Kyu Blu Kelly Complete NFL Draft Profile (Stanford DB Likely Facing Backup Role in Year 1)

Day 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft was an entertaining Thursday night experience. Dozens of prospects are still waiting to find their NFL homes, including Stanford defensive back Kyu Blu Kelly.

Here's everything you need to know about Kyu Blu Kelly heading into the 2023 NFL Draft.

Kyu Blu Kelly Draft Stock & Mock Draft Projections

Mock draft sources accurate as of 4/28: NFL.com, ESPN, CBS, Walter Football, Sporting News.

Projected Draft Round: Round 3 (3), Round 4 (1), Round 5 (1)
Projected Team: 49ers (2), Vikings (1), Seahawks (1), Chiefs (1)

Kyu Blu Kelly Scouting Report

Kyu Blu Kelly closed out his time at Stanford with another respectable campaign. The Cardinal cornerback tallied 35 tackles and 6 defended passes with a fumble recovery, leading to his being named second-team All-Pac-12 for the second consecutive year.

Scouts have praised Kelly's ball skills, highlighted by 17 broken-up passes over the last two seasons alone. He's sound on the outside and has enough speed to keep up with the quickest receivers. He also has NFL DNA in his blood as his dad, Brian, spent 11 years in the league.

There are drawbacks to Kelly's game, though. He struggles to make up ground after opponents get behind him. He's not great at tracking downfield balls either. Coaches will also be frustrated if he doesn't start contributing more when it comes to run support.

Kyu Blu Kelly NFL Draft Prediction

Three of the highlight mock drafts peg Kyu Blu Kelly as a third-round selection. Having said that, his game is far from perfect, which is why it wouldn't be shocking if he's still on the board early into Day 3.

I do like the idea of Kelly winding up with the Minnesota Vikings. Only four cornerbacks on the Vikings' roster have true NFL experience with two being sophomores Andrew Booth Jr. and Akayleb Evans, who only played a combined 16 games as rookies last season. In other words, they could use someone with Kelly's upside.

It's an ideal situation for Kelly because even though he has potential, he won't be thrust into a starting role just yet. He can take his time adjusting to the pro level before earning a bigger role next season.

Prediction: Minnesota Vikings (Round 4, 119th overall)

Check out more NFL Draft content from The Duel:

Kyu Blu Kelly NFL Combine Results

Kyu Blu Kelly Stanford Stats

Kyu Blu Kelly Stanford Highlights

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.