'People Like Me is What the League Needs:' Kyle Louis Embracing Versatility as NFL Draft Prospect

INDIANAPOLIS — Pitt linebacker Kyle Louis is embracing his versatility as a NFL draft prospect.

While Louis was a standout linebacker at Pitt, he is being viewed in draft circles as a hybrid defensive option that can play an inside-the-box linebacker, slot corner or safety.

Louis is perceived as an undersized prospect at linebacker. He stood at 6-1, 220 pounds as a redshirt junior in college. However, he believes his speed and playmaking makes up for the lack of size.

“The league is constantly changing, especially now, and people like me is what the league needs,” Louis said Wednesday at the NFL combine. “I feel like the league is definitely becoming a passing league, and I feel like I still as a great linebacker, all three down linebacker, 12 personnel, any heavy personnel, on top of that I can still cover. It’s on top of it. It’s not taken away that I can’t do any run defense. It’s added on top of it.”

The defensive structure at Pitt also helped build Louis as a dynamic talent.

“I got a great opportunity of playing a position called Star,” Louis said. “Star is not a position for everybody. It’s not a position for, you know, pure linebackers or pure DBs. You really just gotta be in the mix of both of it. So, I feel like the position was perfectly tailored for me, and just learn the system more and more and experience our gain, staying at Pitt the whole time and trusting the system. It helped me grow as a player exponentially.”

Louis turned in an a First-Team All-American campaign in 2024 as a redshirt sophomore. He posted 101 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks and four interceptions.

In 2025, Louis missed two games with injury and opted out of the Military Bowl. Across his 11 games played, he compiled 81 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions, earning him Second-Team All-ACC honors.

Louis credits Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi for helping develop him in the Panthers’ system.

“He helped me out with everything, just from the football player aspect to a man that’s, you gotta get ready to be critiqued or anything. He helped me with everything, having thick layer of skin, and especially as a football player, just prepared from playing linebacker to nickel to anything, depending on that,” Louis said.

The East Orange, N.J. native saw his stock go up with a standout performance at the Senior Bowl in January as scouts, analysts and coaches began to truly take notice.

“I took a lot of pride in it because people going to watch my Senior Bowl and say, well, they can’t say if they don’t know who I am before. They’re going to say I was just a senior bowl standout, but you look at my senior bowl and you look at my season tape, you’re going to see that I’ve been doing this and I’ve been making plays, and I’m going to keep to continue making plays, and I’m going to keep getting my name out there,” Louis said.

The Detroit Lions have reportedly met with Louis already, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are expected to formally meet with the defensive prospect.

Louis is spreading the message to teams about his work ethic, he says.

“I just tell them how I do what I do,” he said. “They want to know the process. They want to see if I’m a hard worker. They want to see my mentality. My number one pride is my work, and I let the proof be in the pudding, and I do that through my work. So that’s what I really tell them.”

During his time at Pitt, Louis was often in the film room as early as 6:00 a.m. He started bringing along the other linebackers to study film in the early morning.

“The (Pitt) coaches see me every morning,” he said. “I’m always just watching film in the morning before practice, getting other guys in to watch film, and doing extra reps in the field and everything. I was grateful to have captain role this year and just lift and inspire everybody that was next to me, everybody that I love in that locker room.”

Louis will now look to elevate his name even more when he hits the field for on-field workouts on Thursday. He currently projects as a day two selection.

Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Indianapolis