Heading into the 2026 NFL Draft , there wasn’t a ton of buzz around the Wake Forest Demon Deacons . Most mock drafts had running back Demond Claiborne coming off the board sometime on Day 3, but that was about it when it came to certainty about which Deacs were going to be picked and which ones weren’t. Any sort of expectation for how the draft was going to play out was immediately thrown out the window when the New England Patriots announced who they were selecting with the 171st overall pick. Cornerback Karon Prunty , a member of the All-ACC third team, wasn’t expected to be selected until much later in the draft — or even at all. Those projections and predictions didn’t matter once the event actually started, however, as New England saw what every single Wake Forest fan saw throughout the entirety of the season — a corner who’s fantastic in coverage and knows exactly where to be at all times.…