DRAFT NEWS

Usually there is drama with the first pick of the draft but not so much this year since there is only one franchise QB in this draft, the Heisman Trophy winner. Mendoza will be given time to develop behind veteran Kirk Cousins and will not be rushed into the lineup in Vegas. Mendoza is an athletic and highly intelligent leader who has the arm strength and intangibles to be developed into a long-term NFL starter.

The 2026 NFL Draft starts tonight in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and runs through Saturday evening. The NFL Draft is the final stop of the NFL off-season and it serves as the final piece of talent acquisition for NFL teams before the new season truly begins. Next stop are mini-camps, OTAs (Organized Team Activities), UDFA try-outs, and finally, 2026 training camps open in July. 257 prospects will have their dreams come true this weekend but the journey is not over for these pros

The 2026 NFL Draft will be one of the fastest and most talented group of athletes to enter the NFL in decades, if not ever. Specifically, the WRs, TEs, OLT, OG, OC, EDGEs, IDL, LBs, CBs, and Safeties are loaded with plug and play starters that should be ready to contribute from day one in the NFL. The two positions loaded with the most top end talent are EDGE and OT who combined should account for 12-18 of the first 32 picks next month.

SNS Staff Three-Round Mock Draft 08 - A look at the first 100 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft and how your favorite NFL team is approaching the draft that is just ten days away!

That is just a taste of what you will find in the SNS 2026 Scouting Report database! And the database is exclusive to SNS members! And with the 30-Day Free Trial to SNS, you will have ad-free access to SNS' independent draft insights, expert analysis, Big Board 500 Prospect and Position Rankings, NFL Team Needs Analysis database, the Comprehensive Eligibility Tracking database, and SNS Scouting Report database are all FREE all the way from now through the NFL Draft, April 23

(Arvell) Reese is a projection at this point as an EDGE after playing off-the-ball LB last year in Columbus. Reese is a freak athlete with rare athleticism, strength, size, and speed to be an instant impact player in the NFL.

As much as on-field production matters, the NFL loves prospects that checks boxes. Height, weight, hand size, arm length, wingspan, 40 time, vertical and broad jumps, and bench press reps are the primary boxes that scouts want checked. When a prospect with great on-field production does not check these boxes, their draft stock typically plummets. Bain and Howell were two of the most impactul EDGE defenders in the country. But both prospects have short arms and that worries N

The 2026 NFL Draft will be one of the fastest and most talented group of athletes to enter the NFL in decades, if not ever. Specifically, the WRs, TEs, OLT, OG, OC, EDGEs, IDL, LBs, CBs, and Safeties are loaded with plug and play starters that should be ready to contribute from day one in the NFL. The two positions loaded with the most top end talent are EDGE and OT who combined should account for 16-20 of the first 32 picks next month.

Mendoza remains the only QB to earn a first-round grade for next month’s draft. Alabama QB Ty Simpson displayed the athleticism and arm strength that makes him the second-best QB prospect in this draft. Simpson could vault into first-round consideration since quality QB prospects are in short supply and demand (think Jets, Browns, Steelers, and Rams) remains sky-high. Which other QBs improved their draft status Saturday afternoon?

The 2026 NFL Draft WR class has a nice mixture of bigger WRs with good vertical speed and smaller and shiftier slot receivers who exploit underneath zones and convert third down conversions. Several WRs enter the Combine with questions that need answers or their draft status could take a hit.

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.

The 2026 NFL Draft OT class is unusually deep with quality starting potential outside pass blockers with the size, length, and lateral agility desired by NFL teams. Eighteen OT made the Big Board 150 with five prospects earning top 33 grades. There are few true franchise OTs in this draft with the top two prospects (Mauigoa and Fano) being ORTs, although Fano could project to the QB's blind side in the NFL.

For many football fans, the Super Bowl signals the end of football for seven months - a depressing thought. But for draftniks like us, Kenneth Walker's Super Bowl MVP Award just reminds us of the importance of the NFL Draft is for acquiring talent - Walker was SNS' number one ranked RB in the 2022 NFL Draft after his Doak Walker Award winning season at Michigan State. Seattle selected him the second round and immediately plugged him in as a starter and now the Seahawks are Wo

The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine is scheduled to be televised on NFL Network from Thursday, February 26 to Sunday, March 1. The position group TV schedule - Feb. 26: DL, LB, Specialists. Feb. 27: DB, TE. Feb. 28: QB, WR, RB. March 1: OL.

Stack 'N Shed's Super Bowl week mock draft has been released and it reveals where the talent and depth of the 2026 NFL Draft class resides. Fourteen of the 32 first-round draft picks in this mock draft are either OL (OT and IOL) or DL (EDGE or IDL) while only eight picks were used on the skill positions of QB, RB, WR, and TE. Only one QB (Mendoza) and one RB (Love) have earned a first-round grade while five WRs and one TE were selected in round one of this mock draft.

The college football season concludes Monday night when the Hurricanes battle the Hoosiers for the national title. Miami is seeking their first national championship in a quarter century while Indiana seeks their first national championship in school history. This game features several potential first-round picks including Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza and OT Carter Smith as well as Miami OT Francis Mauigoa, EDGEs Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, and CB Keionte Scott.

The 2026 NFL Draft QB class looked like it could have been special at the beginning of the 2025 college football season but the reality of the class is there are few potential starting QBs in this draft and only one that could project to being a franchise QB - Indiana's Fernando Mendoza. Another ten or so prospects look like potential developmental starting QBs. The remaining QBs figure to fight for a roster, or more likely, a practice squad spot next fall.

The Big Board 100 is a direct reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of the 2026 NFL Draft class. WR is the most represented position on this Big Board with 14 prospects listed, which indicates the wide array of talent available at the WR position. The best talent of this draft is along the offensive and defensive lines where 38 of the 100 prospects listed are either OTs, IOL (OG and OC), EDGEs, or IDL.

Only four teams remain alive in the hunt for the national title and several future NFL stars will undoubtedly be featured performers in the drama to come. Let’s take a look at some of the best draft-eligible prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft that will be playing in the national semifinals at the Fiesta and Peach Bowl games on January 8th and 9th, respectively.

Happy New Year! Eight teams remain alive in the hunt for the national title and several future NFL stars will undoubtably be featured performers in the drama to come. Let’s take a look at some of the best draft-eligible prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft that will be playing in the Rose and Sugar Bowl games.