The 2021 recruiting cycle is mostly finished with all but two ESPN 300 prospects committed. The player rankings are subjective, but they give us a good look at what these college football programs could be adding to their roster.

The class rankings give us a look at the totality of a class and which classes outperformed others overall. To dissect those classes even further, we looked at which programs recruited each position the best.

For this exercise, we are not looking at transfers, only high school prospects and what each team is adding at each position.

We broke down which teams recruited the best on offense on Monday, and now we will move to defense. Here is a position-by-position look at which teams signed the best defensive haul of prospects for this cycle.

Defensive line

Texas A&M Aggies
Who they signed: ESPN 300 DE/DT Shemar Turner, ESPN 300 DE Tunmise Adeleye, ESPN 300 DE Elijah Jeudy, ESPN 300 DE Marcus Burris, ESPN 300 DE Jahzion Harris, three-star DT Albert Regis

It's clear Jimbo Fisher and his staff made defensive line a priority and they came through with quite the haul with five ESPN 300 defensive linemen. Turner is the highest ranked as a five-star and the No. 14-ranked prospect overall. He has some versatility in where he can play for the Aggies as well. Adeleye is the No. 42-ranked prospect.

The Aggies' defense is going to lose quite a bit for next season, so landing some of these prospects up front was necessary to prevent holes in the future. Landing this many top recruits in one class is a bonus and should help keep production high.

Alabama Crimson Tide
Who they signed: ESPN 300 DT Damon Payne, ESPN 300 DE Keanu Koht, ESPN 300 DE Monkell Goodwine, four-star DT Tim Keenan, four-star DT Anquin Barnes

It's no surprise Alabama has made it a priority to recruit players up front on both sides. Payne, from Michigan, is the highest-ranked prospect along the defensive line for Alabama, ranked No. 26 overall.

The staff flipped Koht, the No. 135-ranked recruit, from LSU in the early signing period and was able to sign Goodwine on the outside. Alabama actually has quite a bit returning on defense next season, as quite a few of their starters were younger.

Phidarian Mathis is returning and LaBryan Ray, DJ Dale and Justin Eboigbe will all be back in 2021, so the prospects in this class won't be relied upon right away to produce -- another benefit to keeping depth and adding elite recruits at Alabama.

LSU Tigers
Who they signed: ESPN 300 DT Maason Smith, ESPN 300 DE Bryce Langston, ESPN 300 DE Landon Jackson, three-star DE Saivion Jones

It was imperative for LSU to recruit well on defense, especially up front. The staff will get more talent and more competition out of this class.

LSU landed Smith, one of the most highly sought-after defensive tackles in the country, over Alabama. The Tigers lose some key players along the line for 2021, so Smith, ranked 57th overall, should provide help early on in the middle.

LSU ranked 39th in sacks this season, which is a little skewed because most teams played a different number of games. But the Tigers played 10 games and still weren't in the top 25 in the category. Langston, Jackson and Jones will help at defensive end, and while they all won't likely see significant playing time right away, developing them will eventually provide some balance up front for LSU.

Ohio State Buckeyes
Who they signed: ESPN 300 DE Jack Sawyer, ESPN 300 DT Mike Hall, ESPN 300 DT Tyleik Williams

The Buckeyes don't have the quantity some of the other teams have, but the coaches signed Sawyer, the No. 1 overall prospect in the class, who enrolled early.

The staff does have some good pieces returning at defensive end next season, especially with Tyreke Smith, Zach Harrison, Tyler Friday, Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Noah Potter. Even if Sawyer doesn't play right away, he fits exactly what defensive line coach Larry Johnson wants and what he has molded into NFL talent in the past.

The staff also was able to sign Hall and Williams at defensive tackle, with Hall ranked No. 88 overall and Williams at No. 193.

Linebacker

Alabama Crimson Tide
Who they signed: ESPN 300 LB/DE Dallas Turner, ESPN 300 LB Deontae Lawson, ESPN 300 LB Kendrick Blackshire, ESPN 300 LB Ian Jackson

Turner could be in this section or the defensive line section since he could play at either spot, so we'll include him here for now, but he's the No. 12-ranked recruit overall and the highest-ranked defensive prospect in the class. Lawson is ranked No. 120 overall while Blackshire and Jackson are both outside the top 150.

