Looking ahead to potential 2026 impact position players … Following up on that earlier report on the potential 2026 QB draft class, we also took a little peak ahead to the players at several impact positions including DE/edge, WR and RB that may be available at next year’s draft. And while there are plenty of good players at those positions for 2026 – and with the proviso that there obviously will be plenty of developments between now and then – it just doesn’t seem like there will necessarily be all that many elite prospects in those areas. The one major exception, at least at this time, appears to be Clemson DE T J Parker who is a potential game changer coming off the edge. There will also be a couple of truly elite receivers out there next year, but both Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State and Alabama’s Ryan Williams will be true sophs not eligible for the draft until 2027. In fact, a pretty good case can be made that of the 3 positions noted, the RBs, including Justice Haynes of Michigan, Oregon’s Makhi Huges, Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame and Washington’s Jonah Coleman, may be the most promising, although RBs almost always are underdrafted based on the concept of positional value. For now, here are our preliminary listings for the top RBs, WRs and DE/ERs for the upcoming draft.
