Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson’s Workout Draws Major Interest
APRIL 18: Garafolo and colleague Ian Rapoport report Schoen had dinner with Tyson the night before his workout. That further illustrates the team’s level of interest in this case, and the Dexter Lawrence trade will give New York another top-10 pick to work with next week. Tyson winding up with the Giants on Thursday will be a possibility to watch closely as the first round unfolds.
APRIL 17: Today, Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson held his long-awaited personal workout at which NFL general managers, coaches, and scouts were able to evaluate his health following months of inactivity as he dealt with hamstring issues. According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the workout was a huge hit, drawing eyes from over 20 NFL teams just six days out from the first day of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Tyson was once viewed as the likely WR1 of the draft class, but frequent injuries have littered his résumé with red flags. The transfer from Colorado tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL during his time with the Buffaloes then suffered a broken collarbone after his 2024 comeback season. He played only nine games this past year due to the hamstring issues that have hampered him throughout the pre-draft process, as well. His draft stock hasn’t fallen out of the first round, but fellow wide receiver prospects Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon have seemingly moved ahead of him in the WR1 conversation.
As anticipation built this morning, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan recirculated a video of his interview with colleague Peter Schrager in which Schrager predicted that a clean workout today could help land Tyson in the No. 5 overall pick, currently owned by the Giants. Supporting that prediction, New York’s general manager, Joe Schoen, flew in himself to be in person at Tyson’s workout, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The Giants have been tied to numerous options with the fifth pick of the draft, almost all of which, Schrager points out, are at positions not usually valued that early in the first round — running back (Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love), off-ball linebacker (Ohio State’s Sonny Styles), and safety (Ohio State’s Caleb Downs).
Similar to how those positions are usually valued, Tyson has not been projected to go that high lately. The Giants have been one of several teams reportedly interested in participating in first-round trades out of the fifth pick, and they may be looking to move back to a point in the first round in which they feel they can still land Tyson. ESPN’s Matt Miller predicted we could see as many as eight trades, at the same time positing that Tyson could go much higher than expected, placing his range from the fifth overall pick to the 16th.
Additionally, the Giants weren’t the only team to send a GM. Peter Thamel of ESPN reported that the Dolphins‘ contingency included new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. A source told Thamel, “(Tyson) showed the twitch, explosiveness, and leaping ability we all saw in the fall. He showed he’s healthy and still explosive, which is all he needed to do.”
According to Bleacher Report’s James Palmer, Tyson’s elite talent had attendants abuzz with excitement and curiosity. The 21-year-old reportedly drew comparisons to Odell Beckham Jr. and Justin Jefferson, but concerns of his injury history drove speculation that “a lack of strength” may be the culprit. He went on to assert that there is no real consensus on Tyson at the moment. This was supported by Miller’s assertion that, contrary to Palmer’s reports of concerned speculation, “teams are comfortable with the (injury) history” of the ASU product.
We won’t need to wait long to find out just how concerned teams are or just how high he will go in the draft. He’ll almost certainly be a Day 1 pick, so by next Thursday, we should know whether today’s workout was enough to vault him back to WR1 status.
Coveted 2027 Draft Picks May Complicate Draft Day Trades
We’re days away from the 2026 NFL Draft, and rumors indicate that the first round of the event has the potential to be wild with several teams eager to trade up, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, and multiple teams willing to move back. Schultz goes on to say, though, that trade agreements may be difficult to reach as teams appear to be overly attached to their top 2027 NFL Draft picks.
Now, this far out, any trade conversations are mostly going to be preliminary; unless an organization is trading up to Nos. 2 or 3, an element of surprise is crucial in making sure the teams they’re trading past don’t have an opportunity to get back in front of them. Once Thursday rolls around, tunes may change as the intensity of the moment drives up adrenaline, but right now, there’s a serious lack of interest in relinquishing a first-round pick for next year. Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post posits that an elite upcoming draft class is the cause for hesitation.
