Paul Mencke Jr. is a rangy, coverage-first safety with real upside at Washington
Mencke is a redshirt sophomore safety whose biggest draw is his coverage instinct and range: recruiting evaluations praised him as an instinctive defender with smooth movement, strong route recognition, and the ability to stick with receivers, while EA’s 2026 ratings reflect elite speed and acceleration for the position. He has only a small college sample so far—seven games in 2025 and one recorded tackle—so he’s still more projection than proven producer, but his size, movement skills, and developing physicality make him an interesting fit for teams that value versatile, modern secondary play.
