21 burning questions before the 2026 NFL Draft

21 burning questions before the 2026 NFL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The NFL Draft is a complicated puzzle. It's not as simple as taking the best player as early as possible. There are north of 500 players to consider. The NFL Scouting Combine invited 319 players. Yet the Draft itself will only hear 257 names called.

There are drafts that include a significant number of "can't miss" prospects. That seldom applies to players in this draft. For every Fernando Mendoza and Jeremiyah Love, there are twenty prospects that carry questions, if not concerns.

Even within the top 10, there are debates about whether the players taken that high would be regarded as top 10 talents in other drafts. Of the players expected to go in the top 10, only two are 'can't miss' prospects and another two are freakishly athletic enough that it might not matter.

The biggest question facing both evaluators and fans alike is, what are those concerns, and can you live with them?

Francis Mauigoa

Kirby Lee/Imagn Images

Miami OT Francis Mauigoa

Francis "Sisi" Mauigoa was expected to be a top 10 pick. That status seemed unaltered by the belief that Mauigoa is a right tackle specifically. ESPN's Adam Schefter revealed that Mauigoa has a herniated disc and will likely need surgery.

Ohio State S Caleb Downs

Caleb Downs is widely considered to be in the conversation for the best player in this draft regardless of position. The issue is the position matters. Safeties rarely get taken in the top ten picks. The other concern hovering around Downs is a reported injury issue. First reported at the Combine, Downs was believed to have a 'degenerative knee' concern that has only been countered by Downs' family.

Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr

There is one of these 'concerns' every single year. A player that is essentially dominant is questioned because a measurable or a testing that was less than ideal. Bain finished the season with almost 10 sacks, 16 tackles for loss and looked absolutely dominant against big competition. However, his arms are not as long as evaluators would like. He's not Myles Garrett, but that should not take him out of top 10 consideration.

Georgia OT Monroe Freeling

Freeling might be the best specifically "left" tackle in this draft. He could benefit from adding 10-15 pounds, but the real concern is starting reps. In three seasons, Freeling has 17 starts. Or the length of one NFL season. For most prospects, 25-30+ starts is the threshold where starts no longer present a concern.

Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy

If you miss an entire season, then enter the draft before having a productive season to put concerns to rest. This is what happens. McCoy missed the entire 2025 college football season due to an ACL tear in January. After a productive Pro Day, it seemed the injury concerns subsided. Until reports of team doctors having concerns that McCoy could need additional surgery to repair a "bone plug" used to repair the completely healed ACL.

Miami EDGE Akheem Mesidor

Mesidor is one of the players that forces the phrase "if they can live with it". There's nothing wrong with Mesidor. Like Bain, he is not as 'long' as teams might like. The larger concern with Mesidor is age. If Mesidor was 21 or 22, he probably would be a lock to go in the top 20. He's 25 though, and the prevailing thought is how much to invest in a player you might have for 2-3 years less than you'd like.

More:Diego Paiva receives unexpected projection in latest NFL mock draft

Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor

This one is easy to identify and historically is a concern. Proctor is 6'7 and around 360 pounds. He was reportedly approaching 400 pounds at the start of Alabama's 2025 season. The fact of the matter is that there is an awful track record of offensive linemen in the NFL over 6'6 and over 350 pounds. Proctor is both.

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia WR Zachariah Branch

Branch was recently arrested on misdemeanor obstruction. The police report suggests Branch was asked to move away from the sidewalk he was standing on, and he was less than cooperative with that officer. To put this into perspective, Branch had to pay a bond amount to be released. That bond amount was $39.

Toledo S Emmanuel McNeill-Warren

Competition level, plain and simple. McNeill-Warren played at Toledo and not a Power 4 program. That's it. As the game and draft evaluations have evolved, the competition level is less of a concern. Good players are still good players even if they are in the MAC conference. The good news is EMW jumps off the screen. Toledo could be a concern for some teams, but not all.

Texas A&M EDGE Cashius Howell

Objectively, Howell put up better numbers than Rueben Bain Jr. Almost 12 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and six passes defended. Yet according to most draft analysts, Howell is projected to go a full round later than Bain. The draft stock or hype around Howell does not match his production.

Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price

If Price is the small tree, Jeremiyah Love is the big tree. The bad news is Price had almost half the total touches as Love. The good news is teams don't just look at totals. A saving grace for Price is the averages are similar. Similar ypc, 60% of Love's yards and 70% of Love's touchdowns. Price should still be a lead back prospect.

More:Ty Simpson mulled $6.5 million transfer portal offer to not enter 2026 NFL Draft

Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers

Every time there is a physical freak in the draft at the tight end position, the others behind him have a tendency to slide. Stowers might be the best prototypical TE in this draft, but the belief is he's not Kenyon Sadiq. Yet the only measurable thing significantly below Sadiq is his 40-yard dash time. While Stowers is viewed as a tight end, Sadiq is viewed as a weapon. Which could benefit Stowers before the draft is over.

kayden mcdonald

Ohio St DT Kayden McDonald

At the Combine, McDonald looked objectively bad. The drill work was concerning. To the point that the game film and the Combine looked like two different prospects. If teams lean on the game tape, McDonald will be fine. However, this is not an elite DT draft, and it could be picked 40 or later before we see a DT come off the board.

Alabama QB Ty Simpson

Simpson declaring for this draft felt reactionary. As if he would go higher in 2026 than he would in the 2027 draft. Considering Simpson early in the season vs late in the season, his only 15 collegiate starts and starting production that falls well below 'can't miss', Bill Parcells built an entire philosophy based on starts. Simpson can't exactly lean on stats. Just for context, Joe Burrow, who went No. 1 overall, had 5,571 yards and 60 touchdowns as compared to Simpson's 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter

Hunter's issue could be positional, it could be teammates, but something is keeping Hunter from ascending the board as previously expected. He did play on the same defensive line as David Bailey. However, he looked even better than expected at the Combine and there have been no knocks on his game tape publicly. Like Howell, the production/impact on the game and his draft stock simply don't match.

Clemson CB Avieon Terrell

Terrell is arguably the best nickel or slot corner in this draft. A willing tackler and a player unafraid of bigger offensive targets. He is more of a pass breakup corner than a ball hawk corner, but one that is not up for debate. Terrell affects the outcome of games. He has more career sacks and TFL than interceptions. With good size, technique and 4.3 speed, Terrell outside the first round is peculiar.

More:Tennessee CB Colton Hood linked to 4-time Super Bowl champs in NFL Draft projections

Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II

Brazzell could be the exception to the rule, but the rule is holding him back. There have been four Tennessee WRs drafted recently. None of them have been impressive. The prevailing belief as to why comes down to a limited route tree or limited use of pro-system concepts. At 6'5, 200, running a 4.37 forty, while putting up 1,017 yards and leading the SEC with 9 receiving touchdowns, he should be projected higher.

Garrett Nussmeier

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LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier

You can count on one hand the number of QBs in the last decade that should have come out earlier. Regrettably, Nussmeier is on that list. Nussmeier chose to play through pain, specifically a cyst on his spine as reported by Tom Pelissero, and his play reflected it. Had he come out last year, he could have gone first or second round. Now with admittedly bad tape, he is likely to fall. Potentially to day 3.

Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez

If the NFL gave out draft prospect superlatives, Rodriguez would be most likely to... fill in the blank. He's the biggest human-interest story of the year. The husband to a helicopter fighter pilot, Rodriguez seems beloved by most. A team leader, a good guy and an absolute stat stuffer. The issue is he's small. For his sake, 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds is not unheard of, but he will have to fit a scheme role and will likely slide because of that.

Indiana CB D'Angelo Ponds

To put it simply, if Ponds was 6' tall, he'd be a lock to go in the first round. The 4.35 forty and the 43" vertical are great feathers in his cap, but at the end of the day, he's still just 5'9 and 173 pounds. Regardless of skill set, the size is a concern.

Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia

The Pavia case is the most extreme and alarming. Pavia clearly did not get the Shedeur Sanders memo. Pavia is making almost every mistake he can. Regrettable behavior after not winning the Heisman. Turned down an opportunity at the East/West Shrine Game. Looked objectively bad in the Senior Bowl. Has not hired an agent.

Seeking professional advice from Johnny Manziel. All the while trying to speak a draft stock into existence that no one else agrees with. There also has not been a 'successful' NFL QB under 5'11 in the last quarter-century. You'd have to go back to Doug Flutie to find one. It is more likely Pavia goes undrafted than he goes in the first four rounds.

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