The first FCS player drafted in 2026, an unranked recruit out of Louisiana who turned into a Southland Player of the Year at Southeastern Louisiana.
Kaleb Proctor had zero FBS scholarship offers coming out of Oak Grove High School in Louisiana, so he stayed close to home at Southeastern Louisiana and turned himself into the first FCS player off the board in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Arizona Cardinals took him in the fourth round, though a torn meniscus suffered in offseason work has since sidelined his rookie season.
Path to the league
Proctor grew up in Oak Grove, Louisiana, and arrived at Southeastern Louisiana as an unranked prospect with no FBS offers. He developed steadily across four seasons with the Lions, becoming a full-time starter by 2023 and a breakout force by his junior and senior years.
Career highlights
As a senior in 2025, Proctor recorded nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss, earning first-team All-Southland honors, first-team FCS All-American recognition and Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He punctuated the season with a two-sack, three-tackle-for-loss performance against LSU. The Arizona Cardinals selected him with the 104th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, making him the first FCS player drafted that year and the first Southeastern Louisiana player picked since Harlan Miller in 2016.
2025 season recap
Proctor's senior season at Southeastern Louisiana was the best of his college career: 43 tackles, 13 for loss and nine sacks across 13 games, production that vaulted him from small-school prospect to a Day 3 draft pick. He tested well at the combine, running a 4.79-second 40-yard dash. During Cardinals offseason work in June 2026, he tore his meniscus and was placed on injured reserve on July 22, 2026, ending his rookie season before it started.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Kaleb Proctor
- Southeastern Louisiana Athletics: Proctor Selected in Fourth Round of the NFL Draft
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Defensive Tackle
- Group
- injuredReserveOrOut
- College
- SE Louisiana
- Hometown
- Oak Grove, LA, USA
- Age
- 22
- Status
- day-to-day