As mentioned above, Alabama is returning quite a bit on defense, and that includes rising sophomore linebacker Will Anderson Jr., Christopher Allen, Christian Harris and others. It's possible none of these prospects will be called upon early, which will set the Crimson Tide up nicely for the future.

Georgia Bulldogs
Who they signed: ESPN 300 ATH/LB Smael Mondon, ESPN 300 LB Xavian Sorey, ESPN 300 LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson, ESPN 300 LB Chaz Chambliss

Georgia's recruiting class was overshadowed by Alabama and Ohio State, but this was an outstanding class for Kirby Smart and his staff, especially at linebacker.

Mondon is a five-star prospect, ranked No. 11 overall, and is listed as an athlete. At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Mondon, combined with Sorey, who is 6-3, 210, and the No. 21-ranked recruit overall, will give Georgia two versatile linebackers in the future.

Dumas-Johnson is ranked No. 107 overall and Chamblizz is the No. 221 prospect. From top to bottom, this is one of the best linebacker classes in this cycle.

Maryland Terrapins
Who they signed: ESPN 300 LB Terrence Lewis, ESPN 300 LB Demeioun Robinson, ESPN 300 LB Branden Jennings

Maryland got a little bit of luck with Lewis, who is a five-star prospect. After Lewis decommitted from Tennessee, it looked like he was leaning toward Auburn, but the Tigers fired coach Gus Malzahn, which gave Maryland an opportunity to step in.

The staff also flipped Jennings from Michigan, as the Wolverines fired defensive coordinator Don Brown. Jennings is the No. 69-ranked recruit overall and was, at one point, committed to Florida State before his commitment to Michigan.

Robinson is ranked No. 38 overall and is the No. 1 prospect in the state of Maryland. For Mike Locksley and his staff to land three top-70 linebackers in one class, including the No.-10 recruit overall, it's a big win for the future defense.

Defensive backs

Ohio State Buckeyes
Who they signed: ESPN 300 CB Jakailin Johnson, ESPN 300 CB Jordan Hancock, ESPN 300 S Andre Turrentine, ESPN 300 S Jantzen Dunn, ESPN 300 CB Denzel Burke, four-star S Jaylen Johnson

Ohio State signed five ESPN 300 defensive backs and one four-star, a remarkable haul. If there was any weakness from the team this past season, it likely was in the secondary, and the coaches have addressed that need and then some.

Johnson is ranked the highest at No. 88, but Johnson, Hancock and Turrentine are all ranked in the top 150 of the ESPN 300.

None of the six defensive backs are under 6-feet tall, giving the Buckeyes much more length in the secondary. Dunn, at 6-2, 175, is the tallest.

Alabama Crimson Tide
Who they signed: ESPN 300 CB Ga'Quincy McKinstry, ESPN 300 S Terrion Arnold, ESPN 300 S Kaine Williams, ESPN 300 S Kadarius Calloway, ESPN JC 50 CB Khyree Jackson, three-star CB Devonta Smith

Similar to Ohio State, Alabama has recruited a ton of length in this class. Smith is the only defensive back commit under 6-feet, with Jackson the tallest at 6-3.

But the highest-ranked prospect among this group is McKinstry, who is ranked No. 40 overall (and also has the nickname Kool-Aid).

Smith has the unfortunate task of going to Alabama with the same name as the most recent Heisman winner, which will definitely cause confusion and lead to comparisons even though they play different positions.

North Carolina Tar Heels
Who they signed: ESPN 300 CB Tymir Brown, ESPN 300 S Kamarro Edmonds, ESPN 300 S DeAndre Boykins, ESPN 300 S Dontavius Nash, four-star S Gabriel Stephens, four-star CB Dontae Balfour

Tony Grimes doesn't show up on this 2021 class anymore after he reclassified to the 2020 class and enrolled at North Carolina in August.

A former five-star prospect, he originally was part of Mack Brown's 2021 class. He ended up receiving significant playing time late in the season. Add him in with the four ESPN 300 recruits and two ranked as four-stars, and it's easy to see what kind of talent North Carolina is bringing in the defensive secondary.

With Grimes already contributing, it helps to rank this class so highly because we don't have to guess if he'll be productive or not.