That’s the general prognosis for BYU football prospects for the 2026 NFL draft, which begins Thursday night in Pittsburgh. The three-day event will last seven rounds with Thursday’s slot accounting for the first round with the rounds two and three taking up the Friday night slate before concluding on Saturday with rounds 4-7. The entire draft will be televised live on both the NFL and ESPN networks.

For fans hoping to see a player off of last year’s Cougar team get drafted they may have to wait a while. But the good news is that Kelly, who was a standout for BYU since transferring from Weber State prior to the 2024 season, is all but assured to be selected in the later rounds with some analysts predicting a selection as early as the fourth round.

“I’ve been staying in the grind mode,” Kelly said following his workout at BYU’s pro day in late March. “I’m not trying to get too high or get to low. I’m just trying to stay even keeled and get better each and every day.”

Kelly’s prospects were raised quite a bit a few weeks prior to BYU’s pro day when many scouts saw him workout live at the NFL combine. During the event held in Indianapolis, the 6-foot-2, 245 pound linebacker ran the eighth-fastest time in the 40-yard dash among participating linebackers (4.57 seconds) while tying for first in his 20-yard shuttle time (4.19) where he showcased his mobility. He also recorded a 37-inch vertical jump and clocked 7.12 seconds in the 3-cone drill.

Courtesy BYU Photo

Kelly was satisfied with most of the numbers he put up in Indianapolis, and decided to let some of them stand by not running the same drills for scouts at Pro Day.

“I think I showed everything I wanted to today,” Kelly said following BYU’s Pro Day. “I feel I was pretty smooth with how I performed and I’m pleased.”

Kelly pleased BYU fans throughout his two-year stint in Provo, as it were. A standout defensively the second he arrived from Weber State, Kelly topped off his Cougar career tallying 55 tackles, 13.5 of which went for losses, on top of 10 sacks.

“Kelly is a burly linebacker with adequate play speed and desired aggression,” wrote NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein. “His reaction time is average, but (he) struggles to find his leverage and fit as a run defender pop up too often on tape. He has a strong punch but short arms and can get stuck to blockers who sink their hands in. He’s adequate in coverage, but above average as a blitzer and has some juice when he rushes off the edge. Kelly might need to star on special teams to find a role as an even-front linebacker with third-down value.”

As for BYU’s other draft hopefuls, they include the aforementioned Roberts and Ryan.

Courtesy BYU Photo

Roberts was unsatisfied with his NFL combine performance, but left BYU’s Pro Day relatively pleased with his numbers and overall improvements.

“The biggest thing was to get my 40 time down and to show my speed,” Roberts, who ran the 4o-yard dash in 4.51 seconds at BYU’s Pro Day, said. “I was battling a little big through the training, but glad I was able to get some of those extra weeks and run a little faster.”

Roberts finished his BYU career with 170 career receptions for 2,586 yards and 18 touchdowns, making his one of the more notable Cougar receiver careers in history.

“His best fit is as a WR3 or WR4 in a system that moves him around the formation and uses him on intermediate concepts and red zone packages,” evaluated NFLdraftbuzz.com. “The 2024 film shows a receiver who knows how to sit in zones, work back to the quarterback, and come down with the football when coverage is tight. He is a chain-mover and a scoring threat inside the 20, not a field-stretcher. The role is there at the next level if an offense wants a bigger body who does the little things.”

As for Ryan, he presents a well-round tight end prospect who is good at just about everything, but perhaps not exceptional enough in any one particular facet to warrant him being selected by any NFL team, although some have mentioned him as a potential late round pick.

Perhaps most bullish on the 6-4, 250 tight end who transferred from Utah to BYU for his senior season is the Athletic, where NFL draft guru Dane Brugler pegged the American Fork High product as a potential fifth round pick.