Emmanuel McNeil-Warren

The Player

McNeil-Warren has elite height (6 feet, 3 1/2 inches) and length (32 1/8–inch arms, 78 1/4–inch wingspan) with a tightly packed frame. However, NFL personnel will question his lack of top-end speed, the lower level of competition he played against in college, and a 2024 shoulder injury. Still, McNeil-Warren dominated his level of competition and displayed a combination of size, smooth athleticism, fast eyes, toughness, and confidence that NFL teams covet. 

Legitimate prospects from non-P4 schools always seem to deliver big when given an opportunity against stronger competition—McNeil-Warren’s came versus Kentucky in 2025, a game in which he had 11 tackles and a forced fumble. McNeil-Warren racked up 206 tackles, 11 TFL, one sack, 13 pass breakups, five INTs, and eight forced fumbles in 35 games in his three years as a starter at Toledo. (He did not play the final five games of the 2024 season due to a shoulder injury.) McNeil-Warren was a third-team All-American selection in 2025, joining 2024 first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell as the second Rocket player in 18 years to make the All-America team.

One of McNeil-Warren’s unique traits is the confidence with which he attacks ballcarriers in the split second before contact. It’s like watching an episode on Animal Planet where a predator hunts its prey. This attack comes in many different forms, including a submarine-style undercut, a violent lasso, and his perfectly timed “peanut punch,” which resulted in eight career forced fumbles. He’s at his best serving as a “robber” or working inside the box, and he exhibits great run-diagnostic skills and instincts sifting through traffic.

In coverage, McNeil-Warren is at his best facing the quarterback, getting an early read, and squatting-driving on the ball in front of him. He has very good ball-hawking instincts and knows when to attack the ball and when to separate it from the receiver. His pick-six vs. Western Kentucky displayed his ability to read the QB’s eyes; his diving interception versus Central Michigan in the snow showed his good tracking skills and focus along the sideline.

On the negative side, he has some tightness in man-to-man coverage, and he lacks ideal recovery speed (as confirmed by an underwhelming 40 time of 4.52 seconds) when the ball is in the air. He is not the type who will hold up one-on-one versus

sudden slot receivers, and he will need to be protected a bit from center field–like responsibilities.

The Draft

McNeil-Warren is one of three safeties who belong in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL draft, along with Caleb Downs and Dillon Thieneman. He will hear his name in the first 25 picks on night one.

The Projection

McNeil-Warren is a day-one starter for a team in need of an enforcer and takeaway artist. He has a similar size profile to Justin Reid (Saints)—both do a great job defending the run and holding up in the box. However, McNeil-Warren is simply better in coverage and has some coverage tape that’s similar to Kerby Joseph’s (Lions) during his final year at Illinois.