NFL Draft

Top 10 cornerbacks of the 2026 NFL Draft

After taking a look at a deep wide receiver class earlier this week, we’re taking at the looks that are going to cover them – the corners. This group includes what you’d categorize as boundary, field-side and slot guys (nickels). As a quick note, you will find Arizona’s Treydan Stukes on the safety list.

As always, my rankings are all based personal evaluations, not taking current injuries or potential off-field concerns into account, since I don’t have insights into medical reports and similar information. And of course, since I’m not working for a specific team, these projections don’t take scheme fit or certain benchmarks into account.

While one of them missed the entire 2025 season with injury, based on the tape alone, we have two top 15-level prospects, another one firmly inside the first round on my end and a couple of others I could easily sneak in late. The top eight names may all end up being among the first 50 players selected, and then there are several intriguing guys, who may lack some refinement but offer certain qualities teams may want to invest solid draft capital into.

This is how they stack up for me:

 

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NFL Draft

Top 10 wide receivers of the 2026 NFL Draft:

We enter week two of our positional draft rankings series, and already I had to push the release of this iteration back, because of sheer number of draftable wide receivers in this class. I will have watched 35-40 guys when this comes out, and I still feel like I should run through a few more names.

Once again, all these rankings are based on my personal evaluations, not taking current injuries or any potential off-field issues into account, considering I don’t have insights into medical reports and other such information. And of course, since I’m not operating for a singular team, these projections don’t scheme fit or team-specific guidelines/benchmarks into account.

Although we don’t have that true number one receiver who has checked all the boxes in the pre-draft process, my number one guy has top ten ability, there are four other names with first-round grades, and even beyond the 13 total that I’ll discuss here, including three that I listed as “just missed the cut”, there are prospects worthy of hearing their names called on day two.

This is how they stack up for me:

 

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NFL Draft

Top 10 linebackers of the 2026 NFL Draft:

This year’s positional NFL Draft rankings series is underway, and we switch over to the defensive side of the ball for the first time, with a highly intriguing linebacker class. All these rankings are based on my personal evaluations, not taking current injuries or any potential off-field issues into account, considering I don’t have insights into medical reports and other such information. And of course, since I’m not operating for a singular team, I’m trying to be “scheme agnostic” in my projections, while the 32 NFL front offices will study these players through the lens of what they value in their buildings and maybe even non-negotiables they have for size/testing measurables.

You can make a strong case that the breadth of talent within this linebacker class is as good as any other position. There are two names that’ll most likely end up within my personal top five overall prospects, two guys would be worthy of going somewhere else in round one, and then five more linebackers firmly have day two value based on my evaluations. Even beyond that, depending on the role and profile you’re seeking, there are interesting names that could make an impact to some capacity, potentially even with a couple of other true starters.

This is how they stack up for me:

 

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NFL Draft

Top 10 running backs of the 2026 NFL Draft:

It’s time to kick off this year’s positional rankings series for the NFL Draft, and as always, we’ll start with running backs. For the next six weeks, we’ll alternate between offense and defense, sort of going by who would go up against each other in actual games – meaning linebackers as the contrast to this on Friday, offensive tackles and edge defenders, etc.

These lists are based on my personal evaluations, not taking current injuries or any potential off-field issues into account, since I simply don’t have insights into medical reports and other such information. And of course, this isn’t put together for any specific team or scheme, since all 32 NFL front offices will have these names stacked up differently, with regards to the people in-house.

Although we have a blue-chip prospect at the top, who will end up inside the top five of my own big board, this running back class unfortunately doesn’t have the same quality beyond that as we’ve seen in years past. I only view two other names as worthy of going in the second round and only three additional ones in the third. The rest of the top ten is rounded out by names you can make a case for early on day three, depending on your preferred flavor. Beyond that, there are intriguing rotational players and guys who can fill specific roles, but not the type of diamonds in the rough as I’ve highlighted at different points previously.

Let’s get into these names:

 

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NFL Draft

College all-star game standouts for 2026:

With the Patriots/Seahawks being crowned Super Bowl LX champions, we turn the page and are ready to dive into draft season. I still have a video coming out next week on some of my favorite fits for pending free agents, but some key events on the calendar for this next crop of young talent have already taken place.

