Consensus board vs. draft day — the full S class, charted.
The Steal
VJ Payne was ranked S11 on the consensus board — #148 overall — but lasted until pick 228, where the New York Jets took him in Round 7. A 80-spot fall, the largest gap between expectation and draft day of any S in the class. Behind him, Jalon Kilgore (+75) and Zakee Wheatley (+70) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Jacksonville Jaguars took Jalen Huskey at pick 100 — 117 spots ahead of his #217 consensus rank. The league's biggest vote of confidence against the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Jakobe Thomas (79 spots) and Treydan Stukes (23 spots).
The Cliff
After Lorenzo Styles went at pick 172, the next S didn't come off the board for 52 picks. The sharpest drop in the class — teams that waited paid for it.
The Spend
Teams spent 19 picks on S — 5 in the first two rounds. That's below the position's average of 20.4 since 2018.
The Bet
The Dallas Cowboys spent more draft capital on S than any other club — pick 11 — 32% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Louis Moore, ranked #215 on the consensus board, heard 257 names called — and not his.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Caleb Downs | S1 | #4 | +7 | Ohio State | Dallas |
| 25 | Dillon Thieneman | S2 | #20 | +5 | Oregon | Chicago |
| 38 | Treydan Stukes | S4 | #61 | −23 | Arizona | Las Vegas |
| 58 | Emmanuel McNeil-Warren | S3 | #21 | +37 | Toledo | Cleveland |
| 64 | Bud Clark | S8 | #85 | −21 | TCU | Seattle |
| 78 | A.J. Haulcy | S5 | #65 | +13 | LSU | Indianapolis |
| 98 | Jakobe Thomas | S13 | #177 | −79 | Miami | Minnesota |
| 100 | Jalen Huskey | S16 | #217 | −117 | Maryland | Jacksonville |
| 131 | Genesis Smith | S10 | #102 | +29 | Arizona | LA Chargers |
| 141 | Kamari Ramsey | S6 | #72 | +69 | USC | Houston |
| 150 | Dalton Johnson | S20 | #305 | −155 | Arizona | Las Vegas |
| 151 | Zakee Wheatley | S7 | #81 | +70 | Penn State | Carolina |
| 158 | Michael Taaffe | S12 | #169 | −11 | Texas | Miami |
| 167 | Jalon Kilgore | S9 | #92 | +75 | South Carolina | Buffalo |
| 172 | Lorenzo Styles | S19 | #291 | −119 | Ohio State | New Orleans |
| 224 | Robert Spears-Jennings | S14 | #190 | +34 | Oklahoma | Pittsburgh |
| 228 | VJ Payne | S11 | #148 | +80 | Kansas State | New York Jets |
| 244 | Cole Wisniewski | S24 | #339 | −95 | Texas Tech | Philadelphia |
| 246 | Miles Scott | S26 | #389 | −143 | Illinois | Denver |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Louis Moore | S15 | #215 | — | Indiana | — |
| — | Bishop Fitzgerald | S17 | #247 | — | USC | — |
| — | DeShon Singleton | S18 | #270 | — | Nebraska | — |
| — | Jalen Stroman | S21 | #309 | — | Notre Dame | — |
| — | Xavier Nwankpa | S22 | #323 | — | Iowa | — |
| — | Larry Worth III | S23 | #331 | — | Arkansas | — |
| — | Ike Larsen | S25 | #373 | — | Utah State | — |
| — | Ahmaad Moses | S27 | #400 | — | SMU | — |
| — | Jacob Thomas | S28 | #454 | — | James Madison | — |
| — | Austin Brown | S | — | — | Wisconsin | — |
| — | Cam Smith | S | — | — | Marshall | — |
| — | Gunner Maldonado | S | — | — | Kansas State | — |