LJ McCray DE/EDGE Florida |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #11 SUB-POSITION: EDGE/DE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 08/03/2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2027 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.86 seconds (40%*) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #11 | |
| SUB-POSITION: EDGE/DE | |
| Last Updated: 08/03/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2027 | |
| Forty time: 4.86 seconds (40%*) | |
| Overall Rating: |
77.7 / 100
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| Average rating of opposition Offense player has faced | ||
| Offense Rating: |
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76% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| Tackling: |
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73% |
| Pass Rush: |
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62% |
| Run Defense: |
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70% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
7th
Overall Rank:
#239
Position rank:
#34 (DL)
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| College Games: 14 College Snaps: 185 | ||
ESPN RATING: 91/100
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247 RATING: 99/100
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RIVALS RATING: 6.0 (98%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kamran James - Florida |
|
91% |
| Esezi Otomewo - Minnesota |
|
81% |
| Rashad Weaver - Pittsburgh |
|
79% |
Draft Profile: Bio
A five-star and the top defensive line recruit in the 2024 class out of Mainland High in Daytona Beach, McCray led his high school to a state title and totaled 133 tackles, 62 tackles for loss and eighteen sacks across his prep career before signing with Florida.He flashed as a true freshman in 2024, appearing in ten games with thirteen tackles and a half-sack while showing pass-rush feel and rare length and explosion.
His 2025 season was wiped out by a foot injury that required surgery, limiting him to a single game and leaving almost no new production to evaluate. The blue-chip pedigree, the frame and the freshman flashes remain the projection, with the medical file and the thin sample the central questions heading forward. The freshman flashes and the rare length keep the ceiling high, but the lost season and the medical questions define the projection for now.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Five-star traits with length at 78 inches to develop on the edge
- Flashed as a true freshman with five quarterback hurries in 2024
- Carries the frame and burst to project a pass-rush role
- Length and athleticism give him a high developmental ceiling
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Foot surgery wiped out 2025, limiting him to one game
- Almost no recent tape to evaluate, a one-game sample
- Production has yet to materialize beyond freshman flashes
- Rush technique is unrefined after the lost developmental year
- Availability and durability are open questions on the medical
Scouting Report: Summary
McCray is a traits-and-medical evaluation, a former five-star with 78-inch length whose 2025 was wiped out by foot surgery that held him to a single game. The evidence to lean on is his 2024 freshman tape, when he flashed with five quarterback hurries and showed the frame and burst to project a pass-rush role. The length and athleticism are the reason he stays on the radar, even with the body of work painfully thin.The concerns start with availability. The foot surgery cost him essentially the whole season, leaving almost no recent tape, and his production has yet to materialize beyond the freshman flashes. The lost developmental year means his rush plan is unrefined, and the durability and availability questions are real on the medical. There is simply not enough recent film to project him with any confidence right now.
What is left to bet on is the length, the athletic ceiling, and the freshman glimpses, a developmental edge who needs a healthy season to show whether the tools translate. He has to prove the foot is right and turn traits into snaps, because the production is not there to lean on. He grades as a priority-free-agent flier on length and upside, the kind of low-cost swing a defense can stash and develop, with availability the first hurdle to clear.
How other scouting services rate LJ McCray (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
249.0
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
35.0
*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.