2026 NFL Draft Mailbag: The WR class, drafting for the New Orleans Saints, a sleeper QB, and prospects with the most on the line
Latest 2026 NFL Draft mailbag
The 2025 college football and NFL seasons are right on the horizon. We are a long ways off from the 2026 NFL Draft next April, but these upcoming games are going to shape what this class will ultimately look like. There’s a lot that’s going to happen, and this group is a bit of a volatile one.
With Summer Scouting coming to a swift end, I am going to continue to take questions from the readers to develop a deeper understanding for the overall class. As always, a huge shoutout to those who submitted questions. Let’s talk about a potential quarterback riser in 2026, the top wide receivers, and a Week One scouting preview.
WR1 in the 2026 NFL Draft
This is a great question. As of now, Jordyn Tyson from Arizona State is my top guy. He is a smooth three level separator with legitimate vertical juice. There are, however, some injury concerns with Tyson. Seeing how his medicals come back is going to be something to watch closely.
One player to keep a close eye on is Louisville pass catcher Chris Bell. He is currently my second ranked wide receiver, and he is a freaky athlete at 6-1.5 and 227 pounds with legitimate deep speed. If Bell can be featured more in 2025, he has some star upside. The explosiveness he possesses after the catch is outstanding. Bell is also a flexible athlete who has more route running upside than you would expect.
Week One Scouting Guide
For the sake of a bigger sample size, I am going to combine both Week Zero and One for more prospect matchups. My eyes go toward the Texas-Ohio State game, and a couple of interesting matchups. Most will talk about Longhorn quarterback Arch Manning going against the Buckeye defense, and there’s some validity to it. My main matchup I am looking forward to seeing is Texas left tackle Trevor Goosby versus Ohio State EDGE Kenyatta Jackson. Both have a chance to be massive risers in the 2026 NFL Draft class with some big performances like this.
Sleeper QB that can rise
There are honestly a few interesting potential quarterback risers. Some have spoken a ton about John Mateer from Oklahoma. My pick is probably Josh Hoover from TCU. There’s a chance he ends up being a 2027 NFL Draft prospect instead, but Hoover is a very interesting talent. While he isn’t the biggest signal caller of all time, Hoover has a very live arm and is creative in and out of the pocket. You also saw growth as a processor in 2024 as well.
New Orleans Saints draft needs
Outside of quarterback, there are still a ton of holes on the New Orleans Saints roster. They have needs potentially at offensive tackle opposite of Taliese Fuaga, cornerback, outside pass rusher, and wide receiver. This makes them a really easy team to mock draft for. You really can’t go wrong.
Of those positions, I’d probably prioritize the EDGE or left tackle outside of quarterback. There is still a very real positional value conversation, and the ability to protect, and affect a quarterback is paramount. That would be where my eyes turn to first.
NFL Draft
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Latest 2026 NFL Draft Notebook
