With the arrival of Halloween decorations and trick-or-treaters this week at your doorstep, it can only mean one thing — the arrival of draft season. It’s in the air, you can smell it if you can get past all the pumpkin spice floating around. NFL teams have hit the halfway mark of their seasons with sobering reality of a year lost staring fans in the face. All-star invitations have started going out for college prospects. Mock drafts are more prevalent than ever.

It’s time to start gearing up for a busy six months ahead. I’ve been keeping tabs on the prospects eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft and recently submitted my updated ballot of positional rankings for our A to Z Sports consensus rankings — and here’s what my personal top-50 prospects eligible for this upcoming class look like.

Kyle Crabbs’ Initial 2026 NFL Draft Top-50 Big Board

1.. Miami FL EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.

Power. Leverage. Explosiveness. Versatility. These are the hallmarks of Bain Jr.’s skill set. No, he doesn’t have prototypical length or height — but he can and does use that to his advantage to reduce angles when attacking the pocket. Bain Jr. plays with the kind of unhinged aggression that defensive coaches will likely clamor for on draft night. I’m in here.

2. Ohio State SAF Caleb Downs

I hesitate to use the label of the “safest” prospect in the draft because such labels often turn out to be an ironic kiss of death for a player who goes to the wrong situation and doesn’t perform at a high level. But I see a very clean projection for Downs and I love what he brings to the table amid the recent wave of defensive schemes that eagerly move their defensive weapons around in the box. Downs is a high-IQ, physical, diverse secondary weapon.

3. Ohio State LB Arvell Reese

Reese is making it hard to not slot him any higher as the Buckeyes put more and more on his plate. With that said, he may be a little bit more difficult to nail down for a starting spot. Is he truly an off-ball linebacker? If so, will that hurt his value for teams? Is he a hybrid edge who can drop? I think he could do either — making him a mashup of projections between a few stack defenders from this past year’s draft. He’s more powerful than Jihaad Campbell, too.

4. Clemson IDL Peter Woods

I was hoping Woods would take another step forward as a pass rusher this season but the production hasn’t been great thus far. He’s a high level run defender with rare physical tools at his disposal, which sets a floor that I’m comfortable with even as he continues to develop his tool set rushing the passer.

5. Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love

You know the drill by now. A gifted runner who will have a “yeah, but” attached to all the good things you have to say about him because he’s a running back. It’s a valid conversation, but it shouldn’t dismiss how good he is as a ball carrier. Love has a sound passing game profile as well, which should set the stage for him to command a heavy workload early on in his pro career.

6. Auburn EDGE Keldric Faulk

Want to know what kind of prospect Faulk is? Turn on the Oklahoma tape. He had 7 pressures in that game and offered an even bigger gravitational pull than the stat sheet would tell you. He’s a big, powerful player who plays with a hot motor and heavy hands at the point. Getting on the field should be pretty cut and dry and he’s got profile of a high-volume snap taker to justify an early draft spot.

7. Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson

“Smooth as the other side of the pillow.”

Tyson is an easy mover with good running ability, reliable hands and good size for the position. He’s winning more than 50% of his contested catch opportunities during the last two years as well — highlighting his body control, ball tracking ability, and ball skills. He should be a viable fit in just about any kind of offensive philosophy, which will help his universal appeal and likely aid his draft stock.

8. Oregon QB Dante Moore

“Moore is a redshirt sophomore who has just 424 career pass attempts as October rolls to a close. He is not the biggest, nor the most dynamic. But he has what I believe to be the right blend of fluidity, smooth release, RPMs on the ball, and the big-play ability to be a franchise quarterback.”

— Me, yesterday when outlining my top-10 eligible quarterbacks

9. Alabama QB Ty Simpson

“It’s hard to deny that while Moore is my favorite, Simpson has the best current resume for the 2025 college season. He’s a high operator at the line of scrimmage, he’s shown a flair for big plays, and he’s played incredibly efficient football against a murder’s row of SEC opponents thus far this season. It’s been very impressive to watch Simpson, a redshirt junior, tear things up.”

— Also me, yesterday when outlining my top-10 eligible quarterbacks

10. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza

“Mendoza, who is a transfer from Cal, has been red hot with his production while pushing the ball down the field and he’s got the best win in the land — a road victory in Autzen Stadium against the Ducks.

Mendoza’s football character and leadership are well polished already, it doesn’t take long listening to him talk to get the sense that he’s a very traditional “aw, shucks” leader who coaches are probably going to eat up in a good way.”