Similar claims were made in the run up to and aftermath of the 2025 NFL Draft, when QB-needy teams stayed conservative, trusting that the talent of the 2026 class would be much improved from the group that produced only two first-round rookie passers. A year later, after disappointing campaigns for LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Texas’ Arch Manning, and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, the 2026 class will likely only produce one Day 1 QB. If Alabama’s Ty Simpson is able to sneak into the first round, then this year’s class will match the class it was meant to outperform.
The entire 2026 draft class (not just quarterbacks) has been largely viewed as thin, so Dunleavy’s assertion that teams are looking to hold out for a potentially deeper class next year is starting to sound like an eerily similar song. Dunleavy specifically noted 13 players expected to lead this talented group. One of them is a player that was supposed to be leading this year’s prospect pool, so highlighting them again here shows an impressive lack of superstition.
Once again, Manning is the first name mentioned. After initially exciting with flashes of potential playing alongside starter Quinn Ewers, Manning’s first year as the starter got off to a rough start. He turned things around as the season ground on, and he carries strong momentum into next year. Dunleavy also mentioned Oregon’s Dante Moore and Ole Miss sensation Trinidad Chambliss. Both passers were initially expected to give Simpson a run for QB2 honors in this year’s draft before opting to return for another year of college.The last quarterback mentioned was Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, who will be newly eligible for the draft after the completion of his redshirt sophomore season.
The wide receivers of the 2027 class will also generate enormous expectations leading up to their potential final seasons of college ball. Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has been the expected WR1 of this class since his first game in Columbus. Though the Buckeyes produced first-round pass catcher Emeka Egbuka in 2025, and Carnell Tate is currently projected to be WR1 of this year’s crop, Smith has been the dominant WR1 of the Ohio State receiving corps both years. His receiving stats of the past two seasons, totaling 163 receptions, 2,558 yards, and 27 touchdowns, dwarfed the contributions that made his teammates first-rounders.
Smith is joined by Alabama’s Ryan Williams and new Longhorns wide receiver Cam Coleman. Williams showed brilliance in his true freshman year with the Crimson Tide but suffered a sophomore slump no one saw coming. If he can regain his dominance from 2024, he’ll easily work himself into first-round consideration. Coleman has shown increasing potential in two years at Auburn. A final season in Austin with Manning will give him a chance to enter Day 1 talks, as well.
Oregon tight end Jamari Johnson is already being touted as a potentially better prospect than this year’s expected first-round tight end out of Eugene, Kenyon Sadiq. The transfer from Louisville is looking to help enter the Ducks into TEU conversations. Lastly for the offense, Dunleavy highlighted Texas offensive tackle Trevor Goolsby, who has played on both sides of the line and allowed just one sack in 2025.
On defense, Dunleavy has listed edge rushers Colin Simmons from Texas and Dylan Stewart from South Carolina, defensive tackle David Stone out of Oklahoma, and cornerback Leonard Moore from Notre Dame. Simmons has led the Longhorns defense in sacks in each of his two years in Austin, totaling 21.0. Stewart hasn’t been as dominant for the Gamecocks, but his 11.0 career sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss in two seasons show just how disruptive he can be.
Stone exploded onto the scene for the Sooners in 2025, recording 8.5 tackles for loss to go along with 1.5 sacks. Moore impressed as a freshman for the Fighting Irish with 11 passes defensed, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles then kept going with five interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), seven passes defensed, and another forced fumble en route to All-American honors in Year 2.
Based on our crystal clear hindsight, let’s promise not to anoint anyone too early. Most of the 13 incredibly talented student athletes above were underclassmen this past year. If they continue their meteoric trajectory, they’ll get their flowers throughout the pre-draft process next year. If they fail to live up to the loftiest of expectations, though, they are still young, and should have the grace of every year of their amateur eligibility before final judgements are placed on them. Regardless, it appears teams will think twice before giving up the ability to be in position to draft one of these names next year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/26
Today’s only minor NFL moves:
Green Bay Packers
- Waived (with injury designation): LB Jamon Johnson
- Waived: TE McCallan Castles, CB Tyron Herring
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived: G Cooper Hodges
The Packers have cleared up some roster space just six days before the NFL draft. Herring and Johnson signed with the team as undrafted free agents just under a year ago, while Castles did the same with the Eagles in 2024 and found his way to Green Bay this past November.
