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Penn State safety KJ Winston Jr., goes to Tennessee in Round 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft; when will he return from injury?

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•about 11 hours•

GregPickel

Penn State safety KJ Winston Jr. (2) jogs across the field during a practice session inside Holuba Hall on Saturday, August 3, 2024, in State College. (Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Penn State safety KJ Winston Jr. (2) jogs across the field during a practice session inside Holuba Hall on Saturday, August 3, 2024, in State College. (Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Penn State safety KJ Winston Jr., bet on himself by declaring early for the pros despite suffering a partially torn ACL that cost him almost all of the 2024 season. His decision to do so paid off in a big way on Friday night. The Hyattsville, Md., native and DeMatha Catholic product is the third Nittany Lion off the board during the 2025 NFL Draft. The Tennessee Titans selected him with the No. 82 overall pick in Round 3. He joins All-Americans Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren in the latest Penn State draft class. They went to the Giants and Colts, respectively, on Thursday night.

Winston Jr., was a preseason All-American last season. He backed up the hype in Week 1 with a career-high 12 tackles and a forced fumble in the Lions’ win at West Virginia. But, during practice the following week, he hurt his knee. After trying to play through it for a quarter and a half in Week 2 against Bowling Green, he left the field and would never return to it with pads under his blue or white uniform. Regardless, he said this spring that the decision to move on is not one that he struggled to make.

“I don’t think it was a very difficult decision, considering that the injury was early on the season,” Winston said. “Obviously, if it was the last game of the season, or middle, there would be kind of some gray area there. But with it being at the beginning of the season,and I’ll be at this point able to run, considering all those things and all those factors, it was pretty much an easy decision.”

When will the Penn State safety be ready to roll with his new team?

Winston Jr., also told reporters in State College back in March that he did not expect to be full go with his new NFL team until training camp. The injury likely cost him a spot in the first round. But, teams are betting that he will return to form once fully healed. And, all indications are that the recovery process is and continues to go well.

“I could do everything on the field when it comes to man coverage, and that’s something I was gonna showcase this year,” he said. “I’m fast enough to run with slot receivers, big enough to guard tight ends, to fit the run like a linebacker play the post, you know, like, like no other. So I feel like I do everything on the field, but they’re also, you know, I want to be better and master everything in the game, but I do feel like when it comes to being versatile, I can do a lot of things.”

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