2026 Watch List

Chris Trapasso has some very interesting rankings on his big board (extreme positive outliers in bold, extreme negative ones in italics):


2. Monroe Freeling
6. Dillon Thieneman
8. Kadyn Proctor
9. Malachi Lawrence
11. Blake Miller
12. Caleb Banks
15. Kaleb Elarms-Orr
16. Emmanuel Pregnon
22. Ted Hurst
30. Dani Dennis-Sutton
34. Arvell Reese
35. Jeremiyah Love
37. Rueben Bain
45. DeZhaun Stribling
50. Max Iheanachor
55. Akheem Mesidor
57. CJ Demmings
61. Chris Bell
62. Jacob Rodriguez
63. Jeff Caldwell
64. Kyle Louis
82. Eli Stowers
86. Peter Woods
88. Eli Raridon
92. Jake Golday
104. Mason Reiger
107. Lee Hunter
113. Treydan Stukes
115. Gabe Jacas
118. Mike Washington
121. Sam Roush
127. Oscar Delp
128. Max Klare
138. Adam Randall

This is very interesting. Trapasso has been around, and is well-respected. It shows how much variation there is in how people see this draft class. Not everyone sees Arvell Reese and Jeremiyah Love as top 5 talents.

There will be values all 3 days of the draft, according to different boards.

Some interesting Trapasso positional rankings:

- TE: Kenyon Sadiq is his #3 overall prospect, then a big drop to Michael Trigg (81), Eli Stowers (82), Eli Raridon (88), Justin Joly (102), Sam Roush (121), Oscar Delp (127), Make Klare (128), Dallen Bentley (131), Jack Endries (132) and Nate Boerkircher (134).

- WR: Trapasso has Ted Hurst (22) ahead of Carnell Tate (25) and Jordyn Tyson (26).

- EDGE: Trapasso has David Bailey at #1 overall, then Malachi Lawrence at #9 and Zion Young, Derrick Moore and Dani Dennis-Sutton at 28-30 as his top 5. He also has Keyron Crawford his EDGE8, ahead of Keldric Faulk, TJ Parker, Akheem Mesidor, and Gabe Jacas.

- LB: Kaleb Elarms-Orr as LB2 is an eye-popper.

- S: Dillon Thieneman over Caleb Downs as S1, Jalen Huskey as S3, Treydan Stukes as S10.

- CB: Trapasso is not very high on this CB class.

Chris Trapasso horizontal board:

Watch Alex Barth below.

"Nobody's talking about Adam Randall".

"I haven't really heard a lot about this guy (Zakee Wheatley)."

"How have I not heard more about this guy (De'Zhaun Stribling)"

Perhaps Barth should spend more time on Patsfans. I suppose we should just be happy he came to the party at all.



On next week's podcast...

"I've found this guy that no-one's talking about. He's called Treydan Stukes"

"Akheem Mesidor is not getting enough love. Why does everyone have him as a day 3 pick?"

For those who think the Trapasso rankings are crazy:

1. Some probably are. Hard to rank Arvell Reese and Jeremiyah Love #34 and 35 overall.

2. That said, props to anyone willing to do their own analysis and willing to go against the grain. There is such a herd mentality amongst most draftniks.

3. There is tremendous value to using outliers to take a fresh look at prospects. Players go from under-hyped to over-hyped in the blink of a 40 yard Combine time.

Do I believe Kaleb Elarms-Orr is the #15 overall prospect in the draft? No. Do I believe he is a very good LB with speed and range who is flying under the radar? Yes.

Do I believe Malachi Lawrence is the #9 overall prospect? No. But he has been mocked as high as 18. Months ago (still in 2025) Manx said he probably had the most upside as a pure pass rusher after David Bailey.

Is it possible that Akheem Mesidor has gone from under-valued to over-hyped? Yes. He is commonly mocked in the top 20, even top 15 at times. He is good, but is 25, with an injury hx, only 1 year of top production, and lacks some power. A 2nd round grade is not ridiculous.

Do I believe Ted Hurst could just possibly become the #1 WR out of this entire class? Yes. Not likely, but possible. Hurst is that good. @PF2 is right about him. And remember, our own @BobDigital had a 4th round grade on Carnell Tate, based on independent film review.

Do I believe Kenyon Sadiq is the #3 overall prospect, and 80 spots better than the next TE? No. But if Sadiq slips, I will be more comfortable having re-watched his tape. Do I think Eli Raridon is underrated? Hell, yeah. Prime day 3 TE value.

It's always a good practice to question and re-question our assumptions.

More thoughts on Trapasso's list:

1. Someone likes Monroe Freeling more than me. I've been on the Freeling bandwagon longer than anyone, but I don't have him at #2 overall. Top 10 and OT1, yes. But not #2.

2. Trapasso thinks there is not that much difference between RBs Mike Washington (118) and Adam Randall (138).

3. Chris Bell, Ted Hurst, DeZhaun Stribling and Jeff Caldwell is probably my preferred group and order of X-WRs. Trapasso has Hurst at 22, Stribling at 45, Caldwell at 63.

4. I am toying with DDS as my #3 EDGE after Arvell Reese and David Bailey, and with a 1st round grade on him. He is a stud.

Tony Pauline big board:

mayoclinic said:

Tony Pauline big board:

2026 NFL Draft Big Board rankings: Tony Pauline's Live Tracker

EssentiallySports' 2026 NFL Draft Big Board offers a look at Tony Pauline's ranking of the 500 best NCAA College Football prospects who are in the running for this year's draft, hosted in Pittsburgh from April 23-25.

www.essentiallysports.com

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Thanks for that.

Mesidor at 38
Stukes at 66

I'll take it.

Thought you would.

Some weird ones, though.

manxman2601 said:

Watch Alex Barth below.

"Nobody's talking about Adam Randall".

"I haven't really heard a lot about this guy (Zakee Wheatley)."

"How have I not heard more about this guy (De'Zhaun Stribling)"

Perhaps Barth should spend more time on Patsfans. I suppose we should just be happy he came to the party at all.



On next week's podcast...

"I've found this guy that no-one's talking about. He's called Treydan Stukes"

Click to expand...

I like this snarky Manx.

Clonamery said:

I like this snarky Manx.

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He did it last year with Kyle Williams - acted as though he'd somehow discovered him and i'm thinking 'hang on a minute'. Having said that, I welcome anyone to the party....even if they are late like Barth

Nate Tice top-50 list:


My worst nightmare, with 6 OTs in the top 19 picks.

mayoclinic said:

Nate Tice top-50 list:

2026 NFL Draft combined big board: No. 1 overall prospect is a Big Ten star — just not Fernando Mendoza

Nate Tice and Charles McDonald have delivered their individual 50-player big boards. Here's where their rankings average out with regard to the 2026 draft class.

sports.yahoo.com

My worst nightmare, with 6 OTs in the top 19 picks.

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But #41.

Username said:

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Why an OL though? A rugby player would be perfect for a TE.

295# and 6'7" a bit of an outlier. He looks very skinny for an OT. 295# seems too big for a TE.

manxman2601 said:

Why an OL though? A rugby player would be perfect for a TE.

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or Safety.

mayoclinic said:

295# and 6'7" a bit of an outlier. He looks very skinny for an OT. 295# seems too big for a TE.

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He's playing against 12 yr olds, too.

Clonamery said:

or Safety.

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Not many 295lb safeties.