BYU’s one-year absence from the NFL draft ended Saturday.
Jack Kelly, the Cougars’ star linebacker the past two seasons, was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round with the No. 193 overall pick of the 2026 NFL draft, becoming the first BYU player taken since offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia was a second-round pick in 2024.
Kelly is also the first former Cougar linebacker to be drafted since Sione Takitaki was a third-round pick in 2019, one year after Fred Warner also went in the third round.
“Kelly has explosive speed and plays both instinctively and physically against the run, although his stiff movements could limit his upside in coverage versus NFL athletes,” The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote about Kelly in his “The Beast” NFL draft preview. “At the very least, Kelly will be a net positive in the locker room and a force on special teams.”
Kelly (6-foot-2, 242 pounds), who prepped at Kearns High, followed former BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill from Weber State to Provo after three standout seasons with the Wildcats, including a redshirt year.
He ended up as a dominant edge rusher for the Cougars, finishing his two seasons at BYU with 106 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, three pass deflections and an interception.
Kelly ended up earning All-Big 12 first-team honors as a redshirt senior in 2025, one year after being named the league’s defensive newcomer of the year.
Now, he’ll take that workmanlike resume to the next level.
“Kelly is a thickly built linebacker with good balance and functional movement for his size. He has decent closing speed, though does not consistently make plays in the backfield,” Scouts Inc. said in assessing Kelly for ESPN.
“Kelly does a good job diagnosing plays, but he can take some poor angles and struggles decelerating in pursuit. Versus the pass, Kelly displays good awareness in zone coverage. However, he could improve his positioning to be more effective. Overall, Kelly does not have any off-the-chart traits but offers steady linebacker play.”