A 2023 seventh-round pick for the Jaguars, Hodges spent his rookie season on injured reserve. He made his NFL debut as a backup in the 2024 season before getting called into starting action in a Week 9 trip to Philadelphia. During the first and only NFL start of his career so far, Hodges suffered a season-ending knee injury and spent the 2025 season on IR, as well.
Browns Could Prioritize T Over WR In First Round
APRIL 16: Moving down from No. 6 remains a possibility to watch for in the Browns’ case, Tony Pauline of Essentially Sports writes. In any event, he adds that Fano in particular is a prospect viewed as one Cleveland believes can handle left tackle duties at the NFL level. It will be interesting to see how the Browns proceed along the offensive line in general and with respect to Fano in particular on Day 1 of the draft.
APRIL 11: The draft needs in Cleveland are fairly obvious, and though they can’t address all of them in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, they can address two. Early reports seem to indicate that wide receiver and offensive tackle are the biggest priorities for the Browns heading into the draft, but which position will they address with their sixth overall pick, and which will have to wait for pick No. 24?
Now, Cleveland didn’t lose anybody from its 2025 receiving corps, but the group from last year underperformed to a point that it can be considered a position of need. Additionally, there are only two players in the room not playing on contract years in 2026, and those players are only under contract for one more year than their corpsman. If the Browns are going to begin rebuilding the room around a new, young pair of hands, now would be an ideal time.
The situation on the offensive line is almost the opposite. With all five starters hitting the free agent market this offseason, Cleveland has been working to rebuild its line after the teardown. The team utilized free agency to bring in guard Zion Johnson and center Elgton Jenkins and traded for former Texans tackle Tytus Howard. It seems the door is open for guard Joel Bitonio to return, if he decides not to retire, but if he does, the Browns re-signed Teven Jenkins, who has plenty of starting experience at guard. The other tackle spot is currently being manned by Dawand Jones, the former fourth-round pick who’s started 20 games in his first three seasons.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, there’s belief that a vast need for quality linemen and a large number of talented prospects could lead to a run on offensive tackles in the first round. At the same time, it’s believed that only two wide receivers could end up going in the top half of the draft, with the eventual WR3 projected to go anywhere from pick Nos. 16-19. Because of this, it would make much more sense for the Browns to address their offensive tackle need than their receiver need.
Locking down the draft’s top receiver — likely Ohio State’s Carnell Tate — would certainly be a great addition to the offense, but it would mean missing out on most of the class’s top tackle prospects if a run takes place. Locking down a top available tackle would mean missing out on Tate, and perhaps Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson and USC’s Makai Lemon, but there are several impact options that make perfect sense in the late-first or early-second round. It could be the difference of having Tate and choosing between Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor, Northwestern’s Caleb Tiernan, or Memphis’ Travis Burke or having one of Utah’s Spencer Fano, Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, Georgia’s Monroe Freeling, or Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor then getting your pick of Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion, Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr., Washington’s Denzel Boston, Alabama’s Germie Bernard, and Louisville’s Chris Bell.
An interesting additional factor to this situation is the reporting that the Browns have been shopping out their current draft slots in the hope of bringing in more Day 2 draft capital; they seemingly are willing to move down from either the sixth or 24th picks, per Zac Jackson of The Athletic. That could explain the depth at which Cleveland has been researching top offensive tackle prospects, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports. The team hosted Utah’s other tackle, Caleb Lomu, two days ago, per Jackson McCurry of The Dawg Land podcast, and ESPN’s Jordan Reid was “shocked’ to hear that the Browns reportedly like Proctor at No. 6.
In theory, both could be trade down targets. Proctor has routinely found himself ranked behind the likes of Mauigoa and Fano throughout the draft process, and even more recently, Freeling and, in some cases, Clemson’s Blake Miller have snuck by him in the eyes of draft pundits, as well.
Perhaps, the Browns are not interested in selecting Proctor at No. 6 overall but, instead, interested in trading back to a place in the first round in which they may still be able to walk away with Proctor — or, if there’s a serious run at the position, Lomu — while adding some picks in the process. With the depth of wide receivers listed above, they could easily attempt to do the same at that position, if they feel their preferred option may be a reach at No. 24.
