has raised job security questions<\/a>.<\/p>\n6. New York Giants (via projected trade with Browns): Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State<\/p>\n
The 2027 wide receiver class (which should include freaky dudes such as Ohio State\u2019s Jeremiah Smith, Alabama\u2019s Ryan Williams and more) will be one to remember. But don\u2019t sleep on the 2026 group. Tate, Arizona State\u2019s Jordyn Tyson and USC\u2019s Makai Lemon are potential No. 1 WRs in the NFL.<\/p>\n
Physically, Tate could be outstanding opposite Malik Nabers.<\/p>\n
7. Washington Commanders: Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State<\/p>\n
When healthy, Tyson is the most complete receiver in this class. The only holes in his game are on his career injury report. He blocks, adjusts to poor throws, runs crisp routes and wins in the air. He\u2019s everything Jayden Daniels needs to take the next step in his development.<\/p>\n
8. New Orleans Saints: Caleb Downs, DB, Ohio State<\/p>\n
I feel dirty for dropping Downs this far down, but reality is reality. Though he\u2019s arguably the best football player in this class, odds are someone in the bottom of the top 10 (or even in the early teens) is going to get an absolute star because of positional value. Downs is not as big as Kyle Hamilton, but his impact could be similar.<\/p>\n
9, Kansas City Chiefs: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame<\/p>\n
Another positional value discussion, and Patrick Mahomes benefits here.<\/p>\n
Like Downs, Love is a top-five (maybe even top-three) prospect in this class, no matter how you slice it. He\u2019s in the Bijan Robinson\/Jahmyr Gibbs tier ahead of the draft and could be an instant star in an offense such as this one.<\/p>\n
10. Cincinnati Bengals: Peter Woods, DT, Clemson<\/p>\n
The Bengals had many problems this year, and one of the biggest was a near-complete inability to stop the run.<\/p>\n
Woods\u2019 junior year at Clemson was hardly his best, but his athleticism combined with the power he\u2019s able to generate off the snap gives off Mason Graham-level flashes. He could be elite if he finds consistency.<\/p>\n
11. Miami Dolphins: Makai Lemon, WR, USC<\/p>\n
Miami also should be in the market for a new quarterback. I\u2019d like to see Mike McDaniel get a chance to rebuild his offense around that player, the way he did with Tua Tagovailoa. I have no idea if that\u2019ll happen, though, so we\u2019ll go with a playmaker who\u2019d fit in perfectly right now.<\/p>\n
12. Los Angeles Rams (from Atlanta): Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Rams, ladies and gentlemen. They traded every pick in sight for Matthew Stafford and rebuilt a Super Bowl contender via elite Day 3 scouting and savvy maneuvering. Now, they\u2019re in a position to do anything they want with a high Round 1 pick (thanks to the James Pearce Jr. trade last spring), despite being a title contender again.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t rule out QB here. Stafford is playing like a potential MVP, but he\u2019ll turn 38 in February.<\/p>\n
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Rueben Bain Jr., edge, Miami<\/p>\n
Bain is a polarizing prospect, as plenty of NFL scouts and decision-makers have concerns about his lack of length as an edge prospect. Some even believe he might be better off as a three-tech DT in the NFL. But if he\u2019s on his game and playing with the type of energy we saw against Texas A&M in the Playoff, it might not matter. He\u2019s an impact athlete, no question.<\/p>\n
14. Dallas Cowboys: David Bailey, edge, Texas Tech<\/p>\n
One of my favorite pass rushers in the 2025 class was Boston College edge Donovan Ezeiruaku (Dallas\u2019 second-rounder), who had the group\u2019s deepest set of pass-rush moves. Bailey is this year\u2019s version of Ezeiruaku, only he\u2019s a much better athlete with a higher ceiling in terms of production. Micah who?<\/p>\n
15. Detroit Lions: Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami<\/p>\n
This could be a dream come true for the Lions, who suddenly have major needs along the offensive line \u2014 possibly including at left tackle, depending on what Taylor Decker decides about his future. Mauigoa would fit in with Detroit\u2019s culture. He could play OT opposite Penei Sewell immediately or even guard for a year or two if need be.<\/p>\n
If the Lions get their O-line repaired this offseason, they\u2019ll be an easy pick as a bounce-back candidate in 2026.<\/p>\n
16. Baltimore Ravens: Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State<\/p>\n
Baltimore is another team with some important offseason decisions to make. It has to find more help up front defensively, though, no matter where things move. The Ravens always take the best player available and often find ways to make sure it\u2019s at an area of need.<\/p>\n
The longer Ohio State survives in the Playoff, the higher McDonald\u2019s stock will go.<\/p>\n
17. Minnesota Vikings: Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU<\/p>\n
Minnesota has some retooling to do on the back end defensively, whether or not coordinator Brian Flores gets a head coaching gig elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Delane might have been the most competitive corner in the country last season and has been a tenacious on-ball defender throughout his college career, which began at Virginia Tech.<\/p>\n
18. New York Jets (from Indianapolis): Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve talked so much about the Jets\u2019 flexibility draft-wise, specifically their ability to punt on a quarterback decision until 2027 if they feel the need. We\u2019re also still not sure what the actual prospect board will look like at the QB position in 2026.<\/p>\n
However, if Simpson declares, he\u2019d become a very intriguing option for the Jets (and others) this spring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The race for the NFL\u2019s worst record has a firm leader heading into the final lap. At 2-14…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":480499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[7140,8997,1544,1428,8998,9000,1318,3570,535,9006,9003,8812,1317,1315,1316,9004,4716,5287,1232,62,3528,9007,67,132,68,534],"class_list":{"0":"post-480498","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-arizona-cardinals","9":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-college-football","12":"tag-dallas-cowboys","13":"tag-detroit-lions","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","16":"tag-las-vegas-raiders","17":"tag-los-angeles-rams","18":"tag-miami-dolphins","19":"tag-minnesota-vikings","20":"tag-ncaa","21":"tag-ncaa-football","22":"tag-ncaafootball","23":"tag-new-orleans-saints","24":"tag-new-york-giants","25":"tag-new-york-jets","26":"tag-nfl","27":"tag-sports","28":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","29":"tag-tennessee-titans","30":"tag-united-states","31":"tag-unitedstates","32":"tag-us","33":"tag-washington-commanders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115809685719668704","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}