BIRD'S EYE VIEW

NFL teams needing a starting safety are in luck with the quality prospects at the top of the draft board. Caleb Downs / Ohio State is arguably the best prospect, regardless of position, is the rare "high ceiling-high floor" prospect who is very unlikely to be a bust and projects as a perennial Pro Bowler, possibly as early as his rookie year. Dillon Thieneman / Oregon and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren / Toledo project as first-round picks who are plug and play starters in the NFL ne

The 2026 CB class is loaded with quality outside CBs with the size and length desired and a very talented group of slot CBs with the agility and change of direction skills (C.O.D.) to excel in the NFL. Mansoor Delane / LSU is the best CB in this draft class with a combination of size, strength, agility, and ball skills to start as a rookie. Other top outside CBs includes Jermod McCoy / Tennessee, Aveion Terrell / Clemson, Colton Hood / Tennessee, Brandon Cisse / South Carolin

The top LB prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft is Sonny Styles / Ohio State, a true athletic freak with a rare combination of size, length, speed, agility, and explosiveness that warrant a top ten selection in April's draft, a noteworthy accomplishment for an off-the-ball LB. The top of this class is loaded with potential top 100 prospects including Jacob Rodriguez / Texas Tech, Anthony Hill / Texas, Jake Golday / Cincinnati, Kyle Louis / Pittsburgh, and CJ Allen / Georgia.

The IDL class is front-loaded with a talented group of potential rookie starters who should be instant contributors in the NFL. Kayden McDonald / Ohio State and Peter Woods / Clemson are the two best IDL prospects in this class and should be top 20 picks on April 23rd. Caleb Banks / Florida would seem to be another first-round lock if it were not for breaking his foot at the combine, a re-aggravation of an injury that cost him all but three games last season.

Although there is only one elite talent in this TE class (Kenyon Sadiq/Oregon), the top of the class has excellent depth – the next dozen or so prospects have earned second or third round grades – and looks like it will be one of the best TE drafts in the last decade. This class has some intriguing athletic talents with quality college production – Sadiq, Eli Stowers / Vanderbilt, and RJ Maryland / SMU – and is loaded with prototypical NFL TEs who combine playmaking ability w

The 2026 NFL Draft WR class is a quality class with more than three dozen WRs earning draftable grades for the weekend of April 23rd-25th. There are no prospects who enter the league with the buzz of a Ja’Marr Chase or Malik Nabers but there are at least five prospects who are likely to get drafted on night one. The second day of the draft is when the value of this class will begin to reveal itself. As many as two dozen WRs may hear their names called in the first 100 picks.

The 2026 NFL Draft RB class has one premiere talent – Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love – and approximately another dozen or so prospects who look like potential starters or should be solid NFL contributors early in their NFL careers.

The 2026 NFL Draft EDGE class is one of the better classes to enter the NFL in years in terms of both elite talent and excellent depth where eventual starters and major contributors will be found in all seven rounds of the draft and amongst the UDFA class.

The 2026 NFL Draft QB class appears to be one of the weakest group of signal callers to enter the league in decades. There is only one, true potential franchise QB in this year's draft - Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), the Heisman Trophy winner. Mendoza is locked in as the first selection in Pittsburgh on April 23rd but no other QB in the 2026 NFL Draft has earned a first-round grade. In fact, no other QB can safely be called a future starter.