Thakarius
Keyes.
Thakarius
Keyes.
Tulane· 6'1"· 202 lb
"Kansas City traded up for Tulane's long press corner at No. 237, and he earned one NFL start before a long run through practice squads and spring leagues followed."Pre-draft read
Keyes was a boundary cornerback in Tulane's defense, a 6-1, roughly 200-pounder who played press and off coverage as a two-year starter. His primary trait was length: he jammed receivers at the line, stayed in phase on vertical routes and used long arms to get his hands on the ball, breaking up 11 passes in 2018 and holding targets to a 45 percent completion rate in 2019.
His secondary trait was physicality in run support, where he came up willingly and tackled well for a corner. His transitions were stiff, and quick receivers could separate out of breaks. His athletic ceiling came from a 36-inch vertical, and his signature was the size and disruption of a press corner.
Press-man or Cover 3 scheme that lets a long corner jam at the line and play the boundary with help over the top.
Year 1: special teams player and depth corner. Ceiling: rotational boundary cornerback.
Off-zone scheme that asks corners to break quickly from a backpedal and mirror slot receivers in space.
His length fit best in press alignments on the boundary.
Thakarius Keyes Tulane University Cornerback small highlight
Tulane highlights from his college career.
TK Keyes Is a Tough Tackle After The Catch 😤
A clip of his tackling in coverage.
Keyes projected as a long, physical cornerback whose stiffness in transition made him a late-round special teams and depth option. Evaluators liked his size, jumping ability and willingness to tackle, but worried about his burst out of breaks against quicker NFL receivers.
A lightly recruited prospect from Laurel, Mississippi, he played sparingly for two seasons before breaking out in 2018 with 38 tackles, an interception and 11 passes defensed in 11 games. As a senior he started all 13 games, made 47 tackles, broke up five passes and intercepted another, earning honorable mention All-American Athletic Conference and a Shrine Bowl invitation. The flags were his hip fluidity, below-average burst out of transitions and limited starting experience.
Most boards viewed him as a late-round or priority free agent corner. Kansas City traded up to take him at No. 237, betting on his length and special teams upside. The Chiefs valued long, physical corners who could press on the boundary, and his tackling suggested he could contribute on coverage units right away.
- 01
Rare length
Used long arms to jam receivers at the line and contest catches, breaking up 11 passes in 2018 alone.
- 02
Coverage production
Held opposing quarterbacks to a 45 percent completion rate when targeted as a full-time starter in 2019.
- 03
Physical tackler
Came up willingly in run support and tackled well in space, a trait that translates directly to special teams.
- 04
Leaping ability
Posted a 36-inch vertical and a 10-foot-6 broad jump, giving him the explosiveness to compete at the catch point.
- 05
Durable starter
Started all 13 games as a senior and 23 over his career, earning honorable mention All-AAC honors in 2019.
- 01
Stiff hips
Lacked fluidity in his transitions, allowing quicker receivers to gain separation out of breaks and on double moves.
- 02
Limited burst
Showed below-average acceleration out of his backpedal, which cost him catches even at the Group of Five level.
- 03
Thin résumé
Played sparingly in his first two seasons, with just two starting years and 23 career starts at Tulane.
- 04
Level of competition
Faced mostly American Athletic Conference receivers, leaving questions about how he would handle NFL speed.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- —s
- Vertical
- 36inp50
- Broad jump
- 126inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Tulane | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | Tulane | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | Tulane | 11 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| 2019 | Tulane | 13 | 47 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Career | — | 40 | 95 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0 |
Seasons from the Colts' official bio, which sum to 95 tackles, 18 passes defensed and two interceptions; the 2018 interception comes from contemporaneous reporting. The Colts list 39 games, while the four seasons add to 40. Tackles for loss and sacks are not published.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
The realized outcome: a journeyman depth corner with one NFL start.
Late-round Chiefs corner who became a reliable rotational defender.
Late-round corner who spent most of his career on practice squads.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Keyes played eight games with one start for Kansas City as a rookie in 2020, making seven tackles plus a special teams stop. The Chiefs waived him before the 2021 season, and he was claimed by Indianapolis, then spent time with Chicago, New England, Houston, Atlanta, Baltimore and Cleveland, mostly on practice squads. He later played for the UFL's San Antonio Brahmas in 2024 and 2025 and joined the CFL's Calgary Stampeders in 2026.
In hindsight the pick returned modest value for a No. 237 selection. His length and physicality kept teams interested for years, but the stiff hips and limited burst evaluators flagged kept him from earning a steady role in any NFL secondary. He finished with a handful of NFL games and one start. His long journey through eight NFL organizations and two other leagues shows how far tools can carry a player, and how hard it is to stick without the movement skills the position demands.