Auburn Tigers defensive lineman Keldric Faulk (15) takes down Alabama Crimson Tide running back Jam Miller (26) as Auburn Tigers take on Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. Alabama Crimson Tide defeated Auburn Tigers 28-14.
Keldric Faulk DE/EDGE Auburn |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #15 SUB-POSITION: EDGE/DE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 02/09/2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.67 seconds (85%*) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age: 20.11 DOB: 09/07/2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #15 | |
| SUB-POSITION: EDGE/DE | |
| Last Updated: 02/09/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.67 seconds (85%*) | |
| Age: 20.11 DOB: 09/07/2005 | |
| Overall Rating: | 88.4 / 100 | |
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| Average rating of opposition Offense player has faced | ||
| Offense Rating: |
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74% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| Tackling: |
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76% |
| Pass Rush: |
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73% |
| Run Defense: |
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93% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
1st - Mid
Overall Rank:
#12
Position rank:
#2 (DL)
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| College Games: 37 College Snaps: 1588 | ||
ESPN RATING: 82/100
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247 RATING: 96/100
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RIVALS RATING: 6.1 (100%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mykel Williams - Georgia |
|
87% |
| JT Tuimoloau - Ohio State |
|
76% |
| Jermaine Johnson II - Florida State |
|
74% |
Drafted: ROUND: 1 - Pick Number: 31 (TEN)
Draft Profile: Bio
Before Keldric Faulk was terrorizing SEC offensive lines, he was a two-sport star at Highland Home High School in rural Alabama, leading the Flying Squadron to a 13-2 record and a state semifinal appearance during the 2022 AHSAA 2A playoffs. He was named Class 2A State Lineman of the Year after a junior campaign where he piled up 58 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, three sacks, and 19 quarterback hurries. The kind of production that earned him a spot in the 2023 All-American Bowl and the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game. The recruiting services loved him: Rivals gave him the full five-star treatment and ranked him the No. 79 overall prospect nationally, while 247Sports, ESPN, and On3 all pegged him as a consensus top-15 player in the state of Alabama. He was also a basketball letterman, reaching the state semifinal as the Final Four MVP for the runners-up.Hugh Freeze and his staff had just landed the Auburn job when they convinced Faulk to sign with the Tigers in the 2023 class. He rewarded that faith immediately. As a true freshman, Faulk played in every game and earned a starting role by the LSU contest midway through the season. He finished the year with 35 tackles, four tackles for loss, and a sack, enough to land on the SEC All-Freshman Team. His sophomore year was the real announcement. Faulk tallied 45 tackles, 11.0 TFLs, and 7.0 sacks as a full-time starter across all 12 games. His best performances came against the toughest competition: seven tackles and two sacks against Georgia, six tackles with two TFLs, a forced fumble and recovery in the Iron Bowl against Alabama, and back-to-back sacks with a team-high eight tackles against Cal. The Kentucky game earned him SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors.
His 2025 junior season was a different story statistically, with only two sacks and 29 tackles through three games before his draft declaration, though the context matters. Auburn deployed him across multiple alignments, including interior looks at 2-tech through 4-tech on roughly 30% of his snaps, a role far less conducive to pass-rush production than his previous edge-heavy deployment. Despite the quieter numbers, he entered the year as an ESPN Preseason Second-Team All-American and a Preseason All-SEC First-Team selection. Faulk was also named to the 2025 SEC Football Leadership Council, recognized for his character and community impact. Head Coach Freeze has spoken publicly about Faulk's selflessness, including how he used his own NIL money to help a walk-on teammate stay in school. At just 20 years old with 37 career games and 110 career tackles, Faulk leaves Auburn having started 32 games across three seasons with a reputation that extends well beyond the stat sheet.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Imposing physical profile at 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds with verified elite strength (700-pound squat, 415-pound bench) that translates directly to violent hand usage and anchor ability at the point of attack.
