Penn State DT Zane Durant selected in 5th round of 2026 NFL Draft by Buffalo Bills
Another Penn State football player has heard his name called in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Defensive tackle Zane Durant went No. 181 overall on Saturday, when he was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the final pick of the fifth round.
Durant is the seventh Penn State player to go in this year’s draft, joining OG Vega Ioane, QB Drew Allar, OT Drew Shelton, EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton, S Zakee Wheatley and RB Nick Singleton.
The defensive tackle left Penn State after four years with the program, producing for the Nittany Lions despite being undersized at the position at 6-foot-1, 293 pounds. Durant made up for his lack of size and length with impressive power and athleticism that allowed him to be effective, especially against the pass.
He finished his career with 10 career sacks — and an interception — including four sacks in 2025. Durant played in 54 games at Penn State, making 39 starts in that time, all of which came in his final three seasons with the program. He was named All-Big Ten honorable mention for his efforts in 2023 by the media, 2024 by the coaches and media, and 2025 by the coaches and media.
He’s the first Penn State defensive tackle to get drafted since 2020 when Robert Windsor was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of that year’s draft.
Durant will likely begin his career as a pass-rush specialist and will have to continue improving as a run defender to see the field on all three downs in his NFL career.
