How Tennessee Might Get First-Round Value in Penn State's Kevin Winston Jr.

The Tennessee Titans selected Penn State safet Kevin Winston Jr. in the third round of the NFL Draft.

Penn State's KJ Winston brings down West Virginia's Jahiem White in the first half of a 2024 college football game. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Tennessee Titans selected former Penn State safety Kevin Winston Jr. with the 82nd overall pick of the NFL Draft, potentially getting first-round value in the third round. Winston ranked among the top-5 safeties in the draft class even though he played barely five quarters last season, underscoring his value to defenses that value hard-hitting safeties.

Winston was the third Penn State football player selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, following first-rounders Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren. Had he been healthy last season, Winston might have joined them in the first round. Here's what to know about the Titans' third-round draft pick.

Why KJ Winston was rated so highly

After an All-Big Ten junior season at Penn State in 2023, Winston returned as a team captain and one of the Nittany Lions' best overall players. Scouting services graded him as a potential first-rounder. In an early mock, Pro Football Focus slotted Winston as the No. 22 pick overall behind a run-stopping grade of 90.6.

Winston began the 2024 season with a rousing game against West Virginia, making 12 tackles and recovering a fumble in the Nittany Lions' 34-12 win. But the following week against Bowling Green, Winston removed himself in the second quarter. He did not play again that season, choosing to have surgery for a knee injury.

Though he could have returned to Penn State, Winston stuck to his plan and declared for the draft. He still served as a captain for the Nittany Lions, however, returning to travel with the team for the College Football Playoff.

Winston (6-2, 215 pounds) is a big presence in the secondary. He continued Penn State's streak of aggressive run-stopping safeties (Jaquan Brisker, Ji'Ayir Brown) with a deeply physical style of play. Winston led Penn State with 60 tackles in 2023 as an active player in the run defense. He won't play a supporting role in defending the run game. Winston also has the burst to be effective in safety blitz situations.

Though he didn't test at the NFl Scouting Combine, Winston returned to run a 4.51 40 at Penn State's Pro Day in late March, about five months out from surgery. Winston said that he expects to be 100 percent for training camp but wanted to run at Pro Day to prove his recovery path.

"It was very important for me," Winston said at Pro Day. "Obviously I wanted a faster time, but I just wanted to show I’m doing well, running, getting stronger."

KJ Winston's potential weaknesses

The injury, coupled with Winston's decision to enter the draft, muddled his prospects. He was only a one-year starter at Penn State and lacks the diagnostic reps, particularly in coverage, other polished college safeties possess. As a result, Winston's processing speed is behind where it should be.

Since Winston continues to recover from injury, he likely won't project as a first-year starter in the NFL.

"He will still need to develop some eye discipline to quickly and accurately read a play's design, or route being run, so that he can further use his length, range, and physicality to disrupt," Sports Info Solutions wrote in its scouting report of Winston.

KJ Winston in his own words

On entering the draft: "I don’t think it was a very difficult decision considering the injury was very early in the season. Obviously if it was the last game of the season or the middle, there would be kind of some gray area there. But with it being at the beginning of the season, I would be able to run at this pointn. Considering all those factors, it was pretty much an easy decision."

On what questions NFL teams had during the pre-draft process: "The big one is, what made me decide to come out. That’s the main thing; what was my thought process. I knew physically I was ready to go to the NFL and compete with the best of the best. But my thing was mentally. Am I mentally ready to go to the next level? Because if you’re not ready, you’re not going to last in that league. I’ve been training myself since I was a freshman. ... I had alll the habits I needed to be a pro. Thinking through all that allowed me to make the decision to come out."