Cade Klubnik among 2026 NFL Draft prospects who improved their stock the most at the East-West Shrine Bowl
Several intriguing draft prospects boosted their draft positioning for the 2026 NFL Draft at the East-West Shrine Bowl practices.
The All-Star games ahead of the NFL Draft are always some of the top events of the offseason for getting a first-hand look at many prospects
Practices here at the East-West Shrine Bowl are virtually wrapped up as I am writing this, and through three days of practice, several players have immediately forced their way into becoming a top priority watch for me as soon as I get home. Despite the ice storm in Texas, the weather hasn’t slowed down any of these players.
Who have been the top prospects per position at the Shrine Bowl?
Best standouts at Shrine Bowl 2026
Quarterback: Cade Klubnik, Clemson; Mark Gronowski, Iowa
Clemson’s Cade Klubnik entered the week as the clear top quarterback at the Shrine Bowl, and he delivered. Klubnik consistently had the best zip on the ball and outshone the rest of the competition in practice. While I don’t think he put out a performance that shifted my perspective of him, he did affirm he was the best quarterback here-and likely at any of the All-Star games.
Gronowski, on the other hand, did put out several reps in practice that made me intrigued to dive into his film. He was by far the most comfortable quarterback at Shrine moving under center, climbing the pocket, and he surprised me with the zip he had on the ball and his ability to throw from different angles.
Running back: CJ Donaldson, Ohio State
It wasn’t the greatest week for running backs here at the Shrine Bowl. These drills obviously aren’t the best place for every back to show off their skills, but every quarterback turned into a checkdown merchant and I still wasn’t particularly enthused by the group as a whole.
Still, Donaldson looked the best here to me. His vision and decisiveness as a runner stood out all week. He’s not the most athletic back out there, but there’s always a role for smart, patient running backs.
Wide receiver: Kaden Wetjen, Iowa; J.Michael Sturdivant, Florida; Eric Rivers, Georgia Tech
No player has caught my eye more this week than Iowa receiver Kaden Wetjen. Every time I watched him, his burst and toughness popped in practice, making tough catches over the middle of the field and gliding upfield. His special teams resume is outstanding as well as one of the most dynamic kick returners in college football this season, averaging over 20 yards per return. He’s small at 5’9, 195, perhaps locking him in as a slot receiver, but there’s some options for him out of the backfield as well.
Sturdivant has looked like the best height-weight-speed receiver here at Shrine. I’ve heard he might run a 4.3 40-yard dash in the offseason, and I think that tracks with what I’ve seen from him today.
Rivers, a former DB turned wide receiver, looked like one of the best pure athletes overall at the Shrine Bowl. He was constantly stacking defenders vertically and winning after the catch.
Tight end: Dallen Bentley, Utah
Bentley was far and away the best tight end here at Shrine every day, and his athleticism popped off the field every time. This draft class is wide open at tight end behind Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq, and Bentley is making a case to be the second tight end off the board.
At 6’5, 262 pounds, Bentley is a rocked-up athlete, and I’ve heard he’s expected to test well for his size, potentially running in the low 4.6s.
Offensive Tackle: Garrett DiGiorgio, UCLA; Micah Pettus, Florida State
I didn’t know much about this offensive tackle class coming in, but these three are guys I’m wanting to get more film on as soon as I’m settled back in.
DiGiorgio played at three different positions throughout practice and showed good physicality, athleticism, and technique at each position. His quickness flashed out at tackle, and looked like he could handle speed off the edge well despite being a college right guard. DiGiorgio proved he could handle duties at center, right guard, and right tackle this week at practice.
Micah Pettus looked the part. It’s rare for me to see a player in person shock me with how well they are built in person, but at 6064, 346 pounds, Pettus does not look like 346. He’s slimmed down significantly since the season’s end, and it’s turned into a solid performance here in practice all three days.
Interior offensive line: Micah Morris, Georgia; Dillon Wade, Auburn; Caden Barnett, Wyoming;
Morris and Wade had strong showings in pass protection all throughout the week, looking particularly stout. During his career at Georgia, Morris took snaps at three different positions, but played at guard throughout the week and was nearly impossible to beat in pass protection. It was much the same case with Wade.
However, the top guy of the group was easily Caden Barnett. He was constantly chirping throughout the week and was the most physical lineman there. Barnett flashed a nice jump set and use of hands in practices. I’m excited to dig more into his film here in the coming days.
EDGE rusher: Mason Reiger, Wisconsin; Keyshawn James-Newby, New Mexico
Mason Reiger absolutely dominated the last two weeks of practice. Reiger showed off strong explosiveness and bend to win around the edge in pass rushing situations, but I thought his run defense and edge-setting popped the most. He has some medical questions to answer, but I think he was comfortably the top edge rusher here.
New Mexico’s Keyshawn James-Newby flashed juice all throughout the week. He’s on the smaller end for an edge rusher, but he looks like an intriguing potential as a designated pass rusher.
Defensive tackle: Tyler Onyedim, Texas A&M; Landon Robinson, Navy; James Thompson Jr, Illinois
Onyedim was the better of the two Texas A&M defensive tackles entering the week, in my opinion, and he proved it this week. He was consistently disruptive in both the run game and pass rush situations, flashing power and quickness off the line of scrimmage.
I have to admit, Landon Robinson doesn’t look the part at just 5’11, 291, with sub-31 inch arms, but he was so explosive off of the line of scrimmage. Linemen all week struggled to block him off of sheer leverage alone. Several teams won’t have him on their boards at all off of size, but I enjoyed watching all week long.
James Thompson was the most dominant player of the entire room, however. Nobody blocked him consistently, particularly in the run game. Thompson showed quick hands and aligned from multiple spots, crushing virtually every blocker he lined up against. He looks like a potential three-down defensive tackle at the next level.
Linebacker: Jaden Dugger, Louisiana; Eric Gentry, USC
Jaden Dugger is built like a house, standing at 6’4, 240 pounds with 34 7/8 arms and a 84 5/8 wingspan. He made some strong plays all week, standing out in coverage. Dugger was the most impressive linebacker at Shrine. He had multiple interceptions this week throughout practice, and showed off tremendous physicality, fitting the run at a high level
In the case of Eric Gentry, I’ve heard mixed reviews on where teams want to play him (EDGE/LB), but he simply towers over everyone. His 6’6 frame with an unbelievable 35 1/4 arms simply just swallows up passes over the middle of the field, and he dominated pass coverage reps all week long.
He no doubt has to bulk and add weight, but he looks like an intriguing defensive weapon over the middle of the field.
Cornerback: Devon Marshall, NC State; Brent Austin, Cal; Jadon Canady, Oregon; Avery Smith, Toledo
I think it’s safe to say these three have been the three best players at the Shrine Bowl. Canady didn’t participate on the third day and left ahead of Sunday’s practice, but it didn’t matter with his performance on the first two days. All three of these guys were sticky and physical throughout the week. Austin and Smith were tremendous at the catch point as well.
Stock way, way up for all three after this week.
Safety: Cole Wisniewski, Texas Tech
The safety group here wasn’t particularly strong, but one that stood out was Texas Tech’s Cole Wisniewski. He won often in one-on-one in coverage, and was violent and instinctive filling in the run game. I thought he cleared the competition every day.
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