{"id":161108,"date":"2025-06-26T22:56:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T22:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/161108\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T22:56:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T22:56:12","slug":"espn-insider-reveals-how-keldric-faulk-could-cement-status-as-top-15-pick-in-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/161108\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN insider reveals how Keldric Faulk could cement status as Top-15 pick in NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

After emerging as a focal point of Auburn\u2019s<\/a> defense last year, Keldric Faulk<\/a> is looking to take the next step in 2025. He\u2019s an early name to watch around NFL Draft<\/a> circles, and ESPN\u2019s Jordan Reid predicted he could cement his status as a top pick this season.<\/p>\n

Faulk is part of a talented group of pass rushers returning to college football this year and is coming off a huge 2024 season at Auburn. He set new career-highs in tackles for loss and sacks, although Reid said he\u2019s looking for more consistency off the edge.<\/p>\n

But with Faulk\u2019s success in run defense, Reid said he\u2019s already looking at a first-round grade. The key will be getting more consistent rushing the passer, and that could lead him into the Top 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s my favorite EDGE rusher in the draft, honestly,\u201d Reid said Thursday on The Paul Finebaum Show. \u201cHe\u2019s not going to be flashy like some of these other guys in the draft like T.J. Parker<\/a> or some of the other names you\u2019ll see \u2013 Dani Dennis-Sutton<\/a> at Penn State<\/a>, Matayo Uiagalelei<\/a> and a bunch of other EDGE rushers that you\u2019ll hear about in the country. But he\u2019s just the model of consistency.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he\u2019s one of those old-school, big-based defensive ends \u2013 6-6, 300-plus pounds. He\u2019s really good with his hands, he\u2019s very stable and consistent at the point of attack, as well. I think he\u2019s an NFL-ready run defender already. Still has to show some more consistency as a pass-rusher. But if he puts on tape what he showed this past season, I think there\u2019s no way he isn\u2019t a Top-15 overall pick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reid ranked Faulk as his No. 1 EDGE prospect in this year\u2019s draft, showcasing the hype building around the Auburn star. He had a huge sophomore season in 2024, totaling 45 tackles \u2013 including 11 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks \u2013 as he formed an impressive one-two punch with Jalen McLeod<\/a>, who headed to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2024 NFL Draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That means it will be Keldric Faulk\u2019s time to shine as the anchor of Auburn\u2019s defense. The Tigers enter a huge year for Hugh Freeze<\/a> after last year\u2019s 5-7 record, although the program went to work in the transfer portal<\/a> and on the high school recruiting trail.<\/p>\n

Auburn brought in 20 players as part of its Top-10 portal class, led by former Georgia Tech<\/a> wide receiver Eric Singleton<\/a> \u2013 the No. 4-ranked player in the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings<\/a>. As a group, the Tigers came in at No. 6 in the On3 Team Transfer Portal Index<\/a>. On the high school front, Auburn had the No. 8-ranked class, headlined by five-star quarterback Deuce Knight<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After emerging as a focal point of Auburn\u2019s defense last year, Keldric Faulk is looking to take the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161109,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,5800,6,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-161108","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-keldric-faulk-23-highland-home","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nfl-draft"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114752139275865000","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}