If Cade Klubnik repeats his performances down the stretch in 2024 during the 2025 season, he will likely be the favorite to be the first quarterback selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Last season, the Clemson Tigers’ quarterback passed for 3,639 yards, threw 36 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. He also demonstrated his rushing ability, gaining 463 yards and scoring seven touchdowns on the ground. The former five-star recruit has good size at 6’2” and 205 pounds, boasts a strong athletic profile, and has a live arm.
Rueben Bain Jr. was a transcendent talent as a true freshman in 2023 and was a unanimous Freshman All-American. The star pass rusher had 12.5 TFLs and 7.5 sacks in his first year in South Florida and was expected to build upon his breakout season.
However, a calf injury in the first game of the season saw Bain miss four games and looked to be rushed back into the lineup. His 3.5 sacks in eight games fell short of expectations, but if the Hurricanes’ defender is back to full health, he has the profile to be a potential top 10 selection.
Peter Woods has displayed inside/outside versatility at Clemson, playing a significant number of snaps on the edge. However, he projects as a disruptive defensive tackle in the NFL and should see more playing time over the middle in 2025.
The defensive tackle has the devastating power to be an elite run defender. Meanwhile, his disruptive pass-rush moves are still in development. With 8.5 TFLs and three sacks in 2024, Woods projects as one of college’s best defensive linemen, and his ability to push back opponents with vigorous strength gives him a high ceiling.
Keldric Faulk is quietly one of the top returning offensive linemen in 2025 and is one of the top overall prospects eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft.
The former four-star recruit had 11 TFLs, seven sacks, and one forced fumble in 2024 and is an enigmatic force against the run. The Auburn defensive lineman had 23 run stops last season, and he uses his muscular 6’6” and 288-pound frame to get off blocks and plough through offensive linemen.
The Utah Utes have an elite pair of bookends with Spencer Fano at right tackle and Caleb Lomu at left tackle (who ranks as our 11th-best prospect). Fano started all 12 games on the right side in 2024 but also has 11 career starts on the left side.
With intense physicality and fluid athleticism, the Utes’ right tackle is explosive out of his stance and is violent when working in space. As a run blocker, Fano possesses grippy hand strength, powerful leg drive, and a mauling mentality that puts defenders into the dirt.
Anthony Hill Jr. is an elite defender. Linebackers rarely grade out as potential top 10 prospects, but the Texas Longhorns game wrecker is in a different league. In 2024, he accounted for 113 tackles, eight sacks, one interception, one pass deflection, as well as leading the SEC with four forced fumbles and 17 tackles for a loss.
That elite production is backed up by high-end traits. At 6’3” and 235 pounds, the former five-star recruit has the skill set to be a versatile chess piece, where his fluid athleticism, intense speed and range, and agility cut through traffic and get after ball carriers with power.
Matayo Uiagalelei is going underrated as a potential high 2026 NFL Draft selection. The Oregon Ducks’ defensive end boasts a refined, diverse pass-rush plan, a hot motor, and terrorizing strength. The former four-star recruit has a bruising hitting power and overpowering length.
At 6’5” and 270 pounds, Uiagalelei is uniquely built with an expansive wingspan and impressive arm length as well as enough twitchy lower body movement to make opponents miss. His all-encompassing frame allows him to claw at his opponent, and his tackles are inescapable.
Francis Mauigoa starts the 2026 NFL Draft cycle as OT1. The Hurricanes’ right tackle has started all 26 games since landing on campus as a freshman, and while he was highly penalized in his rookie season and gave up five sacks, the former five-star gave up just one sack as a sophomore and has the potential to make another jump in 2025.
Mauigoa has impressive size at 6’6” and 335 pounds and has the active footwork and upper-tier athleticism to mirror defenders on an island. He uses his massive frame to get deep into his stance, and his anchor is rarely dislodged as a pass protector, where the Miami RT’s clean hands usage, impactful power, and intelligent awareness make
Caleb Downs is one of the top returning players in the country in 2024, regardless of position. The Ohio State Buckeyes’ safety has been elite over his two seasons in college football and has showcased enough dominant tape with Alabama and in Columbus to think he would have been a top 10 player if he were eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft.
The former top overall recruit in the nation displays exceptional intelligence, awareness, and play diagnosis to instinctively impact every down. It is far, far too early to throw around the generational tag, but Downs has the potential to be just that.
T.J. Parker is a stud. He is the third Clemson prospect among the top 10 2026 NFL Draft prospects, a testament to the talent Dabo Swinney has established in Death Valley.
While it takes some projection to have Parker above Downs as the No. 1 overall prospect, the Tigers’ pass rusher has the production, traits, and inspiring potential to be the first player taken in a year’s time.
