Zane Durant is a defensive tackle from Penn State projected to be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. This comprehensive scouting report analyzes Durant’s draft potential, current mock draft trends, and where he ranks among the top prospects.
Zane Durant’s NFL Draft Potential
Zane 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 hold his ground 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 overly 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.
CFB Week 9 Update
Penn State was on a bye week in Week 9, but they’ll return to action in Week 10 against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State will likely earn the favorable game script in this game, which means Durant’s run defense could be heavily scrutinized for almost all four quarters. Durant’s elite explosiveness and natural leverage serve him well, but he’s still too much of a “go for broke” defender against the ground game, and he needs to learn how to sustain proper gap leverage, rather than flush up gaps and give up space time and time again. This game will be another test in that regard.
CFB Week 10 Update
Penn State may have lost in a lopsided affair, but Durant actually had a very good game against Ohio State, and may have revitalized his stock a bit in the process. His stock has still fallen since the preseason, and unfortunately as a fourth-year senior, he has no eligibility to return. But against the Buckeyes, Durant was consistently disruptive in spite of his team’s failings.
Early in the game, Durant pried through a double team and logged a pressure on Julian Sayin, and his hyper-elite explosiveness proved to be an asset all game long. He utilized pursuit tracks through interior gaps off counters and closed ground in an instant with his fleet-footed acceleration, and while he occasionally resorted to reckless gap intrusions in the run game, he played with better discipline as the game went on, encumbering blockers and keeping leverage while stacking and peeking to control gaps.
On one such occasion, he used his volcanic first-step to channel overwhelming lower-body power and sledge the right guard, before hinging inside and engulfing a runner for no gain.
CFB Week 11 Update
Durant has started to turn it on again as of late. His game against Ohio State was quality, and he was consistently disruptive once again versus Indiana. Durant is still largely dependent on his raw athleticism and hyper-elite first-step, and he still experiences delays on counters.
Nevertheless, he can disrupt quickly working upfield through gaps, and his natural leverage profile enables him to siphon driving power from that explosive energy. There are definite developmental aspects of Durant’s game, but his traits and his motor should serve him well in the right scheme.
Where Is Durant Being Selected Most Often in the PFSN Mock Draft Simulator?
Durant currently holds the No. 95 overall rank among prospects, reflecting his standing among mid-round prospects. His most recent Average Draft Position (ADP) of 109.8 as of November 11 reflects that he is typically being selected in the middle rounds.
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 Denver Broncos have been the team that selected Durant the most frequently over the past week, accounting for 0.9% of their picks across all seven rounds.
Ready to run your own draft? Head over to the free PFSN Mock Draft Simulator and be the GM of your favorite team!
Where Does Zane Durant Rank Amongst Other NFL Draft Prospects?
Durant is currently outside the top 100 in my October big board but remains an intriguing prospect for the 2026 NFL Draft. Rankings are updated monthly as the college football season progresses and more scouting information becomes available.
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.