So today, I want to talk about upcoming draft prospects, who stood out at the East-West Shrine and the Senior Bowl – ten on offense and defense each. I’ll talk about what I saw from each player throughout the week, some questions they might’ve answered while being asked different things in practice than what they did during their college career, and how it’ll help boost their draft stock. Plus, I listed twice as many names as honorable mentions at the end, since just showing up and competing gives all these guys another chance to stand out to scouts and other NFL personnel.

Let’s talk about it!

 

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NFL Power Rankings

NFL Power Rankings heading into the fourth quarter of the 2025 season:

We’re three quarters through the 2025 NFL season and it’s time for one more look at all 32 teams. As always, please bear in mind that these are power *rankings* rather than standings. So you may see one team be listed above another with a better record or even one they’ve already lost to head-to-head at some point – the objective is to weigh them against the rest of the league at large, and how many opponents I’d favor them over. Especially, as playoff seedings are starting to materialize, we’re somewhat looking ahead at who can go the distance, even though this is more meant to be a snapshot of this moment.

I took injuries into account and weighed current form more heavily, while compared to earlier in the season, we have a pretty good picture of what teams are in all three facets of the game. Although you’ll find a variety of statistics and advanced metrics to support my arguments, they’re all primarily grounded in having watched every single matchup up to this opponent, either on the broadcast, the All-22, or both.

Let’s get to the full rankings:

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NFL Draft

Early risers for the 2026 NFL Draft:

Usually, at this point of the calendar, I publish my current list of the top five college players. Yet, with how fluctuant that can be based on the ups and downs of the season, the fact that I can’t watch every single game – like I do for the NFL – and my heavy focus on their journey to the pros, I decided to write about something more draft-centric.

I also thought about simply doing a top five by position, but with how I structure my schedule, I typically haven’t more than 15 names for each of those. So instead, I opted for a different approach, as I’ll outline my ten biggest risers a month into the college football season (five on offense and defense each). Please bear in mind that this won’t be complete list, and feel free to put some more names in the comments.

Therefore, you won’t see stalwarts like LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier or Ohio State safety Caleb Downs listed, who I already viewed as top-five prospects coming into the year. Rather, I will outline ten players who have stood out to me, watching the games, and either have really gotten onto my radar or have already moved up my rankings, based on scouting them during the summer. Some of them may have transferred or earned a starting role, now having the opportunity to prove themselves (against a higher level of competition).

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NFL Predictions

Predicting the entire 2025 NFL season:

We’re at the eve of the 2025 NFL season and once again, it’s time to put my predictions out there in the ether – all the awards, playoff teams and who I have facing each other in Super Bowl LX.

Unlike I’ve done in previous years, where I chose my top three candidates for each category, I decided to present my choice to win and my favorite dark horse. Along with that, I’ll lay out my cases for the playoff seedings and how I came to my matchup on the game’s biggest stage. Of course, those categories often are intertwined, and I will refer to how I combined individual and team success in the following paragraphs.

In order to determine the playoff picture, I went through all 272 individual matchups, taking into account important circumstances, such as rest (dis)advantages, how games fit within those schedules and, of course, personnel clashes.

Yet again, I‘ve added the full Excel file with every single team’s weekly results and final record at the very bottom, if you’re interested!

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NFL Offseason

Most improved position groups across the 2025 NFL offseason:

We officially put a close to our coverage of the talent acquisition period of the calendar, as we’ve extensively discussed everything heading into and coming out of the NFL Draft, before weaving it into the rest of the roster construction in our month-long video series, where I broke down every single move and its meaning one division at a time.

Now, it’s time to draw conclusions one more time through a league-wide lens and identify the position groups that were most improved through free agency, trades and the draft. This is based on what each roster looked in week 18, not taking injuries into account, whether they affected who was actually able to be on the field at that time or those who may linger into the season.

And one more disclaimer – I always look at this exercise in more of a holistic sense. One singular player may give an entire unit a very different feel, but I try to point out those groups that at least made multiple meaningful acquisitions.

Here’s what I came up with:

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NFL Draft, NFL Offseason

AFC West Draft & Roster Review 2025

We’ve reached the final episode of our divisional draft & roster review series for 2025! And we’re closing things out with the AFC West, who just sent three teams to the playoffs and saw the other one make some drastic changes to the key figures of their organization!

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