We’ve pretty much gotten through the Missouri Tigers’ portal additions, so let’s take a look at how I think they rank based on impact in 2025.

The Tigers were in somewhat desperate need of help among the edge rusher group following the season with Johnny Walker Jr. exiting after being the main producer this year.

Walker was so good, he somewhat covered a lackluster year of production from the rest of the group.

The Tigers totaled 28 sacks as a team, 9.5 were Walker. The Tigers forced 12 fumbles, three were Walker. The edge rushers had 19 quarterback hits, four were Walker.

Now the Tigers have the next expected leader in the room with Damon Wilson coming in this week. The former five star joins a room that is looking much, much better than it did just a month ago.

Here is the addition that made me clarify we’re talking about 2025 impact alone.

Jalen Catalon will likely jump right into a starting safety spot, likely taking the Joseph Charleston role for the Tigers next season.

Just with your Top 2, you’ve got an elite pass rusher and an excellent back-end defender to sure up the Tiger defense that once again lost a lot of production all around.

Josiah Trotter would be second on this list if we were talking about full careers, I still think Wilson would be first.

The Tigers have had their main linebacker come from the portal each of the past three years with Ty’Ron Hopper for 2022 and 2023 and Corey Flagg this year. I think Trotter is the next one in that list, except he gets three years after joining the Tigers.

He’s already received multiple awards as a freshman All-American who recorded significantly more tackles than anyone on the Tiger defense this year.

We’re working into the back end of the starters now. Not to say I’m not impressed with Mikai Gbayor, I am.

He’ll be the Tigers’ second linebacker likely in the starting lineup and one of the keys in the rotation, the question just remains whether Triston Newson will return.

That will determine exactly how much of the rotation Gbayor soaks up.

I wasn’t sure how to split the next three, they’re all rotational guys, but I think Stephen Hall has the best case to make as a possible starter if things break right for him.

I expect the Tigers will slot Hall in as a full piece of a four-man rotation among the corners to try to keep everyone fresher and with the amount of snaps and success he had at Washington State, I could see Hall working his way into some series time in the defensive backfield.

Nate Johnson would have been higher on this list if I wrote the story Monday, but with the addition of Wilson, I’m not sure what Johnson’s role is going to look like.

As I said, the Tigers were somewhat a one-man show among the edge rushers this year as they were to a lesser extent with Darius Robinson in 2023.

I expect the Tigers will want to have a more even split in rusher production this year, but I think Wilson leads a depth chart that also has Darris Smith and Zion Young ahead of Johnson.

I’m not sure how far down the depth chart Mizzou’s coaches will want to go, but I expect Johnson to take advantage of opportunities when he gets them.

Another guy who would have been higher if we were talking about career impact, but because we’re talking about 2025, I don’t think Santana Banner is very high up.

He’ll be in the rotation as I talked about in my position analysis story earlier this week (check that out here) but he’ll likely be backing up Daylan Carnell in the hybrid safety/linebacker spot if his previous experience is how the Tigers want to continue using him.

There’s just not a lot of snaps available there, but he’ll be in the rotation immediately.

Also as part of the position group analysis story, I mentioned that I don’t have a lot of faith in Mose Phillips.

I would be happy to be proven wrong, but there's a reason he's last among the portal additions in the defensive backfield and the candidate I think is most likely to get passed up by Trajen Greco or even Charles Bass if Bass is really impressive early on like there’s talk about him being.

He’s also likely the one who would take Marvin Burks’ spot if the coaches really don’t see any development from him, but I can’t imagine the staff moving in that direction at this point.

Sorry Langden. I wasn’t sure about the amount of reps he was going to get in an edge rusher room before the additions of Johnson and Wilson, and now I really don’t think there are many snaps available.

He’s a fun story, but I don’t think we’ll see Langden Kitchen on the field very much in 2025.

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