Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and Keionte Scott is still on the board. Scott had 2 pick-six returns in 2025, leading the FBS in that category. He registered 13 tackles for loss and 5 sacks as a defensive back. He turned in an impressive 40-yard dash.
He started for a team that played in the CFP National Championship Game. He is 24 years old, which may be impacting his draft stock, but regardless, the Miami nickel is the most surprising name still available entering Day 3.
For analysis and breakdowns of every single Day 3 pick, make sure to check out PFSN’s Football Debate Club live stream, where Ian Cummings, Jacob Infante, and Cam Mellor will take you right to UDFA season with breakdowns for each selection.
Where Will Keionte Scott Be Drafted? Day 3 Range With Round 4 in Play
During PFSN’s 2026 NFL Draft livestream, PFSN’s Football Debate Club host Jacob Infante named Scott as his favorite remaining prospect entering Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
“You’re looking at a guy who just plays like a bat out of hell,” Infante said of Scott. “I’m genuinely surprised coming out of Round 3 that he’s still available. I mean, he’s an older prospect. Maybe that plays a role in it. Hell of a player. But I just don’t see what the holdup is with Scott and why nobody’s taking him here in the first 100 picks.”
I mean, you’re looking at a guy, two interceptions for Miami this past year, both of them got returned for touchdowns, 13 tackles for a loss, and 5 sacks as a defensive back. Ran a 4.33, 40-yard dash. You turn on the tape, just a relentless motor. He’s someone you see that closing speed come to fruition, the incredible downhill physicality, the ability to lower the shoulder and just pop guys as a tackler.
“I mean, his form can improve a little bit, but I like the instincts. I like the ball skills he showcases, and he has the athleticism and the creativity after he intercepts the ball to be able to make big plays, hence the 2 interceptions for touchdowns that he had in 2025, leading the FBS in that regard. I think he’s someone who, whether you have him as a safety, whether you have them as a nickel corner, is someone who plays in the box a lot as well. In the NFL, I see a future starter.
“When you have a future starter with that versatility, with that athleticism, I’m genuinely surprised he’s still available going in Round 4. So maybe there’s something that these NFL teams know that we don’t; obviously, they have access to information that we on the outside don’t necessarily always have. But to me, at least, going off the tape and the production, and the testing numbers, Scott being available this late is baffling.”
Keionte Scott Scouting Report: Older Prospect, Future Starter Tape
PFSN’s Ian Cummings frames Scott as a player whose résumé has been compressed across years and programs but whose 2025 tape is the breakout.
“Scott emerged as one of the stars of Miami’s National Championship run, and he has similarly ascended as an extremely compelling 2026 NFL Draft prospect,” Cummings wrote. “After drawing little national interest out of high school, Scott began his career at Snow College. After a two-year stretch that saw Scott serve as a team captain and two-time JUCO All-American, he transferred to Auburn.”
The Auburn years were uneven. “For two years, Scott served as a rotational player for the Tigers, at times battling through injuries, before reaching his final evolution at Miami,” Cummings wrote. “In 2025 with the Hurricanes, he amassed 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, and two pick-sixes, while earning a PFSN CB Impact grade of 85. As a versatile nickel defender, Scott has one of the strongest foundations in the entire class.”
The 85.2 PFSN CB Impact grade is a B that ranks 54th among 2025 cornerbacks and 67th all-time. Cummings’ projection: “He’ll be an older rookie, but Scott has immediate impact potential as a nickel, with schematic versatility but a particular affinity for off-man and zone.”
The pick-six against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl quarterfinal was the signature moment. The play helped Miami stun the No. 2 seed and reach the Fiesta Bowl semifinal, where the Hurricanes beat Ole Miss before losing to Indiana 27-21 in the championship. Scott earned Second-Team All-ACC honors and was named a Thorpe Award semifinalist.
The biographical arc is unusual. Scott played his senior year at Helix High School in La Mesa, California, going both ways and helping the Highlanders win the CIF San Diego Section Open Division. He drew no recruiting interest out of high school and landed at Snow College in Utah. After two seasons that earned him a No. 4 national JUCO ranking and twice-named All-American honors, he transferred to Auburn ahead of 2022 and started immediately at nickel.
His three Auburn seasons produced 115 tackles, six tackles for loss, nine pass breakups and one interception, plus All-SEC Second Team honors as a punt returner in 2023. An injury-limited 2024 led to one more transfer. Scott committed to Houston, then re-committed to Miami before the 2025 season started.
The age is the catch. Scott turns 25 in August 2026, which has scared some teams off. Infante’s argument is the tape and the testing don’t.
