Boyd projects as a Day 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft
Defensive tackle Khristian Boyd was among those 2024 NFL Draft prospects who paid the Buffalo Bills a top-30 pre-draft visit, per Ryan Fowler.
Boyd, who’s projected to be drafted on Day 3 during the sixth round, had the Bills on his list as part of an 11-city tour around the NFL this spring.
Long list of Top 30 visits for Northern Iowa IDL Khristian Boyd, a source said.
• Lions
• Saints
• Packers
• Chiefs
• Cardinals
• Colts
• Vikings
• Dolphins
• Bills
• Ravens
• Giants— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) March 21, 2024
The 6’ 2 3/8”, 329-pound defensive tackle out of Northern Iowa is a known play maker with a high motor. Boyd possesses an explosive first step and sound initial acceleration, and he’s stout defending the run game.
Ian Cummings with Pro Football Network had this to say about Khristian Boyd:
Teams will first look Boyd’s way because of the nose-capable physical profile, but he brings even more beyond that. He’s a hot-motor defender who comes off the line with a lot of heat. He can use his prying strength and torque to make plays in both phases — gapping, stacking, and shedding in run defense, and stacking counters as a pass-rusher.
In five seasons with Northern Iowa, Boyd put together a solid resume as a pressure-capable defensive lineman. In his final year, Boyd played in 11 games, and made 41 tackles 24 stops, 18 quarterback hurries, nine quarterback hits, and three sacks. While his stats from 2022 don’t indicate the variety of pressures (instead simply stating 21 total pressures), his five-year total credits him with 79 total pressures, including a recorded 36 quarterback hurries and 13 sacks.
(stats courtesy of NFL Draft Buzz)
Khristian Boyd was a team captain during his tenure with Northern Iowa, a testament to his leadership. At the end of the 2022 season, Boyd was nominated as Second-Team All-MVFC. To close his final season, Boyd earned First-Team All-MVFC honors in 2023.
As a small-school prospect, it’s likely that Boyd will need time to be coached up in the NFL, in the hopes that he can add even more explosion and enhance what appears to be a fairly limited toolbox of pass-rush moves to this point. But the potential is there in spade for Boyd, if he lands in the right spot.
That could come via the Buffalo Bills, where Boyd wouldn’t be tasked with playing a significant starting role, instead likely filling a role as a depth player along the interior defensive line. He has the ideal size and frame to play defensive tackle in the NFL, and he brings scheme versatility to the table as someone fully capable playing 0-tech or 3-tech at the next level.
Kristian Boyd is someone to keep an eye on landing with the Buffalo Bills during the final portion of the draft on Saturday.