2026 Defensive Draft Gems

Introduction:

Following on from my last report on my offensive draft gems, I have a draft prospect for each defensive position that I believe could be a valuable pick for the Rams outside of the first round. They range from day two picks to possible late round or priority UDFA pickups, but all would bring healthy competition in some way to the Rams’ position groups.

I will work my way from the defensive backfield to the defensive front, starting with an impressive safety from TCU.

Safety: Bud Clark – 6”1, 188 lbs

Clark plays the game like a heat-seeking missile, which can work both for him and against him at times. He can sometimes get caught out by well disguised play action or clever misdirection from the quarterback or the play call, but the amount of times that his instincts payoff is much higher than the amount of times it backfires. Clark is able to diagnose plays incredibly quickly and always seems to find his way to the ball some way or another, either against the pass or the run.

Not only does he have the instincts, he has the athleticism to match. The TCU safety has great burst to break on the ball in the air or downfield which allows him to be in the right place at the right time. He ran an above average 4.41 second 40 yard dash at the NFL combine which clearly shows he can maintain his speed over longer distances rather than just his initial burst.

The downhill burst works to perfection in the run game and on screens too as he comes downhill with such assertiveness and malice that he never allows a ballcarrier get away from him. Once he gets in to position, he also has great tackling technique to wrap up ball carriers and distinguish any chance of yards after contact.

However, Clark’s greatest asset is his ball skills which is reminiscent of a wide receiver. He managed 15 interceptions in his final four years at college including two that were returned for a pick-six. He can really go up high and get it whenever he is challenged by a deep ball to not only break up a play but create numerous turnovers by beating the receiver to the ball. Occasionally, he relies too heavily on his ball skills and puts himself in detrimental positions that means he can get beat by a perfectly placed throw.

Clark is expected to be selected late on day two or early day three (PFF’s 133rd and PFN’s 111th best player) in what is regarded as a relatively deep safety class. He may have a higher projection if not for some durability concerns, especially around an ankle injury that kept him out of 7 games in 2025. The Rams are thin at safety, especially if they want to keep Quentin Lake in the Star role, so a playmaking depth piece would be another key piece added to a young, talented and rejuvenated secondary.

Cornerback: Will Lee III – 6”1, 189 lbs

Three-year cornerback out of Texas A&M, Lee is a lengthy outside corner who can go toe to toe with taller and more physical receivers. He had the joint second highest vertical jump (42 inches) and joint second longest broad jump (11 feet) at the NFL Combine, showcasing his explosiveness and athleticism. He is best when facing up to receivers on the outside in press man coverage where he can use his size and physicality to fight for leverage and try and put receivers off their route running rhythm.

Lee is extremely fluid and smooth when flipping his hips to reflect routes or turn up field to bracket receivers downfield which is made easier when he comes up to press his receiver and allowed to follow him in man coverage. Despite his fluidity, he may require safety support on deep vertical routes as he lacks real top end speed to carry receivers downfield after they get free of his physicality.

Although he is more comfortable in man coverage, Texas A&M deployed a varied defensive scheme which allowed Lee to gain experience in a range of different roles. This will most likely help him be able to translate his play to the NFL more easily than others who were more restricted to a simpler playbook. Coaches will love bringing in a defensive back that is experienced in both man and zone as well as press and off coverage.

The Rams have previously targeted corners who can come down and help in the run game on the outside of the defence, which is somewhere Lee has room for improvement. Despite his size and physicality during coverage, he often gets stuck on blocks and is unable to fight his way to the ball when runs come his way. When he is able to get a free release at a running back he needs to use better tackling technique and really try to bring the boom rather than diving at ankles or using weak arm tackles.

Lee has the physical traits to be a solid NFL outside corner, but lacks the long speed to be able to keep up with speedier receivers which could result in big splash plays. If he is able to stay in position and use his physicality then he has great ball skills to either break the play up or pick it off – he recorded 24 pass breakups and 4 picks over his last three seasons at college. There is definitely potential for Lee to make a splash in the league as a long, physical outside corner which is well worth a mid-to-late day two pick (PFF’s 106th best player and PFN’s 63rd best player).

Linebacker: Kyle Louis – 6”0, 220 lbs

Louis is one of the most athletic linebackers in this class and can be utilised almost anywhere in the defensive backfield. Some project him to be a safety in the NFL, but he played as an instinctive and agile linebacker throughout his college career so it would be a bit of a project to play him as a deep safety.

The Pitt linebacker’s athleticism and ability to run with some of the best athletes in the sport allows him to excel in man coverage against wide receivers, tight ends and running backs. He may struggle against more physical and bigger tight ends over the middle due to his smaller size, but he will never make it easy for them despite his lack of length. 

He tested extremely well at the combine, only behind star linebacker Sonny Styles in most drills: 4th fastest 40 yard dash (4.53 seconds), joint 2nd fastest 10 yard split (1.58 seconds), joint 2nd fastest shuttle drill (4.26 seconds), 2nd fastest 3 cone drill (6.97 seconds), 4th highest vertical jump (39.5 inches) and 2nd longest broad jump (10 foot 9 inches). Finishing top 5 in all drills showcases how explosive and athletic he really is but it especially proves how good his burst and change of direction is. The 10-yard split demonstrates how quick he can get out of the blocks and fire downfield or from sideline to sideline, whereas the 3-cone drill proves his incredible ability to change direction fluidly while maintaining top speed.

However, as I previously mentioned, he does lack the prototypical size and length an NFL linebacker commonly possesses. This mostly hinders him when defending the run as he can get easily outmuscled by much larger offensive linemen and tight ends, so he finds it difficult to defeat and detach from blocks and get to the ball.