— You won’t believe it, but this was ALSO me yesterday outlining my top-10 eligible quarterbacks

Prospects 11-20

11.	Ohio State	WR	Carnell Tate
12.	Tennessee	CB	Jermod McCoy
13.	Utah	OT	Spencer Fano
14.	Miami FL	OT	Francis Mauigoa
15.	Clemson	EDGE	TJ Parker
16.	Texas A&M	EDGE	Cashius Howell
17.	Oregon	TE	Kenyon Sadiq
18.	Clemson	CB	Avieon Terrell
19.	Penn State	IOL	Vega Ioane
20.	USC	WR	Makai Lemon

My favorite risers of this group? Aggies pass rusher Cashius Howell and Penn State guard Vega Ioane. Howell has double-digit sacks already, a competitive edge and a devastating array of speed moves off the edge. Ioane is a former three-sport athlete who played both ways in high school but also played rugby and basketball. He’s an incredibly graceful and yet powerful blocker at left guard.

Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq is one of my overall favorite prospects. I’m not sure where I fall on his route running but he’ll block you over the nearest state line if he gets his hands on you.

Prospects 21-30

21.	LSU	CB	Mansoor Delane
22.	Ohio State	LB	Sonny Styles
23.	Utah	OT	Caleb Lomu
24.	Iowa	OT	Gennings Dunker
25.	Tennessee	CB	Colton Hood
26.	Washington	WR	Denzel Boston
27.	Penn State	EDGE	Dani Dennis-Sutton
28.	Penn State	CB	AJ Harris
29.	Washington	RB	Jonah Coleman
30.	Auburn	IOL	Connor Lew

I’m bummed out for Auburn’s Connor Lew, who torn his ACL in October. He had a chance to contend for the top interior lineman in this class. Elsewhere, few corners have played equal to LSU’s Mansoor Delane. His 2025 tape is elite. So, too, is what I think you’re getting in Sonny Styles — he’s the third of a trio of Ohio State defenders who make that Buckeyes defense so dangerous and dynamic.

Prospects 31-40

31.	Florida	IDL	Caleb Banks
32.	South Carolina	QB	LaNorris Sellers
33.	Alabama	OT	Kadyn Proctor
34.	Texas Tech	EDGE	David Bailey
35.	Texas	LB	Anthony Hill Jr.
36.	Alabama	WR	Germie Bernard
37.	USC	WR	Ja’Kobi Lane
38.	Louisville	WR	Chris Bell
39.	Oregon	EDGE	Matayo Uiagalelei
40.	USC	SAF	Kamari Ramsey

This wide receiver class has the potential to be absolutely nuts. Louisville’s Chris Bell had a tremendous October while shredding both Virginia and Miami. He’s got the blend of size and speed that has some making some *very* lofty comparisons. A trio of SEC prospects who are sliding a bit live in this bucket too between Caleb Banks, LaNorris Sellers, and Kadyn Proctor. Sellers has faded into SEC play, while Proctor was a little shaky in the Tide’s non-conference schedule. Banks is out with a foot injury that’s limited his season to just 29 defensive snaps before having surgery.

Prospects 41-50

41.	Oregon	SAF	Dillon Thieneman
42.	Texas A&M	CB	Will Lee III
43.	Texas A&M	WR	KC Concepcion
44.	Oregon	IDL	A’Mauri Washington
45.	Penn State	SAF	Zakee Wheatley
46.	Illinois	CB	Xavier Scott
47.	Oregon	IOL	Iapani Laloulu
48.	Arkansas	CB	Julian Neal
49.	Ohio State	TE	Max Klare
50.	LSU	QB	Garrett Nussmeier

My feel for this class starts getting a little more hazy into the fringes of the top-5o. You can consider me intrigued in particular with Penn State’s Zakee Wheatley, a former corner who has size and is putting together an incredibly consistent season week to week. Arkansas CB Julian Neal is a transfer from Fresno State who is playing at a high level for the Razorbacks despite his leap in competition. At 6-f0ot-2, he’s big, long and physical. Oregon defensive tackle A’Mauri Washington is a supersized defender who has become a stout interior run defender this season — living in the B-gaps despite being listed at or near 330 pounds.

NFL Draft

The top-10 QB rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft look nothing like they did in August — and the secret to liking this class is letting go of summer expectations

Who are the ten best eligible quarterbacks for the 2026 NFL Draft as we reach November?

Kyle Crabbs