Mansoor Delane was the most sought after cornerback in the transfer portal this past offseason. Looking to revamp the LSU defense, Brian Kelly and his staff went all-in on Delane, and it's paying off. Delane came to LSU after three seasons at Virginia Tech, and has quickly cemented himself as one of the best cornerbacks in all of college football.
He is a true shutdown corner, and teams have simply stopped targeting him. South Carolina targeted Delane just twice last week, and he came up with a huge PBU to put the game on ice late in the 4th quarter. Delane's impressive play is earning high praise, and NFL scouts have to be salivating at his potential.
Delane soaring up NFL Draft boards
The 2026 NFL Draft is still a long ways away, but it's never too early for football fans to dive into mock drafts and position rankings. NFL Draft media members are taking notice of Delane's elite play, including ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. In his latest 2026 NFL Draft Big Board player position rankings, Kiper has Delane ranked as the No. 3 cornerback in the country. Kiper has Tennessee's Jermod McCoy at No. 1 and Clemson's Avieon Terrell at No. 2, but the argument can be made that Delane is the best of the group.
Bleacher Report has Delane projected as a First Round pick and has him ranked as the No. 2 cornerback. Delane's overall grade of 8.5 gives him player comparisons to Devon Witherspoon, who was drafted out of Illinois with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seawhawks. Bleacher Report also mentions former Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell as a comparison for Delane. Mitchell was drafted with the 22nd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, and was a part of their Super Bowl winning team last season.
Delane was originally a 3-star recruit out of high school, and earned All-ACC honors last year in his third season at Virginia Tech. He came to LSU looking to prove that he can play at an elite level under the brightest lights on the national stage, and that's exactly what he's doing.
The 6' 0", 190-pound cornerback was selected as the Bednarik Award National Player of the Week for his performance in LSU’s 17-10 win over Clemson in Week 1. Since then, he has rarely been targeted, and when he is, he's answered the call. If he keeps this up, he is well on his way to hearing his name called in the first round of next April's NFL Draft. Delane and the Tigers are set to face Vanderbilt's high-scoring offense this Saturday, Oct. 18 in Nashville.