The Browns’ toss up in priorities between tackle and wide receiver alone make it impossible to predict who their top overall pick will be. Adding in the potential for a run or drought at either position or a Browns’ trade down from either spot makes even speculation a wild goose chase. It seems the Browns are making plans for a number of contingencies, but it looks like offensive tackle and wide receiver — whatever the order — remain the top priorities 12 days out.
Ravens Running Out Of Time On Lamar Jackson Extension?
The Ravens have certainly had a busy offseason to start off the 2026 season so far, and some aspects of their offseason have been more successful than others. The franchise felt a need to reset their coaching staff and landed a promising, young defensive-minded coach much like the Super Bowl-winning one they let leave two years ago. The team saw holes on defense and the offensive line and added some strong options in free agency.
On the flip side of things, the expediency with which John Harbaugh found a new job set high expectations for the team that was willing to let him go. Additionally, a number of free agents priced themselves way out of Baltimore, while former staffers in both New York and Los Angeles poached away several other names that many expected to return. But the single biggest failure of the Ravens’ 2026 offseason so far, as laid out by Sports Illustrated’s Jason La Canfora, is the team’s inability to come to an agreement with star quarterback Lamar Jackson on a new, record-setting extension.
When the Ravens finally landed Jackson to his first record-setting extension in 2023, many expected that the star dual-threat passer would never even sniff the final years of his contract. With how quickly the quarterback market constantly readjusts with inflation, it was thought that it would be insulting if the Ravens didn’t see fit to make sure their best player remained in line with the rising market periodically. Especially when teams like the Chiefs and Bills had demonstrated some unique ways to accomplish this for everyone to see, Baltimore was sure to follow suit.
Instead, the issue has frequently been pushed by one party or the other to the back burner. What’s worse, this is not new for the Ravens, who similarly squeezed every ounce of value out of Jackson’s rookie deal even after seeing him win an MVP award in his second season with Marquise Brown, Willie Snead, Seth Roberts, and Miles Boykin leading his receivers room. According to La Canfora, “there isn’t anyone in the industry” who believes Jackson will be a Raven after this year if the team can’t extend him by the start of the season, and after the team restructured his deal, there’s belief that he holds more leverage than ever.
La Canfora also commented on the recent reports that Jackson was offered fully guaranteed three-year deals back when he was seeking his first extended contract. He asserted that not all fully guaranteed deals are equal, focusing on some of the language that was crucial to Jackson in those negotiations. Jackson was seeking a five-year, fully guaranteed deal, something the Ravens did not intend to offer. Instead, they made their three-year offers in the range of $50MM to $55MM per year.
While that still seems like a decent offer, La Canfora reports that it didn’t come with the “no trade” and “no future franchise tag” clauses that Jackson needed to see. He offers that teams only tend to include language like that when the contract guarantees long-term rights to the player’s services, and with Jackson’s insistence on a fully guaranteed deal, a long-term offer wasn’t coming. It became clear that those clauses were more important to him than the guarantees when he eventually agreed to his record-setting extension without full guarantees but with those clauses.
Those clauses essentially guaranteed that, no matter what, Jackson would be hitting the open market again just as he turned 30 — that is, unless he were to receive an extension before then. Jackson had some notion of where the big money would be and put himself in position to cash in at the best moments. The Ravens have had plenty of opportunities over the years to stretch a couple dollars now to avoid even bigger costs down the road, but they’ve continuously come up short, unable to meet Jackson’s demands. Now, they may be in a race against the clock to get a deal done before the start of the season or risk having to reset at quarterback just as they did at head coach. They saw how quickly Harbaugh went.
Steelers Meet With QB Drew Allar
Today was the final day for teams to host 2026 NFL Draft prospects for top 30 visits, where they can evaluate future draft picks with a final round of interviews and medical evaluations. On this last day, as the Steelers continue to anticipate a concrete plan for veteran Aaron Rodgers, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar made his way to Pittsburgh for a final visit, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
This isn’t any sort of pointed message directed at Rodgers. Allar is not one of the two quarterbacks in his draft class expected to go within the first two rounds. Fernando Mendoza will almost certainly be the top overall pick for the Raiders, and Ty Simpson could go anywhere from the mid-first to early second-round, a range in which the Steelers don’t seem to be willing to draft him. Allar is in a group of passers in the next tier, with fellow quarterbacks Carson Beck and Garrett Nussmeier. Some have also included Cade Klubnik in this group, as well.
