Patriots selected Wake Forest CB Karon Prunty with the No. 171 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Prunty is a former five-year college player. He spent his first season at Kansas in 2020 before transferring to North Carolina A&T. After three seasons there, he transferred to Wake Forest for his final college season. He measured 6’1/190 at Wake Forest’s Pro Day before running a 4.45-second 40 and a 6.82 three-cone drill. PFF credits Prunty with eight forced incompletions, one interception, 38 solo tackles, one TFL, three quarterback pressures and one sack last year. He graded out well in run defense in four-of-five seasons, notably earning a 70.9 PFF run-defense grade in 2025. He also garnered third-team All-ACC honors last year, and each of the past two seasons, plus third-team All-CAA honors in 2023 and 2024.