Kayden McDonald DT Ohio State |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #98 SUB-POSITION: NT/DT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 02/02/2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 5.15 seconds (40%*) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #98 | |
| SUB-POSITION: NT/DT | |
| Last Updated: 02/02/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 5.15 seconds (40%*) | |
| Overall Rating: | 87.4 / 100 | |
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| Average rating of opposition Offense player has faced | ||
| Offense Rating: |
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76% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| Tackling: |
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83% |
| Pass Rush: |
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68% |
| Run Defense: |
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98% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
1st - Mid
Overall Rank:
#18
Position rank:
#3 (DL)
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| College Games: 34 College Snaps: 679 | ||
ESPN RATING: 80/100
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247 RATING: 94/100
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RIVALS RATING: 5.8 (95%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Grant - Michigan |
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72% |
| Jordan Phillips - Maryland |
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69% |
| JJ Pegues - Ole Miss |
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69% |
Drafted: ROUND: 2 - Pick Number: 36 (HOU)
Draft Profile: Bio
Kayden McDonald arrived at Ohio State in June 2023 as one of Georgia's most decorated high school defensive linemen, a four-star recruit out of North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee who had left a trail of destruction through opposing offenses. His prep career was nothing short of absurd: 234 tackles, a school-record 46 sacks, and 131 tackles for loss across 40 games. During his junior season alone, he racked up 19 sacks and 58 tackles for loss, then followed it up with 13 sacks and 40 TFLs as a senior. At one point, he registered seven sacks in a single playoff game. He was also productive enough on offense to tote the rock 77 times for 409 yards and 11 touchdowns his final year at North Gwinnett, a testament to the athletic versatility that made him the nation's No. 12 ranked defensive tackle and earned him Gwinnett Daily Post Defensive Player of the Year honors along with Georgia High School Association all-state recognition.The transition to Columbus required patience. McDonald saw limited action as a true freshman in 2023, appearing in seven games and notching one tackle for loss while also moonlighting as a short-yardage fullback in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. His sophomore campaign in 2024 kept him behind Tyleik Williams, who would go on to become a first-round pick, but McDonald contributed as a rotational piece across all 16 games of Ohio State's national championship run, finishing with 16 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Born February 8, 2005, the 6-foot-3, 326-pound nose tackle spent those first two years learning the system and developing his technique while maintaining his commitment to academics as a two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten honoree majoring in communications.
Everything clicked for McDonald in 2025. Thrust into a starting role following the departure of last year's draft class, he anchored a Buckeyes defense that finished No. 1 nationally in total defense, scoring defense, and rushing defense, allowing just 9.3 points per game. His stat line told the story: 65 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles across another dominant Ohio State campaign. He was named a unanimous All-American and the Big Ten's Defensive Lineman of the Year while earning semifinalist recognition for the Outland Trophy. His best performances came on the biggest stages, including a career-high eight tackles against top-ranked Texas in the season opener and another eight-tackle effort against Penn State. Off the field, McDonald has served as an ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio, demonstrating the character and maturity that NFL organizations covet in their locker rooms.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Human-sized roadblock. Centers try to move him and end up going backward instead. That kind of play strength you just cannot teach.
- Watch the Texas game and count how many times their guards get thrown around like tackling dummies. He ragdolls people at the point of attack.
- His anchor is ridiculous. Power runs die at the line because he plants those tree trunks in the ground and refuses to budge no matter what they throw at him.
- Gets tremendous pop in his hands on contact and knows how to lock out blockers, then times his shed perfectly when the ball gets close.
- Way more athletic than the stopwatch says. He can slant, stunt, and even hit blockers with a little shimmy to keep them honest through the game.
- Even when he gets caught in a bad spot, his combination of strength and quick feet lets him recover and still blow up plays near the line.
- Finds the football. He has a nose for the ball through all that trash at the line and does not just eat blocks for the sake of eating blocks.
- Won a natty and showed up in the biggest games. Eight tackles against Texas, eight more against Penn State. The moment is not too big for him.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Those arms are shorter than you would like. Once a back gets to the edge of his reach, he is grabbing at air and hoping for the best.
- His pass rush right now is basically bull rush or bust. When that does not work, he kind of stands there looking for something else to do.
- Gets caught guessing against combo blocks. By the time he figures out what is happening, the guard is already climbing to the second level and he has lost his gap.
- Has a bad habit of popping up out of his stance and getting narrow with his base. Good offensive lines will see that and wash him out of the play.
- The motor runs a little cold on passing downs. If his first move gets stuffed, you will see him take a play off instead of fighting through the whistle.
Scouting Report: Summary
McDonald is a throwback nose tackle in an era obsessed with pass rushers, and there is real value in that. Watch his film against Washington and you will see a man who simply refuses to be moved, absorbing double teams like they are minor inconveniences while collapsing running lanes from the inside. His run defense grades out as elite, and that is not an exaggeration. Offensive coordinators will abandon their ground game by halftime when he is controlling the A-gaps, and that kind of disruption changes how defenses can operate. He is the guy who makes third-and-one feel like third-and-five for opposing offenses.The question with McDonald is whether his pass rush can develop enough to keep him on the field for three downs. Right now, his interior pressure comes almost exclusively from bull rushing, and NFL guards will diagnose that quickly. His pass rush grades out closer to average, reflecting a player who is effective in certain situations but limited in his overall toolkit. The good news is that his functional strength is so overwhelming that even when his technique falters, he can push the pocket backward and take away the quarterback's ability to step up. Smart defensive coordinators will pair him with explosive edge rushers who can feast on one-on-ones while McDonald eats up blocks inside.
McDonald profiles as a high-floor nose tackle who can immediately upgrade any team's run defense while developing into a more complete player. His combination of elite run-stopping ability, championship experience, and the athletic upside to potentially expand his passing down contributions makes him the type of prospect that contending teams covet. He is not a scheme-specific player either. Whether it is a 3-4 as a true nose or a 4-3 as a one-technique, his skill set translates because he does the dirty work that does not always show up on highlight reels but absolutely shows up in playoff wins. The team that lands him is getting a foundational piece up front who will command attention from opposing offensive lines from day one.
Kayden McDonald percentiles vs other Defensive Tackles (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Kayden McDonald (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
30.8
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
4.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.