Earlier today Cats Illustrated writers shared their picks for Kentucky's breakout offensive player of the year in the upcoming 2023 season. You can read those picks here.

We press on with our preseason roundtable series here, with the same question but applied to the other side of the ball.

Who will be Kentucky's breakout defensive player in 2023?

Jeff Drummond: Keeshawn Silver. The former 5-star prospect did not make an immediate impact for North Carolina, but we could see glimpses of his enormous potential after participating in spring practice with the Cats. Brad White's system looks like a nice fit for the 6-foot-4, 322-pound Silver, who will be lining up next to 6-6, 348-pound Deone Walker to give UK one of the more physically imposing D-Line tandems in the league. These two guys should command a lot of attention up front and allow the linebackers to make a ton of plays this season. Silver could also bring some much-needed interior pass-rush ability.

Travis Graf: D’Eyrk Jackson. Jackson is slated to slide into the starting lineup at Mike linebacker this season, and while he’s a change of pace from DeAndre Square and Jacquez Jones in the middle, I believe he’ll take a huge step forward with more playing time. Jackson’s a thumper who has a nose for making plays and is just a good football player.

Justin Rowland: The three players I'm torn on are defensive lineman Kahlil Saunders, linebacker Daveren Rayner, and cornerback Andru Phillips. I think all three will be among Kentucky's better defensive players and I think each would qualify for this spot. Because Phillips is in great position to be a starter, and with UK losing its starting corners from last year, he's going to be a very important player. He plays bigger than he is and really battles. For that reason my choice is Phillips. I think he'll have a really solid season. But Saunders and Rayner should as well.