Lance's 2026 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings: Update 1

As promised, here's my updated rankings right around the week 4 time period. Next one will be around week 9 or 10, and the final one will come after the National Championship, but before the Combine invite list is announced. If you're curious as to what the preseason rankings looked like and don't feel like trying to track it down, here's the link. The weekly performance rankings I've been putting out don't really weigh into these rankings, but they are helping me find players I wasn't previously looking at and adding them to the work I'm doing for these boards. Enough of that, here are the boards:

Quarterback

Notes: Like I said in my first article, from the perspective of recent Quarterback success compared to the amount of time they spent in college, guys making their first real full time starts this season (i.e. Arch Manning, Ty Simpson, Dylan Lonergan, Cole Payton, and Beau Pribula) should return to school next year if they have the eligibility. However, Simpson and Lonergan scored too high to leave off my board, for this iteration anyway.

Running Back

Notes: J'Mari Taylor is a prime example of a player I wasn't looking at but am now thanks to the weekly performance rankings. The Penn State backs are just on the outside looking in. Singleton's inefficiency so far this season is what's hurting him. Kaytron Allen has looked pretty explosive (5 carries of 15+ yards on 34 attempts and 8 Yards/Carry) I wouldn't be surprised to see him on this board for the next iteration if he can keep that up as the competition picks up.

Wide Receiver

Notes: Makai Lemon's season is off to a pretty hot start and it's reflected in his leap up my board. A change of scenery seems to be just what the doctor ordered for Duce Robinson. Now imagine where he'd be if Castellanos was averaging more than 12.7 attempts a game. Trebor Pena slipped from 3 to 12, call it the Penn State effect. Antonio Williams went from 2 to not worth mentioning, and he's not the only Clemson player that falls into that category (as you'll see the lack of their bigger names for the positions below). Shows the impact Clemson's season is having not just record wise, but on their individual players as well. KC Concepcion is just on the outside looking in, and he wouldn't even be the top Texas A&M receiver if Mario Craver were eligible.

Tight End

Notes: Koziol and Carter were two of the transfers I mentioned in the first iteration of this and so far both have done a pretty good job with their moves up. Can they keep that up as their conference schedules really set in? Endries and Klare were
two other transfers mentioned, their moves aren't going quite as well. Deshawn Hanika was added to my board thanks to my weekly performance articles. Three years removed from his last real playing time, and a serious Achilles injury last season will keep him down on most boards, but he's going to be hard to ignore if he keeps performing like he is right now. Lance Mason is just on the outside looking in.

Offensive Tackle

Notes: We went from 3 of the top 4 being Right Tackles, to 4 of the top 5 (Jatta is the only Left Tackle). That's good news for the Miami Dolphins right? Missouri's recent ability to build up their Offensive Tackles has been impressive (Javon Foster fourth round pick two years ago, Armand Membou in the first round last year, and now Trost and Green). Nick Del Grande made it onto the board, but it looks like it might mostly be from their matchup against Charleston Southern. Based on his last two games, I think we'll see him fall out before the next update.

Offensive Guard

Notes: Iowa's Offensive Line is insane this season. They currently have my #2 Tackle, #1 and #2 Guards, and #4 Center. Unbelievable. Returning to school was the right call for Roberts. He went from top Guard prospect going into 2024, to way off my board, to back on it thanks mostly to his improvement in his pass blocking. But he wasn't available for the Florida State game, so it's mostly a look at what he was able to do against Wisconsin (and to a lesser degree, UL Monroe). We'll see if he can keep it up against some SEC competition.

Center

Notes: Players settle into new positions each year, which causes shifts in my boards especially along the O-Line and D-Line. Matt Gulbin is a good example of that. He was on my Guard board top ten for the preseason article, he moved over to Center this season and is crushing it. I'm pretty sure Drew Bobo wasn't even the Georgia Center originally on my watch list before the season, but he got the start and is making the most of it. Gavin Gerhardt, 7th on my original board, has fallen to just on the outside looking in.

Edge Rusher

Notes: Lubin is killing it so far this season and it has really given him a boost up this board. Same can be said for Curry, he's finally getting significant playing time and he's taking full advantage. The money Texas Tech spent on their D-Line this season is paying off and it's showing on my boards as well as in their win column. Got a Group of 6 player peaking in from the outside, Trey White out of San Diego State narrowly missed this list.

Interior Defensive Line

Notes: I already mentioned the money Texas Tech spent and how it's paying off, you see that again here with two guys in the top 5. Landon Robinson makes my list this time around, he's done way too well to keep him off my list because of potential size concerns, I'll wait for the Combine to let that weigh in more heavily. Jeffrey M'Ba is the one that finds himself just off the list.

Linebacker

Notes: Jacob Rodriguez has been another key piece to that Texas Tech defense, but he's one of the homegrown talents. Daniel Wingate has consistently been toward the top of my weekly performance articles, so no surprise to find him at 2. As good as the LSU defense has been, I was surprised to find Weeks and Perkins both off my board. I looked into it a little and it seems their coverage skills have hurt their grades. Of course, Linebacker is a position where athleticism can completely change things, so these ten may not be anywhere near my top ten after the Combine. Shane Whitter is the 11th man for this group.

Cornerback

Notes: Nestor is having a crazy good season. Argument for a one hit wonder could be made, but Minnesota's ability to put out Defensive Backs lately makes me think it's not a fluke. Cormani McClain is one to keep an eye on. He's quietly finally having a pretty decent season. Of course attitude and maturity concerns will arise during the pre-draft process, but that's for later. Right now he's 11th for me.

Safety

Notes: Genesis Smith and Justin Houston were two guys I added because of the weekly performance rankings, and their overall body of work backs it up. Houston is in the FCS, but if his listed size is accurate (6'3) teams will be willing to overlook that, he'll just need the athleticism to back up the production. Downs slides from 1 to 8, and it's because of his run defense this season (he has a missed tackle percentage of 21.1 per PFF). He's super talented and could very easily bounce back, especially if his coverage numbers stay up. Bray Hubbard was the biggest surprise to me, cause he was a liability against Florida State, but he bounced back in a big way against Wisconsin. We'll see if he stays on that track or if he goes up and down throughout the year. Several of the guys that were on my list previously, narrowly missed this one, Terry Moore, Cole Wisniewski, Michael Taaffe, and Bud Clark were the next four.