Finding a star player in the first round of the NFL Draft is relatively easy. Digging for diamonds on Day 3, on the other hand, is where the league's best general managers truly get to flex.
The longest day of the draft is filled with flawed prospects waiting to thrive in the right environment or slide to practice squads and spring leagues in the wrong one. 157 players will be selected Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Hundreds more will join rosters as undrafted free agents. Statistically, these are the players who will make up the bulk of NFL locker rooms in the fall.
But that's just a numbers game. The players who go above and beyond their draft slots will be heroes on overachieving teams. Puka Nacua kept the Los Angeles Rams championship window open as a fifth round pick, teaming with fellow Day 3 standout Kyren Williams. Amon-Ra St. Brown was a fourth rounder. Brock Purdy was the final pick of the 2022 draft.
Who could have a similar impact from the 2026 NFL Draft? Let's take a look at the picks that paired talent, need and fit the best.
McCoy's slide finally, mercifully ends. He entered the draft with top 15 buzz, but slipped all the way to Day 3 thanks to lingering concerns about the torn ACL that robbed him of his 2025 season. He ran a 4.3-second 40 at Tennessee's pro day, but his lateral movement and burst remained enough of a question to scare teams away.
Enter Las Vegas, a team with little to lose. Nearly two decades ago, the Raiders gave up a massive talent with question marks for a fourth round pick when they dealt away Randy Moss. Now they acquire one in McCoy, who may never live up to his potential but is well worthy of the 101st pick. Given Eric Stokes' prior injury concerns and the uneven play of Darien Porter as a rookie, the former Beaver and Volunteer could have an immediate impact with a team starved for playmakers.
Is it a bit of a reach for an FCS star in an era where players like him generally move up a couple notches in the college football pecking order? Maybe! But Proctor brings elite athleticism behind his 290-pound frame (a 4.7-second 40!) who can shoot gaps and generate chaos. He needs to refine his finishing after letting a few too many big plays get away from him, but Arizona needs potential stars across its lineup. Proctor needs to be coached up to get there, but the potential remains.
A Mike McDaniel offense adds a guy with 4.26-second 40 speed to Justin Herbert's cabinet of curiosities. Awesome.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The best NFL Draft picks of Day 3, from sleepers to sliding stars like Jermod McCoy