Ascending three-technique with the kind of first-step quickness that shows up before the pads even pop, the reason national evaluators are already circling him. Gadson checks the frame boxes at 6-5, 303 and flashed in a nine-game 2025 (28 tackles, 2.5 sacks) that hints at more than the box score. ESPN slots him the No. 5 DT in the 2027 class and On3 has him top-80 overall for 2026 — two distinct votes of confidence. However, this is a traits-and-attention grade more than a production one: the resume is essentially one partial season, and the get-off has to translate into a full-year disruption count before the ranking is earned. The number to watch is snaps-to-sacks over a healthy 2026. The band is wide by design; the ceiling is a Day 2 interior rusher, the floor a rotational piece still filling out the tape.
Ceiling · 8.8
Projected 2026 starter (DT1) — real opportunity to climb; real room to grow (+1.0).