Louis’ instincts are a great match to his athletic profile which allows him to be able to put him in the perfect position on most plays. His decision making is very sudden, and he breaks on the play with such speed that meant he was able to post such impressive statistical numbers in his final two seasons in college. As a linebacker, he was able to accumulate 24 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions and 10 sacks over that time, which proves he can almost do anything asked of him. 

Sudden decision making can unfortunately sometimes be his downfall, especially when the offense commonly uses misdirection, play action or RPO’s (Run Pass options). He trusts his eyes a little too much at times which means he bites on play fakes too easily and can therefore put himself in tough positions and allow the offense easy completions or gaps for the run game to exploit. If he can become a little more patient and trust his athletic ability to be able to make a play despite waiting that extra second to properly diagnose the play, then he could become a real game changing linebacker.

Louis may need to fall into a specific type of defence for him to have real success in the league, and I believe the Rams may be the best possible landing spot for him. According to reports, they have already met extensively with Louis and that doesn’t surprise me as I think he offers real value in the defensive scheme that Chris Shula wants to run. The Rams ran by far the most defence in Nickel last year (6 defensive backs) and Louis would act as a versatile defensive back with the instincts available to also help compliment Nate Landman at the other linebacker spot by specialising more in coverage and allowing Landman to play more downhill. The Rams also have one of the best defensive lines in the league in terms of run stops, which will also help minimise their reliance on Louis as a run defender and allow him to focus on his strengths.

A move to safety certainly isn’t off the cards where he can use his great speed and instincts to make plays on the ball deep so it will be interesting to see how he is utilised by whichever team selects him in the draft. He projects to go higher than the rest of the players in this report, but the Rams are screaming out for a coverage linebacker and he fits the bill perfectly so I couldn’t resist including him, even though he is projected to be a day two draft pick.

Edge rusher: Nadame Tucker – 6”2, 247 lbs

Tucker was only able to establish himself in 2025 once he transferred to Western Michigan after being unable to break into the Houston Cougars team. He instantly burst on to the scene amassing 14.5 sacks and a 19.3% pressure rate in his only year in college as a starter. Those figures are only second in the draft class behind David Bailey who is projected to go in the top ten of the draft, but that must be taken with a pinch of salt due to his lower level of opposition having only played one seeded team all year.

Regardless of that, he clearly shows top tier pass rushing talent with elite speed to burst and bend around the edge of tackles. He knows exactly what he’s good at and he has utilised it to great success so far in his career and will look to replicate that in the NFL. His speed allows him to win both inside and outside of the tackle by either dipping inside of the tackle to attack the middle of the pocket or reaching the edge and bending around the tackle tightly which gives him a much better shot at getting to the opposing quarterback.

Although his get-off and speed is so effective for him as a pass rusher, he can sometimes get stuck on blocks by longer and more powerful tackles. His arm length falls below the desired number at just over 31 inches so he finds it hard to disengage from blocks once an offensive lineman can get hold of him and take away his athleticism. Tucker doesn’t have the raw power to fight through blocks either, so he truly does rely solely on his speed and agility.

However, his lack of power and length do not take away from his pass rushing instincts and pass rush moves. He is particularly effective at diagnosing offensive tackle’s movement and whether to attack the inside or outside to put himself in the best possible position to win the rep. His pass rush arsenal is also vast and productive as he uses swipes and rips to avoid the grip of tackles and even when he can’t win using his move, his motor runs hot and he never gives up on the play.

Trying to project how he will perform in the NFL is really difficult at this stage as he only has one year starting experience which was against weaker opposition, and he also is a much better pass rusher than he is run defender. His lack of power and length mean he can be man handled and moved quite easily to create running lanes for the offense. Personally, I believe he is worth a late round pick as a developmental player who can sub in for passing downs in the early stage of his NFL career while he develops his run defence and potentially bulks up a bit.

Defensive tackle: DeMonte Capehart – 6”5, 313 lbs

Capehart is a broad, heavy defensive tackle who excels against the run by using his raw power and heavy hands. He is able to effectively shift smaller or weaker guards with ease using a powerful initial punch and is then able to manhandle and redirect them towards the play. Despite his long build, he has a really solid, strong base that helps him lift and press in to offensive linemen’s chests and power them back in to the quarterbacks lap.

His long arms (a touch under 34 inches) also help him in the run game by being able to reach out and cover more area which gives running backs less wiggle room when trying to hit a hole and reach the second level. This means that even when he can’t use his power to break free of a block, he is still able to effect the play and take up space at the line of scrimmage. Over his college career, he averaged 1.3 yards in tackle depth which shows that he hardly ever gets moved backwards and is able to make plays close to the line of scrimmage. He does occasionally rely on his arms to make tackles though and that results in some missed tackles and easy yards after contact for running backs.

Run defence is much more of Capehart’s bag than pass rushing as he doesn’t quite have the technique and pass rush moves available to make a real impact. He managed just 1 sack and 11 pressures on 204 pass rush snaps in 2025, including amassing just a 5.2% pass rush win rate. That’s mainly due to his lack of pass rushing technique as he doesn’t quite have the pass rush moves and athleticism to be able to win quickly and get to the quarterback.

His combine performance was quite surprising though, as he managed to record the fourth fastest 40 yard dash and the third highest top speed among defensive tackles. This shows there may be some pass rushing potential to unlock as he was only really used to take on double teams or defend the run in Clemson’s defence so he didn’t get a huge amount of chances to showcase his pass rushing abilities.

Overall, Capehart may be limited in his role early on in the NFL so may have to work extensively on his game to secure a roster spot and take on considerable snap counts. He is very effective against the run and taking up double teams so a role as a sub package nose tackle is possible if he can improve his pass rushing, similar to current Rams DT Poona Ford who makes an impact in both the run and pass game.