Jalen Kilgore - Safety - South Carolina
Jalen Kilgore learned a whole lot from Nick Emmanwori as his understudy. While a few inches shorter with longer arms, it is criminal that Kilgore is not receiving the love Emmanwori did during last year's draft cycle. A gritty, well conditioned athlete, Kilgore has the agility and bounce to take chances, yet recover if necessary. A lockdown presence playing in the Gamecock's hybrid nickel, Jalen Kilgore is a plus athlete with above average size. A team looking for a difference maker in the secondary will be looking Kilgore's way if he hangs around the second round.
Lee Hunter - Nose Tackle - Texas Tech
There are few times watching College Football where your eye's are drawn to the Nose Tackle. This was the case all year long for the Red Raider's Defense. Lee Hunter was the reason his teammates Height, Bailey and Rodriguez were able to wreak so much havoc. Taking on double and triple teams regularly, Hunter has shown a motor seldom seen in monsters of his stature. Any team looking to improve their defense's backfield presence will be happy to have this guy.
VJ Payne - Safety - Kansas State
VJ Payne is a player that we feel has slipped through the cracks. While not testing wildly favorably, he in no way showed an inability to compete. He has the size, fluidity, and fortitude to play the safety position well. When watching Payne's tape, it is hard to not see a contributor at the top of the Wildcat Defense who plays very sound on the backend. Standing at 6'3, being a 'tweener may be the real reason. In our opinion, transitioning from LB to Safety out of HS has paid dividends, and we will be beating the Payne drum until his name is called.
Brandon Cisse - Cornerback - South Carolina
If forced to choose, Brandon Cisse may be our favorite player in this entire draft. Cisse is a dawg on the outside. He has shown an ability to stay married to a receivers hips and finish plays as an extremely willing tackler. His tape includes some of the most agile moments we have witnessed to date. Cisse has contributed from his very first game in college, and we expect him to do the same in the NFL. Only 20 years old, Brandon Cisse has everything necessary to be a true lockdown corner in the NFL.
Jake Golday - Linebacker - Cincinnati
Jake Golday is a football player through and through. An ability to diagnose, set his angle and attack the play, Golday makes his defense better. Towering at 6'3, Golday can play sideline to sideline with speed to hang with the best. If the Bearcat linebacker is able to develop into a better pass defender, specifically in zone concepts, we believe the sky is the limit for this prospect.
Stay on the lookout for our final 2026 Mock Draft dropping this week!