NFL.com’s resident draft analyst, Daniel Jeremiah , released his initial top-50 player big board for the 2026 NFL draft on Tuesday afternoon. Some of Jeremiah’s rankings align with those of others in the industry.
For instance, Jeremiah and ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. both have Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza as the top player on their boards, followed by Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love at number two.
But Jeremiah’s board also differs from others in a few interesting areas. He has USC’s Makai Lemon listed as his number one wide receiver in the draft, over Ohio State’s Carnell Tate or Arizona State’s Jordan Tyson. It’s not an egregious take by any means; Lemon has a unique skill set that differs from other receivers in this draft. While there are multiple ball-winning perimeter receivers over 6 feet 2 inches tall in this draft, Lemon is the only player who runs routes like a receiver and then transforms into an elite running back after the catch.
Jeremiah is also much lower on Auburn edge rusher Keldric Faulk, who he has listed as the sixth-best defensive end in this draft. The same goes for Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods, who is the 34th-best player on his big board. For comparison, ESPN’s Field Yates has Woods listed as the 12th-best player in his own rankings.
I thought it might be fun to highlight a few players who, according to Jeremiah’s rankings, could still be on the board when the Kansas City Chiefs are on the clock with the ninth overall pick. For the sake of this exercise, we will use Jeremiah’s big board as our ranking system and will mock the first eight picks to help whittle down the list of available players we will choose from.
Interestingly, in Jeremiah’s own mock draft, he has the Chiefs selecting Miami edge rusher Ruben Bain Jr. with their first-round selection, but in our scenario, Bain goes off the board just before the Chiefs are on the clock.
Here are the first eight picks in this scenario:
Pick 1. Las Vegas Raiders – Fernando Mendoza (QB Indiana) – Ranking 1
Pick 2. New York Jets – Arvelle Reese (Edge Ohio St.) – Ranking 3
Pick 3. Arizona Cardinals – Spencer Fano (OT Utah) – Ranking 12
Pick 4. Tennessee Titans – Makai Lemon (WR USC) – Ranking 7
Pick 5. New York Giants – Mansoor Delane (CB LSU) – Ranking 8
Pick 6. Cleveland Browns – Carnell Tate (WR Ohio St.) – Ranking 9
Pick 7. Washington Commanders – David Bailey (Edge Texas Tech) – Ranking 4
Pick 8. New Orleans Saints – Ruben Bain jr. (Edge Miami) – Ranking 6
Top remaining players for the Chiefs
Jeremiyah Love (RB Notre Dame)
Suggesting Kansas City could select a running back with the ninth overall pick in the draft should come with a trigger warning. But Love might be the most talented player in this draft. Selecting Love isn’t the same as selecting Clyde Edwards-Helaire; it’s like selecting Bijan Robinson or Saquon Barkley. Except, I think when it’s all said and done, Love might be better than both of them. There is definitely an argument to be made that selecting a running back this high is poor positional value, but for that, there is a counterargument that you will be hard-pressed to find a bigger difference maker at any position in the draft. Considering all the top edge rushers are already off the board, there are worse directions you could go.
Love is a unique talent who can take the ball to the house anytime he touches it. Bottom line: he doesn’t need 25 touches to take over a game.
Caleb Downs (S Ohio St.)
Much like Love, Downs could be one of the safest bets in this entire draft. His floor is a future Pro Bowl defensive back (and I’m not talking about a Shedeur Sanders Pro Bowl selection, a real one.)
One of the more underrated aspects of the Chiefs’ championship dynasty has been the fact that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense is at its best when it has an elite talent manning the back end of the secondary (i.e., former Chiefs safeties Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Reid)
Downs has the size and athleticism to play deep or slide into the box in run support. He is a good blitzer and is sticky enough in coverage to be left one-on-one in the slot with some of the league’s shiftier receivers. Simply put, selecting Downs would give the Chiefs an elite talent on the defensive side of the ball for the next decade.
Jordyn Tyson (WR Arizona St.)
You will be hard-pressed to find a more dynamic receiver in this draft than Tyson, whose older brother, Jaylon, is currently a starting guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The NBA bloodlines are evident in Tyson’s game. The footspeed he carries in and out of his breaks and the precision with which he runs his routes are the best in the class, as is his ability to climb the ladder and bring down a contested catch. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Tyson has the highest vertical jump at this year’s NFL Combine.
And if that was the end of the story, Tyson would be a slam dunk pick at number nine for the Chiefs, but Tyson has a lengthy history of injuries and has missed time every season in his college career, including 2025, when he only appeared in nine games. So evaluating Tyson’s medicals and durability will be a big part of deciding whether the Chiefs feel comfortable pulling the trigger on him at nine.
