{"id":265360,"date":"2026-03-31T15:29:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T19:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=265360"},"modified":"2026-04-15T16:43:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:43:17","slug":"2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report-emmanuel-mcneil-warren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/03\/31\/2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report-emmanuel-mcneil-warren\/","title":{"rendered":"Emmanuel McNeil-Warren 2026 NFL Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Toledo does not have the longest history of first-round picks in the NFL Draft. In its 109 seasons, Toledo has produced just two first-round picks: Dan Williams (11th overall in 1993 to the Denver Broncos) and Quinyon Mitchell (22nd overall in 2024 to the Philadelphia Eagles). <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/emmanuel-mcneil-warren-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Emmanuel McNeil-Warren<\/a> has the opportunity to join that prestigious group this year. A three-year starter for the Rockets, McNeil-Warren has been on the NFL radar for quite some time. After a solid senior season, he is one of the borderline first-round prospects in this year&#8217;s class. Could a team pick the hard-hitting safety on the first night?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-draft\/profiles\/\" target=\"_self\">More 2026 NFL Draft Profiles<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOB27TmnRNK\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 6662px; aspect-ratio: 6662\/4442;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h3>Measurables<\/h3>\n<p><span>Height: 6&#8217;3&#8243;<\/span><br \/>\n<span>Weight: 201 pounds<\/span><br \/>\n<span>Arms: 32.13&#8243;<\/span><br \/>\n<span>Hands: 9.25&#8243;<\/span><br \/>\n<span>40-yard: 4.52<\/span><br \/>\n<span>Vertical: 35.50<\/span><br \/>\n<span>Broad jump: 10&#8217;2&#8243;<\/span><br \/>\n<span>RAS: <a  href=\"https:\/\/ras.football\/ras-information\/?PlayerID=30146&amp;ovl=Toledo\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">9.00<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<span>School: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/tag\/toledo-rockets\/\" target=\"_self\">Toledo<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Emmanuel McNeil-Warren NFL Draft Overview<\/h3>\n<p>Initially a three-star recruit out of Tampa Bay, Florida, McNeil-Warren picked Toledo despite earning offers from Indiana, Kansas State, Maryland, and Miami (FL). He was the second-highest-rated recruit for the Rockets that year. As a true freshman, McNeil-Warren appeared in 13 games (with one start) for Toledo, recording seven tackles and forcing one fumble.<\/p>\n<p>Then, as a sophomore in 2023, he took over as a starting safety for all 14 games. He broke out with 49 tackles, four tackles for loss, three pass breakups, two interceptions, and a whopping four forced fumbles. He led the MAC in forced fumbles and was tied for third in the nation. Two of those came in the Arizona Bowl loss to Wyoming.<\/p>\n<p>The injury bug bit McNeil-Warren in 2024, causing him to miss five games. Even then, he recorded 61 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, half of a sack, five pass breakups, one interception, and one forced fumble for the Rockets.<\/p>\n<p>Then, he got back to form in 2025. He had a career year with 77 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, half of a sack, five pass breakups, two interceptions (one pick six vs. Western Kentucky), three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. For his efforts, McNeil-Warren earned first-team All-MAC and second-team All-American by the Sporting News and FWAA.<\/p>\n<h3>Strengths<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Serious thumper, would be the reason receivers think twice about coming over the middle<\/li>\n<li>Larger than average safety, but uses size well<\/li>\n<li>Good anticipation when playing off<\/li>\n<li>Can attack run lanes and is more than willing to deliver a hit in the hole<\/li>\n<li>Creates chaos at the point of attack. He didn&#8217;t punch out nine fumbles and force five interceptions by accident<\/li>\n<li>Has experience in multiple roles at safety<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Weaknesses<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Lacks the long speed to keep up with elite receivers<\/li>\n<li>Can get a bit too eager in run defense and will overrun lanes<\/li>\n<li>Not likely a deep free safety at the NFL level<\/li>\n<li>Footwork could use refining<\/li>\n<li>Not the best open-field tackler, can lunge and go for the killshot rather than wrap up<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Projection<\/strong>: Late First\/Early Second-Round Pick<br \/>\n<strong>Best Fits<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/vikings\/\" target=\"_self\">Minnesota Vikings<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bills\/\" target=\"_self\">Buffalo Bills<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bears\/\" target=\"_self\">Chicago Bears<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/chargers\/\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Chargers<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Bottom Line on Emmanuel McNeil-Warren<\/h3>\n<p>There are three safeties who have first-round grades from the overwhelming majority of draft experts. While McNeil-Warren may not be a top-20 pick, that late first-round range would be a great spot for him.<\/p>\n<p>McNeil-Warren has all of the traits of a top-end strong safety. He has an impressive trigger in run defense and uses his size well to separate the ball from the ballcarriers.<\/p>\n<p>He has some drawbacks to his game, of course. He&#8217;s not quite as fluid or quick to be the one-high deep safety. Plus, he&#8217;s vulnerable to letting up big plays against quick slot receivers. However, one-on-one against tight ends could be a strength.<\/p>\n<p>If a team is looking for a hard-hitting, downhill safety who has the fire and ability to turn a game on its head with a well-timed forced fumble, McNeil-Warren is the guy.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re into IDP fantasy football, he could be a steal in your rookie draft. He projects to be a high-tackle safety with plenty of turnover-forcing potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is a hard-hitting safety in this year&#8217;s class. Could he be the second Toledo first-round pick in three years?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4051,"featured_media":271555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33760,1647],"tags":[33533,33966,34074],"class_list":["post-265360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-profiles","category-nfl-draft","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-emmanuel-mcneil-warren","tag-profiles"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4051"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265360"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":275039,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265360\/revisions\/275039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}