2026 NFL Draft Mailbag: The truth about Tyren Montgomery’s stock, how high Makai Lemon should go, and Zion Young first round talk
Latest edition of the 2026 NFL Draft mailbag features Missouri EDGE Zion Young, USC wide receiver Makai Lemon, and small school star Tyren Montgomery.
Super Bowl LX is set to be played on Sunday, and the 2025 college football season has already concluded. You know what that means, right? That means that pretty soon, all everyone is going to be talking about is the 2026 NFL Draft class. From now until April, the space is going to be littered with mock drafts, positional rankings, and intel pieces.
To get a deeper level of understanding for the 2026 class, I am restarting the mailbag feature on the site every week. On this edition, the players discussed include Missouri EDGE Zion Young, USC Makai Lemon, and small school star Tyren Montgomery. Each player brings a unique conversation to the table.
Could Missouri EDGE Zion Young go in the first round?
There is a legitimate argument that Missouri defensive end Zion Young might be the best run defender of any EDGE in the 2026 class. Young is long, physical, and has good overall awareness in the run game. That makes Young such a high-floor football player. He also has the size and explosiveness to develop into a pass rusher, although he is far away from being a stellar member in that department. There is a lot of development that Young needs as a pass rusher, both in terms of plan and nuance as a rusher.
With that in mind, I am selling that Young goes in the first round. I’m never shocked in the NFL Draft space, but I just don’t think Young’s profile screams to go inside of the top 32 selections. Young is a firm Day Two (Rounds 2-3) player for me right now.
How high should USC wide receiver Makai Lemon be drafted?
USC wide receiver Makai Lemon is going to be one of the more fascinating evaluations in the 2026 NFL Draft class. His tape is awesome, showcasing high-level moments as a route runner, as well as after the catch. Lemon is also a lot sturdier at the catch point than you would expect from a wide receiver that is around 5-10 and 195 pounds. With the expectation that Lemon is going to run somewhere in the 4.50-4.54 range in the forty-yard dash, we are dealing with a wide receiver who lacks anything close to elite traits. Love him or hate him, Lemon is a bit of an outlier.
That being said – I’m in on Lemon. I fully understand that there is some risk involved with betting on him, but I just don’t care. Lemon’s film is too good. He could go as high as the top ten, or potentially fall into the 20s, but I would personally be comfortable with the former.
Senior Bowl riser continuing to rise?
Going into the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl, I knew next to nothing about Tyren Montgomery outside of supposedly having a good showing at the All-American Bowl. The former John Carroll University star was incredibly productive over the last two seasons after transferring from FCS Nicholls State. During that stretch, the 5-11, 190-pound pass catcher managed to haul in 176 receptions for 2,599 yards and 32 touchdowns. With that production and the route running upside that Montgomery showcased in Mobile, figuring out how he fits into this draft class will be one of the more interesting storylines heading into April.
I haven’t talked to many scouting sources about Montgomery yet, but I tend to believe that the multi-day showing will be enough to earn him a draft selection toward the end of Day Three (Rounds 4-7). It is not a good draft overall, so that provides Montgomery an even clearer path towards being drafted. I will be interested to see how Montgomery tests at his Pro Day, and whether he works to get to a bigger school for a larger crowd of scouts and decision makers. That would be the final piece for whether he ultimately does get drafted or not, but he’s off to a great start as a small-schooler.
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