By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU’s first two players to go in the 2026 NFL Draft were both one-year players who transferred to the Tigers for their senior seasons.
Safety A.J. Haulcy, who transferred from Houston after the 2024 season, was selected with the 14th pick of the third round on Friday night by the Indianapolis Colts as the 78th overall selection.
On Thursday night, LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane, a transfer from Virginia Tech for the 2025 season, went as the sixth pick of the first round to the Kansas City Chiefs.
“They weren’t really on me too much in the process, but they said they just wanted to keep it quiet and make that sneak move,” Mansoor Delane said of KC trade. “And they made the best move in the draft.” https://t.co/MLkBRMUob8
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 24, 2026
Also on Friday night, LSU wide receiver Zavion Thomas went to the Chicago Bears as the 25th pick of the third round and 89th overall.
Haulcy (5-11, 215 pounds) is known as a hitter and a ballhawk. He made 88 tackles for the Tigers last season, including four straight Southeastern Conference games in which he had double-digit tackles against Ole Miss, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M. He also had three interceptions and four pass breakups for LSU in 2025.
He started 11 games for the Tigers and 33 over three seasons with Houston. He intercepted two passes in the 2024 season with the Cougars and had a forced fumble in the 2023 season. As a freshman in 2022, he intercepted two passes.
Thomas (5-10, 192), who went to John Ehret High in the New Orleans area, played the 2024 and ’25 seasons at LSU after transferring from Mississippi State, where he played in 2022 and ’23. He caught 41 passes for 488 yards and four touchdowns last season after catching 23 for 218 yards and two touchdowns in 2024. Thomas also led the SEC in kickoff returns in 2023 with 633 yards.
GARRETT NUSSMEIER NOT DRAFTED YET
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was not drafted through three rounds Friday night. WWL Radio draft expert Mike Detillier had told Tiger Rag Radio twice in the last several weeks that Nussmeier would be the third quarterback taken and go in either the second or third round.
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza was the first quarterback taken as the first overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night, and Alabama’s Ty Simpson went as the 13th pick of the first round to the Los Angeles Rams.
On Friday, Miami’s Carson Beck was the third quarterback taken as the first pick of the third round to Arizona. Then Penn State’s Drew Allar was taken as the 12th pick of the third round to Pittsburgh.
The fourth through seventh rounds of the draft are on Saturday.
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