Why the Slide?: Kyle Louis

Why the Slide Series

Kyle Louis, OLB, Pittsburgh

Rnk: 58 SR PRP: 3 Ovr: 138. B-

This series was created a number of years ago in response to questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For these articles, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player and/or the reasons other teams passed on that prospect. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media’s expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?” and “Was it a Reach?”

The trio of series is back this year. Feel free to email me requests at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.

Over the past two seasons, Pitt’s Kyle Louis was one of the most productive and consistent linebackers in college football. The former safety was a breakout star and one of the best linebackers in the nation as a sophomore. Louis was all over the field for the Panthers and made some clutch plays for his team. Louis was tremendous with 97 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, seven sacks, one forced fumble, four interceptions, and seven passes broken up. In 2025, Louis had 79 tackles with three sacks, three passes defended, a forced fumble, and two interceptions. Louis was superb in pass coverage, and NFL teams are always looking for pass coverage linebackers. After the season, Louis had an impressive week of practice at the Senior Bowl. Thus, many expected Louis to be a second or third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. However, Louis slid well into the fourth round.

Team sources say the big reason for Louis to slide was size concerns and the potential for him to get bounced around as a run defender at the NFL level. Some are concerned that Louis is going to struggle to take on and get off blocks from pro offensive linemen. Thus, Louis slid as too many teams shared those concerns.

The Miami Dolphins ended Louis’ slide in the fourth round, and that was an excellent landing spot for him. Miami has a new regime, and Louis will have every opportunity to make the team as a backup and special teams contributor. With second-round pick Jacob Rodriguez at middle linebacker, Louis could become a starting Will linebacker and be an asset in pass coverage in the nickel defense. As a rookie, Louis will probably back up veteran Tyrel Dodson, and that could benefit Louis to work on improving his run defense and getting stronger for the NFL. Tampa Bay had a pair of great linebackers who were of a similar size to Louis, who had Hall of Fame careers in Derrick Brooks and Lavonte David. Louis may never become as good as those great players, but he could turn into a solid starting Will linebacker and carve out a good NFL career with Miami.