Every NFL draft class is unique. Certain positions and prospects stand out among their peers in the latest crop of stars to reach the NFL.
Just like in school, we've reached the final weeks until the end of draft season, as it culminates with three days of action from Pittsburgh. A total of 257 players will have their names announced at Acrisure Stadium.
Ahead of that version of prospect graduation, we're ready to hand out some superlatives. Instead of "class clown" or "most likely to succeed," these are more geared toward the NFL draft.
These are skewed more towards the top of the draft but we're including a few for the rest of the class to keep things exciting. Here are 10 superlatives for the 2026 NFL Draft:
Reese is a unicorn. Players of his size rarely move as well as he does, especially in a defense as demanding and diverse (for the college level) as Matt Patricia's system. The hope that he will develop into a contributor off the edge is based on his tools and some limited action. If he doesn't reach that ceiling, his floor is a perennial Pro Bowl off-ball linebacker.
This one is pretty straightforward. Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy as college football's top player after leading the Hoosiers to their first national championship in program history.
He's the top guy at the most important position in football and tiers above the rest of the class. In another year, Mendoza could have had competition for the top spot but not in 2026.
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For the second year in a row, the NFL draft has a clear-cut No. 1 running back. This time around, he happens to be the best offensive player in the class.
Love is a dynamic playmaker in the same vein as Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson. He can impact the offense in both the running game and passing game. He has home run speed and balance to force missed tackles. His only knock is that he shared carries with another talented back in South Bend, but that's not nearly enough to move him off the top spot.
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Downs isn't an outlier athlete like Reese or his teammate Sonny Styles. Both of them have a higher ceiling thanks to their mix of traits. Downs has a higher floor than both of them.
He was Alabama's best defensive player as a freshman in 2023 and led the team in tackles as a safety. He transferred to Ohio State in 2024 and continued to be an impactful secondary player. There's little he can't do from the position. His lone knock is a lack of ball production (six career interceptions in college), but there's so much more to his game to outweigh that.
If Reese can hit his ceiling, he's comfortably the best player in the class. He's barely scratching the surface as an edge rusher with the tools to be very effective in that role, in addition to his standout abilities as an off-ball linebacker. His ceiling is an All-Pro level player who consistently impacts everything opposing offenses do.
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McCoy looked like a top-15 player in this class in 2024 during his first season with the Volunteers. He was an All-American behind a campaign showcasing his talents in both press-man and zone coverage moments. The risk is that he missed the entire 2025 season with a torn right ACL. He ran well at his Pro Day. The question is how much NFL teams are willing to bank on a single season of tape from him before a major knee injury.
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Banks looked like a potential first-round lock as the top interior defensive lineman in the class. Then he suffered a foot injury at the NFL combine, less than a year after a foot injury had affected his final season with the Gators.
Banks is one of the biggest players in the class at 6-foot-6 and 327 pounds and moves exceptionally well. If teams are concerned this foot injury is something chronic, Banks could fall well out of the first round.
This is a very top-heavy offensive tackle class. There's a chance teams jump to make their pick at the position and won't wait until Round 2. Iheanachor could be swept up in that.