AUBURN, Ala. – From the Plains to Pittsburgh, former Auburn standout Keldric Faulk accepted the league’s invitation to attend the 2026 NFL Draft in person.
Projected to be selected in Thursday’s first round, Faulk’s green room wait figures to be minimal before it’s his time to stroll on stage, meet the commissioner and hold the jersey of his new team.
“It’s a lot of excitement, anxiety and pure nervousness,” said Faulk, whose 6.43 draft grade ranks No. 16 in the 2026 class and projects him to be a productive NFL starter early in his career. “I’m anxious and excited to see where I end up.”
A month before the draft, Keldric and his brother J.J., an Auburn redshirt freshman, talked about what it will be like when his name is called.
“A flood of emotion,” Keldric said. “I’ve worked extremely hard to get where I am now. That night will be the first step of showing how much I’ve worked. From that point, it’s pushing my body to another limit, pushing my skill level to another level.”
Keldric’s last season on the Plains gave him the opportunity to team up with J.J, as they did three years earlier at Highland Home High School.
“It was crazy special,” Keldric said his three-year Auburn career. “You got to see who guys really were whenever the times got tough. We wanted to finish it out the right way. The scoreboard didn’t say that but our effort did on tape.”
While he navigates his rookie season in the NFL, Keldric expects Auburn’s defense to continue to excel under coordinator DJ Durkin.
“The same intensity, especially with Durk here,” Faulk said. “He’s going to preach the exact same thing he preached to us. Do everything with relentless effort, violent tackling and elite mental execution. That’s how he coaches the defense. They’re going to play just like that.”