The controversial 2026 NFL Draft prospects who are going to go much earlier than what most people are expecting
Leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft, there are several divisive prospects who are expected to go much higher than most people believe.
With the 2026 NFL Draft just several weeks away, there is going to be some more intel that begins to surface. As is typically the case this time of the year, some information will be legitimate, some will be a smokescreen, while even more will be about posturing.
Over the last few days, I’ve spent my time talking to several league sources to gain as much information as possible. The topic for this exercise was some controversial players that are going to go much higher than most people expect. There’s a healthy list of prospects that the league seems to be higher on than the consensus.
Here are those players I expect to continue rising up the board.
OT Kadyn Proctor (Alabama)
It isn’t shocking that the NFL is enamored with Proctor, who is an explosive athlete at nearly 6-7 and 351 pounds. There’s one major issue when it comes to Proctor: his film just isn’t very good. With his poor change of direction and redirection skills, I’m not even totally sure that offensive tackle is the best spot to Proctor. That isn’t going to stop a team inside of the top-10 from taking a shot on Proctor. At worst, I don’t think he falls out of the top-15 overall selections.
EDGE Ahkeem Mesidor (Miami)
Mesidor is an older prospect with some legitimate durability concerns, yet the NFL seems to love him. He’s a nuanced pass rusher who should bring a solid booth to an EDGE room, even if he never becomes one of the league’s best sack artists. You will find Mesidor’s name in the back end of round one, or early in the second in most mock drafts. I think the clock starts around pick No. 15 for when Mesidor actually comes off the board.
EDGE R Mason Thomas (Oklahoma)
Thomas is one of the long list of undersized pass rushers in the 2026 class. While he may never be a major asset against the run, there is little question that he can get after the quarterback, and that is always going to sell in the modern NFL. There are at least two teams who are open to taking the former Oklahoma star inside of the first round. The mid Day Two projections that some are putting out there doesn’t seem realistic to me, at least based on what I’m hearing right now.
TE Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt)
Most people seem to have Stowers projected to go somewhere on the later portion of Day Two. This isn’t breaking news but Stowers has very real second round feedback around the league and his historic testing in Indianapolis validated that feedback. After Kenyon Sadiq, the battle to be the second tight end off the board feels like Stowers’ position to lose. A team is going to reach for him, even if there are severe limitations in his game. Don’t be shocked if Stowers goes inside of the top-45 selections.
LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr (TCU)
When you do mock drafts, Elarms-Orr is typically available somewhere between rounds five to seven. Based upon feedback I’ve gotten, I think it’s unlikely that he makes it out of the top-100 with several teams having Day Two grades in him. The former Cal transfer solidified that status after testing at an extremely high level at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. Elarms-Orr is a massive sleeper in this class.
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