Mansoor Delane is a remarkably high-IQ cornerback prospect whose route recognition, movement skills, and eye discipline make him a fit for nearly every NFL defense.

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Delane was a 3-star recruit in the 2022 recruiting class and a top 75 cornerback nationally, choosing Virginia Tech over Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and others. Delane saw action instantly for the Hokies, playing some of his best ball as a true freshman and eventually earning 3rd-Team All-ACC as a junior in 2024. Following this, he entered the transfer portal, where he was ranked one of the top CBs available, and chose LSU. Delane burst onto the scene as a Tiger in 2025, earning Unanimous All-American honors, 1st-Team All-SEC honors, and candidacy for the Jim Thorpe award. 

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The standout trait of Mansoor Delane's game is his remarkable football IQ, which informs his best traits--eye discipline, route recognition/anticipation, and discipline working to and at the catch point. Delane's short-area athleticism is also excellent; he's a very coordinated mover who can react and change direction as soon as his eyes recognize where he needs to go. In soft-press/off-man, Delane combines his fluidity with his route recognition skills to mirror receivers with relative ease. At the catch point, Delane's body control and football IQ are obvious--he gets his head around to find the ball and times his breakup with perfection (0 penalties in 2025 is incredible). 

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The biggest concern with Delane appears to be his measurables--his supposed sub-30.5-inch arms are 15th percentile at best, and some teams will knock him off their big board for that alone. Delane's height/weight profile is also very average, and his burst/vertical speed appears to be as well (barring a big-time Combine performance that indicates untapped athletic potential). This has been a problem in the past--before Delane's outrageously dominant 2025 campaign, there were many instances where he was outmatched athletically, particularly on vertical and in-breaking concepts. This, combined with his passive technique at the LOS, could spell trouble for him when matched up against the most dominant linear athletes in the NFL. 

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He's a consistent tackler who gives good effort in run support, having a respectable 9.5% missed tackle rate over the last two seasons. Again, physical limitations ail his ceiling as a run defender. His lack of length makes him an easy win for bigger blockers (including WRs) looking to reach his chest and wash him out of the play. Even if physically limited, his effort in shedding blocks and effectiveness as a tackler closing downhill is what you ask for from your boundary CB. 

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Delane's physical limitations are his biggest obstacle to direct translation to the NFL. I think a defensive scheme that can veil these limitations and allow his intelligence/schematic versatility to shine would be optimal for maximizing his success. The Rams (or wherever Chris Shula is hired for 2026) or any team, like the Seahawks or Bills, that runs a modern hybrid defense with lots of disguised coverages and Kafkaesque rotations, are places I'd like to see Delane land in the 2026 NFL Draft.

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Grade: mid 1st round

Archetype: Shutdown Boundary CB

High-End Pro Comparison: Vontae Davis

Low-End Pro Comparison: Sidney Jones IV