2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Mansoor Delane

One of the more notable moves in the transfer portal before this most recent College Football season was then Virginia Tech cornerback Mansoor Delane going south to LSU for his Senior campaign. The 6'0", 190 lb defensive back would then go on to become one of the nation's top boundary defenders in short order after a monster game against Clemson. By the end of what ended up being a tumultuous year for the Tigers, Delane was still a very clear bright spot, receiving First-Team All-SEC and Unanimous All-American selections in a year where he allowed an opposing completion percentage of 27.9, which is absurd.

Now in mid-February and nearing the combine, the consensus is that Delane is this year's top cornerback option in the NFL Draft, but I wanted to find out myself for sure, and well...here's what I have on the Silver Spring, Maryland native.

Player Bio

Name: Mansoor Delane

Jersey: No. 4 (No. 23 as a Freshman)

Position: Cornerback

School: LSU (by way of Virginia Tech)

Class: Senior

Height: 6'0" 

Weight: 190 lbs 

Games Watched: vs. Louisville (2023), vs. The U (2024), vs. Clemson, Texas A&M, and Alabama (2025)

Major Injury History: N/A

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Player Breakdown

Man Coverage (14.25/15)

Delane is a really good coverage guy in general, as demonstrated by his first two scores here, but his ability as a man defender was spectacular on tape. Either in press or off-man, his ability to stay sticky with opposing wideouts off the line or in the short-to-intermediate areas is off the charts. He's a super fluid mover, patient off the snap, and combine that with his level of physicality for a guy who's listed at 190 lbs, he's someone that opposing QBs weren't exactly chomping at the bit to throw at, and there were plenty of one-sided man snaps in his favor. Very impressed with his ability to stick on the outside hip, particularly on inbreakers.

You'll be hearing this a lot, but he needs to bulk up just a tad, which will help him as a press defender against a number of these NFL-caliber X receivers. This is his strongest area for my money. Lastly, zero penalties in 2025 after four in 2024, which, given his path, is very impressive, as is the fact that he allowed zero (0) scores.

Zone Coverage (14/15)

A lot of the good Delane does in man-to-man translates to his ability as a zone defender, and there's some Quinyon Mitchell with him in that he's really good at reading the eyes of QBs out in coverage. There were a few cases where he could've probably recognized some stuff a bit quicker and gotten out of his assignment, but that's nothing, I'm incredibly worried about.

Instincts (9.75/10)

It wasn't super hard to decipher by the end of Delane's first game with LSU (Clemson) that he understands the game at an extremely high level. On top of the fact that he consistently puts himself in great situations, especially against the pass, I can join the group of those who believe Delane's understanding of route concepts, and offenses in general, pops out. There's a pick he gets vs. Clemson where he's in cover three, but he absolutely recognizes that Cade Klubnik is going for this corner route, sees it the entire way, and nabs a free pick since the pass was led out a bit too far. This is another unreal play, and as bad a throw as this is by Marcel Reed, watch Delane pull up on this corner blitz and go into tip drill mode at the perfect time. For some of the physical shortcomings, you're looking at a hyper-intelligent cornerback, who does have some experience at safety and at the STAR in his VT days as well.

Ball Skills (9.5/10)

Across four collegiate seasons, Delane has accrued eight interceptions and 27 PBUs (11 of which were in 2025). Even with the lack of wingspan, Delane's knack for being hyper competitive at the catch point gave him no shortage of chances to make some plays on the ball. Hard not to feel good about a guy who has his track record, and then nearly a dozen PBUs in his only season playing for an SEC team. There was one case against Bama where he could've gotten his head turned around and made a play on an underthrown deep ball by Ty Simpson, but I can't recall any other plays of that ilk popping up for him.

Press/Physicality (9/10)

Despite the lack of size Delane brings to the table, he doesn't lack at all on the aggression front, and his ability as a press-man defender is something we've already delved into. Beyond needing to add to his frame, though, there's only going to be so much he'll probably be able to do against bigger targets anyway (ie, guys of the ilk of Tee Higgins, for instance), but as is, his ability in press is really good, even with room to grow.

Long Speed (8.5/10)

The belief seems to be that Delane is a 4.44 40-yard dash guy, which would be around the 70th percentile, and even with some guys like Trent McDuffie and Carlos Rogers. While there's some concern about how he'll handle some of these speedsters in the NFL if that number is correct, I didn't see many situations where Delane was burnt deep, aside from a small handful of plays vs. Alabama this year.

Tackling/Run Support (7.75/10)

While Delane isn't a slouch in run support by any stretch of the imagination, and shows a willingness in that area as it is, tackling was a bit of an adventure with him against the run and pass. Not exactly DEFCON 1, but Delane definitely had opportunities to make some stops and, for a variety of reasons, let some plays literally slip through his fingers. Definitely would want him to be a more consistent wrap-up guy.

Athleticism (8.75/10)

You could knock Delane a little for the lack of true high-end long-speed and strength, given his size, but I was also surprised to learn that Delane has a background in high school wrestling. It certainly explains his willingness to play the run and overall aggression with his size metrics. Wouldn't call him an athletic freak, but he's a guy who stood out playing cornerback in the SEC, so do with that what you will.

Change of Direction (4.5/5)

Delane is as fluid in his lower half as you could hope for, and his ability to change direction is another one of his best traits. He doesn't panic much at all in coverage, and you can probably trace a lot of that back here, given how well he can flip his hips.

Length (2.75/5)

One of the few things Delane doesn''t have in his favor is the biggest set of arms in the world, but as discussed, his competitive level at the catch point, in pursuit or otherwise, can make up for that a ton. Ultimately, though, if the 30/30 1/8th-inch arm numbers prove accurate, it wouldn't surprise me if some teams get scared off from drafting him early. On the high end, that'd be 10th percentile since 1999, and even with his ability to compete and beyond his frame at that, some teams will absolutely take that as a reason to cross him out inside the top 10, right or wrong.

Player Summary

Physical traits be dammed, you're looking at a spectacular cornerback prospect with Mansoor Delane. He's as sticky a cover guy as you could hope for, with elite football IQ and the ability to play off of that as need be. It says a lot that he took the chance to stick in college for an extra year, went to an SEC outfit to do so, and had the best year of his career off the back of a wildly good opening outing vs. Clemson.

Realistically, there's going to be some teams that don't view him as a fit as an outside starting corner due to his size, but someone absolutely will, and they'd be getting a day one, scheme-fluid, difference-maker who's as fundamentally sound as you can hope for. Definitely needs to be a better tackler, and he could certainly struggle against some bigger assignments out of the gate, but after watching him, this is one of my favorite players in this class, outright.

Rookie Projections: Starting Cornerback

Third-Year Projection: Pro Bowl Caliber Cornerback

Final Grade (88.75/100): Mid First-Round Grade

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