-goal-block work as a means to a helmet on gameday. The staff will need to develop his anchor and teach him to convert his long-arm punch into a finisher instead of a stalling move; the athletic ceiling is there for a Year 3 breakout if the technical work sticks.
Retrospective
Too early for a final verdict, but the pre-draft evaluation lines up with the pick spot: mid-Day 3 developmental interior with sub-package upside. The 2024 tape and Combine numbers say the athletic tools are real; the 2025 senior tape and career start count say the projection is not a slam dunk. If Halton hits the likely comp of a Khalen Saunders-style rotational rusher, this is a value pick at #107; if the anchor never comes and the length flag wins, he is a camp-body-to-practice-squad outcome. The verdict will be written in 2028.