There’s been a lot of criticizing and bemoaning and maligning the 2026 NFL Draft. I’m not here to name names (mostly because I’m as guilty as the next guy). But we can all be honest that the NFL world has focused on what this draft has lacked — rather than what it has to offer.
So let’s highlight some prospects, from Day 1 to Day 3, who are likely to have an impact on their new teams. If you want to talk about positional value and salary-cap percentage and advanced statistics and the deep stuff, then maybe pop over to Sound Smart.
This is about taking note of some of the fun rookies to follow in 2026 — and beyond.
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
Do me a favor: Just watch his highlights.
Watch the way he bursts through the line of scrimmage in ways that remind me of Derrick Henry. Watch the way he makes guys miss at the second and third level like Jahmyr Gibbs. Watch the way Love moves in open space as a pass-catcher like some of the best screen receivers in the game, including Khalil Shakir. Watch the way Love hurdles defenders unlike basically anyone I’ve ever seen before.
There are complications around drafting running backs in the top five picks — namely the $50 million price tag that instantly makes them one of the highest-paid players at their position. I get it. But when you’re simply watching the player, Jeremiyah Love, it’s hard not to fall in … love.
Jeremiyah Love rushed for 2,497 yards and scored 40 total touchdowns in his final two seasons at Notre Dame. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
Caleb Downs, safety, Ohio State
I keep going back to a conversation that I had with a scout before the pre-draft process really got rolling. The scout told me that Downs is the guy that you can pick and rest easy — more so than any other prospect in this class.
And I’m in firm agreement. If positional value and financial value had nothing to do with the draft, the board would go Love at No. 1 and Downs at No. 2. Downs has the production, with 68 tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and one sack. Alongside Fernando Mendoza, he’s probably the smartest and hardest-working prospect in this class. Downs is going to be a stud.
Vega Ioane, OG, Penn State
You’ve gotta love a mauler — the kind of offensive lineman who makes you think of demolition equipment. That’s Ioane.
Someone will select him in the first 16 picks, and there will be the detractors who say something to the effect of, “Don’t like taking a guard there.” But at that exact same moment, that team’s running back (and quarterback) will be thanking their higher powers for the selection.
It’s not going to sell tickets. It’s going to boost the offense.
The selection of Penn State guard Vega Ioane won’t sell tickets for a team, but it will make the team’s offense better. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images)
Eli Stowers, TE(/WR), Vanderbilt
There are some offenses that can find ways to avoid asking their tight end to block.
That’ll be one of the offenses where Stowers lands. Because if you can accept the fact that he is a receiver who plays tight end, you can turn him into an extremely productive matchup threat in your offense.
Stowers has an awesome blend of production (769 receiving yards, four touchdowns in 2025) and athleticism (4.51-second 40-yard dash, 45.5-inch vertical, 11-foot-3-inch broad jump). He’s large (6-foot-4, 239 pounds) and he’s explosive. He just needs an offense that’ll preserve those tools as he transitions to the NFL (which will likely involve some weight gain).
Gennings Dunker, OL, Iowa
You really don’t need to know anything about him on the field, where he should be a starter in the interior over the next year or two. It’s all about the mullet.
He is a gigantic goofball, who will consume 10,000 calories on gameday — and crush 36 ounces of coffee on the bus to the game. He’s a huge Culver’s fan. He’s a Midwest icon. His name *dramatic pause* is Gennings Dunker.
He’s far from the best offensive lineman to come out of Iowa, but he is a caricature of an Iowa offensive lineman.
Aiden Fisher, LB, Indiana
He averaged more than 100 tackles in his final three seasons at Indiana, and was at his best in 2025 when he was the cornerstone piece at the middle of the Hoosiers’ defense — and that included logging two sacks in their final two games. The last one, as you may remember, was a national championship victory.
Fisher is the kind of player where his size (“too small”) and his athleticism (“not explosive”) will land him on either Day 2 or Day 3 of the draft. But it feels inevitable that, in three years, he’ll wear the green dot for a defense and will be a beloved leader in a locker room.
Drew Allar, QB, Penn State
I’m not usually a fan of the but-what-about-his-potential prospects.
But in the case of Allar, I’m here for it. Because I really do wonder: But what about his potential?!
It’s a tough class for the quarterbacks. You can go the route of Ty Simpson or Garrett Nussmeier, who profile similarly: coach’s son, undersized, struggled at the end of the year due to injury. But Simpson in Round 1? That’s a bit rich for my taste. And Nussmeier, in general, concerns me because of his lack of physical tools.
So that’s where Allar comes in. He strikes me as a developmental talent with awesome upside.
He’s got the physical tools. He just never put it all together in college. But he looks like a Day 3 prospect — with a Round 4 grade from NFL.com — and so I love the idea of teams investing in him as a flier. He’s 6-foot-5 and 228 pounds. His arm is very impressive. He was once the No. 1 QB prospect in high school.
None of that necessarily makes a good pro QB. But if you put this guy under Sean McVay, he would have as good of a chance as anyone in this class to be a top-tier starter someday.
[Rankings, Best Team Fits for Top-12 Quarterbacks]
Eli Heidenreich, WR/RB, Navy
I am cracking up at the one-for-one athletic comparisons between Heidenreich and Christian McCaffrey. They’re physical clones.
Admittedly, they’re not comparable when you put on the film. Not even close. McCaffrey went eighth overall in 2017. Heidenreich will be happy if he lands in the sixth round. But there’s something enticing and deeply entertaining about a weapon like Heidenreich, who last season had 941 receiving yards and six touchdown catches and 499 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
He played in Navy’s spread triple-option and therefore is not prototypical in any way. He played two positions after all, and was more of a receiver in college — but he figures to be more of a running back in the pros.
If Bill Belichick were still an NFL head coach, he’d risk it all for Heidenreich. Of course, no one will have to. He’s a Day 3 pick. It’ll be fun to see what a team can do with his athleticism and versatility, likely starting with a special teams role.
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