- Run defense is already NFL-caliber, as evidenced by his 62 run stops leading all FBS edge defenders over three seasons, consistently dominating at the point of attack regardless of scheme or alignment.
- Sets a stout edge against power concepts and shows rare two-gap potential for an edge player, holding his ground while possessing the strength to stack, shed, and pursue laterally.
- Alignment versatility allows defensive coordinators to deploy him from 5-technique, 4i, 3-technique, or even standing up on the edge, creating pre-snap confusion and matchup advantages.
- Long-arm stab has become a legitimate weapon that maximizes his reach advantage, creating separation before offensive tackles can establish chest-to-chest contact and control the rep.
- Relentless motor from snap to whistle shows up in cleanup sacks and effort plays, particularly in the fourth quarter when opposing linemen begin to wear down from his constant physicality.
- Disciplined contain player who maintains gap integrity against misdirection rather than chasing stats, consistently forcing runners back inside while staying responsible for his assignment.
- Destroys pulling guards in the hole, routinely ragdolling blockers who attempt to kick him out on power and counter concepts, as evidenced by his dominant Iron Bowl performance against Alabama.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- First-step quickness off the snap is inconsistent, particularly when reading run-pass keys, and quality tackles can gain early positioning advantage before Faulk gets his feet moving downhill.
- Bend and arc speed around the corner grade below average for his peer group, limiting his ability to threaten the outside track and turn tight corners against athletic NFL tackles.
- Pass rush plan lacks reliable counters when his initial move stalls, leaving him stuck on blocks without a second or third option to disengage and create late pressure.
- Hand placement on initial contact needs refinement, as he too often allows offensive linemen to strike first and get into his chest before establishing his own leverage point.
- Lateral agility against reach blocks forces him to win with power at the point of attack rather than redirecting cleanly, which limits pursuit angles in zone-heavy offensive schemes.
Scouting Report: Summary
The tape on Faulk tells two very different stories depending on which side of the ball is in focus. In run defense, this is one of the most complete and punishing edge defenders to come through the SEC in recent memory. That kind of dominance against the run is not a fluke. He plays with a level of physicality and technique against the ground game that will translate from Day 1, and there is no defensive coordinator in the league who would not benefit from plugging him into early-down rotations immediately. The floor here is a high-quality starter who makes the entire front seven better by controlling his gaps and forcing offenses to account for him on every play design.The pass rush ceiling is where the conversation gets complicated, and honestly, where the film demands some patience from evaluators. His 2025 numbers dropped hard from the previous year, but a lot of that was Auburn sliding him inside on nearly a third of his pass-rush snaps, a role that choked off his most effective rush angles. When he was aligned outside the tackle in 2024, his pressure rate ranked in the 73rd percentile for qualifying edge rushers. That is a meaningful number, especially considering he was only 19 at the time. The raw tools are there: the length, the hand strength, the motor. What is missing is refinement in his counter game and the kind of ankle flexibility that allows elite rushers to flatten around the arc. Those are coachable things, but they are not guarantees, and any team investing a premium pick needs to be comfortable with the idea that unlocking the pass-rush upside will take time and specific schematic creativity.
The best landing spot for Faulk is a defense that runs odd-front concepts and values position versatility along the line. Think of him as a 5-technique on base downs who can kick inside to 3-tech on passing situations, a player who builds an identity for your defensive front because he collapses gaps from multiple spots. Hybrid schemes that move bodies around pre-snap will squeeze the most juice out of his skill set. The Calais Campbell comparison that floats around scouting circles is not lazy. It is actually pretty instructive: a massive, powerful defensive end with enough athleticism to be more than just a run-stuffer, but one who needed the right coaching and system to unlock double-digit sack potential. At 20 years old with the physical profile he carries, the arrow is still pointing up. Faulk is not a finished product, but the foundation is as sturdy as any defender in this class.
Keldric Faulk percentiles vs other Defensive Ends (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Keldric Faulk (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
20.7
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
2.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.