The considerable roster turnover Kansas experienced this past offseason makes it difficult to project who might break out during the 2026 campaign.
Throw in the significant possibility of changes to collegiate eligibility rules, which could allow a massive number of players another year to stay in school and profit from revenue sharing and name, image and likeness dollars, and it’s very difficult to predict which Jayhawks might play themselves into the pool for the 2027 NFL Draft, after two KU players were selected in each of the last two drafts.
That said, KU does have a handful of promising athletes who contributed earlier in their careers and now seem to be coming of age, as well as a few transfers who arrive in Lawrence ready to leave their mark.
Here’s a look at some contenders for professional consideration following the 2026 season.
Dylan Edwards: NFL teams might have drafted Edwards after the one-game sample size of his collegiate debut at Colorado if they were allowed. In that game he caught five passes for 135 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth touchdown. As it is, three years later he’s now a redshirt junior with an injury history at his third school who has not spent a full season as a starting running back. But this could be his chance. It depends on the share of touches he receives, of course, in a crowded and highly talented backfield that also includes transfers Yasin Willis and Jalen Dupree and freshman Kory Amachree. It’s not hard to envision a scenario, though, in which Edwards puts it all together, gives NFL teams copious tape to watch that demonstrates his high-level speed and quickness and ultimately forgoes his final season of eligibility.
Leroy Harris III: Harris, the son of a former NFL guard, has a pro-ready frame for a defensive end at a long 6-foot-5 and close to 270 pounds, and in his first season at the power-conference level he showed flashes of greatness with 4.5 sacks, eight pass breakups and a blocked kick. It is extremely easy to project additional growth this year with a full offseason in the Jayhawks’ system — he was a late-spring arrival in 2025 — as well as increased production with a somewhat greater workload (he played 384 snaps on defense last year, according to Pro Football Focus). The question is whether it will be enough to push him into the draft early, as he will be a true junior in 2026.
Blake Herold: Herold will be one of the most talented players on the Jayhawks’ defense next season and will also have to advance into more of a leadership role given the numerous departures on the interior defensive line. He had 43 tackles last year with two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pair of pass breakups, displaying along the way the ability to line up in numerous spots in KU’s increasingly multiple defensive scheme. He is uncommonly athletic for the position and has a chance to mold himself into more of a star — if a defensive tackle can ever truly become one — this fall.
Trey Lathan: Lathan opted to return to KU after initially planning to enter the transfer portal, and the Jayhawks were grateful to get him back for his redshirt senior season. Lathan is an increasingly respected leader in the middle of the KU defense and an instinctive, durable linebacker who led the team with 86 tackles last year. He played the most defensive snaps of any Jayhawk in 2025 and might actually benefit from KU’s greater depth at the position this fall, thanks to the acquisition of numerous transfers, and occasionally get a much-needed break so he can be as fresh as possible when in action.
Nik McMillan: One of a couple Jayhawk wideouts with a chance at a breakout campaign, McMillan already knew the KU staff before he entered the transfer portal from when they had recruited him to Buffalo early in his high school career. He ended up choosing the Bulls later on and over the years developed into a bona-fide well-rounded No. 1 wide receiver, with an impressive 62 catches for 981 yards in 2025 as a redshirt junior. McMillan has said he sees KU’s offense as an NFL-style scheme that will help make it easier for him to reach the pros. Whether he ultimately gets there will depend on his adaptation to a higher level of play, his chemistry with whoever ends up starting at quarterback for the Jayhawks and his health.
Cam Pickett: A former Ball State transfer, Pickett caught six passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns in the first half of his first game as a Jayhawk and then never matched that caliber of play in any half or game that followed, in large part due to an injury that never really kept him out of action but forced him to play limited snaps for the first half of the year. He caught 27 passes for 249 yards the second half of the year as opposed to 18 for 227 in the first half, which doesn’t sound like that dramatic of a disparity until one considers that quarterback Jalon Daniels’ overall production declined significantly around the time that Pickett got reincorporated into the offense. As with McMillan, Pickett’s fate will depend on who ultimately plays quarterback this season and how effective he proves to be, but if Pickett can put together a healthier and more consistent campaign he can certainly play himself into NFL consideration.
Jalen Todd: Todd has played more at an early stage of his career than just about any player in Lance Leipold’s tenure, a testament to both the potential with which he entered the program and the work he has done to improve his body and his technique in the two years since. As a true sophomore in 2025 he was the most consistent player in a generally erratic KU secondary. He tallied 44 tackles with four pass breakups and a forced fumble and also showed some potential as a blitzer; all the while, he demonstrated versatility by playing both on the outside and at nickel. Similar to Lathan, it’s possible Todd could thrive even more given what appears to be a greater level of talent elsewhere in the secondary. But even another year of development alone might be enough to catapult him into early-entry territory.
Kansas running back Dylan Edwards participates in KU Football’s spring practice at Lawrence High School on Saturday, April 11, 2026 in Lawrence.
Kansas defensive tackle Blake Herold participates in Kansas football’s spring practice on Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Lawrence.
Kansas linebacker Trey Lathan tracks a ball carrier during KU Football’s spring practice at Lawrence High School on Saturday, April 11, 2026 in Lawrence.
Kansas receiver Nik McMillan participates in KU Football’s spring practice at Lawrence High School on Saturday, April 11, 2026 in Lawrence.
Kansas receiver Cam Pickett participates in Kansas football’s spring practice on Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Lawrence.
Kansas cornerback Jalen Todd goes through warmups during KU Football’s spring practice at Lawrence High School on Saturday, April 11, 2026 in Lawrence.
Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World
Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World
Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World
Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World
Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World
Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World