During his time at Penn State, Zakee Wheatley was a ball magnet in the secondary, accounting for nine turnovers and being dubbed the “Takeaway King” for leading the team in takeaways during the summer.
After starting his career as a cornerback, Wheatley played safety the next four years, with mixed in looks at linebacker in certain packages. His versatility, and ability to find the ball in his hands on defense, has NFL squads intrigued about what he brings to the table.
“I definitely look at myself as a defensive back. I played corner and safety my whole life, and even sometimes being that box safety, playing like a big nickel,” Wheatley said. “Talking to teams, that’s something they definitely love about me, being able to move me across the field and make plays.”
In addition to giving teams a chess piece to move around on defense, Wheatley boosted his stock by being the lone Nittany Lion to participate in on-field drills at both the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine and at Penn State Pro Day.
That included a 40-yard dash time of 4.62 seconds in Holuba Hall after not running at the combine.
“I felt like the combine, I could have put out better numbers,” Wheatley said. “And I was training hard for the last three months. So the combine, I put out some decent numbers, but I feel like I can come back and better those numbers.”
In the end, he was happy with how he performed.
“I’m satisfied. I put it all on the line. I trained a lot for this,” Wheatley said. “Been doing this since I was five years old, and been training hard for the last few months. So whatever I put out here I feel satisfied with it. All glory to God to bless me with this, and looking forward to keep getting better.”
While Wheatley is being viewed as a player who can be a jack-of-all-trades, he’d be next in line to join the recent run of Penn State safeties to hear their name called in the NFL draft. That group consists of Jaquan Brisker, Ji’Ayir Brown, Kevin Winston Jr. and Jaylen Reed.
Wheatley was teammates with all of them, and learned a lot as a result through the years. He specifically was asked about Brisker and cornerback Joey Porter Jr., and the role the tandem has played as he goes through the draft process.
“My brothers, blood brothers, and I’ve been with them for a long time,” Wheatley said. “From the minute I came out here as a freshman in 2021, until now, we’ve been best buds. They my brothers. Being able to hit them up anytime, who went through this process and who are in the NFL meant a lot.”
Wheatley said the last time he didn’t have a football in his hand was when he was 2 years old. He’s been dreaming of making it to the NFL a long time, and that dream is going to be a reality quite soon.
“Been a lot of work to get here, a lot of efforts from my family, friends, trainers, just as much as it is for me as my family,” Wheatley said. “There’s been a lot of sacrifices my way as well as my family. So knowing I can finally get the chance to achieve that dream and get my career started means a lot.”
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Growing up in Norfolk, Virginia, Kaytron Allen has always had a chip on his shoulder.
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