On Sunday, we brought you our annual consensus draft prospect ranking based on six lists from five sources: ESPN (Matt Miller and Jordan Reid), Pro Football Focus, CBS Sports, Pro Football Network and Draftek. Now that the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is behind us, here are the top 100 prospects still remaining.
Below the table, we’ll detail some hits (and misses) from Thursday night’s first-round picks. We will also touch on what the night meant for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Top 100 Prospects (Thru
Rd. 1, PK 32)
From the start, it was clear that NFL Teams had very different opinions about this class than draft analysts did.
No one was surprised that Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza went first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. Our second and third prospects — Ohio State pass rusher Arvell Reese and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love — did go in the top five. Two prospects from outside our top 10 — Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson and Utah tackle Spencer Fano — did go at picks No. 8 and 9, respectively.
After the top 10, the draft changed dramatically. One of the early surprises came as the Los Angeles Rams selected quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th selection. Simpson was ranked 38th by us. By our math, however, the biggest reach would have been Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge (61st in our rankings) going to the Houston Texans with the 26th pick.
Just as there were reaches, some teams found players at much lower positions than expected.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain — who entered the night widely expected to join the Chiefs — at the 16th selection. This is 11 spots lower than Bain’s perceived value as the draft’s sixth-best player. Another top steal would be the Philadelphia Eagles grabbing USC wideout Makai Lemon at pick No. 20.
Many fans were underwhelmed with Kansas City’s selections, but neither greatly deviated from most pre-draft rankings. Had the Chiefs grabbed LSU corner Mansoor Delane at their original position of No. 9, that would have matched Delane’s consensus ranking. The trade-up made the pick a slight reach. With only one other cornerback going in round one, however, it is likely the Chiefs had reliable intel that Delane would not have lasted until the team’s scheduled pick.
The Chiefs’ other first-rounder, Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods, was the 27th-ranked prospect on our rankings. The Chiefs selected him with the 29th pick.
Five prospects ranked in our top 32 remain after Round One. Our top prospect is Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy. McCoy missed the 2025 season with a knee injury, and rumors late in the season suggested teams fear he will need further surgery. He could wait significantly longer to hear his name called.
After trading up for Delane, the Chiefs now have five picks left:
- Round 2 (40)
- Round 4 (109)
- Round 5 (169 — from Los Angeles Rams)
- Round 5 (176 — compensatory)
- Round 6 (210 — from Los Angeles Rams)
Enjoy the second and third rounds on Friday night — and we’ll be back with an updated consensus ranking on Saturday morning.
