Cornerback 1 Grade: 1st rd.
Mansoor Delane
LSUAn alpha competitor who projects as a starter despite his average size.
Overview
- Hometown: Silver Spring, MD
- Birthday: December 15, 2003
- Age: 22.4
- Jersey: No. 4
- High School: Archbishop Spalding
- Year: Fourth-year senior
A one-year starter at LSU (and four-year starter overall), Delane was the left outside cornerback in defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s balanced coverage (man and zone) scheme. After teasing next-level starting talent at Virginia Tech, he took his talents to Baton Rouge in 2025 and was arguably the best cornerback in college football. He became just the 14th unanimous All-American in LSU history, and the first since Joe Burrow.
Though he doesn’t have elite length, Delane is fluid and opens with speed to stay in phase against vertical or in-breaking routes. He is instinctive in coverage and understands down and distance, which allows him to settle and close without any wasted or panicked movements (zero touchdowns allowed and zero penalties committed in 2025). His average frame and play strength might be greater hindrances versus NFL size, but he is an alpha competitor and carries himself like a pro.
Dane’s takeaway
Delane plays with the route anticipation and temperament to stay attached in coverage and squeeze catch windows. He projects as a starting outside NFL cornerback, with the skill set to move inside over the slot.
Film breakdown
Here’s everything you need to know about Mansoor Delane in Beast Breakdowns, a film breakdown partnership with our colleagues at “The Athletic Football Show.”
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Combine stats
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| STAT | HT Height (ft. in.) | WT Weight (lbs.) | HAND Hand size (in.) | ARM Arm length (in.) | WING Wingspan (in.) | BP Bench press | 10 10‑yard split (sec.) | 20 20‑yard split (sec.) | 40 40‑yard dash (sec.) | VJ Vertical jump (in.) | BJ Broad jump (ft. in.) | SS Short shuttle (sec.) | 3C 3 cone drill (sec.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combine | 5′113/4 | 187 | 87/8 | 30 | 741/2 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Pro Day | 5′113/4 | 182 | 9 | 303/4 | 743/4 | DNP | 1.5 | 2.52 | 4.38 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Note: Combine: No workout (core).
Strengths
- Mid-cut body type, with an adequate size/speed profile
- Quick-footed and controlled in his movements
- Smooth hip action — doesn’t labor in transitions
- Situationally aware and reads the quarterback’s drops to bait and drive throws
- Very disciplined from off coverage and anticipates double moves (doesn’t open the gate too quickly)
- Maintains a relationship between multiple routes in zone
- Mixes up press techniques (mirror, bail, two-hand punch)
- Strong ball skills — makes quarterbacks pay for mistakes (18 passes defended in 23 games over past two seasons)
- Not shy about throwing body around in run defense; holds up as a tackler
- Durable — has played a lot of football (40 career starts)
- Outstanding football character (NFL scout: “LSU coaches loved him … good worker, tough as s—, brings energy … was good for the young guys.”)
Weaknesses
- Rocked up in upper body but has shorter arms and underdeveloped lower half (lean thighs, thin ankles)
- Mediocre play strength and can get hung up on perimeter blocks
- Lacks elite recovery speed/burst if caught out of position
- Just 4.7 percent of career defensive snaps came in the slot
- Limited special teams experience, outside of field goal units
- Missed one game while playing through an abdominal injury, which plagued him most of 2025
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College stats
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| Year | School | GP Games played | GS Games started | TKLS Tackles | TFL Tackles for loss | SACK Sacks | FF Forced fumbles | PD Passes defended | INT Interceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Virginia Tech | 8 | 4 | 38 | 3.5 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
| 2023 | Virginia Tech | 13 | 13 | 54 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | Virginia Tech | 12 | 12 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 |
| 2025 | LSU | 11 | 11 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
- 2022 Freshman All-American; Honorable Mention All-ACC; led team in PD; enrolled May 2022
- 2024 Second Team All-ACC; led team in INT and PD
- 2025 Unanimous All-American; First Team All-SEC; led team in PD; missed one game (abdominal)
Background
Mansoor (MAHN-soor) Delane (duh-LANE), the fourth of five children in his family (three boys, two girls), was born and raised in Maryland (just outside of Washington D.C.) by his parents (Jafau and Adrian). Mansoor is a practicing Muslim, and his first name means “He who is victorious” in Arabic. His younger brother (Faheem) was a four-star safety recruit in the 2025 class and played his freshman season at Ohio State before transferring to LSU this past offseason. His older brother (Zayd) graduated from the University of Chicago and was an analyst at J.P. Morgan Bank in New York. In August 2025, Zayd moved in with Mansoor in Baton Rouge, La., and became his business manager, allowing Mansoor to focus on school and football. He also has 2 older sisters (Samaya and Medina).
Mansoor Delane started playing football at age 6 and continued playing through Pop Warner and Little League with the Columbia Ravens. He lined up at quarterback and middle linebacker throughout youth football before moving to wide receiver and defensive back in high school. He has an American bulldog named Nola.
Delane originally attended Landon School, a private school in Bethesda, Md., known more for lacrosse than football. After his freshman season, he decided to transfer and find a program that would help maximize his football potential. Delane landed at Archbishop Spalding, a private, Catholic high school in Severn, Md. Because the school was an hour away from home, he lived with a former youth coach and family friend (Paul Smith) during the week. Delane’s father successfully donated a kidney to Smith in 2022; Smith died in May 2024.
A three-year varsity letterman at Archbishop Spalding, Delane started in his first year as a sophomore and posted three interceptions in 2019. Delane moved around the secondary during his final two seasons, including an abbreviated two-game schedule in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a senior captain in 2021, Delane played mostly in the nickel and at safety, helping Archbishop to a 10-win season and the regional championship — he posted 78 tackles in his final season.
A three-star recruit, Delane was the 59th-ranked cornerback in the 2022 class and the No. 15 recruit in Maryland. Even though his junior season was nearly cancelled entirely, he was able to get on the field for a few games, which helped him get noticed as a recruit. In the spring of his junior season, Delane received offers from Illinois, Louisville, Maryland, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Virginia Tech. He was considered a Maryland lean (and Michigan State made a strong push late), but Delane committed to Virginia Tech in August 2021. The Hokies fired Justin Fuente a few months later, but Delane stayed committed after Brent Pry took over the head-coaching job. He was the sixth-ranked recruit in Pry’s first Virginia Tech class. After three seasons in Blacksburg, Delane entered the transfer portal (December 2024) and considered entering the 2025 NFL Draft (he received third-round draft grades). Delane heard from Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon and others before deciding on LSU (his only official visit). The move paid off, as he enjoyed the best season of his career in 2025.
He opted out of the Tigers’ bowl game and declined an invitation to the Senior Bowl.
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