Defensive class could challenge draft record

By Josh Ortega

The long offseason crawl to draft week is officially over for NFL fans across the country. The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night. Two hundred-fifty-seven different names will be called by one of the 32 different teams across the three-day event. With that said, here is a breakdown of this year’s draft class by major position group of some of the headliners to watch for across draft weekend. 

Quarterbacks 

Starting with quarterbacks, when it comes to signal callers Indiana quarterback and Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza leads the pack. Mendoza’s play showed off his accuracy and offensive command during the Hoosiers’ route to their first national championship in school history and undefeated season. This has penciled him to be the most likely first overall pick in the draft. How and where the rest of the order shakes out for the other quarterback prospect has been a looming question in the draft process. 

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson has been the popular choice to be the second quarterback taken after Mendoza. Simpson, a former five-star high school recruit, truly waited for his chance to become the starter for the Crimson Tide. In his lone season starting for Alabama, Simpson flashed his dual-threat ability, along with his processing and decision-making skills. However, with only a single season and change under his belt, this has potentially left the door open for others such as Miami’s Carson Beck, LSU and Flower Mound native Garrett Nussmeier, or Arkansas and Lewisville native Taylen Green to be in that boat as well, among others. With limited landing spots, which teams decide to pull the trigger on who at quarterback will be something to watch for this weekend. 

Wide Receivers and 

Running Backs 

On the outside, the wide receiver draft class has been a class full of talent and depth, headlined by Ohio State’s Carnell Tate and USC’s Biletnikoff Award winner Makai Lemon. Tate put up career highs in receiving yards and touchdowns during his final season in Columbus. The 6-foot 3-inch receiver excelled at stretching the field and making home run plays for the Buckeyes. While Lemon exploded for USC in his final season with the Trojans, he put up career highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns. Lemon seemingly caught almost everything on the outside and in the slot for Lincoln Riley’s offense. Both are favorites to hear their names called as early as inside the top 10 of the first round of the draft. Some other notable names include Arizona State’s Jordan Tyson, Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr, as well as Texas A&M’s K.C. Conception and Washington’s Denzel Boston. 

In this year’s running back class, Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love leads the group. Both played pivotal roles during their time in South Bend for the Fighting Irish. Love rushed for a career-high 1,372 yards, finishing inside the top 10 for most rushing yards in the nation. A Heisman finalist in 2025, Love’s versatile playmaking ability, along with his speed and ability to pass protect, has made him a potential top 10 pick among draft analysts. The running back class is not considered as deep as the wide receiver class however, prospects like Love’s teammate Jadarian Price, along with Arkansas Mike Washington Jr., and Penn State’s duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, among others, round out a talented group. 

Defense 

Switching to the defensive side of the ball, this class is defined by a loaded group across defensive backs, pass rusher and linebackers. There are so many that monographs could be written about them. Three Ohio State Buckeyes, Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs, are all favorites to be taken early. Starting with Reese at only 20 years old, he served as a chess piece for defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s defense, with 6.5 sacks and second on the team in total tackles behind Styles. His Swiss Army Knife ability has many analysts mocking him as high as the second overall pick. While Styles was a key pawn for the Buckeyes last fall, he led the team in both total and solo tackles and flashed his athletic ability as a former safety at the combine, which has helped his draft stock begin to simmer heading into draft week.

Speaking of chess pieces, safety Caleb Downs was the queen on the Ohio State defensive chess board. Downs was used all over Patricia’s defense; his ability to play both the run and in coverage has made him valuable despite his positional label. Down was the first safety since 2016 to finish inside the top 10 in Heisman voting. Analysts have mocked him as early as inside the top 5 of the draft order, which, if Down’s does go that high, will be the first time since Eric Berry in 2010. 

Moving away from Columbus, Texas Tech’s David Bailey (pictured), who led the country in sacks with 14.5, is among one of the many defensive ends that could kick off a run of defensive ends early on. Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. could round out the early slate of edge rushers taken in the opening stage of the draft. Ultimately, this defensive class could very well challenge the draft record of players taken on one side of the ball in the first round. 

The NFL Draft will kick off on April 23 at 7 p.m. CT, live from Pittsburgh on NFL Network, ESPN, and ABC.