Grade

2nd Round - 3rd Round

2026 Draft Class

A.J. Haulcy

Grade

A-

Status

DraftedR3 • P78Indianapolis Colts

LSU

5'11 5/8"

215lbs

Apr 24, 2026

Executive Summary

A.J. Haulcy is a smart, physical free safety with strong ball skills, solid range, and the versatility to play deep, in the box, or in split-safety looks while consistently making plays on the football.

Strengths

Ball Skills, Pursuit, and Physicality

Weaknesses

Athleticism

Full Scouting Report

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Game IQ / Play Recognition

Pros:

•Reads the QB's eyes very well

•Reads the route breaking, looks back to the QB while breaking towards the receiver and the ball

•Gets his hands up to try and get deflections

•Handles crossing routes well

•Does a good job working inside to out

•Plays to the whistle and helps out on combo tackles and gang tackles

Cons:

•Too locked into the backfield at times and lets open receivers run under him, beat him deep, or find open space

•Can bite early on early breaking routes and give up a throwing window behind him

•Occasionally gives up a running lane inside

•Can get looked off by a good eye manipulator

•Goes for strip fumbles too much at times rather than securing the tackle

Coverage Ability

Pros:

•Doesn’t just cover grass

•Physical at the top of the route

•Good hands-on interceptions

•Breaks on routes well in zone coverage

•Fits best and plays best as a true drop-back safety

Cons:

•Stops his feet in the top of the receiver's route

•Can get pushed back onto his heels

•Not great in man coverage and press coverage

•Opens his hips too much in open space which allows receivers to easily attack that front foot

•Can get caught in no man’s land at times when in zone

•Loses his man in man coverage at times

Range

Pros:

•Solid range in coverage and in run defense

•Breaks on the routes well

•Speed moving downfield is good

Cons:

•None

Tackling / Physicality

Pros:

•Physical at the catch point

•Comes in aggressive

•Good wrap-up

•Decent block shredder

•Can fill the running lanes on blitzes or in the robber role in Cover 1

•Very willing to get physical

•Uses the sideline to his advantage

•Solid hit power

•When he does miss tackles he atleast slows them down or trips them up

•Good overall pad level

•Strong at the point of attack

•Tackles well from behind

•Can lay the wood every now and then

Cons:

•Subpar balance at times

•Can come in with a high pad level at times

•Sometimes only throws out a shoulder rather than a full wrap-up tackle

•Feet tend to stop driving post-contact

•Can be juked out in the open field

•If he does get picked up by an OL he has no chance of getting through

•Hip alignment in open field tackles can be bad on occasion because of overpursuit

•Doesn’t really get a great breakdown

•Ducks his head a lot on contact

•Has no chance of taking on a pulling OL block

•Not a consistent knock-back tackler

Angles / Pursuit

Pros:

•Solid blitzer

•Shows good hustle

•Flows to the ball well

•Weaves through traffic in run defense well

Cons:

•Doesn’t take the greatest angle to the ball when in coverage

•Loses out on interceptions at times because of his angles and ball tracking skills

Athleticism / Frame

Pros:

•Solid straight line speed

•Good weight

•Good overall frame and length

•Transfers from his backpedal to exploding to the ball well

•Pretty solid agility and explosiveness when the right opportunity appears

Cons:

•Footwork can be a little rough and indecisive

•Wasted steps

•Isn’t the fastest accelerator

•Awkward movements

•Rounds all of his movements rather than distinctly cutting

•Doesn’t have the greatest lower-half strength

Ball Skills

Pros:

•Gets a solid amount of pass breakups

•Attacks the ball well

•Goes for punch outs and strip fumbles

Cons:

•Could attack the ball at the highest point a little better

•Vert doesn’t look great

Versatility

Pros:

•Can play in the box

•2 high

•Single high

•Cover 1

Cons:

•None

Games Watched:

•Week 1 vs CLEM, Week 3 vs FLA, Week 5 vs MISS, Week 7 vs VAN, Week 8 vs TA&M, Week 9 vs ALA, Week 10 vs ARK, Week 12 vs OU

Ideal Situation:

•Haulcy could go to a variety of teams needing good FS depth or even a potential starter. Haulcy had a very good season and showed he can be a potential starting FS at the next level. I don’t think he has the man coverage or tackling technique to be a box SS, but he does have plenty of talent to be a sideline-to-sideline coverage FS that can still come up and make tackles. Haulcy will greatly need to work on his tackling fundamentals, as they were messy at times. Haulcy carries a clean injury history. I could see him going to the Bengals, Giants, Jets, Bears, or maybe the Raiders if he falls to Round 3. Overall, I was impressed with his development over the season.

Ratings:

•Game IQ / Play Recognition – 7.9/10

•Coverage Ability – 7.7/10

•Range – 7.9/10

•Tackling / Physicality – 8.0/10

•Angles / Pursuit – 8.1/10

•Athleticism / Frame – 7.5/10

•Ball Skills – 8.4/10

•Versatility – 8.0/10

Total = 79.3/100 Early 3rd or Late 2nd

Andrés Griñe

Founder of DiamondProspects and Head NFL Scout View Full Bio

I am an Assistant in Player Personnel/Scouting for Washington State Football with over six years of experience scouting NFL prospects and evaluating talent. I previously covered high school baseball as a writer for NMPreps and now run DiamondProspects, where I publish scouting reports, prospect evaluations, and draft analysis. I am currently a junior pursuing a degree in Sports Management and am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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