Penn State’s Tony Rojas is making a massive leap up 2027 NFL Draft boards

Penn State’s disappointing start to the 2026 season has given Nittany Lions fans little to celebrate, but Tony Rojas is quickly becoming one of the program’s biggest 2027 NFL Draft stories.

Rojas entered the season ranked No. 299 among 2027 NFL Draft prospects, according to NFL Mock Draft Database, putting him firmly in late-round or potential undrafted free-agent territory. Five games later, that evaluation already looks outdated. Even my preseason fifth-round grade now looks too low.

A major reason Rojas was viewed so low entering the season was his injury history. He was coming off a torn ACL that limited him to just four games in 2025. He had also played through much of the 2024 season with a right arm injury that required him to wear a brace. Together, those injuries created legitimate questions about his medical outlook entering 2026.

There were also concerns about his play. Rojas struggled at times to consistently finish tackles, missing 22 percent of his tackle attempts in 2024, according to PFF. He would also occasionally make questionable reads against the run, taking himself out of position and contributing to some of those missed tackles.

A breakout season is changing Tony Rojas' draft stock

This season, however, Rojas has looked like a completely different player. Now fully healthy and playing under new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, he has emerged as one of the most productive players on Penn State’s defense.

Through five games, he leads the Nittany Lions in several statistical categories, including tackles with 34, tackles for loss with 7.5 and interceptions with two. Even in Penn State’s 34-13 loss to Northwestern, Rojas stood out with 12 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.

More importantly, Rojas has shown the traits necessary to become a quality starting linebacker in the NFL.

The biggest strength of his game may be his ability in coverage. Rojas has loose hips, impressive awareness and legitimate 4.37 speed, giving him the athleticism to hold up against both tight ends and running backs in space. He also has an impressive nose for the football, recording six interceptions over his last 25 games dating back to the 2024 season.

Rojas is also far from a liability against the run. His athleticism allows him to cover an enormous amount of ground and play sideline to sideline. That athletic ability was recognized by The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, who ranked Rojas No. 30 on his 2025 Freak List.

The biggest improvement I have seen from Rojas this season, though, has been his consistency as a tackler. He is playing faster, trusting his reads and doing a much better job of arriving under control. His range allows him to erase mistakes that other linebackers simply cannot recover from.

There is still one significant concern in his game: his lack of bulk. At 6-foot-2 and 227 pounds, Rojas has only solid strength and can have trouble getting off blocks when offensive linemen are able to get their hands on him. That could become a bigger issue at the NFL level, where he will regularly face bigger and stronger blockers.

Still, the improvements in his game have been significant enough for me to completely change my evaluation.

After entering the season with a fifth-round grade on Rojas, I now view him as a second-round NFL Draft prospect. His combination of athleticism, coverage ability, ball skills, range and instincts gives him a very intriguing NFL skill set.

If he continues to improve against the run and shows NFL teams that his 2025 ACL injury is fully behind him, the second round might not be his ceiling.

Could Tony Rojas become a target for the Buffalo Bills?

One team that could make a lot of sense for Rojas is the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo has a need at linebacker, with its linebacker unit ranking 31st in the NFL according to ESPN.

Rojas' range and ability in coverage would give Buffalo an athletic linebacker capable of making plays all over the field. If Rojas continues playing at this level throughout the season, he could even enter the conversation for Buffalo or another team late in the first round.

That would represent a remarkable rise for a player who entered the season ranked No. 299 in the class. Five games into 2026, Rojas isn't simply outperforming that ranking. He is making a case to be one of the first linebackers off the board in the 2027 NFL Draft.

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