AUBURN — The 2025 NFL Draft came and went this past weekend, and Auburn wasn’t a major player in the proceedings.
The Tigers had three players get drafted: running back Jarquez Hunter, wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith and edge rusher Jalen McLeod. All three of those picks came in consecutive rounds — fourth, fifth and sixth — on Saturday, the third and final day of the annual draft.
That trio tied for the second-smallest draft class from Auburn in the last decade. The Tigers had just three picked in 2016, while Roger McCreary was the lone selection in 2022. It was also a second straight draft in which Auburn didn’t have a player drafted on the first two days, and it was the fifth straight draft without a first-rounder.
Of course, some of that is to be expected, given the state of the Auburn program for the last several years. The lack of retention and recruiting during the Bryan Harsin era drained a lot of talent from the Plains, even if it lasted less than two full seasons. Hugh Freeze has done well in both of those areas, but most of the best pieces he added to the roster aren’t old enough to be draft prospects just yet.
That officially changed this weekend, once the finishing touches were placed on the 2025 draft and the cycle moved to 2026.
There’s a long way to go — literally a year — before NFL teams will be on the clock again. But projections show that Auburn could break its first-round drought next April.
And it’s not even close to being a borderline opinion.
Keldric Faulk is already a popular name in way-too-early rundowns of 2026 draft prospects. Bleacher Report put him at No. 4 in its mock draft, while 247Sports has him at No. 6. CBS put him at No. 7. A consensus big board that accounts for four big boards and 13 mock drafts so far puts Faulk at No. 8 in this class.
Pro Football Focus might be the lowest on Faulk of any of the major outlets, and it still lists him at No. 16 on its early big board.
Now, Faulk’s hype as an early NFL Draft darling might come as a surprise to some. After all, Faulk wasn’t even an All-SEC selection this past season, when he was a sophomore on an Auburn team that didn’t even make a bowl game.
But you have to keep in mind that the conference’s defensive line talent was absolutely stacked with older and more well-known talent last season. The vast majority of those players are now in the pros.
Even still, Faulk’s production in 2024 was enough to grant him special prospect status.