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The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday at 7 p.m. CDT in Pittsburgh, featuring six Missouri football players likely to be selected. Key prospects include Zion Young, Josiah Trotter, Christ McClellan, Keagen Trost, Kevin Coleman Jr., and Toriano Pride Jr.
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Itâs NFL Draft week, and Missouri football has at least a half-dozen pro hopefuls vying for spots at the next level.The 2026 NFL Draft will begin with the first round at 7 p.m. CDT Thursday in Pittsburgh. Rounds 2 and 3 will take place Friday, and picks for Rounds 4-7 will be announced Saturday.
Six Mizzou players from the 2025 roster seem to be in good standing to hear their name called, based on the most-recent projections from national outlets and draft experts.
Defensive end Zion Young, middle linebacker Josiah Trotter, defensive tackle Christ McClellan, right tackle Keagen Trost, wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. and cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. all have appeared in recent mock drafts.
So, when and where are they all expected to land?
To get a picture of Mizzouâs upcoming week at the draft, we took a look at seven-round mock drafts from Chad Reuter at NFL.com, Dane Brugler at The Athletic, Matt Miller at ESPN and Josh Edwards at CBS Sports, all of which have been published in the past month. Most had all six Mizzou players listed above hearing their names called this week.
Here is where Mizzouâs top prospects are projected to land:
ESPN: Round 2, No. 34 overall (Cardinals)
CBS: Round 1, No. 30 (Dolphins, via Broncos)
The Athletic: Round 2, No. 42 (Saints)
NFL.com: Round 3, No. 68 (Eagles)
If Missouri has a first-rounder for a third straight year, Young is that player. CBS has him as a Thursday-night selection, while the other three outlets expect him to land on Day 2.
The projected Missouri football players for the 2026 NFL Draft include Zion Young, Josiah Trotter, Christ McClellan, Keagen Trost, Kevin Coleman Jr., and Toriano Pride Jr.
The 2026 NFL Draft starts on Thursday at 7 p.m. CDT and is held in Pittsburgh.
Recent mock drafts from NFL experts indicate that all six Missouri players mentioned are expected to be selected in the upcoming draft.
The 2026 NFL Draft consists of seven rounds, with the first three rounds on Thursday and Friday, and rounds four to seven on Saturday.

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Missouri has sent players to the league as Day 1 picks in each of the past two drafts, as Armand Membou went No. 7 overall to the Jets in 2025 and Darius Robinson went No. 27 overall to the Cardinals in 2024.
The last time Mizzou had first-round picks in three straight years was between 2009-11, when Jeremy Maclin, Ziggy Hood, Sean Weatherspoon, Aldon Smith and Blaine Gabbert each were Day 1 picks.
Young is a 6-foot-6, 262-pound edge rusher who recorded 57 quarterback pressures â the second-most in the SEC â in 13 games last season.
Sep 20, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks running back Oscar Adaway III (27) runs the ball as Missouri Tigers defensive end Zion Young (9) chases during the first half of the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
ESPN: Round 2, No. 62 (Broncos)
CBS: Round 3, No. 73 (Saints)
The Athletic: Round 3, No. 72 (Bengals)
NFL.com: Round 4, No. 104 (Cardinals)
Most projections have Trotter, listed at 6-2 and 237, hearing his name called on Day 2 of the draft as either a second- or third-round draft pick.
The redshirt sophomore middle linebacker was Mizzouâs leading tackler by quite some margin last season, emerging as a reliably excellent and hard-hitting second-level defender in his one season with the Tigers after transferring over from West Virginia.
Josiah Trotterâs father, Jeremiah Trotter Sr., was a third-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1998, and the Mizzou linebackerâs younger brother, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., was a fifth-round pick by the Eagles in 2024 out of Clemson.
Sep 6, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers linebacker Josiah Trotter (40) celebrates after a play during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
ESPN: Round 4, No. 134 (Raiders)
CBS: Round 4, No. 115 (Ravens)
The Athletic: Round 4, No. 112 (Cowboys)
NFL.com: Round 4, No. 108 (Broncos, via Saints)
Thereâs not a lot of variety in McClellanâs draft projections in our mock samples: The prognosticators expect him to go quite early on Day 3 in the fourth round.
McClellan, who arrived in Columbia ahead of the 2024 season after two years at Florida, had 48 total tackles and six sacks last season. Heâs listed at 6-3Ÿ, 313.
ESPN: Round 4, No. 105 overall (Giants)
CBS: Round 6, No. 198 (Patriots)
The Athletic: Round 5, No. 175 (Raiders)
NFL.com: Round 5, No. 155 (Buccaneers)
If Trost is drafted this year, the Tigers will send their starting right tackle to the league in back-to-back years. Membou is now the New York Jetsâ starting right tackle after three stellar years in Columbia.
It looks like some outlets project Trost to switch to guard at the next level, and the wide expectation is that heâll land with a new team at some point on Day 3 of the draft.
Trost, listed at 6-4â and 311, spent one season in Columbia, which was his seventh year in college after a winding road up the collegiate ranks from Morgan State to Indiana State to Wake Forest to Mizzou. He was Pro Football Focusâ top-graded offensive tackle in college football last season, allowing seven pressures and just one sack on 432 pass-blocking reps, per Pro Football Focus.
ESPN: Round 5, No. 149 (Browns, via Cincinnati)
CBS: Round 5, No. 160 (Packers)
The Athletic: Round 5, No. 159 (Panthers)
NFL.com: Round 5, No. 154 (Ravens)
Just 12 spots separate Colemanâs best and worst draft projections in the sampling of outlets we used. Itâs looking quite likely that the 5-10ÂŒ wide receiver lands in the fifth round.
Coleman, who is from St. Louis, spent one season with Mizzou after stints at Jackson State, Louisville and Mississippi State. He led the Tigers in receiving yards from the slot last season with 732 yards and a touchdown on what was a widely underwhelming Mizzou passing offense.
Dec 27, 2025; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. (3) runs the ball against the Virginia Cavaliers during the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images
ESPN projection: Round 6, No. 183 overall (Cardinals)
CBS projection: N/A
The Athletic: Round 7, No. 220 (Bills, via Jets)
NFL.com: Round 7, No. 241 (Bears)
Pride put up the fastest 40-yard dash time among all cornerbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this year. The latest batch of draft projections have him as a potential late-Day 3 selection.
The East St. Louis grad, who is listed at 5-10â and spent two seasons at Clemson before transferring to Missouri, had four interceptions and two pick-sixes in his time with Mizzou.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri football 2026 NFL Draft projections: Latest mock drafts