We recently looked at what anonymous scouts speaking to veteran NFL writer Bob McGinn thought of top offensive prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft class. Here is a look at what those scouts, speaking to McGinn for the Go Long TD Substack, think of several other offensive prospects in the 2026 draft class.
Safeties
Caleb Downs, Ohio State
“Wired different.”
“He didn’t do anything (at the combine), and he doesn’t need to,” said one scout. “He was there cheering up his guys. He’s taken every opportunity with grace and he’s kind of happy
to be there, where some guys would opt out of a bunch of stuff and have a crappy attitude. It’s probably more just (high) character with Caleb. They talk about how intelligent he is and how mature he is. In his interview you can get a feel for that. A guy that rushes the passer (Arvell Reese) has more value but Caleb is wired different. He is smart, he is mature, he is humble.”
“You take him, you’re gonna hit.”
“You take him, you’re gonna hit,” said a third scout. “He’d be up there with the best (he’s scouted). Ed Reed broke the mold. Sean Taylor is up in there. (Eric) Berry was a big-timer. The (Troy) Polamalus and Ed Reeds of the world, they’re all his size. Brian Dawkins was his size. Really balanced as a tackler. Doesn’t miss many. Not a killer. More of a wrap-you-up, get-you-down tackler. He’s a much better Brian Branch. He’s got incredible instincts, he’s fast to the ball, he’s physical as hell. He can (cover wide receivers). He’s in the 4.4s. He’s a do-it-all impact player.”
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo
“Fun to watch.”
“He’s fun to watch,” one scout said. “Plays fast. Short-area burst. Really aggressive, pop on contact. He’s not quick-twitch movement in such a big, long body. He’ll miss tackles just trying to be overaggressive. I’d say middle-to-late first round.”
“Instincts are a little bit off.”
““I’m sure everybody will try to make him into Kyle Hamilton or something but he doesn’t have those kind of skills,” said a fourth scout. “If he’s free on the edge he’ll get downhill and make a play. But for the most part it’s just a lot of late-to-the-party. He’s the second or third guy in and next thing you know he’s got a tackle. He’s not afraid. His instincts are a little bit off, especially in coverage. He can’t cover (a wide receiver) at all. Pretty much all the plays he made were box-type stuff. His coaches didn’t try to do things with him they knew he couldn’t do.”
Defensive tackle
Peter Woods, Clemson
Woods is the most likely defensive tackle to be selected in Round 1.
“Not too many of those guys.”
“He’s so damn quick for a guy that big,” one scout said. “He throws guys around. He can take an edge and, boom, get up the field. He takes on blocks at the point of attack. Quinnen Williams was like that. There’s just not too many of those guys.”
“He’s just out there.”
“You wouldn’t even know he was on the field unless you were looking for him,” a fifth scout said. “Gets bounced around at the point of attack and gives you absolutely nothing in pass rush. He was a big-time recruit and some people still try to hold onto that. He just doesn’t do anything. He’s just out there. I didn’t think he played particularly hard. Some of these guys, at least they play their ass off.”
Lee Hunter, Texas Tech
“A bully-you kind of guy.”
“He’s nasty,” said one scout. “He’s got that jolt and anchor at the point of attack in the run game. Plays hard. There’s not tons of range just because he’s such a big guy. More of a bull rusher. Just kind of a bully-you kind of guy. Got enough movement to get into a gap quick and snatch people with some agility. He’s a good starter. He’ll be taken in the first. He’s neck-and-neck with McDonald but I’d take this guy. He’s got some knock knees and a bad body that was very noticeable. Those knock knees look a little worrisome. Knees in, sort of toes out.”
“Body’s bad.”
“People are all over the place with him,” a fifth scout said. “People have him in the first and I just cannot see that. At all. He’s knock-kneed, top-heavy, body’s bad. Makes one splash play and then disappears for a few quarters. Gets washed out.”
Domonique Orange, Iowa State
“He’s a disruptor in the run game.”
“He never transferred — just got consistently better,” said one scout. “He’s got tremendous versatility and tremendous length. Stays on his feet. This guy might be the strongest guy I’ve seen in a while. They don’t keep track of a human being picking up a 300-pound human being and displacing him. That stat is never talked about. That’s what you see on tape. Now, he’s not necessarily a quick-twitch guy, but with his overall strength at the point of attack and balance he’s a disruptor in the run game. He doesn’t have great numbers as a pass rusher but he can pass rush. He’s a presence, OK? There’s tremendous upside there.”
“Baltimore Raven type.”
“He’s a space-eater inside,” said a third scout. “Had a good year. He’s a two-down, Baltimore Raven type. Just a bull rush. Not a pass rusher. That’s not his deal. But he is one of those big guys that runs to the sideline. He’s not lazy.”
Linebackers
Arvell Reese, Ohio State
My $.02 is that Reese should not be used as an off-ball linebacker in the NFL, but that is where McGinn has him listed.
“Just get him on the edge.”
“My thought is just get him on the edge and let him rush on tackles,” a second scout said. “He’s going to be a lot faster than most of the guys. I have him below (David) Bailey because I haven’t seen enough. With Reese, I’m betting on the future. There were some games you would say, absolutely, yes (he was dominant). Some games he just doesn’t flash for you.”
“Doesn’t make as many plays as he should.”
“He can be physical but he gets blocked a lot of times at the point,” a fifth scout said. “He doesn’t shed very quick. There’s something missing, and it’s production. He doesn’t jump off tape as a great player. He’s not in the league of Micah Parsons. A guy like Reese, he should have stayed in school. You’ve got to be careful of that guy now. The bottom line is he just doesn’t make as many plays as he should.”
