Rutgers football wide receiver KJ Duff burst onto the scene last season, showing huge potential in a season where he totaled 60 catches for 1,084 yards and 7 touchdowns, with his best performance coming against Purdue, where he made 6 catches for 241 yards and one touchdown in the Scarlet Knights’ win.
NFL scouts have taken notice of that performance, with different experts and analysts projecting Duff to go in the first round. According to Pro Football Focus, Duff is the No.18 prospect in the 2027
NFL draft, and they have him going No.15 overall to the New York Jets next season.
In addition to Pro Football Focus, a few other sites have Duff going in the first round, according to nflmockdraftdatabase.com, a website dedicated to bringing every 2027 NFL mock draft from every major analyst all into one place. Across the 55 mock drafts they have gathered right now, KJ Duff is listed as a first-rounder in three of them, with the other two coming from NFL Trade Rumors and Player Profiler. He is also expected to be drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, according to the information gathered by the site.
While only having three mock drafts placing him in the first round, being that high in the first place isn’t seen that often from someone who has only played two seasons of college ball, and only being a full-time starter for one of them.
However, next season does pose some challenges for Duff. His good friend and roommate, Ian Strong, transferred to CAL this off-season, meaning that Duff will be solely relied upon as the No.1 option. Yes, this means he might get more targets, but it also means that defenses will key in on him more.
The other challenge for next season is that Duff will have a new quarterback throwing him the ball. After developing a relationship with former quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, Duff will have to rely on either Dylan Longergan or AJ Surcae to adjust to their new roles well. However, there is a flip side to that as well, as having a receiver like Duff provides a major boost to whichever quarterback is throwing him the ball.
If Duff does get selected in the first round, he will become the fourth-ever Rutgers player to get selected in the first round, joining Kenny Britt, Anthony Davis, and Devin McCourty.
