21 burning questions before the 2026 NFL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The NFL Draft is a complicated puzzle. It's not as simple as taking the best player as early as possible. There are north of 500 players to consider. The NFL Scouting Combine invited 319 players. Yet the Draft itself will only hear 257 names called.
There are drafts that include a significant number of "can't miss" prospects. That seldom applies to players in this draft. For every Fernando Mendoza and Jeremiyah Love, there are twenty prospects that carry questions, if not concerns.
Even within the top 10, there are debates about whether the players taken that high would be regarded as top 10 talents in other drafts. Of the players expected to go in the top 10, only two are 'can't miss' prospects and another two are freakishly athletic enough that it might not matter.
The biggest question facing both evaluators and fans alike is, what are those concerns, and can you live with them?
Francis "Sisi" Mauigoa was expected to be a top 10 pick. That status seemed unaltered by the belief that Mauigoa is a right tackle specifically. ESPN's Adam Schefter revealed that Mauigoa has a herniated disc and will likely need surgery.
Caleb Downs is widely considered to be in the conversation for the best player in this draft regardless of position. The issue is the position matters. Safeties rarely get taken in the top ten picks. The other concern hovering around Downs is a reported injury issue. First reported at the Combine, Downs was believed to have a 'degenerative knee' concern that has only been countered by Downs' family.
There is one of these 'concerns' every single year. A player that is essentially dominant is questioned because a measurable or a testing that was less than ideal. Bain finished the season with almost 10 sacks, 16 tackles for loss and looked absolutely dominant against big competition. However, his arms are not as long as evaluators would like. He's not Myles Garrett, but that should not take him out of top 10 consideration.
Freeling might be the best specifically "left" tackle in this draft. He could benefit from adding 10-15 pounds, but the real concern is starting reps. In three seasons, Freeling has 17 starts. Or the length of one NFL season. For most prospects, 25-30+ starts is the threshold where starts no longer present a concern.
If you miss an entire season, then enter the draft before having a productive season to put concerns to rest. This is what happens. McCoy missed the entire 2025 college football season due to an ACL tear in January. After a productive Pro Day, it seemed the injury concerns subsided. Until reports of team doctors having concerns that McCoy could need additional surgery to repair a "bone plug" used to repair the completely healed ACL.
Mesidor is one of the players that forces the phrase "if they can live with it". There's nothing wrong with Mesidor. Like Bain, he is not as 'long' as teams might like. The larger concern with Mesidor is age. If Mesidor was 21 or 22, he probably would be a lock to go in the top 20. He's 25 though, and the prevailing thought is how much to invest in a player you might have for 2-3 years less than you'd like.
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This one is easy to identify and historically is a concern. Proctor is 6'7 and around 360 pounds. He was reportedly approaching 400 pounds at the start of Alabama's 2025 season. The fact of the matter is that there is an awful track record of offensive linemen in the NFL over 6'6 and over 350 pounds. Proctor is both.
Branch was recently arrested on misdemeanor obstruction. The police report suggests Branch was asked to move away from the sidewalk he was standing on, and he was less than cooperative with that officer. To put this into perspective, Branch had to pay a bond amount to be released. That bond amount was $39.
Competition level, plain and simple. McNeill-Warren played at Toledo and not a Power 4 program. That's it. As the game and draft evaluations have evolved, the competition level is less of a concern. Good players are still good players even if they are in the MAC conference. The good news is EMW jumps off the screen. Toledo could be a concern for some teams, but not all.
Objectively, Howell put up better numbers than Rueben Bain Jr. Almost 12 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and six passes defended. Yet according to most draft analysts, Howell is projected to go a full round later than Bain. The draft stock or hype around Howell does not match his production.
If Price is the small tree, Jeremiyah Love is the big tree. The bad news is Price had almost half the total touches as Love. The good news is teams don't just look at totals. A saving grace for Price is the averages are similar. Similar ypc, 60% of Love's yards and 70% of Love's touchdowns. Price should still be a lead back prospect.
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Every time there is a physical freak in the draft at the tight end position, the others behind him have a tendency to slide. Stowers might be the best prototypical TE in this draft, but the belief is he's not Kenyon Sadiq. Yet the only measurable thing significantly below Sadiq is his 40-yard dash time. While Stowers is viewed as a tight end, Sadiq is viewed as a weapon. Which could benefit Stowers before the draft is over.
At the Combine, McDonald looked objectively bad. The drill work was concerning. To the point that the game film and the Combine looked like two different prospects. If teams lean on the game tape, McDonald will be fine. However, this is not an elite DT draft, and it could be picked 40 or later before we see a DT come off the board.