DJ Pickett didn’t take long to look like a difference-maker for LSU, and now the Tigers are counting on that momentum carrying straight into 2026.
The cornerback from Zephyrhills High near Tampa arrived in Baton Rouge with major expectations as the No. 2 player at his position in the nation by On3.com, and he backed that hype up right away. Pickett played in all 13 games as a true freshman, made three starts, and finished with three interceptions, 37 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks. He also earned Freshman All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of American and was named Freshman All-Southeastern Conference.
At 6-foot-5, Pickett doesn’t look or play like the typical corner. LSU’s scouting report calls him a “Long, rangy cornerback with elite ball skills and recruiting pedigree and the physical tools to become a cornerstone of LSU’s secondary.”
That size shows up in his coverage style, too. He thrives in man-to-man, and the Tigers clearly trusted him to handle tough assignments.
His freshman season gave LSU exactly what it wanted from a top-end defensive back: production and poise. Pickett logged 524 defensive snaps, including 304 in pass coverage, and allowed 21 receptions for 248 yards and three touchdowns.
He didn’t give up a passing touchdown in coverage until the final two games of the year, with one at Oklahoma and two against Houston in the Texas Bowl. He also allowed just 12 first downs.
The ball production was real from the start. Pickett’s first career interception came in the win over Florida, when he picked off a pass at the LSU 33-yard line with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter and the Tigers ahead 20-10.
He added another against Oklahoma at the LSU 7-yard line in the third quarter with LSU leading 10-3, and he had his third interception in the win over Western Kentucky. He tied for the team lead with those three picks and also added three pass breakups and six passes defended.
His best all-around game came at the Texas Bowl against Houston, where he posted a career-high seven tackles, including one for a 6-yard loss, plus a pass breakup. He also had five tackles and a sack for a 9-yard loss against Western Kentucky, and his sack against South Carolina came with LSU up 20-10 late in the fourth quarter, forcing a third-and-20 with 1:24 remaining. He finished that game with six tackles.
Pickett’s impact wasn’t limited to defense. He played 122 special teams snaps, including kickoff coverage, punt return, field goal block and kickoff return.
LSU’s confidence in him fits the bigger picture of what the Tigers had on defense in 2025. The team led the SEC with 17 interceptions and ranked No. 3 in the league in pass efficiency defense. LSU was also the only SEC team with more interceptions than touchdown passes allowed, finishing with 17 picks and 14 TDs allowed.
Pickett’s résumé started long before he got to campus. He was the top-rated player in LSU’s 2025 signing class and the nation’s premier prep cornerback for that cycle.
On3 and Rivals both ranked him as the country’s No. 1 cornerback, while ESPN and 247Sports had him at No. 2 nationally at the position. The On3 composite listed him as the No. 10 overall prospect, the No. 2 cornerback and the top player in Florida.
He also finished high school with 94 tackles and 10 interceptions, caught 130 passes for 2,577 yards and 25 touchdowns, and ran a 10.7 in the 100 meters. He played for coach Nick Carroll at Zephyrhills and is the nephew of former NFL defensive tackle Ryan Pickett, a Super Bowl winner with the Green Bay Packers.
Now, after living up to the billing as a freshman, Pickett enters 2026 as a starter at cornerback and one of the key pieces in LSU’s secondary.
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