Each prospect in that third tier has his own reason for not being up there with, at least, Simpson. Beck’s ceiling has been called into question, as has his ability to make something happen after plays break down. After a strong first year as a starter, Nussmeier, showed how much he can impact games in good and bad ways, and he saw himself benched with injury, as a result. Allar spent his career oozing with potential, showing glimpses of what he could develop into, but never was able to put it all together and find offensive success at a high level.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler perfectly encapsulated Allar’s outlook by calling him “polarizing” but with “upside.” Per Fowler, there are some in the league who believe that Allar “has a footwork issue that can be fixed” and that getting him into the “right place/system” will finally unlock the potential Allar harnesses. Scouts have noted an issue where sloppy footwork puts his feet out of sync with his eyes and can take accuracy and power away from his throws. He has room for improvement in other areas, as well, but it appears there’s an idea that fixing the footwork is the key to unlocking the rest.
If taken by Pittsburgh, Allar would join Mason Rudolph and Will Howard as likely backups in a quarterbacks room presumably led by the eventual re-signed starter, Rodgers. The Steelers haven’t had a ton of success developing quarterbacks since Ben Roethlisberger retired, but new head coach Mike McCarthy is much more experienced in the process than Mike Tomlin ever was, so who knows what’s to come in Pittsburgh in 2026.
Miami DE Rueben Bain Cited For Careless Driving In Connection To Death
APRIL 13: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirms the “general sentiment” around the NFL is that the latest Bain reporting will not impact his draft stock.
APRIL 12: Just 11 days from away from the potential start of his NFL career, Miami (Fla.) defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. is facing some controversy that has potential to hurt his draft status. Oliver Connolly of The Read Optional broke the story today that, in 2024, Bain was “cited for careless driving” in an accident that left a young woman in a coma for three months before her eventual passing.
During his sophomore season, Bain reportedly was driving at 4am with four passengers in his car. The victim was a 22-year-old female college student from Georgia visiting Miami over spring break — a statement from the victim’s family in response to Connolly’s request for comment expressed that they “are not seeking public attention” at this time, so the victim will remain unnamed here, though her name is available at the source link.
According to police crash records (via Armando Salguero of OutKick), Bain’s vehicle struck another car before then colliding with the “concrete barriers on both sides of the highway.” The victim “suffered incapacitating injuries and was rushed to the Ryder Trauma Center.” Comatose, she failed to regain consciousness before dying a little under three months later. A second passenger also sustained injuries from the crash and ended up hospitalized. The police report for the crash lists that Bain “operated his vehicle in a careless or negligent manner” but that his condition was “apparently normal.” The report is marked to show that there was no suspected use of drugs or alcohol and that no tests to determine such use were performed at the time.
The victim’s family created a GoFundMe page to help with “the financial strain” put on the victim’s father, who missed a significant amount of time at work to be by his daughter’s side. Per Connolly, “no finding of criminal liability” was made in connection with the crash or the victim’s death, and “the careless driving charge against Bain was dismissed by a court approximately two weeks before” the victim’s passing. According to Trey Wallace, also at OutKick, the charge was dismissed because of a “defective citation” after Bain entered a not guilty plea.
At the time of this writing, Bain is viewed as one of a group of three pass rushers seen as the consensus top prospects at the position, including Ohio State’s Arvell Reese and Texas Tech’s David Bailey. Draft projections have him mostly going in the top 10 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft, and certainly not lasting into the teens if he is still on the board at No. 11 overall.
Connolly’s story presents quotes from multiple team executives and other sources claiming they “feel like (Bain was) not transparent” with them or that they “are concerned about multiple incidents.” Wallace’s report contains more information on a second careless driving citation that occurred in October 2025, though this case was also dismissed because of a defective citation. Connolly even draws parallels to the historic slide of offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, who was projected by some to be the No. 1 pick in 2016 but ended up falling to 13th overall after videos were leaked minutes before the draft showing him smoking from a bong.
