Auburn Daily

Breaking Down Auburn's Top 5 Most Underrated Portal Additions for 2026

The Auburn Tigers added over 30 players from the transfer portal. Auburn Tigers on SI breaks down five who may be the most underrated additions.
Micah Farmer|
The Auburn Tigers added over 30 players from the transfer portal. Auburn Tigers on SI breaks down five who may be the most underrated additions.
The Auburn Tigers added over 30 players from the transfer portal. Auburn Tigers on SI breaks down five who may be the most underrated additions. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

In this story:

Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers had a busy offseason transfer portal period, losing 37 players to the portal and bringing in 39 new additions. Some of the new Tigers come in highly touted, such as top 10 quarterback in the Portal Byrum Brown and top 10 portal running back Bryson Washington. 

However, Auburn also added some under the radar players that could provide some key boosts to new head coach Alex Golesh’s squad in 2026. Here are the five most underrated portal pickups for Auburn Football in this season’s transfer period.

Edge Nate Johnson

Johnson, a former three-star recruit who committed to App State out of high school, is the epitome of a buy-low addition with some tremendous upside. The former Mountaineer was named Second Team All-Sun Belt as a true freshman after bursting onto the scene with 7.5 sacks, which led his team.

After two seasons with App State, Johnson transferred to Missouri, where he expected to gain some SEC experience. However, the move didn’t go as planned, with Johnson having to give way for the Tigers’ superstar pass rush duo of Zion Young and Damon Wilson II, both of whom were game wreckers for Eli Drinkwitz’s squad in 2025.

Though the numbers for Johnson haven’t been great as a result (just 2.5 sacks in his last two seasons), he still has immense talent and good size at 6-foot-5 and 252 pounds. He was ranked as the No. 27 edge rusher in the portal by 247 Sports and No. 30 at the position by On3’s Rivals. 

If Auburn and defensive coordinator DJ Durkin can help Johnson get up to speed and comfortable quickly, a former breakout star with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove could absolutely be someone to watch for the Tigers.

CB Andre Jordan

UCLA transfer defensive back Andre Jordan Jr. has big shoes to fill in Auburn's secondary.
UCLA transfer defensive back Andre Jordan Jr. has big shoes to fill in Auburn's secondary. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Jordan will have very big shoes to fill on the boundary for the Tigers after the departures of Jay Crawford and Kayin Lee, but his UCLA tape suggests that he might just be built for the task. Ranked as the No. 18 corner in the portal by Rivals and the No. 32 corner by 247 Sports, Jordan is the top addition for Auburn at the position in this cycle.

However, he has needed to earn each one of those stars. He committed to Oregon State as a zero-star recruit out of high school, and played significant time on the outside in five of the Beavers’ final six games. He played one more season in Corvallis before transferring to UCLA for 2025, where he was arguably the Bruin’s best defensive player and earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention.

He has consistently improved via the advanced metrics, posting a higher coverage grade each season via Pro Football Focus. That grade topped out at 74.0 for the 2025 season, including an outstanding 80.6 grade against USC, a team that had arguably the best receiving trio in college football in Makai Lemon, Ja’Kobi Lane, and Tanook Hines, though Lemon and Lane were suspended for the first quarter.

At 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, Jordan is primarily a boundary corner, spending most of his time on the outside. He has a good ability to stick with receivers in man coverage and a knack for separating the ball from the receiver at the catch point, making him a quality anchor for the Auburn secondary in 2026.

TE Jake Johnson

North Carolina transfer tight end Jake Johnson is more valuable than his portal ranking suggests.
North Carolina transfer tight end Jake Johnson is more valuable than his portal ranking suggests. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Though Johnson hasn’t quite lit up the stat sheet in four seasons of college football with 43 catches for 402 yards and 5 touchdowns, the former four-star prospect from Bogart, Ga., offers Auburn a reliable all-around option at tight end to go along with some of the dynamic athletes at the position in Ryan Ghea and USF transfer Jonathan Echols.

He is ranked as the No. 37 tight end in the portal by 247 Sports and No. 48 at the position by Rivals. However, he could potentially be far more valuable on The Plains than those rankings would suggest. 

The former Tar Heel and Aggie is a reliable pass blocker, earning a mid-60s grade from PFF for all but two of his games in 2025. He also posted a season grade of 66.3 in the same area with the Tar Heels in 2024. However, that doesn’t mean he offers no value as a receiver.

Though not quite the same level of athlete as Ghea or Echols, Johnson has a good feel for coverage as a route runner and enough suddenness to create separation from linebackers and safeties. Most importantly, he has extremely reliable hands, posting just a single drop in four seasons of play and none in each of the last two seasons. 

Johnson should be able to serve as both a mentor for Auburn’s young tight end room and a reliable safety blanket for quarterback Byrum Brown, two things that would be invaluable for the Tigers’ offense and a much-needed improvement at the position.

OG Kenneth McManus IV

McManus wasn’t the flashiest pickup on the offensive line for Auburn in the portal this offseason, but he could end up being one of the most valuable players in the class for a simple reason: he is just a rising sophomore, yet already has a full season of starting action under his belt at the FBS level. He is ranked as the No. 82 interior lineman in the portal by 247 Sports and No. 103 at the position from Rivals, which is simply too low.

He was not elite by any standard in 2025, but he was still easily an above-average player for Akron, especially in the run game. Pass protection was more difficult for the freshman, who wasn’t always the best at getting set in time to properly anchor himself against opposing rushers.

Though it will definitely be a jump in competition for McManus from Akron to the SEC, he will join an interior offensive line room that already features USF transfers Cole Best and Cole Skinner, along with the returning Kail Ellis, another talented young player.

If the 6-foot-2, 320-pound McManus can get up to speed quickly, which all evidence points to him being able to do, Auburn very well could have just secured a reliable three-year starter at offensive guard for the future for great value out of the MAC.

DB Kamari Todd

Todd was a later portal addition for Auburn, one of the final five players to commit to the Tigers in the window. He was ranked the No. 180 CB in the portal by 247 Sports and No. 209 at the position by Rivals. The defensive back is from nearby Gardendale, Ala, just over two hours from Auburn.

Despite being listed as a corner on most recruiting sites, Todd spent his high school playing days as a safety. As a freshman with FCS Chattanooga, he found a home in the nickel, where he played 339 of his 511 defensive snaps. 

He quickly flourished in the role, showing off a tremendous ability to cover ground and pursue downhill. His best performance of the season came against VMI in Week 6, when he recorded 13 tackles and a tackle for loss en route to TSWA Player of the Week.

Though listed at 6-foot-1 and just 170 pounds by the Mocs, Todd can trigger down and hit more like a 190-pound safety and destroy an offense’s ability to utilize the quick game, such as screens or swing passes. He struggles slightly over the top or when asked to move backward, but when in downhill pursuit, he is absolutely clinical.

Similar to McManus, Todd could be a key pickup for Auburn thanks to his youth. He easily has the instincts and tackling ability to play in the SEC; it just remains to see whether or not he can earn the playing time over some of the Tigers’ established players at the position. Either way, Auburn has definitely found an extremely fun spark plug to add to its defensive rotation for 2026.

More From Auburn Tigers on SI

Published
Micah Farmer
MICAH FARMER

Micah is a Journalism major with a Sports Production Option. He has written college football, basketball, and baseball for Eagle Eye TV and WEGL 91.1, among others. He has also created a podcast centered around college football.

Share on XFollow micah_jf
Home/Recruiting