The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long fact-finding mission. Everybody hits the town in Indianapolis and compares notes for as many hours of the day as they can keep their eyes open for. Now that this marathon of a week is behind us, let’s explore what the first round of the draft will actually look like at the end of April. Here are the first rounders in the 2026 NFL Draft class classified by tiers: Locks, Likely, On the Bubble, Sleepers, and Keep Dreaming.

First Round Locks

Barring a historic slide or some top-secret medical issues we haven’t yet heard about (and we heard about quite a few last week), these 17 prospects will definitely come off the board on night one of the draft:

• QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
• RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
• WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State
• WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
• WR Makai Lemon, USC
• TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
• OL Francis Mauigoa, Miami
• OL Spencer Fano, Utah
• OL Monroe Freeling, Georgia
• OL Vega Ioane, Penn State
• EDGE Rueben Bain, Miami
• EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech
• EDGE/LB Arvell Reese, Ohio State
• LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
• CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
• CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
• S Caleb Downs, Ohio State

Likely First Round Picks

The next nine players are guys we expect to see taken in the first round as well, but they each have a little something about them that keeps us from being 100% sure:

• WR KC Conception, Texas A&M
• OL Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
• DL Caleb Banks, Florida
• DL Peter Woods, Clemson
• EDGE Keldric Faulk, Auburn
• EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M
• EDGE Akheem Mesidor, Miami
• CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson
• S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon
• S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo

Cashius Howell is an all-or-nothing kind of prospect, whose speed and bend are magnificent. His length is even worse than Rueben Bain’s though (30 1/4 inch arms), and he doesn’t have the strength profile that Bain does to compensate. KC Conception feels likely to end up in the first round because of how popular a name he is for teams at the back of the 1st/top of the 2nd. If everybody wants you, you usually end up going higher than most hope. And Thieneman absolutely lit the Combine on fire with his testing. A guy that athletic, who teams have nothing but glowing things to say about, feels like a safe bet to set a Round 1 floor on. -Freeze

If it was just about pure talent, Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks would be a no-doubt inclusion in the first round. Unfortunately the 6-6, 330-pounds behemoth has still been maddeningly inconsistent at times and questions about a foot injury from this season. While he could be a first rounder, that isn’t a complete no-brainer right now. Before the season, many people believed that Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods could contend to be the top player in the 2026 class. Like most Clemson players last year, though, Woods did not live up to the hype. He is now tasked with proving to NFL evaluators that the 2024 film is the one to bet on. -Roberts

On The Bubble

These 11 prospects are real question marks. Nobody should be surprised to see them taken in the first, but it won’t be surprising if we’re talking about them as the top remaining options heading into Friday either. If everybody in the first two tiers goes in the first round, there are a maximum of six remaining spots for these 11 to “fight” over:

• WR Denzel Boston, Washington
• WR Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana
• OL Caleb Lomu, Utah
• OL Blake Miller, Clemson
• OT Max Iheanachor, Arizona State
• DL Kayden McDonald, Ohio State
• EDGE R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma
• EDGE TJ Parker, Clemson
• LB CJ Allen, Georgia
• CB Brandon Cisse, South Carolina
• CB Colton Hood, Tennessee

Omar Cooper Jr. might as well be a lock first round pick in my eyes after what we saw and heard at the Combine. He is too rock-steady to be expected to fall into Day 2. I know some disagree, but I will believe it when I see it. The reason Lomu feels more likely than not to go in the first is because everything I keep hearing about this tackle class leads me to believe the league is higher on them in general than the consensus. You can file R Mason Thomas away in that same “they really, really like him” category after last week too. And Colton Hood’s mindset impressed me in Indianapolis; I know it did some front offices as well. That kind of thing matters more at CB than maybe any other position. Do you believe you’re the best? At CB, you better. Hood very clearly does. -Freeze

Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller is one of the more physically gifted offensive lineman in the 2026 class. With impressive length and movement skill, there is a real opportunity for him to be a first rounder. Unfortunately for him, he does still have some core strength concerns that could push him to the beginning of Day Two. Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald is one of the easiest evaluations in this class. This is a starting nose tackle on the NFL level very early in his career. The reason that he is still straddling on the line of the first round is his limitations as a pass rusher. Without that third down impact, it wouldn’t be shocking for him to fall slightly. -Roberts

Sleepers

Part of the fun of the draft is the insanity. Every year, without fail, there is a name or two that sneaks into the first round that surprises everybody. Here are our picks for who that guy(s) could be:

• TE Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt
• OL Gennings Dunker, Iowa
• DL Christen Miller, Georgia
• DL Lee Hunter, Texas Tech
• EDGE Zion Young, Missouri
• CB Chris Johnson, San Diego State
• QB Ty Simpson, Alabama

Stowers broke multiple records for tight ends with his testing in Indianapolis. He was already getting Round 2 respect, and now I won’t be surprised one bit to see him go in the late first. You may laugh at the inclusion of Ty Simpson on this list now, but we see this practically every year. QBs rise up boards by the time it’s all said and done. They’re just too valuable! And Simpson was a top-3 pick on a ton of boards late into last season… -Freeze

He doesn’t play a flashy style, but Missouri EDGE Zion Young might be the best run defender in the class. While his pass rush impact is ordinary right now, he does have the length and explosiveness to improve in the department. Those tools could make him a wildcard to land in the top 32 picks. I was close to pushing Chris Johnson up into the next tier. He is stacking performances this offseason, testing at a high level in Indianapolis. If he has a smooth rest of the process, it wouldn’t be shocking to see someone take a shot on him in round one. -Roberts

Keep Dreaming

At the beginning of March, things are still very much a work in progress. The outside world will do a lot of shifting and catching up to the way the league views these players in the next seven-ish weeks. These are players who have gotten early talk as first round candidates who we just do not see it with:

• RB Jadarian Price, Notre Dame
• RB Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas
• WR Malachi Fields, Notre Dame
• OL Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M
• LB Anthony Hill Jr., Texas

Mike Washington had a truly stellar Combine as a tester, but a jump up into the first is just too much for what he put on tape. Early-to-mid Day 2 though? Absolutely on the board. And Fields is a guy who just is not athletic or productive enough in college to justify going on Day 1 either. -Freeze

Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price has been included in first round of mocks recently, and I just don’t get it. While he’s a good runner, he lacks impact in the passing game, is a below average pass protector and also has an achilles injury in his past. That’s a tough sell in round one as a running back. Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. tested very well at the Combine but that overall athleticism doesn’t always pop on film. With limited change of direction skills, there will always be some limitations in pass coverage. The film just doesn’t the testing numbers right now. -Roberts

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Ryan Roberts