photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels throws during Kansas Football's pro day on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at the Anderson Football Complex in Lawrence.

The NFL Draft can be exceptionally difficult to predict.

In the days leading up to last year’s draft, after Kansas had graduated a memorable and extremely talented senior class, it appeared a virtual certainty that four KU players would get selected, matching the program’s high-water mark in recent years. There was even a strong possibility that five Jayhawks would go off the board in a single draft for the first time since 1977.

Instead, Bryce Cabeldue and Devin Neal were each selected in the sixth round, but players like Logan Brown and Cobee Bryant who had looked like probable fourth- or fifth-round picks fell out of the draft altogether. (They still ended up making it to the league as undrafted free agents.)

This year, the outlook for former Jayhawks entering the draft — which begins at 7 p.m. Central time on Thursday night in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the first round, then continues over the following two days — is quite a bit different. There are a handful of KU players with solid chances of getting selected, but mock drafts suggest that none of them is a lock and that most likely any given Jayhawk will hear his name called in the seventh round.

It is not out of the question that the entire draft elapses without a single KU player coming off the board, which also happened in 2023, but a couple of prospects have certainly improved their draft stock enough this offseason to work their way into serious consideration.

Former KU offensive lineman Enrique Cruz Jr. put together a quiet but solid season as the Jayhawks’ starting right tackle in 2025 after transferring from Syracuse, where he had been consigned to the bench after previously playing extensively at left tackle.

Much like Cabeldue the prior offseason, he benefited considerably from offseason testing. He got on plenty of teams’ radars at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.94 seconds and tied for the second-best vertical jump (35 inches) and broad jump (9 feet, 8 inches) in his position group. NFL.com named him to its all-combine team.

On the strength of that performance, Cruz is popping up in a host of seventh-round projections. On April 15, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler projected him No. 224 overall to Pittsburgh; on Saturday, NFL.com’s Chad Reuter placed him three picks earlier with Cincinnati; and on Monday, ESPN’s Jordan Reid put him No. 247 overall with New England.

The highest placement in any recent mock draft was given to a player who did not take part in the combine. That would be Kobe Baynes, a longtime starter at right guard who like Cruz was named an All-Big 12 honorable mention following the 2025 season. In his mock draft of April 16, Ayrton Ostly of USA Today placed Baynes at No. 215 overall, the penultimate selection of the sixth round, with the Atlanta Falcons.

Baynes was one of a host of Jayhawks to receive invitations to the American Bowl during the winter. He took part in KU’s Pro Day with a vertical jump of 24.5 inches and broad jump of 8 feet, 5 inches, along with a 5.35-second 40-yard dash.

Also appearing in recent projections are quarterback Jalon Daniels and wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr.

Daniels has made much-discussed visits to meet with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in recent days, per a report by NFL insider Jordan Schultz. The Jayhawks’ longtime starter, who spent six total years with the program, threw for 2,531 yards on 62.1% passing in 2025 with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions and also ran for four additional scores. Reid predicted that Daniels will go No. 238 overall to the Miami Dolphins. KU has not had a quarterback drafted since Mike Norseth in 1986.

Henderson, a former highly touted running back prospect, did not play extensively at Alabama before transferring to KU and serving as Daniels’ top target at during the 2025 season. The speedy 6-foot-1 wideout, who was both a third-team all-league receiver and first-team all-league kick returner, caught 45 passes for 766 yards and five touchdowns. He brought back a kick for a score against West Virginia while averaging 25.3 yards per return. The Athletic’s mock draft has Henderson going to the Steelers (six picks after they take Cruz).

Kicker Laith Marjan, who went 14-for-17 on field goals and 40-for-40 on extra points in his lone season with the Jayhawks, may not go in the draft because he plays a position on which teams rarely spend selections, but he could find his way onto a roster after appearing in the combine’s auxiliary Specialist Showcase.

Other participants in KU’s pro day included defensive tackle Kenean Caldwell, wide receiver Bryson Canty, defensive tackle Tommy Dunn Jr., safety Devin Dye, safety Jalen Dye, receiver Doug Emilien, defensive end Justice Finkley, center Bryce Foster, offensive lineman Nolan Gorczyca, cornerback D.J. Graham II, tight end Boden Groen, tight end DeShawn Hanika, running back Daniel Hishaw Jr., linebacker Bangally Kamara, punter Finn Lappin, receiver Levi Wentz, running back Leshon Williams and defensive tackle D.J. Withers.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas offensive lineman Enrique Cruz Jr., left, works out with Nolan Gorczyca during Kansas Football’s pro day on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at the Anderson Football Complex in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas lineman Kobe Baynes goes through a drill during Kansas Football’s pro day on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at the Anderson Football Complex in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr. takes part in a drill during Kansas Football’s pro day on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at the Anderson Football Complex in Lawrence.