The Athletic Makes Bold Prediction for Auburn DE Keldric Faulk

Auburn Tigers third-year defensive end Keldric Faulk is going to be a hot commodity heading into the 2026 NFL Draft.

Auburn Tigers junior defensive end Keldric Faulk is projected to be a top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. | David Gray / Auburn Tigers

The 2025 NFL Draft has concluded. And with an entire year and full college and NFL football seasons to be played, is it too early to start projecting for the 2026 Draft? 

Absolutely not. 

Dane Brugler of The Athletic dropped his first mock draft of the season, and projects Auburn Tigers defensive end Keldric Faulk to be selected number six overall to the Carolina Panthers. 

“It was impossible to ignore Faulk — and his ability to disrupt the quarterback and stuff the run — when studying the Auburn-Cal tape from last season,” Brugler wrote on The Athletic. “Listed at 6-foot-6 and 288 pounds, with long arms, Faulk, according to scouts, will be in the conversation to be the first defensive lineman drafted next year.” 

Faulk has had a productive two seasons at Auburn and finished with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss in 2024. Already among the Southeastern Conference’s elite, a strong 2025 could entrench Faulk as one of the nation’s best defensive players.

Auburn’s humdrum production in the wins column in 2023 and 2024 may have kept the junior edge under the radar to some. But at 6’6 and 270 pounds, Faulk possesses all of the physical tools NFL general managers yearn for, and the media has taken notice. 

Many of the early mock drafts place Faulk as a top-10 pick. 247Sports also projects Faulk as the sixth overall pick to Carolina. Walterfootball.com has Faulk going fifth, and USA Today has him going sixth. 

Faulk plays a premium position, and his ability to play both the edge and move inside on pass-rush situations will be enticing for NFL clubs.

If Faulk were to be selected by Carolina, as is a popular projection, he would join former Auburn Tiger star Derrick Brown on the defensive line. Brown was the last Auburn Tigers player to be selected in the first round when the Panthers took him with the No. 7 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. 

It’s a streak of five drafts without an Auburn player in the first round that Faulk hopes to break. 

Faulk heads into the 2025 season as one of the Tigers’ unquestioned leaders on defense. Another productive season could establish him as a top pick in the eyes of the NFL.