Between Malachi Lawrance's selection in the first round of the NFL Draft, undrafted free agency signings and minicamp invites, the UCF Knights lost nine players to the NFL this offseason. Some of them held depth roles on last season's Knights squad. Others were central to certain areas of production. Regardless of their level of playing time, someone is going to fill their roles next season. Here are the three players that are set to fill in such roles left behind that have the greatest likelihood to define the Knights' direction through the 2026 season. 1. Isaiah Nixon, EDGE UCF lost both of its starting EDGEs to the NFL, but with both of those departures comes the emergence of Isaiah Nixon as a starter. The St. Petersburg native saw time in 11 of the Knights' games last season, tallying career highs with 24 total tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.…