NFL Draft 2026 Scouting Report for Stanford OT Niki Prongos

Niki Prongos is a twitchy, fluid mover with a quick trigger in pass protection and above-average movement skills that offer upside to develop into a future starter, but below-average play strength and a robotic approach in pass protection signal that he needs more refinement before being trusted on a full-time basis.

Prongos is a 6'7", 315-pound tackle prospect who entered the UCLA program as an unranked recruit in the 2022 class. He didn't start playing football until his senior year of high school, appearing in just three games due to injury. He transferred to Stanford for the 2025 season.

Prongos started eight total games at UCLA, including five at left tackle, two at right guard, and one at right tackle.

Brandon Thorn: Brandon is the author of the Trench Warfare newsletter, which focuses exclusively on offensive and defensive line evaluation. He also contributes as an analyst to Establish the Run, serves as the scouting coordinator for OL Masterminds and is a selection committee member for the Joe Moore Award. 

Where He Wins

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— Good athletic ability and explosiveness.

— Aggressive playing style with the length and twitch to establish first meaningful contact on defenders.

— Quick, violent hands in pass protection deliver jolt.

— Fluid movement skills cover ground quickly to intersect targets on climbs.

Areas of Improvement

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— Below average play strength and anchor sap his ability to brace, hold and take ground consistently.

— Robotic, predictable approach in pass protection with a bad habit of striking down the middle with his outside hand create short corners.

— Will dip his head and lunge into contact against movement across his face on angle-drive blocks.

Grade, Rank and Pro Comparison

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GRADE: 6.4 (Developmental Prospect — 5th Round)

COMPARABLE GRADE: Caedan Wallace (6.6 in 2024), Kellen Diesch (6.9 in 2022), James Hudson (6.9 in 2021)

OVERALL RANK: 157

POSITION RANK: OT11

PRO COMPARISON: Kellen Diesch

Measurables and Testing Data

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Height: 6'7"
Weight: 315

Workout numbers and data will be added at a later date.