Others in the media don’t seem to be reacting with the same level of concern for Bain’s draft stock. In the wake of Connolly breaking the story, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer added that “teams have been aware of this case for a long, long time” and that “a lawsuit associated with the case…was settled in Miami.” The plaintiff of the settled lawsuit was the driver of the car Bain made contact with before crashing. Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS claimed that every team, except one, that he had “spoken with…(had) been satisfied with Bain’s explanation” of events and consider “the matter handled.” In addition to the victim’s family’s request that their privacy be honored, their response to Connolly’s request for comment called her passing “the result of a tragic accident” and “(wished) Mr. Bain the best as he continues his life and career.”
It’s difficult to say at this point whether or not this information, which is seemingly new to the media but known by the teams in range to draft Bain, will affect his draft stock. Breer and Jones’ comments seem to indicate that, if this issue were going to hurt his draft position, it would have done so already. While the loss of life of the victim is tragic, there doesn’t appear to be any lingering ill will following Bain from the family most affected by it. It’s worth keeping an eye out, though, to see if any teams within range of Bain decide to take him off their board.
‘Long Wait’ To Find Out Draft’s QB3 May Ensue
The identities of the top two quarterback prospects of the 2026 NFL Draft have been clear for some time now. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is all but Sharpied into the No. 1 overall draft slot, and though it’s unclear if he’ll hear is name on Day 1, Alabama’s Ty Simpson has distanced himself as QB2. According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, though, “there’s no consensus opinion” on the identity of QB3, and there could be a long wait before we find out who will claim that honor.
For awhile now, it’s looked like a group of three passers has established itself as the next tier of draftable quarterbacks. This group contains LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State’s Drew Allar, and Miami’s Carson Beck. Nussmeier looked like a promising first-round candidate after throwing for 4,043 yards in his first season as a starter. Having sat three years, waiting for the starting job to open, Nussmeier was primed to ride the momentum of his 2024 campaign to another solid year. Unfortunately, he was plagued by an abdominal injury, and after losing two games, Nussmeier ended up getting benched in two more before sitting the rest of the season.
Allar has looked the part of prototypical quarterback ever since he committed to the Nittany Lions as a consensus five-star recruit. As a sophomore, first-year starter, he showed outstanding discipline with 25 touchdowns to only two interceptions, despite only completing 59.9 percent of his pass attempts. He improved his completion percentage over the next two years but lost discipline as he threw 11 interceptions in 22 games. He also never ranked higher than 65th in the NCAA in passing yards per game. Having never quite reached his potential, Allar’s collegiate career ended with a season-ending injury.
Like Nussmeier, Beck’s time as a starter at Georgia came after sitting for three years. After watching his team win consecutive national championships, Beck’s legacy in Athens was established as a passer who always just came up short. Beck owned a two-year record of 24-3, but one of those losses was to Alabama in the SEC championship in 2023, and he was injured during the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff run in 2024. Beck transferred to play for the Hurricanes, and in one season, led the team to their first College Football Playoff appearance and a run that ended in a loss at the national championship game.
Smith also mentions Clemson passer Cade Klubnik. A consensus five-star recruit, like Allar, Klubnik peaked as a second-year starter in his junior year. Finishing the season with an average of 259.9 passing yards per game with 36 touchdowns to only six interceptions, Klubnik was listed right alongside Nussmeier as a potential first-round candidate before the 2025 season.
Klubnik’s legacy may be highlighted by the end of a Clemson dynasty, though. After an 11-year span in which the Tigers never lost more than three games in a season and won two of four championship game appearances, Clemson lost four games in each of Klubnik’s first two seasons as a starter and six games in his final year. His scoring production also dropped drastically in his final year as he threw only 16 touchdowns.
