Mizzou's Toriano Pride Becomes Fourth Tiger CB Drafted Since 2022

Former Missouri cornerback Toriano Pride was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the No. 220 overall pick in the seventh round in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The St. Louis product spent his final two seasons as a full-time starter at Missouri, playing high-usage roles on a standout defense in each. The former Tiger posted a career-best 73.8 coverage grade, per Pro Football Focus, logged two interceptions and defended four passes in 2025. He'll now turn pro after hearing his name called by Roger Goodell in Pittsburgh, beginning his journey with the the Bills.

Although Pride is Missouri's only cornerback to be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, he follows the pipeline that plenty of former Tiger corners have taken in recent years: Missouri to the NFL.

Before Pride, the most recent Tiger corners to be selected in the draft were former teammates Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Kris Abrams-Draine. All three were coached by Missouri cornerbacks coach Al Pogue, who's succeeded in developing the position. Pride is the first Missouri corner to be drafted after playing under defensive coordinator Corey Batoon.

Rakestraw was selected by the Detroit Lions with the No. 61 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Much like his college career, his professional career has been riddled with injuries — he hasn't quite carved out a role for himself in the league. Rakestraw appeared in eight games in the 2024 season, logging four tackles, but suffered a hamstring injury to end his season prematurely. Rakestraw then underwent shoulder sugery that caused him to miss the entire 2025 season, but has since claimed to be healthy and ready to go for a 2026 run.

His Missouri teammate, Abrams-Draine, was selected by the Denver Broncos with the No. 145 overall pick in the same draft. The former Tiger logged one interception and nine tackles across five total games in his 2024 rookie season before stepping up into a larger role in 2025, playing all 17 games and logging 30 total tackles en route to the Broncos AFC Championship Game run.

Before Pride, Abrams-Draine and Rakestraw, former Tiger Akayleb Evans became the first cornerback to be drafted out of Missouri since Eli Drinkwitz took over in 2020. Evans was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the No. 118 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

He spent the first two seasons of his career with the Vikings, playing a rotational role in 2022 before emerging as a starter in 2023, logging 65 tackles and one interception while appearing in 15 games. However, he was traded from Minnesota to the Carolina Panthers seven games into the 2024 season, where he has since resided.

Now Pride, like each of his three predecessors, will work toward carving himself a role in the NFL.

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