Sonny Styles, Ohio State
“Someone will say yes.”
“He was born and bred to have a combine like he did,” a second scout said. “He’s been running with a parachute on his back since he was 5 or 6 years old. People question his instincts. The bottom line is, he’s 6-5, 245 and ran super fast. That’s all I can say. Look. There’s a reason why he wasn’t top-10 or top-15 until the combine. Speed, toughness, instincts. He’s got the speed. The toughness is a question. The instincts are a question. So then you start having doubts about him. But with that body type someone will say ‘yes.’”
“You’re betting it all on the upside.”
“He reminds me of Darron Lee that came out of there in (2016),” a fifth scout said. “He went to the Jets (as the No. 20 pick) and didn’t do anything. He could run but there was something off: toughness, physicality, grit. That’s what got him. It was odd seeing this guy because everybody else on that Ohio State defense played their ass off. This guy was just kind of hanging around. He doesn’t play like the rest of those dudes. When he’s in space he can run, which Darron Lee could do. But the instincts are off. The lack of physicality was off. He’s not a quick-trigger guy. Seeing him in person, he’s so damn big and he is very, very smooth and well-coordinated. Give him some more credit and love for that. You’re betting it all on the upside.
Anthony Hill, Texas
“Sort of caught between.”
“He got a lot of hype,” one scout said. “Off the body and the athletic ability he was a 5-star, and you could probably say that about him now,” said one scout. “But as an inside backer there isn’t great take-on. As an outside backer, not just a pure edge rusher. He’s sort of caught between and not really great at either one. He isn’t super instinctive. Reading plays and the key and diagnose wasn’t natural for him. He’s built like a pro, but when you start to dig into him you definitely have question marks.”
“He doesn’t play physical.”
“I couldn’t get excited about this guy,” a fourth scout said. “They moved him all over the place but he doesn’t play physical. He doesn’t really trigger and get to the ball. He floats around and it kind of gets him to the play. You’ll hear he’s a great athlete but I don’t see that at all. Just an average athlete. Best thing he does is zone coverage. Has a good feel for that. Third round.”
Edge defenders
If we are not counting Reese as an edge, there are only two in consideration before the Giants pick at No. 5. Here is what scouts think of them.
David Bailey, Texas Tech
“A good variety of moves.”
“He’s fast, twitchy, can bend, can change direction, can counter. He’s got a good variety of moves. I think he can walk in Day 1 and help you in your subpackages. If you call Arvell Reese an inside linebacker I probably think Bailey is the first (edge) to go. My downside on him is, he doesn’t chase plays away at times, and plays that are coming at him he’s not real physical at the point of attack. He’ll jump around some things, but he’s quick enough to make plays.”
“A flash guy.”
“This guy gets off the ball better than Tyree Wilson (No. 7, 2023, Raiders) but he reminds me of him and he has done absolutely nothing,” said a fifth scout. “Kind of a weird kind of athlete. Not very fluid. He can just get off the ball and run. But after that he doesn’t show a lot of move coordination or power. Doesn’t seem like he has a plan to what he’s doing. In run support he wasn’t very good. He’s like a flash guy. He can cause problems just from getting off the ball with that edge burst. That being said, in any other draft he would not be that high of a pick.”
Reuben Bain, Miami
“A major outlier.”
“He’ll be a major outlier. He’s super physical and aggressive but Bain is a tweener. He’s got no position. He’s not tall or lanky enough to be a defensive end. He’s not really athletic or fast enough to be an outside backer. And he’s too small to be a defensive tackle. Does he have a motor? Yes. Does he have physical hands? Yes. Is he active with his hands? Yes. As a technician, he’s going to wear a lot of bad college linemen out with his hands and effort. He did that. But, wow, do I think he’s going to get blocked in the NFL? I do.”
“An anomaly.”
“His quickness and power are just outstanding,” said a third scout. “He’s violent in how he plays. He’s always around the quarterback. He’s going to be the exception to the rule because I don’t think he’s very fast. He’s probably smart he didn’t run because I think he’d run around 4.8. I like edge rushers that have speed but he’s an anomaly for me. There are a lot of other parts of his game that he will compensate with.”
Cornerbacks
Mansoor Delane, LSU
“A cinch Pro Bowler.”
“He’s a cinch Pro Bowler, that guy,” said one scout. “It’s a matter of his instincts and ball skills and athletic ability. When the ball’s in the air he gets up. It’s hard to complete a pass on that guy. They can throw 20 times at the guy and he might knock down 17 of ‘em. He has great body control and close, and he knows how to play the ball whether it’s deep or underneath. It’s hard to get away from him. He’s got the athletic ability that is above everybody else.”
“Not elite.”
“Really good but not elite,” a fourth scout said. “He’s nowhere close to Patrick Surtain or Jaycee Horn or Stingley. Nowhere close, and he’s gonna be a top-10 pick. I just didn’t see that electric movement. He’s not great in off (coverage) as far as his change of direction and explosiveness. Good, not great. His run support needs to get better. He just goes in there. Looks like he’s gonna get his neck broken. He’s ducking his head in there.”
Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
“Really talented.”
“Sudden, quick, twitch, explosive,” said a third scout. “He plays with an edge … almost too much of an edge. He was getting penalties for face masks, fightin’ and all. ‘C’mon, man, just calm down.’ But it’s easier to calm them down than coach them up. He can mirror. In run support he’ll trigger and hit people. He’s really talented. He’s top 10 if everything checks out with the ACL.”
“A little soft.”
“I liked his size and his speed but didn’t like his reactions,” a fourth scout said. “He played a little soft.”
