Scouting Future Saints: Pitt Panthers linebacker Kyle Louis

Linebacker Demario Davis has been the face of the New Orleans Saints defense since his arrival in 2018 as a free agent. This offseason, Davis departed as a free agent back to the Jets, leaving a hole in the middle of the defense. The Saints moved swiftly to ease the blow, bringing back Kaden Elliss in free agency. New Orleans may still add some athleticism to the position through the draft with a player like Kyle Louis, an underrated but productive linebacker.

Last offseason, the Saints drafted promising linebacker Danny Stutsman in the fourth round. They also got nice development from Isaiah Stalbird, expected to be a factor at the position with Pete Werner and Elliss. Still, a player like Louis could be a mid-round steal while also bringing more youth to the linebacker spot.

Kyle Louis bio

40-yard dash: 4.53 seconds
10-yard split: 1.58 seconds
3-cone drill: 6.97 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.26 seconds

Starring at East Orange Campus High School in New Jersey, Louis switched his original commitment from Temple to the Pitt Panthers, despite taking a redshirt in 2022. He wouldn’t get a lot of playing time in 2023 either, finishing with 1.5 tackles for loss among 19 total stops. Louis broke out in a big way in 2024, placing him firmly on the radar of NFL scouts.

Louis had 101 tackles in 2024, leading the Panthers in tackles for loss (15.5), sacks (7) and interceptions (4) while scoring a touchdown. That production earned him 1st Team All-ACC and 1st Team All-American accolades. His numbers dipped a bit last season, but his 3 sacks, 8.5 stops for loss, and 81 tackles along with 2 interceptions were good enough for 2nd Team All-ACC honors.

Strengths

Very instinctive against both run and pass
Excellent speed in sideline-to-sideline pursuit
Reads and slips blocks with great decisiveness
Outstanding change of direction
Extremely fluid and agile in coverage

Weaknesses

Aggressiveness can work against him on fakes and misdirection
Has had a hard time holding ground against blockers
Needs to improve angles to the ball in coverage
Must improve base and leverage against inside runs

Kyle Louis 2026 draft outlook

Louis is projected to be an early Day 3 pick, but has the talent to come off the boards on the second day. He may be the most polished off-ball linebacker in this year’s draft behind Sonny Styles of Ohio State and Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech. A highly productive defender, Louis is equally effective against the run or pass and has the instincts of an every down linebacker.

Demario Davis brought not just great tenacity and athleticism to the Saints, but also elite instincts and awareness. Those traits in one player are hard to replace. Pete Werner certainly doesn’t have it and it’s too early to tell what Stutsman can do at the NFL level. Elliss is a fine addition and Stalbird is developing nicely, but neither are Davis. Louis isn’t necessarily that player either, but would bring tremendous abilities as both a run or pass defender as well as natural instincts to the Saints as a middle round draft choice.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Scouting Pitt Panthers linebacker Kyle Louis

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