2026 NFL Draft Preview: 212 Names to Know for Next Year

It's never too early...especially for scouts and agents.

It’s already that time of year when early 2026 watchlists are coming out. We love them…but we thought it might be fun to pull back the curtain and show you our list.

When we start building a draft list, it’s truly an organic thing. A Google Sheet is created and as we’re watching games, or breaking down film, or talking to scouts and agents we add players to it.

Once you have a list of names, you start breaking the position groups down into tiers or rankings. We prefer tiers to start with. And that’s where we’re at with the 2026 list—212 names being worked into tiers.

The early read on next year’s class: It’s much better than the 2025 group.

There’s more talent at quarterback—and time will tell whether that talent develops into full-blown first-round ability. There’s depth at running back and wide receiver even if there’s not yet an elite talent at either position that’ll conjure up Bijan Robinson or Marvin Harrison Jr. type early grades.

Tight end and the trenches look very good. There are three offensive tackle candidates who could be first overall type talents. The same goes for edge-rusher where T.J. Parker is a beast.

The secondary class is uneven, without an elite cornerback talent returning but with arguably the best safety prospect in a very long time in Caleb Downs.

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How do the tiers work?

Tier 1 — future first-round pick

Tier 2 — Day 2 pick with upside

Tier 3 — likely Day 2 pick or an intriguing prospect

Untiered players may be unscouted at this time or not a top 100 prospect

Enough with the intro…you want the list. Here it is: