Consensus board vs. draft day: the full S class, charted.
The Steal
DeShon Elliott was ranked S7 on the consensus board (#97 overall) but lasted until pick 190, where the Baltimore Ravens took him in Round 6. A 93-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any S in the class. Behind him, Ronnie Harrison (+52) and Marcus Allen (+37) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Detroit Lions took Tracy Walker at pick 82, 131 spots ahead of his #213 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Terrell Edmunds (92 spots) and Dane Cruikshank (79 spots).
The Cliff
After Terrell Edmunds went at pick 28, the next S didn't come off the board for 26 picks. That's the sharpest drop in the class.
The Spend
Teams spent 21 picks on S, 4 of them in the first two rounds. That's above the position's average of 20.4 since 2018.
The Bet
The Los Angeles Chargers spent more draft capital on S than any other club: picks 17 and 119, 45% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Kameron Kelly, ranked #149 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 256 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Minkah Fitzpatrick | S2 | #8 | +3 | Alabama | Miami |
| 17 | Derwin James | S1 | #5 | +12 | Florida State | LA Chargers |
| 28 | Terrell Edmunds | S11 | #120 | −92 | Virginia Tech | Pittsburgh |
| 54 | Jessie Bates III | S5 | #64 | −10 | Wake Forest | Cincinnati |
| 68 | Justin Reid | S3 | #37 | +31 | Stanford | Houston |
| 82 | Tracy Walker | S17 | #213 | −131 | Louisiana | Detroit |
| 93 | Ronnie Harrison | S4 | #41 | +52 | Alabama | Jacksonville |
| 95 | Tarvarius Moore | S9 | #109 | −14 | Southern Miss | San Francisco |
| 109 | Troy Apke | S26 | #262 | −153 | Penn State | Washington |
| 117 | Jordan Whitehead | S12 | #136 | −19 | Pittsburgh | Tampa Bay |
| 119 | Kyzir White | S6 | #89 | +30 | West Virginia | LA Chargers |
| 124 | Armani Watts | S8 | #104 | +20 | Texas A&M | Kansas City |
| 146 | Tre Flowers | S28 | #307 | −161 | Oklahoma State | Seattle |
| 148 | Marcus Allen | S10 | #111 | +37 | Penn State | Pittsburgh |
| 152 | Dane Cruikshank | S22 | #231 | −79 | Arizona | Tennessee |
| 154 | Siran Neal | S18 | #215 | −61 | Jacksonville State | Buffalo |
| 164 | Natrell Jamerson | S20 | #225 | −61 | Wisconsin | New Orleans |
| 184 | Marcell Harris | S40 | #478 | −294 | Florida | San Francisco |
| 190 | DeShon Elliott | S7 | #97 | +93 | Texas | Baltimore |
| 200 | Foyesade Oluokun | S19 | #220 | −20 | Yale | Atlanta |
| 222 | Jermaine Kelly | S41 | #485 | −263 | San Jose State | Houston |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Kameron Kelly | S13 | #149 | — | San Diego State | — |
| — | Quin Blanding | S14 | #166 | — | Virginia | — |
| — | Godwin Igwebuike | S15 | #185 | — | Northwestern | — |
| — | Travon Blanchard | S16 | #186 | — | — | — |
| — | Trayvon Henderson | S21 | #228 | — | — | — |
| — | Tray Matthews | S23 | #235 | — | — | — |
| — | Jeremy Reaves | S24 | #249 | — | — | — |
| — | Stephen Roberts | S25 | #255 | — | Auburn | — |
| — | Damon Webb | S27 | #263 | — | Ohio State | — |
| — | Kyle Queiro | S29 | #326 | — | — | — |
| — | George Odum | S30 | #365 | — | — | — |
| — | Joshua Kalu | S31 | #369 | — | Nebraska | — |
| — | Cole Reyes | S32 | #373 | — | — | — |
| — | Trey Marshall | S33 | #374 | — | — | — |
| — | Van Smith | S34 | #393 | — | Clemson | — |
| — | Jamar Summers | S35 | #426 | — | — | — |
| — | Sean Chandler | S36 | #431 | — | Temple | — |
| — | Steven Parker | S37 | #439 | — | — | — |
| — | Dominick Sanders | S38 | #458 | — | Georgia | — |
| — | Mike Basile | S39 | #470 | — | — | — |