Background

Keyshaun Elliott was born on December 12, 2003, and grew up in Richmond, Missouri. He attended Richmond High School, where he played quarterback, linebacker, and punter and earned All-Conference honors three times, First-Team All-State at both linebacker and punter, and won a Missouri State Championship in the 4×200 relay as a track athlete. He also competed in basketball. A three-star recruit ranked the No. 23 player in Missouri, he committed to New Mexico State, where he appeared in all 12 games with one start as a freshman in 2022, recording 27 tackles. He exploded as a sophomore with 111 tackles, 10 TFL, and 2.5 sacks, earning Second-Team All-Conference USA. Upon entering the transfer portal, he joined Arizona State and immediately made an impact in 2024. He recorded 65 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 pass deflections, and an interception. Notably, he made 8 tackles against Texas in the Peach Bowl, contributing to the Sun Devils' College Football Playoff run. In 2025, he had his best season with 98 tackles, 7 sacks, and 2 pass deflections, earning Second-Team All-Big 12 honors. He served on Arizona State's Pat Tillman Leadership Council and models his game after his favorite player, 49ers linebacker Fred Warner. He declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

Keyshaun Elliott is a very good athlete. While taking a second to get up to speed, he can get to where the ball is in a hurry. He has great lateral agility that allows him to cover a lot of ground. His strength could be better, as he gets swallowed on some blocks and has trouble disengaging and standing his ground.

Data and Tape Analysis

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

Keyshaun Elliot has had a pretty similar shaped radar chart throughout his collegiate career. He always contributed more as a pass rusher than throughout the rest of his game, but does so as a blitzer, not a down lineman. His 61 snaps on the line of scrimmage in his career highlight that, though 49 of those were last year.

He is good at finding gaps and weak shoulders to take advantage of while blitzing. This is because he plays with pretty solid play recognition, seeming to know what is going to happen a split second before it does. That is not the elite level, but it is for sure better than being reactive.

Because of that, I actually like his coverage better than PFF does. I feel like in zone, especially he offers good area denial and makes life more difficult than it should be for QBs. Then, when he misses out, he uses that play recognition and great closing speed to make a play on the receiver quickly.

His run defense is solid and relies on his ability to stay unblocked. When someone blocks him, it's a coin flip whether he will disengage. Even when he disengages, he rarely makes a lateral play at the ball but instead tackles the ball carrier who has already passed him.

Grade and Outlook

Elliott has a lot of football experience already, and it shows. He has good play recognition and avoids disastrous plays. His work ethic and tendency to be around the end of a play will appeal to NFL coaches, and I can see him finding his way into a rotational LB2 spot this fall, and then becoming a more trusted full-time starter.

Grade: 4.5 (4th Rounder)