Ourlads' Profile:
2026 Guide: What Ourlads’ NFL Scouting Services said about VJ PAYNE:
Kansas State | Hometown: Gainesville, GA | HT: 6033 | WT: 205 | 40 time: 4.40 | Hand: 0938 | Arm: 3334 | Wing: 8034
Four-year starter. All-Big 12 honorable mention the past two seasons. Experienced veteran with 52 collegiate games and 42 starts under his belt. Big-bodied safety prospect with good muscle definition. Decent range over the top and could be utilized in two-high schemes. Intelligent pass defender who uses quarterback cues to position himself to make plays on the ball. Underneath he maneuvers around his zone with solid agility to cover up threats, and communicates well with teammates. Impressive movement skills for his size including rapid short-area burst to fire down on receivers in an instant. Toughness in catch man and lands a solid punch to slow receivers down. Good ball skills and does a great job timing up his punches and swats to break up passes at the catchpoint. Willing to throw his body into blockers to stalemate. Sets a hard edge on the perimeter, and stays square while positioning himself to attack runners at the line. Tackles best in the box where he can utilize his strength and toughness to throw his body into ball carriers to limit yards-after-contact. His hard hits help him knock out the ball; four forced fumbles in past two seasons. Solid straight-line speed and will catch ball carriers from behind with proper pursuit angles. Back pedal is choppy, and unpolished footwork slows him down in transition. Lacks top end speed you'd want to see for the position. Takes on blocks high and can get washed out of the picture. Needs to find more ways to defeat blocks; gets stuck on them regularly. Misses far too many tackles either lunging, not wrapping up, or tackling too high. Skill set may be better utilized as a big nickel or even linebacker.
2025 Stats: 59 T, 3 TFL, 3 PBU, 2 FF, 1 INT. OSR:4/15. VJ-35. Draft projection: 5th/6th round