Smith is also intrigued by Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green. The intrigue around Green comes mostly from his abilities as a dual-threat passer. Over four years as a starter — two at Boise State before joining the Razorbacks — Green never threw more than 20 touchdowns in a season, while his completion percentage hovered around 60 and his interceptions increased with each year. Green showed electric rushing ability, though, with 1,024 yards and 19 touchdowns as a starter at Boise State and 1,379 yards and 16 touchdowns at Arkansas.
Nussmeier and Klubnik may have killed their first-round potential with brutal results in 2025, but teams could still be really impressed by their ceilings. Meanwhile, Beck improved what looked like a lost career with a strong final season, and Allar and Green hold plenty of potential even if they didn’t produce the best results in college. All it takes is for one team to fall in love with any of these prospects and pull the trigger first. It will be extremely interesting to look out for which teams attach themselves to each quarterback and how early they’ll be willing to do it.
Prospect Profile: KC Concepcion
There are three position groups from which pundits expect four or more players to get drafted in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The edge rusher and offensive tackle positions are nearly guaranteed to take up at least eight spots together in the first round. There are three wide receivers who are widely expected to hear their names called on Day 1, and Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion is one of a few pass catchers hoping to make it four.
Concepcion’s collegiate career began as an under-the-radar, three-star recruit out of Chambers HS (N.C.). Though he held offers from such programs as Florida State, Michigan State, Mississippi State, and Penn State, Concepcion focused on his in-state options. After taking official visits to NC State and North Carolina in back-to-back weekends before his senior year, Concepcion committed to the Wolfpack to continue his playing career.
After enrolling early as a freshman, Concepcion became an immediate impact player in his first year in Raleigh. He drove NC State’s offense nearly single-handedly, leading the team in receptions (71), receiving yards (839), and receiving touchdowns (10); the second-best total in each category on the team was 28 catches, 247 yards, and three touchdowns. If it wasn’t for the Wolfpack’s dual-threat quarterback in 2023, Concepcion would’ve also been the team’s leading rusher, as well. He didn’t score any touchdowns on the ground, but his 320 rushing yards surpassed the totals of all four running backs with carries on the team that year, despite Concepcion having fewer carries than three of them.
Concepcion’s usage in his sophomore season dropped drastically with a different quarterback. He still led the team in receptions (53) and receiving touchdowns (6), but his 460 yards through the air were only third-best. He opted to enter the transfer portal and, after receiving much more interest as a transfer recruit, committed to the Aggies. In his final year of collegiate play, Concepcion earned consensus All-American honors as an All-Purpose player and as a return man. He led the Aggies in receptions (61), receiving yards (919), and receiving touchdowns (9), though sophomore wideout Mario Craver (59-917-4) was right behind him. After only returning five punts in two years at NC State, Concepcion also displayed elite return ability in College Station, averaging 18.2 yards per return and taking two punts to the house.
Part of what makes Concepcion such an effective return man is something that also makes him so effective as a rusher and receiver. Elite agility makes Concepcion incredibly difficult to contain once he gets some space, with almost half his yards coming after the catch last year. He may not have that top-end speed once he gets going, but he can fluidly accelerate and decelerate to make tacklers miss, to pull away when breaking during a route, or to make adjustments to the ball while it’s in the air. He’s an aggressive offensive weapon who often uses instincts to find the open areas of the field.
There are only a few things that may drop him out of the first round. He’s not the biggest prospect, so some teams won’t like him as anything but a slot receiver. His instinctual route-running can also lead to anticipated passes coming up in a different area than he’s in. Concepcion could also stand to be a bit more aware of his hands. When coming out of breaks, he’s often late bringing his hands up. As a result, he too often ends up with awkward body catches or, worse, drops; he totaled 19 drops in three years of collegiate play and muffed a punt in his final game as an Aggie.
As a prospect, Concepcion ranks very close to first-round status. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network slots Concepcion as the 29th-best overall prospect and the sixth-best wide receiver. Dane Brugler of The Athletic places him at No. 21 overall as WR4 of the class, while Todd McShay of The Ringer has him 33rd as the sixth receiver in the class. A recent report indicated that only two wide receivers are expected to be drafted in the first 15 picks. An early run could have helped Concepcion solidify his first-round status, even if he were the sixth receiver off the board, but a slow start at the position could space things out more and drive him into the second round.
