Signing Class Positional Grades: Wisconsin's Defense

Head coach Paul Chryst's fourth full recruiting class at Wisconsin - at least the early signing period portion - is in the books, and BadgerBlitz.com takes one final look at where needs were met or fell short.

We also assign final grades by position before officially putting a bow on 2019 and turning our attention to 2020 and beyond.

Wisconsin's 2019 commit list | NSD Preview: A look at Wisconsin's 2019 recruiting class | Wisconsin Primer: Early National Signing Period | Inside the rankings: National Signing Day Edition | Wisconsin set to sign its best class of the Rivals.com era | PODCAST: Breaking down Wisconsin's 2019 class | TALK ABOUT EARLY SIGNING DAY IN THE BADGERS' DEN |

Needed: 4; Signed: 3 - Gio Paez, Keeanu Benton, Rodas Johnson

Breakdown: Wisconsin did a great job addressing arguably its top position of need in the 2019 class. And the staff may not be done, as Deshon Hall could be another prospect the Badgers flip before the February signing period.

Benton (75 tackles, 7.0 TFLs and two sacks as a senior), Paez and Johnson (32 tackles, 2.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks) are all versatile prospects who should be able to play in a few techniques on the line. One from that trio could be in the two-deep next fall behind nose guard Bryson Williams.

Biggest Miss: Mazi Smith (Michigan), who is teammates with 2019 signees Logan Brown and Stephan Bracey, was a top target early for the Badgers.