Kevin Winston Jr. entered his junior season in 2024 as one of the stars of a loaded Penn State defense and a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, the 6-foot-1 215-pound safety played just 74 snaps across two games before an ACL injury kept him out for the rest of the season.
Despite not playing since September, Winston was the third Nittany Lion to come off the board behind first-round picks Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren, and the first of Day 2 of the NFL Draft as the 82nd overall pick to the Tennessee Titans.
Happy Valley to the Music City 🎶
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) April 26, 2025
Kevin Winston Jr. → @Titans#WeAre x @KevinWinstonJr1 pic.twitter.com/GWEhkEPbCN
Tennessee Titans select Penn State safety Kevin Winston Jr. 83rd overall in the 2025 NFL Draft
While he didn’t see the field much as a junior, Winston dominated Week 1 against West Virginia with 12 tackles and a forced fumble. In his sophomore year, Winston finsihed with 60 tackles, five pass breakups and an interception.
Winston is a big physical safety who is a downhill tackler in the run game and talented in man coverage. That’s the player Penn State got in its Week 1 win over West Virginia and the player that the Titans are hoping that they drafted 83rd overall.
After opting not to workout at the NFL Scouting Combine, Winston ran a 4.50 40-yard dash at Penn State’s Pro Day. He claimed to have run a 4.40 in preparation for the Pro Day and before his injury. If Winston does return to 100% with his burst restored, the Titans may have drafted one of best safeties in the class and a true difference maker on the defensive side of the ball.
Winston was the fourth safety selected and third of Day 2, slotting in behind Georgia’s Malaki Starks, South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori, and Texas’s Andrew Mukuba. Starks will be set up to succeed playing next to All-Pro Kyle Hamilton in Baltimore as a first-round pick, but after Starks, there are big question marks about Emmanwori’s discipline in coverage and Mukuba’s tackling, so while a healthy Winston is far from a perfect prospect, he could emerge as the second-best safety in the 2025 rookie class.