2026 NFL Draft Notebook: Give Jermod McCoy his flowers, a sleeper tight end, an unlikely WR2, and Sonny Styles propaganda 

Latest 2026 NFL Draft Notebook

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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The 2025 college football and NFL seasons are right on the horizon, which means that the 2026 NFL Draft is getting closer and closer as well. For the sickos out there, we have been watching prospects all summer to really decipher how talented this class could be. For others, that work won’t begin until their favorite NFL team is no longer in the playoff race. 

As I continue working through the talented group overall, these notebooks will be designed to put all of my NFL Draft thoughts down. This edition included a sleeper tight end to know, an unorthodox WR2, a defensive weapon, and a forgotten blue chip prospect. These are all some very interesting players to discuss. 

Sleeper TE to know 

Tennessee tight end Miles Kitselman has gotten barely a mention on Draft Twitter so far, and I’m not totally sure why. His production wasn’t amazing (22 receptions for 301 yards and four touchdowns), but his combination of size, movement skills, and effort as a blocker is really intriguing. At a hair under 6-5 and 260 pounds, Kitselman brings a lot of versatility to an offense. He also has draftable grades around the NFL already, and I believe Kitselman could be a significant riser in a volatile tight end class. 

Chris Bell is WR2

As of today, I’m very comfortable rating Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson as the top wide receiver in the class barring medicals. He is an impressive vertical weapon with the hip mobility to run routes, and be a multi level threat. Tyson is a true first round player right now if he recovers well from injury. 

This take has some projection injected into it, but Chris Bell from Louisville is an outstanding talent. At 6-1.5 and 227 pounds, Bell is a really explosive player that makes a ton of plays after the catch. He also has really impressive fluidity to win in a multitude of ways. I expect him to make a huge production jump from last season after hauling in 43 receptions for 737 yards and four touchdowns. 

The ultimate defensive weapon 

Linebacker is quietly one of the more interesting, and deeper position groups, in the 2026 class so far. Very firmly in the top linebacker conversation is Ohio State star Sonny Styles. At over 6-4 and 237 pounds, Styles is an outstanding athlete from the second level. The Buckeyes have utilized his skills at MIKE, WILL, overhang, and rushing off the edge last season. 

If you turn on the 2023 film of the team, Styles was even playing some mid hole safety, a position he began his Ohio State career at. Quite simply, you won’t find a linebacker as versatile as Styles anywhere. If the game begins slowing down on the second level this year, he has a chance to be a top ten draft selection. 

The forgotten blue chip 

When you talk about the top five players in the 2026 NFL Draft class, Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy would be very much in that conversation. Due to the preseason ACL injury, McCoy hasn’t gotten a ton of hype. He is back healthy now, and is expected to return for the Volunteers sometime early in the 2025 season. Getting McCoy back on the field is tremendous news. 

The 6-0, 196-pound cover man originally played for Oregon State, but transferred to Knoxville prior to the 2024 season, and proceeded to haul in four interceptions and break up another 13 passes. If you love physical press cornerbacks who can run, McCoy is going to be your flavor. There is a lot of Jaycee Horn in McCoy’s game, and Horn managed to go No. 8 overall a few drafts ago. If healthy, I expect McCoy to go in a similar range. 

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