Canadian Rene Konga lands second NFL top 30 visit with Miami Dolphins as draft stock rises

Photo courtesy: Louisville Athletics

Canadian defensive lineman Rene Konga has landed a second top 30 visit ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, increasing the likelihood that he will be selected.

According to multiple reports, Konga is slated for an in-person visit at the Miami Dolphins’ facility next week. The native of Ottawa, Ont., visited the Dallas Cowboys late last month, and also reportedly had a virtual interview with the Washington Commanders.

NFL teams are allowed to invite up to 30 prospects for interviews, facility tours and medical tests in the lead-up to the Draft. While typically referred to by the misnomer ‘top 30 visits,’ the practice is generally an indication of which players the organization feels might be available to them based on the selection order of the draft or ones on which they require more information.

Buzz has grown around Konga in the lead-up to draft day, as the Canadian prospect has risen from relative unknown to a popular late-round sleeper. He first distinguished himself at the American Bowl, a mid-tier college all-star game, before earning a late call-up to the Senior Bowl, the premier event for draft-eligible prospects.

The six-foot-four, 298-pound defender seized further momentum with a jaw-dropping performance at the University of Louisville pro day on March 24, running a 4.79-second forty-yard dash, 4.59-second shuttle, and 7.03-second three-cone drill, while recording 20 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, leaping 37 inches in the vertical jump, and posting a ten-foot, two-inch broad jump. Those numbers would have stood out among defensive tackles at the 2026 NFL Combine, ranking first in the vertical jump, broad jump, and three-cone drill. He would also have tied for second in the forty-yard dash and tied for fourth in the shuttle.

Konga has spent the past two seasons at Louisville, where he earned second-team All-ACC honours as a senior in 2025. He has appeared in 23 games for the Cardinals, recording 49 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, and six batted passes. He began his collegiate career at Rutgers University in 2020 and played 21 games over four seasons at the school before transferring, notching 14 defensive tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, two batted passes, and a forced fumble.

The fourth-ranked prospect in the 2026 CFL Draft, Konga was initially viewed as a potential NFL undrafted free agent. However, his rising stock has elevated him into a likely Day 3 pick. That could see him fall in the CFL selection process, as teams believe he will not return to Canada for at least several years.

The 2026 NFL Draft will run from April 23 to 25 in Pittsburgh, Penn. The CFL Draft will follow on Tuesday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m. EDT.