Oklahoma Sooners elite NFL Draft pipeline is set to continue with several coveted prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft
What NFL scouts are saying about the top Oklahoma Sooners draft prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Oklahoma Sooners are one of the NFL’s premier college football pipelines, churning out a slew of NFL Draft prospects every season. The Sooners have produced some of the NFL’s best over the last several years, and are setting themselves up for a strong class in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Over the past week, I spent time at the East-West Shrine Bowl, one of the NFL’s premier NFL Draft All-Star games. Being the Sooners’ expert that I am, I made it a point to talk to plenty of scouts and gather as much information as I could about the top prospects Oklahoma is bringing to the table. Safe to say, I’m pretty confident the Sooners will have more prospects drafted than they had the last two years combined.
Oklahoma Sooners 2026 NFL Draft Intel
DE R Mason Thomas
R Mason Thomas has the potential to be Oklahoma’s first first-round defender since Kenneth Murray was selected 23rd overall in 2020.
He has the talent to be a high-impact pass rusher right away in the league, and an AFC North scout I spoke to believed any deficits in his run defense are “overblown”, because the motor, effort, and high football IQ are all there in his game. While he does need refinement (as virtually every player does), the traits are there for him to be productive early on in his career.
The biggest concern that Thomas will have to overcome is his medical history. He only fully started one season of his career with the Sooners back in 2024. His play improved in 2025, but he missed a good chunk of time at the end of the season after a quad injury against the Tennessee Volunteers. That’s the only thing I’ve heard pop up as his biggest red flag as a prospect that would keep him from pushing for a top draft selection, and it’s likely what caused him to drop out of participating at the Senior Bowl. How the medicals look at the Combine will be the biggest hurdle for him to overcome.
In a pass rush crop missing bendy pass rushers, Thomas could be an appealing option for a team looking to add some juice to their EDGE room.
WR Deion Burks
The perception among Oklahoma fans has seemingly been that Deion Burks’s draft stock fell off this season. If anything, however, I would say it improved more than anything among league scouts.
Teams took note of how every team Oklahoma played keyed their coverage around taking away Burks. In the words of one scout, “With every game you watch, you’ll come away liking Burks more and more and [John] Mateer less and less. It’s a simple eval. Get the ball in his hands.” He’s got speed to burn, and he’s a snappy route runner on the vertical and intermediate plane.
Burks capped off his Oklahoma career with an unforgettable game against the Alabama Crimson Tide, and that made a big impression on scouts. That same scout told me he thinks Burks will push to run a 4.3 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, but much like Thomas, will have to get an all-clear on his medicals. Assuming that checks out, I would say Burks is a lock to go at worst in the top-100 picks, and could even push as high as the top 50 or so selections based on the feedback I’ve gotten.
TE Jaren Kanak
Every team I spoke to at the Shrine Bowl raved about Kanak, which won’t surprise many Oklahoma fans. His personality, effort, toughness, and athleticism have won over plenty of people across the league.
An AFC West scout I spoke to said “Are you kidding me with this kid? You’re telling me that at worst I’ll get an awesome special teamer who can do damage with the ball in his hands? Where do I sign?”
The Shrine Bowl had Kanak working as a fullback this week, and his best pathway to NFL success on offense seems likely in that role and as an H-back (think of players like Kyle Juszczyk, Alec Ingold, Hunter Luepke, Reggie Gilliam). However, Kanak’s biggest contribution seems destined to be as a special teamer, where his background as a linebacker will undoubtedly help him.
I think Kanak will more than likely end up as a Day 3 selection, but I’m very confident in him being drafted come April.
DT Gracen Halton
I was actually asked more about Halton than any other player on this list, which makes sense in a league constantly starving for pass rush production. Halton’s on the shorter end at 6-2, 293 pounds, but his natural leverage is actually a plus as a pass rusher, and he proved that across his years as a starter in the SEC.
He’s not the most powerful player out there, but with his explosiveness off the ball and his pass rush moveset, there’s no reason he can’t carve out a career similar to what Maliek Collins has done over the last several years. One-gap teams and teams that ask their defensive line to mainly shoot gaps are going to covet what he can bring on the inside.
His measurables are going to be a key component in his evaluation, but he had a strong first day of practice at the Senior Bowl, and he has the attention of the league.
OL Febechi Nwaiwu
Despite mainly playing at guard for his whole career, Nwaiwu worked over at center this week at the Shrine Bowl and more than held his own. Nwaiwu was named the East-West Shrine Bowl Pat Tillman Award Recipient as the prospect who “best exemplifies intelligence, sportsmanship, and service.”
West team head coach Lunda Wells said ““Febechi embodies everything this honor stands for and its connection to an incredible philanthropic cause such as Shriners Children’s. He approaches the game the right way, leads by example, and earns respect through his work ethic and humility. He is truly deserving of this recognition.”
His personality was infectious and he was ready to handle center duties, much like he did with the Sooners this season. To make the league as a center if you aren’t a starter is to prove your value as a swing lineman, and Nwaiwu has more than done so. Whether he’s at center or guard, Nwaiwu has the upside to carve out a productive career with his length, intelligence, and pass protection ability.
SAF Robert Spears-Jennings
A hard-hitting downhill presence at safety, Spears-Jennings wasn’t necessarily a huge standout at the Shrine Bowl, but he did make some good plays in space throughout the week of practice. It’s not an environment his playstyle is particularly suited for, as you could “feel he wanted to take someone’s head off” in drills.
Spears-Jennings has his fans around the league as a potential dimebacker or robber and special teams ace, given his reliability as a tackler (yes, I remember the Texas game but focus on the rest of his career), physicality, straight line speed, and ability to navigate through traffic. His archetype at safety doesn’t typically get drafted early on, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he comes off the board in the top-150 picks.
LB Owen Heinecke
Heinecke was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of his evaluation, but every scout I talked to about him thought he had the tools to be “at worst a career special teamer”, much like he was this season for Oklahoma. His passing game reps are much better than his run defense, and he’s a good athlete with very good burst and speed. He feels similar to Oren Burks, who has made a career as a rotational WILL and special-teams linebacker.
Him leapfrogging the Shrine Bowl to be at the Senior Bowl could mean he’s valued fairly high by scouts, but for now, it feels like he’s a likely Day 3 pick.
DE Marvin Jones Jr.
Marvin Jones Jr. had a good week of practice down at the Shrine Bowl, looking explosive and physical all week at practice. I was expecting him to be a bit bigger, but he held his own throughout the week.
A better run defender than pass rusher, Jones has value as a rotational end with his traits and physicality, but I don’t believe he’s a particularly coveted prospect among teams. There’s potential for him to carve out a good career, but his draft stock feels much later than the rest of this crop.
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