Kyle Louis LB Pittsburgh |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #9 PLAY STYLE: COVERAGE LB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 03/15/2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.53 seconds (91%*) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Invite: Senior Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jersey: #9 | |
| PLAY STYLE: COVERAGE LB | |
| Last Updated: 03/15/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.53 seconds (91%*) | |
| Bowl Invite: Senior Bowl | |
| Overall Rating: | 84.7 / 100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Average rating of opposition Offense player has faced | ||
| Offense Rating: |
|
74% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| Tackling: |
|
80% |
| Pass Rush: |
|
74% |
| Run Defense: |
|
84% |
| Coverage: |
|
83% |
|
DRAFT PROJECTION:
3rd
Overall Rank:
#84
Position rank:
#11 (LB)
|
||
| College Games: 32 College Snaps: 1683 | ||
ESPN RATING: 74/100
|
||
|
247 RATING: 84/100
|
||
|
RIVALS RATING: 5.7 (93%)
|
||
| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Brian Asamoah - Oklahoma |
|
90% |
| Dorian Williams - Tulane |
|
84% |
| SirVocea Dennis - Pittsburgh |
|
84% |
Drafted: ROUND: 4 - Pick Number: 138 (MIA)
Draft Profile: Bio
Kyle Louis came to Pittsburgh from East Orange, New Jersey, where he captained a 13-0 team to the North Jersey Group 5 Regional Championship as a senior. He posted 118 tackles and 32 tackles for loss that year, though his three-star recruiting profile kept his arrival in Pat Narduzzi's program relatively quiet.Louis redshirted in 2022 and saw limited action as a redshirt freshman in 2023, appearing in nine games with two starts and collecting 19 tackles. His sophomore season in 2024 changed everything. He started all 13 games at Star linebacker and finished with 101 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and four interceptions, highlighted by a 59-yard pick-six against Syracuse. Those numbers earned him first-team All-American honors from The Sporting News, making him Pitt's first sophomore defensive All-American since Hugh Green in 1978, along with the College Football Network's ACC Linebacker of the Year award.
Louis followed up with another productive junior year in 2025, recording 81 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries across 11 starts. He earned All-ACC recognition for the second straight season and accepted a Senior Bowl invitation. His Combine performance backed up the tape, with top-tier marks in the vertical and broad jumps
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Explosive closer who eats up ground in a hurry, arriving at the ball carrier before blockers can set up.
- Watch the Syracuse pick-six from 2024 and you see a linebacker who jumps routes like a defensive back.
- Fluid hips in man coverage let him mirror tight ends through breaks without losing a step.
- Finds the football in traffic and finishes with soft hands, turning tipped passes into turnovers.
- Shoots gaps with good timing as a blitzer, using a dip-and-rip to slip past pass protectors.
- Breaks down properly in the open field and wraps through contact instead of lunging.
- Pitt moved him all over the formation and he looked comfortable from every alignment asked of him.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Gets swallowed up when offensive linemen climb to his level, unable to stack and shed at the point of attack.
- Light frame gets pushed around by lead blockers, and he rarely wins those collisions near the line.
- The Miami game in 2025 was a rough watch in coverage, giving up chunk plays underneath.
- RPO reads gave him problems on tape, biting on the run fake and vacating throwing lanes.
- Catches ball carriers near the line rather than striking through them, turning tackles into drag-downs.
- Showed more inconsistency in 2025, with some flat performances mixed in against ACC competition.
Scouting Report: Summary
Louis belongs in a 4-3 scheme as a weakside linebacker where the front four can keep his frame clean. Put him in space and let him play fast. When he is free to read the quarterback's eyes and drive on throws, the tape gets very interesting. The Stanford game in 2025 is probably the best single-game snapshot of what he can be at the next level, moving sideline to sideline, making plays in coverage, and finishing when he got to the ball.The size is what it is. Asking him to take on guards climbing to the second level or absorb lead blocks against NFL power schemes is not going to work. That does not mean he cannot be on the field for early downs, but the defensive coordinator needs to scheme around those limitations rather than pretend they do not exist. His best early role is as a nickel linebacker who matches up with tight ends and backs in the passing game while staying on the field in sub-packages. The Combine confirmed what you already see on film, a rare athlete for the position who can cover ground and change direction at a level most linebackers cannot.
Two years of ball production at Pittsburgh is hard to overlook, and the coverage tape from 2024 is genuinely impressive. The 2025 season was not as clean, with some rough outings against better competition, but the tools and instincts still flash consistently. With a strong defensive line in front of him and a coordinator willing to be creative with his usage, Louis has real starter upside and can be a three-down contributor.
Kyle Louis percentiles vs other Linebackers (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Kyle Louis (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
77.0
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
10.0
*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.