Lance's 2026 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings: Preseason

This was supposed to be done and posted before Week 0, but I got started on it late, and life got in the way. I finally finished preparing it though. I got the opportunity to watch plenty of college football over the weekend, but I made sure to exclude any post-week 1 analysis as I was putting the finishing touches on this. Throughout the season I will be putting out a weekly top ten by position based on that week's performances, and then every 3-4 weeks I will update the below positional rankings. Anyways, here they are:

Quarterback

Notes: You won't see players on any of my rankings if they have done nothing, or next to nothing, in their college careers to date. That's why you don't see Arch Manning. I also said before the season that he should plan to return to school because recently QBs with more extensive time as a college starter have gone into the NFL and performed at a higher level quicker, so unless he starts lighting everything on fire, I wouldn't count on seeing him on my list this season. Players to keep an eye on: Josh Hoover (TCU), LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina), Cade Klubnik (Clemson), and Avery Johnson (Kansas State).

Running Back

Notes: Players to keep an eye on: Kaytron Allen (Penn State), Justice Haynes (Michigan), Mark Fletcher Jr. (Miami). The numbers don't exactly line up, but personally I like Allen more than Singleton. I think he's more explosive, and if he's given enough opportunities this season he could find himself above Singleton on this list. Haynes is finally in a situation where he's going to get plenty of work, and with a team that loves to run the ball, I was disappointed when he left Alabama, but I understood why. Fletcher is now THE guy for Miami, and from the games I've gotten to see him play in, I feel like he's more athletic than Damien Martinez. He could really take off.

Wide Receiver

Notes: For the record, I did setup my Slot Receiver board as well, but the top guys on that board also found themselves towards the top on the Receiver board, so I just combined them. Players to keep an eye on: Terrill Davis (Oklahoma State), Tre Richardson (Vanderbilt), Eugene Wilson III (Florida), Bryce Lance (North Dakota State), and Eric Singleton Jr. (Auburn). Davis and Richardson both moved up to the FBS from Division II where they lit it up, if they can do the same at their new Power 4 destinations (OK State for Davis and Vanderbilt for Richardson), then they'll find themselves on my board at some point. Lance was a touchdown machine last season, but FCS Receivers have not really panned out recently at the pro level. We'll see if he can change do enough to make me ignore that. Wilson is returning from injury, couple his explosiveness with D.J. Lagway's arm, and he very well might skyrocket up my list. Singleton is included because he's towards the top of a lot of people's boards, but my numbers don't back that up. Maybe Auburn can get him going.

Tight End

Notes: Not really an impressive group. A lot of transfers which I thought was interesting (Koziol from Ball State, Klare from Purdue, Endries from Cal, Carter from Louisiana, and Hasz from Arkansas). Koziol was a force with Ball State last year, now he's up in a Power 4 conference, so will he be able to keep that up? I considered dropping him down, but again, I'm not impressed with this group. Players to keep an eye on: Mike Trigg (Baylor), Jack Velling (Michigan State), and Kenyon Sadiq (Oregon).

Offensive Tackle

Notes: Three of the top four are Right Tackles (Casey being the lone Left Tackle up there), which I found interesting. I know Proctor is at the top of just about every Tackle list out there, but by the numbers, he doesn't belong up there. Not to mention, being an Alabama fan I've gotten to watch him quite a bit, and personally it feels like people are still high on him just because he was a 5 star coming out of high school. Monroe Mills is super intriguing as he's played both the Right and Left sides pretty extensively and done decently well. I'm pretty interested to see if he can go from solid to really good. Players to watch: Francis Mauigoa (Miami), Aamil Wagner (Notre Dame), Caleb Lomu (Utah), and Riley Mahlman (Wisconsin).

Offensive Guard

Notes: An average group as a whole. At this point, I would be surprised if any Guards make a run at Day 1 or early Day 2 in next year's draft. Players to keep an eye on: Trey Zuhn III (Texas A&M), Damieon George Jr. (Florida), and Davion Carter (Texas Tech), they were just on the outside looking in.

Center

Notes: A much more impressive group when compared to their fellow interior Offensive Lineman. Slaughter and Jones would have Day 1 grades if the draft were tomorrow, and Lew, Brockermeyer, Foster, Petitbon, Gerhardt and Blaske would all have Day 2 grades. I would have to check, but I'm pretty sure I've not had a Center group as highly rated as this since I started doing doing my draft boards. Players to keep an eye on: Pete Nygra (Louisville), Sam Hecht (Kansas State), and Jake Renfro (Wisconsin) were the next three on the outside looking in.

Edge Rusher

Notes: This is one of those positions where athleticism can send you flying up my board, so the Combine could cause some of these guys to drop off, or could cause guys I'm not even looking at as actual threats to take over top spots. Just something to keep in mind. Players to keep an eye on: Trey Moore (Texas) and Keldric Faulk (Auburn). Faulk is toward the top of most boards you'll come across, and based on what little I've seen, he's one of those guys who's athletic testing could send him up my board. Moore was a beast at UTSA, if he can put together what he did with the Roadrunners in his second year at Texas he's going to leap up boards.

Interior Defensive Line

Notes: I used the listed weights for the players to separate them like I normally do after the Combine, but for the top ten I put both groups together. Lots of potential, but if it's going to be a group I'm excited about come February, then we're going to need to see some guys take the next step. I'm looking at LT Overton, Peter Woods, Tim Keenan III, Caleb Banks and Bear Alexander when I say that. Players to keep an eye on: Landon Robinson (Navy), Jackie Marshall (Baylor), and Lee Hunter (Texas Tech). Worth noting with Robinson, it was really close numbers wise, but the fact that he's Group of 5, and a little undersized (if their listed size for him is accurate), caused me to put him outside the top ten.

Linebacker

Notes: Harold Perkins, Sonny Styles, Deontae Lawson and C.J. Allen are all talented backers and I think they've got the best chance of knocking some of the guys in the top 5 down. Especially Perkins. Had he not gotten injured last season he'd likely be at the top. Players to keep an eye on: Micah Davey (UTEP) and Marques Watson-Trent (Nebraska). A pair of guys moving up a level in competition (Davey from the FCS - McNeese State, and Watson-Trent from the Group of 5 - Georgia Southern). If they can play at the next level like they did at their previous stops they could crack my top ten.

Cornerback

Notes: Same as with my Receivers, I did a board for the guys that all fit the bill of being able to play Slot and the top guys on that board were also at the top of the Corner board, so I combined the two. Players to keep an eye on: Matthew McDoom (Cincinnati) and Ethan O'Connor (Miami). Both are making the jump up to the Power 4, McDoom from Coastal Carolina and O'Connor from Washington State, and both scored in line with the Muhammad/Dixon/Ponds grouping, so if they can show they can compete with higher end talent they could crack the top ten. Also, McDoom is just an awesome name.

Safety

Notes: No surprise at the top, Downs is the real deal. If you want a sleeper keep an eye on Cole Wisniewski. He had a monster season for North Dakota State last year. If Tech can get half of that out of him it'll be a big boost for them and a great boost for his draft stock. Players to keep an eye on: Rod Moore (Michigan), Kamari Ramsey (USC), and Keon Sabb (Alabama). All three are guys that have the attention of draft analysts out there, but didn't score high enough to make it onto my list.