Concepcion’s draft stock also took a hit awhile back after he underwent a “routine and preventative” knee scope at the hands of the Cowboys’ Dr. Daniel Cooper. The procedure held him out of drills at the NFL Scouting Combine and his pro day, but he’s expected to be ready to participate in rookie minicamps after the draft. It will be interesting to see if he can sneak into the first round or if a late run of pass catchers will push him to Day 2.
Commanders Eyeing Defense In Round 1?
On the strength of a surprisingly strong rookie Jayden Daniels campaign, the Commanders found themselves a game away from a Super Bowl appearance in 2024. Significant missed time for Daniels and a number of other key contributors led in part to a disappointing 2025 campaign, but another huge factor was a defense that gave up the most yards and the sixth-most points in the NFL. Because of that, ESPN’s Peter Schrager believes Washington will be looking to add to their defense when their pick in the first round arrives.
The Commanders have already done a bit of work to improve things on that side of the ball in free agency, signing outside linebackers Odafe Oweh, K’Lavon Chaisson, and Charles Omenihu, linebacker Leo Chenal, defensive tackle Tim Settle, cornerbacks Amik Robertson and Ahkello Witherspoon, and safety Nick Cross. Settle should join Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw on the defensive line.
Chenal should slot in next to Frankie Luvu to replace veteran Bobby Wagner in the starting lineup. Oweh, Chaisson, and Omenihu should bolster a pass rush that lost Jacob Martin and veteran Von Miller. Alongside a pair of recent high draft picks, Robertson and Witherspoon will attempt to make up for snaps lost with the departures of Marshon Lattimore, Jonathan Jones, and Noah Igbinoghene, while Cross should be an improvement at safety.
Despite the recent struggles of Payne and Kinlaw, the team already has enough salary sunk into the position, and there isn’t really an interior defender worth taking No. 7 overall. It’s probably safe to eliminate cornerback knowing the team added second-rounders in each of the past two drafts. The Commanders are also probably okay with the back end of their secondary being manned by Cross and Quan Martin, while Jeremy Reaves and Will Harris add depth. That leaves the inside and outside linebacker groups as the best areas to attack.
Schrager believes off-ball linebacker will be the play, projecting Ohio State’s Sonny Styles as the pick. Styles certainly could be a strong addition to the linebacking corps; he’s widely projected as the draft’s top option at the position. Wagner and Luvu dominated the snap share available at the linebacker position on Washington’s defense last year. Each player totaled over 1,100 snaps on defense, and the linebacker with the next-highest snap count topped out at 364. Even as a starter in Kansas City, Chenal was more of a rotation piece on the Chiefs defense. He didn’t even see half the snaps his fellow starters did.
Additionally, neither Luvu nor Chenal worked primarily off-ball last year. Both players served in fairly versatile roles by often lining up on the edge. Chenal split his time about 60-40 favoring off-ball work, while Luvu was much closer to 50-50. Because the Commanders lost their veteran, off-ball stalwart, Styles makes a ton of sense here. Installing the Buckeyes’ top inside linebacker prospect in the middle would allow for Luvu and Chenal to continue in their roaming, supportive roles.
The team could also look at edge rusher. Unfortunately, Styles’ fellow linebacker — and projected NFL edge rusher — Arvell Reese is expected to be long gone at this point in the draft. After Reese, there’s an expectation that one of either Texas Tech’s David Bailey or Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. will also be selected. There’s a strong possibility that the prospect that isn’t selected after Reese could make its way to Washington at the ninth pick.
Oweh, Chaisson, and Omenihu certainly improve the team’s pass rush over what was left following departures in free agency, but they have only one double-digit sack season between the three of them. If they get an opportunity to add Bailey or Bain in this spot, it may be hard to pass up that kind of value.
This also disregards the offensive side of the ball, where the departures of Deebo Samuel and Noah Brown make wide receiver a potential position of need, as well. Ultimately, several factors will affect the decision the Commanders make 12 days from now, and even those factors could change in the time between then and now. But if Schrager is correct, and the Commanders have defense in mind on Day 1, a linebacker could be an impact move for the franchise and defensive-minded head coach Dan Quinn.