DRAFT NEWS

McCoy missed all of last season in Knoxville with a torn ACL but was able to work out at Tennessee's Pro Day and ran and jumped like a first-round pick. But his medical examination at the NFL Scouting Combine revealed structural damage in that same knee that may shorten his NFL career. McCoy, SNS' number 15 prospect overall, then proceeded to tumble out of the first-round on Thursday evening. Based on pure ability, no CB, other than Mansoor Delane, grades out nearly as highly

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

That means for the 1,400 or so prospects that were not selected, their hope is to be offered a free agent contract or a formal try-out offer to have an opportunity to attend rookie mini-camp this summer. But as long-time fans know, adding quality UDFAs with starter’s traits allow an NFL team to build depth that is needed to navigate an NFL season. Let’s take a look at some prospects who are unlikely to get drafted but have the skills needed to contribute 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 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.

Entering the 2025 season, the QB class was supposed to be loaded but for a variety of reasons it has fallen well short of expectations - injury (Drew Allar), inexperience (Arch Manning), poor protection (Garrett Nussmeier), and inconsistent performances (Carson Beck & Cade Klubnik). As we stand now, only two QBs look like first-round draft picks at this point of the season - Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) and Ty Simpson (Alabama)

As the leaves begin to turn, we are getting a better sense of the quality and depth of the upperclassmen who are likely to populate the top of NFL draft boards next April. To say the QBs have under-performed would qualify as an understatement at this point in the season. Only Carson Beck has played like a first round draft pick through the first third of the season.

It is a very rare occurrence that a kicker gets drafted before the third day of the NFL Draft – the last kicker to get drafted on the second day of the draft was Michigan kicker Jake Moody who went to the 49ers with pick #99 in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. No kicker or punter is projected to earn a Top 100 grade next spring although there may be as many as five specialists who earn a draftable grade for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Safety is a position that is often overlooked and undervalued in the NFL. NFL GMs tend to place the highest priority in the NFL Draft on QB, OT, WR, EDGE, IDL, and CB. In other words, positions that either support the QB or positions that directly attempt to stop the QB typically take priority early in a draft for an NFL squad. Saturday selections (rounds 4-7) are generally used on RBs, TEs, IOL, LB, Safeties, Kickers, and Punters. But the 2026 Safety class looks to potential

Last year at this time, the 2025 CB class had three outstanding prospects – Travis Hunter (Colorado), Will Johnson (Michigan), and Benjamin Morrison – that were considered potential Top 10 picks. Injuries suffered by Johnson and Morrison caused them to fall in last April’s draft but all three players remain top prospects. The 2026 CB class looks to have plenty of depth but there are no prospects that rank nearly as high as Hunter, who was drafted second overall by the Jaguars

From the vantage point of mid-August, the 2026 LB class may be one of the better classes to enter the NFL in the last decade with as many as a half dozen off the ball and inside LBs grading out as first-round picks, and that is not including Suntarine Perkins (Ole Miss) and Harold Perkins (LSU), who’s best skills are rushing the passer but project as LBs on early run downs in the NFL due to size concerns. Unfortunately for these athletes, the NFL Draft values LBs less than th

The quality of the 2026 defensive tackles and 5Ts (3-4 DE) pales in comparison to the prospects that NFL teams hauled from last year’s draft. There is neither the top end quality nor the depth that characterized the 2025 IDL class. But that does not mean there are not any IDL that look like potential starters or important depth pieces in the NFL next year. There is likely to be two or three IDL who will be selected in the first-round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The 2026 Edge Rusher class looks to be on par with last year’s class, if not even slightly better, although there does not figure to be any prospects that are likely to grade out as highly as Penn State’s Abdul Carter (Giants). However, as many as a half dozen prospects could earn first round grades by the time the 2026 NFL Draft rolls around next April and the depth should provide NFL contributors even late on day three and into free agency.

The 2025 NFL Draft provided a deep and talented class of prospects that should provide several long-term NFL starters including Grey Zabel (Seattle), Donovan Jackson (Minnesota), Tyler Booker (Dallas), and Tate Ratledge (Detroit). The potential top center (OC) and guard (OG) prospects available next April may not be quite up to the level of the 2025 class.

The potential top OT prospects look to be similar in quality to last year’s class and should provide NFL teams with several starting caliber OTs next April, including a couple of players projected to be elite blindside protectors in the NFL. The depth at OT should provide teams with potential starters available on days two and three of the draft next spring. This class is stocked with big and long levered OTs who check the boxes from a physical specimen stand point.

The 2025 NFL Draft offered one of the best and deepest groups of TEs to enter the league in memory as Colston Loveland (Chicago) and Tyler Warren (Indianapolis) were selected in the first round and twelve were drafted across seven rounds. The prospective top TEs available for next April’s draft may not offer a single player who grades out as a first-round pick. But several prospects look like eventual NFL starters or at least as quality backup TEs.

The majority of the top WR prospects in college football this season figure to be sophomores who only left high school prior to the 2024 season and are therefore not available this next April. Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State), Ryan Williams (Alabama), Cam Coleman (Auburn), TJ Moore and Bryant Wesco (Clemson), Ryan Wingo (Texas), and Nick Marsh (Michigan State) are all potential first round picks, but no sooner than the 2027 NFL Draft.

After a down year for the QB position in the NFL Draft, the prospective top upper classmen signal callers could be a bounce back class that delivers several potential franchise QBs to NFL teams in need next April. Although there is no clear-cut leader in this class, there are several prospects that have the combination of physical tools, mental makeup, and game experience to be drafted first overall next year.

Saturday (Day 3) of the NFL Draft is where a team builds depth, selects their kickers and punters (and hey, even a long snapper!), and sometimes even finds a diamond in the rough.