Draft-Week Buzz
No verified pre-draft news items in the past 30 days for this prospect. See Day 2/3 Team Fits below for projected landing spots and /news.html for the cross-prospect timeline.
Scouting Nugget: Big 12
Expanded bio coming soon. This prospect is Interior D #6 in the 2026 class.
Background
Oklahoma IDL from San Diego, CA; three-year Sooner nose tackle.
College Production
2023-25 OU: 60+ career tackles, 10 TFL, 4 sacks — rotational Big 12 starter.
Scouting Take
True nose at 6-2, 310; double-team absorber. Short arms; pass-rush production minimal.
Draft Projection
Round 3. Two-down run-stuffing NT.
Mock-Draft Consensus
| ESPN (Jordan Reid) | PFF Big Board | Jeremiah Top 50 | Consensus Avg | Realistic Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #63 | #70 | — | #66.5 | Picks 50-85 |
30-day trend: Stable
Ranks cross-referenced from ESPN's Jordan Reid top-500, PFF's 2026 Big Board top-200, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50 (NFL.com). Realistic draft-night range reflects projected team fit and trade scenarios, not just big-board placement.
Advanced Stats & Production
| 2025 PFF pass-rush | 76.2 |
| PFF run defense | 79.8 |
| Pass-rush win rate | 13% |
| Pressure rate | 11% |
| Sacks | 3.5 |
Metrics blended from PFF grade sheets, school box scores, and Combine/Pro Day box scores. Position-specific: QB shows efficiency + turnover rates, WR/TE show route-running + contested-catch, OL shows pass-block grade + pressures allowed, EDGE/IDL show pass-rush win rate + pressure rate, LB/DB show coverage grade + missed-tackle rate.
Sources
Our scouting profile is assembled from these primary sources + cross-checked against ESPN (Kiper / Reid / Miller), PFF's 2026 Big Board, Dane Brugler's The Beast 2026, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50. See our full methodology and citations.
Day 2 / Day 3 Team Fits
NFL teams that lost a same-position veteran this offseason — and could target Gracen Halton as a Day 2/3 replacement option.
- REPORTED Las Vegas Raiders: moved on from Bilal Nichols (3-tech-DT).
Picks held: R1 #1; R2 #36
Confidence: "VERIFIED" departures cite a publication URL (Spotrac, OverTheCap, ESPN, NFL.com, team transactions page) confirming the move and date. "REPORTED" entries come from public free-agency trackers without a single canonical source we could attach. Fits are archetype-and-position based; we are not claiming the team has expressed interest in the prospect.
NFL Scheme Fit
NFL Scheme Fit
- Two-gap base DT in a multi-front defense
Houston Texans · Atlanta Falcons · Denver Broncos
Scheme matches are bucketed from the prospect's height, weight, and (for WRs) archetype tag against a static lookup of which NFL teams currently run each scheme family.
Rookie Contract & Landing-Spot Outlook
Projected Rookie Contract Value
~$8.0M – $13.0M (4-year deal) · Pick range: #33-64 · ~85% guaranteed
Mid-pick band — guarantee % varies pick-to-pick
Best-Case / Worst-Case Landing Spot
Why: IDL listed in their top-5 positional needs; runs a scheme that maximizes his profile.
Year-1 arc: Day-1 starter window with cap-controlled rookie-contract production.
Why: IDL not in their stated top-5 needs; runs a scheme that doesn't naturally amplify his profile.
Year-1 arc: Depth-chart competition + special-teams reps as Year-1 baseline.
Contract band uses the 2026 NFL CBA rookie wage scale projected from the prospect's expected pick range; guarantee % is the slot-default at that pick. Landing-spot best/worst case is derived from TEAMS data (positional needs + scheme overlap minus same-position R1 conflicts) — not a claim that either team has expressed interest.
By the Numbers — 2026 Class Context
- Frame: Among 2026 IDL prospects, his 6-2 / 310 lbs frame sits at the 16th percentile in height and 58th percentile in weight.
- Position class: Gracen Halton is IDL #6 of 31 ranked IDLs in the 2026 class. Of those, 2 are projected in the R2 range.
- School pipeline: Oklahoma has 2 IDLs in the 2026 NFL Draft class (9 total prospects from the school).
Computed factually from the 2026 prospect class roster — height/weight percentiles benchmark this player against every other ranked prospect at the same position. Recruiting arc compares his high-school 247Sports/Rivals composite to his current projected round.
Gracen Halton’s NFL Archetype: Chris Jones
Chris Jones (Kansas City Chiefs)
Closest IDL physical profile in the modern NFL: 6-2/310 lbs. Same frame, same role bucket — NOT a talent or career-arc projection.
Note: this is a physical-profile match — frame, position, role bucket. Not a talent or career-arc projection.
Similar Interior D Prospects
Closest matches to Gracen Halton (6-2 / 310 lbs, #6 IDL) by ranking proximity and physical profile. SIZE MATCH = within 1″ height and 10 lbs; TIER MATCH = within 2 ranking spots.
- Lee HunterSIZE MATCH Texas Tech · 6-3/320 lbs · #5 IDL · R1-R2
- Kaleb ProctorSIZE MATCH SE Louisiana · 6-3/315 lbs · #8 IDL · R3
- Christen MillerTIER MATCH Georgia · 6-4/310 lbs · #4 IDL · R1-R2
- Kayden McDonaldSIZE MATCH Ohio State · 6-2/320 lbs · #2 IDL · R1
- Rayshaun Benny Michigan · 6-4/310 lbs · #10 IDL · R3
Oklahoma & The 2026 Class
More from Oklahoma
- R Mason Thomas · EDGE #15 · R3
- Damonic Williams · IDL #28 · R7-UDFA
- Kendal Daniels · LB #16 · R7
- John Mateer · QB #10 · R5
- Jaydn Ott · RB #11 · R5
Other R2 prospects in the 2026 class
Different positions, same projected draft tier as Gracen Halton.
- Garrett Nussmeier · QB · LSU
- Jadarian Price · RB · Notre Dame
- KC Concepcion · WR · Texas A&M
- Chris Bell · WR · Louisville
- Germie Bernard · WR · Alabama
- Eli Stowers · TE · Vanderbilt