4 NFL Draft bold predictions for 2026 class on QBs, sleepers, and more

COLLEGE STATION, TX - DECEMBER 20: Wide receiver KC Concepcion #7 of the Texas A&M Aggies on the field before the CFP First Round game between Miami Hurricanes and Texas A&M Aggies on December 20, 2025, at Kyle Field in College Station, TX. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The 2026 NFL Draft is just over one week away.

Let’s start getting spicy.

Mark Schofield and James Dator sat down to make their bold predictions for the 2026 NFL Draft, and as you will see, they are not exactly on the same page when it comes to one position in particular.

And where they land might surprise you.

KC Concepcion is the second WR off the board – James

This flies in the face of every draft projection, but the more tape I watch the more I’m convinced that Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion is going to be an absolute stud in the NFL – and I think teams will come to the same conclusion.

Carnell Tate will be the No. 1 receiver off the board without question, but when you hit that second bracket of Jordyn Tyson and Makai Lemon neither of them are locks to be great pros. Neither has the ideal route fluidity you really want from a future X receiver, nor do they have size that mitigates those shortcomings.

It’s here where Concepcion enters the picture. He doesn’t have X receiver size either, but he is DRIPPING with everything you want from a Y/Z hybrid player. Concepcion has quick feet, amazing ability to shake press defenders, and a knack for finding open space on the field. A team who takes him in the draft will need to understand he slots in best as a secondary option – but that is fine if it means you’re getting an elite second receiver talent, which I think Concepcion can be.

This slots nicely into the draft. The Saints at No. 8 are a team who need a complimentary piece to Chris Olave, Kansas City at No. 9 is a place where he could land too, taking pressure off Rashee Rice – while the Rams at No. 13 could be looking for someone to add to their room (potentially even replace Puka Nacua down the road).

Three offensive-minded coaches run these teams, all need receiving help to varying degrees, and with Tate off the board I think there’s a lot more upside with someone like Concepcion to come in and help immediately, rather than hoping Tyson or Lemon could become primary threats.

Three quarterbacks will be drafted in the first round – James

There’s a pattern that keeps emerging in the NFL Draft: Take the number of QBs you expect to go in the first round, then add one.

In 2025 Jaxson Dart snuck into the first round. In 2024 it was Bo Nix. This year we know Fernando Mendoza is going to go No. 1 overall, and that Ty Simpson could likely be drafted in the 20s – but I think one more guy is going to sneak into the round, and I think it’s going to be Arkansas’ Taylen Green. Hear me out.

Green is undoubtedly a project, but one that isn’t dissimilar in size and athleticism to Anthony Richardson who went No. 5 overall in 2023. That might not be a glowing endorsement, but someone is going to fall in love with the dual-threat upside he brings to the table. If you’re looking at a QB who needs some seasoning before being ready to play then it’s absolutely imperative you get the guy in the first round to secure the 5th year option.

This is why I think either the Jets or Cardinals could get froggy and move up from the top of the 2nd round to the end of the 1st and take someone like Green. There’s also a possibility they like someone like Carson Beck for the same reasons the Saints like Tyler Shough a year ago, in that they think he can help them win immediately. At this point though I see the upside of Green as as 6’6 QB with a 4.36 in the forty.

Want a wild card? Todd Monken is the new coach of the Browns and his entire offense in Baltimore was predicated around a dual threat QB. I don’t care that they took Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders a year ago, they can’t do what Green does.

There’s just this nagging feeling in the back of my head that the athleticism is going to make someone fall in love.

Jacob Rodriguez goes in the first round – Mark

Before diving into my two bold predictions, I want to start with this little tidbit:

Food for thought, indeed.

I think there are three factors at play here. First, the lack of elite talent in this quarterback class. James is right in that we might still see some quarterbacks move up boards, but I’m still not sure that we see that many come off the board in the first round. We might see players slide up to Day 2 from Day 3, or to Day 3 from being priority UDFA-type players, but I’m not sure we see a ton of movement into the first round. Maybe I’m wronte.

Second, the expectations around the 2027 QB class are starting to take hold. Albert Breer wrote this earlier this week:

*The 2027 class affects that, too.*The list is long: Oregon’s Dante Moore, Texas’s Arch Manning, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, USC’s Jayden Maiava, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, LSU’s Sam Leavitt, Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby, Ole Miss’s Trinidad Chambliss, Oklahoma’s John Mateer, Miami’s Darian Mensah and UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava.

You get the picture. Throw in dark-horse transfers such as DJ Lagway at Baylor and Drew Mestemaker at Oklahoma State, and you have 14 quarterbacks who at least have a chance of being taken high in 2027.

I really think teams are going to kick the QB decision to next spring.

The final factor? The strength in this class comes from positions like safety, offensive and defensive lines and yes, linebacker.

That leads me to Jacob Rodriguez.

The NFL does seem to be coming back around to the running game. Maybe not to a massive extent, but look at the Seattle Seahawks last season, and look at this from Yahoo analyst Nate Tice:

Defending the run might matter again.

That leads us to Rodriguez, who parlayed a stunning season into Heisman Trophy buzz a year ago, where he ultimately finished fifth in voting, one of the highest finishes from a pure defensive player in history.

His draft stock has slowly increased even since the end of the season, thanks to a strong performance at the NFL Scouting Combine. If positional value is truly out the window this year, his production at the college level will push him into the first round.

More safeties than quarterback go in the first — Mark

As a card-carrying member of the quarterback union, I might get kicked out after this one.

While my dear friend James thinks three quarterbacks go into the first round, I remain unconvinced. I think at most we see Fernando Mendoza at 1, and Ty Simpson at some point late on Thursday night, perhapse to the Arizona Cardinals via a trade back into the first round.

Assuming two quarterbacks go in the first round, I think we see three safeties come off the board.

First is Caleb Downs, who was one of my favorite players to study this entire cycle. His profile fits as more of a box safety in the NFL — which is the only reason stopping me from having him at the top of our soon-to-be-released big board — but I think he comes off the board inside the top five.

I think Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman comes off the board next, either to Minnesota at 18 or Carolina at 19.

Then there are the New England Patriots, who could be a landing spot for Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, as could be the Chicago Bears.

In all, I think we see two quarterbacks in the first, and three safeties.