Zane Durant is a defensive tackle from Penn State who is ranked No. 78 on my NFL Draft Top 100 Big Board. This comprehensive scouting report analyzes Durant’s draft potential, current mock draft trends, and where he ranks among the top prospects.
To view where I rank other draft prospects heading into this week’s slate of college football games, visit my Week 9 Top 100 Big Board.
Zane Durant’s NFL Draft Potential
Durant has appeal as a developmental 3-tech with some alignment versatility, but his stock has somewhat regressed thus far over the course of the 2025 season. Durant was viewed as a potential first-round pick after a 2024 campaign that saw him amass 3.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and a strong 83.6 PFSN CFB DTi grade.
In 2025, however, his PFSN CFB DTi grade has tanked to a mediocre 74.7. His productivity behind the line has decreased, his average yards against per run stop has more than doubled, and his PFF pressure rate has notably decreased as well.
Theoretically, Durant has a lot of inherent appeal as a one-gapping, penetrating 3-tech. At 6’1″, 287 pounds, he has elite natural leverage and good compact mass, and his athleticism pops on film.
He’s one of the most explosive interior rushers in the class; The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman included Durant on his annual Freaks list, documenting Durant as having a 4.66 40-yard dash, a max speed of over 21 mph, and a 660-pound squat. All of those numbers allude to inhuman physical upside, but for Durant, it hasn’t translated in 2025.
At under 290 pounds, Durant can be easily washed out of interior gaps by combo blocks and double teams, and even with his natural leverage, he struggles to drop the anchor and align his base at times.
In the passing game, he can also strive for more consistency with his pass-rush plan, as he’s over-reliant on his physical tools. His explosiveness can assuredly create angle advantages in short order, but the execution beyond the initial attack remains uninspiring, and he doesn’t have the high-level flexibility to help compensate.
To be fair to Durant, Penn State is in a similar situation to Clemson and Peter Woods; the defense rarely gets favorable game scripts from the offense, and program buy-in is falling off.
And evaluators looking for Durant at his best can refer to his 2024 tape. Even in 2024, however, Durant was primarily an “attack only” DT who struggled to adhere to interior gap fits and maintain discipline. At this moment, Durant is an intriguing developmental DT who could reasonably field Day 2 capital upon testing, but whose operational game still needs refinement.
Where Is Durant Being Selected Most Often in the PFSN Mock Draft Simulator?
Durant currently holds the No. 54 overall rank among prospects, positioning him as a Day 2 prospect. His most recent Average Draft Position (ADP) of 60.8 as of October 13 reflects that he is typically being selected in the second or third round.
The gap between his rank and ADP indicates that while he’s highly regarded on our board, draft simulators are seeing him slide slightly, possibly due to team needs or positional value considerations.
Users controlling the Philadelphia Eagles have been the team that selected Durant the most frequently over the past week, accounting for 2.6% of their picks across all seven rounds.
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Where Does Zane Durant Rank Amongst Other NFL Draft Prospects?
Durant is currently ranked No. 78 overall in my October 2026 NFL Draft Big Board. Among DT prospects, Durant ranks 7th at the position, trailing prospects like Peter Woods, Mateen Ibirogba, and Christen Miller. Currently ranked in the top 100, Durant will look to increase their draft stock in the coming months.
Want to see how we rank all the draft prospects in the PFSN Mock Draft Simulator? Check out our NFL Draft Prospect Rankings page, which includes more than 750 prospects.
