2026 NFL Draft Mailbag: How NIL is affecting the landscape, Jeremiyah Love propaganda, R Mason Thomas, and a Denzel Boston debate
Latest 2026 NFL Draft mailbag highlights the wide receiver class, the NIL landscape, Jeremiyah Love, R Mason Thomas, and Denzel Boston.
The college football season is now officially wrapped up, and the NFL season will be done in just a few weeks as well. Pretty soon, all everyone will want to talk about is the 2026 NFL Draft. Most NFL fanbases have already turned the page and begun doing their homework on the class. While it isn’t the strongest class of all-time, there is always a lot of value to be found throughout the seven rounds.
To begin developing a deeper understanding and appreciation for this group, I am now bringing back these mailbag pieces. Some of the topics discussed included the NIL space, the best wide receivers in the 2026 class, some Jeremiyah Love propaganda, and Denzel Boston commentary, among others. As always, shoutout to everyone who submitted questions this week.
The NFL Draft, NIL, and a new decision
Let’s make something very obvious: NIL is not the first time that college athletes have gotten paid. The fact that it is much more transparent and accepted, however, has changed the game quite a bit. The best way I can phrase it is that the ability to bridge the gap for what players are going to make in future seasons has made hard decisions a lot easier than they used to be. In the short term, that is going to hurt the quality of draft classes. In the long term, I believe that it will actually be beneficial. This incentivizes players returning for another year and continuing to develop.
The actual issue for me is that the transfer portal and NIL spaces have gotten too interconnected. Players jumping so regularly from team to team isn’t the best for development, and honestly, it can be a red flag at times. At some point, there needs to be some regulation on how many times players can transfer. It has hurt the game, the NFL Draft space, and the overall development of players.
Pittsburgh’s wide receiver needs
If you need route runners in this class, you are in luck. Kevin “KC” Concepcion (Texas A&M) would be an interesting potential fit for the Steelers in their first-round range. He is dynamite after the catch and has a high floor as a short to intermediate separator as a route runner. Aaron Anderson (LSU) is a very small pass catcher, but he could be a great value somewhere on Day Three. He is also great after the catch, and there may not be a crisper separator amongst man coverage.
R Mason Thomas’s draft upside
You aren’t going to find many analysts who are as high on R Mason Thomas (Oklahoma) as I am. His pass rush upside is tremendous, and honestly, the floor that Thomas brings to the table is substantial as well. The first step of explosiveness that Thomas brings to the table is outstanding. When he gets off the football, that allows him to threaten the outside shoulders of opposing offensive tackles in the blink of an eye. Even when Thomas doesn’t initially win the outside track, his combination of speed and bend still allows him to win and flatten to the quarterback. I believe that Thomas is going to, at least, become a high-end designated pass rusher on the NFL level.
While I am very excited about Thomas, it is still more than fair to say that he will never be a plus run defender on the next level. His lack of size and length is going to limit his upside to hold the point of attack consistently. That will hurt him as an all-around player, but the niche he can fill is still extremely important.
Pick the preferred New York Jets mock
If pressed, I would probably opt for option A. Those who follow me know that I am just not the biggest Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami) fan of all time. He is a likeable player and should be a first-rounder in this class, but the top-five hype is just too much. While Arvell Reese (Ohio State) has his own questions to answer, I am banking on that talent all day long. At 6-4 and 245 pounds, Reese projects very favorably to a couple of different spots. I believe that he is going to end up being an All-Pro MIKE linebacker on the next level, who can also do some really fun sub rush upside. Reese is young, a freaky athlete, and has all the potential in the world.
Where will Jeremiyah Love go?
With the draft class as poor as it is, former Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love deserves to go inside the top-10 overall selections. He is a running back, so there is a chance that Love slides, but he is a top-five overall player in this class. His ability to win in space, hit home runs, and catch the football out of the backfield makes him an offensive weapon that every team could need. Due to that, I think he is going to go very early. Keep a close eye on the Kansas City Chiefs, who are picking at No. 9 overall. If Love somehow makes it to No. 12 and the Dallas Cowboys, I can’t imagine them passing out the dynamic runner.
What to make of Denzel Boston
The key to scouting is to learn from your past misses. Nobody is perfect, and we all have natural biases that can hurt our evaluation process at times. For me, I’ve evolved a ton since I began scouting wide receivers. In the beginning, I was a sucker for the spectacular catches, the mesmerizing 50/50 balls, and winners through contact. As I’ve had a couple of big misses, my perspective on what is most important with wide receivers when translating to the next level has changed quite a bit.
You are going to hear the term “separation” thrown out a lot, but I don’t believe we define it thoroughly enough. There are wide receivers who separate as route runners, as athletes, and in the air. The more ways that you separate, the more valuable of a wide receiver you are. For the wide receivers who separate solely in the air, the translation can be very hit or miss. That is the least efficient point of separation that a wide receiver can major in. As windows get smaller on the NFL level and defenders get bigger, faster, and stronger, things become even less efficient to win in the air.
That’s my biggest worry with a player like Denzel Boston (Washington). He’s a crafty player against zone or off coverage, but the catch point is really the only way that he can consistently win against man coverage. That profile is just not what I’m going to value most of the time. You can blame players like Laquon Treadwell and Keon Coleman for that change in scouting philosophy.
Kelley Jones, CB, Mississippi State
Despite a lack of hype for Jones from the draft space during the season, I believe that he would have ended up going high. He brings such a unique skill set at 6-4 and 195 pounds, also possessing good speed to match vertically. Combine that with notable ball skills, and you have a C3/C4-match quarters dream at cornerback. Some teams will be very high on Jones for the 2027 NFL Draft.
I wouldn’t be shocked if he ends up being a top-50 selection, but I’d say top-100 just to be safe. Jones is a bit high cut, so his change of direction isn’t going to be stellar. That does leave a bit of scheme dependency, which will limit the number of teams that will value him that highly. Regardless, Jones has the look of a future starter in the right situation.
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