Background

Diego Pounds was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, when he was eight years old. He attended Millbrook High School, where he earned a spot on the varsity squad late in his sophomore season as a defensive lineman, then switched to the offensive line before his junior year and immediately locked down the starting left tackle position, paving the way for a 1,000-yard rusher and earning All-East honors from HighSchoolOT.com. He also played basketball from middle school through high school, including time on an AAU team. A three-star recruit and member of the ESPN300, he was rated the 23rd overall offensive tackle and 18th best player in North Carolina by ESPN. He signed with North Carolina as an early enrollee and started at left tackle, blocking for the ACC's top passing offense and the nation's fifth-leading rusher in Omarion Hampton. In 2024, he transferred to Ole Miss and then started at left tackle for the Rebels in both 2024 and 2025, protecting Jaxson Dart. He is a multi-disciplinary studies major. He declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

Pounds is an interesting athlete. He has good acceleration and speed, but rarely shows it when in his slide. His upper body strength reflects his poor showing in his bench, but his strong base shows in his explosives.

Data and Tape Analysis

If you are unfamiliar with my OL radar charts, you can find more information here

Diego Pounds is a pass-protection specialist. His work in the run game was not only poor this year, as he did not receive a single grade above 61.1 by PFF for any of his seasons in CFB.

Throughout 1,398 passing snaps in his college career he only allowed four sacks. Which is especially impressive since he played in front of more wild scrambling QBs in his career. He accomplished that through his great base, and solid hands. He reminds me of moments like this:

The EDGE runs right at him and he just swallows them up, letting them fight against a nearly immovable object.

If you are going to attack him in a pass rush, go wide and right at his back foot. His feet are a little slow to slide, and he can lose his base when sped up. He tries to save reps by turning his hips and lunging for one last push, but most of his pressures came from those situations.

Much like he is an immovable object in the passing game, so is he in the run game. Pounds never individually gets displacement, and only pushes defenders back in the run game. Maybe a more zone based scheme could find something in his decent movement skills, but it is not there yet.

Grade and Outlook

Diego Pounds is yet more depth at tackle for whatever team drafts him. His solid build, and good pass blocking will give a team assurance that if he needs to fill in he can. Though turning 24 before the end of the season, and not showing raw untapped strength or high-end athleticism, I see little upside here.

Grade: 4.4 (4th Rounder)