Top NFL Execs & Agents Predict the 2026 Draft’s Top Five

The NFL draft is still weeks away and the juiciest rumors period of the year, the three-to-five days leading up to the first round, is not yet upon us. 

NFL bigwigs are in exhausting draft preparation meetings all day and top prospects are being whisked around the country meeting with teams.

So, yeah, it’s still a little early… But that didn’t preclude SportsBoom from taking the temperature of many people who will be involved with this draft process, representing players and part of the decision-making process to select players, to get a sense of how they believe the teams at the top of the draft are leaning. 

It’s a collection of hunches, some probably will look more educated than others when it’s all season and done, but here’s a crack at the top of the draft.

No drama at the very top… then it gets really interesting

1. Fernando Mendoza, QB (Indiana) – The Raiders are taking him, the entire league knows it. They don’t want to trade this pick. A few teams will call and explore that possibility anyway much closer to the draft. It won’t go anywhere. 

    

2. Rueben Bain Jr, DL (Miami) – The Jets need to rebuild their defensive line and while this is far from a consensus pick at this point, the stone-cold evaluators we trust the most and the guys who understand the tape the best love this kid and what he can do to impact a football game playing inside and outside. The shorter arms aren't freaking them out at all. There will be some curveballs in this draft for sure, and the top five is not nearly as nailed down as in some previous drafts. Bet he starts showing up here more in mock drafts and the odds of him going this high keep dropping.

    

3. Francis Mauigoa, OL (Miami) – Arizona loves Ohio State LB Sonny Styles and if they go defense I believe he’s the pick. But the offensive line is broken, they will be drafting a QB very high a year from now and they grab an immediate impact, stud right tackle who might be their longterm left tackle as well. 

    

4. Arvell Reese, LB (Ohio State) – Tennessee has to build a defense and they just hired a longtime defensive coordinator as their head coach (Robert Saleh) and the prior regime tried to build at least something of an infrastructure for QB Cam Ward. Reese prospects as a disruptive pass rusher and he very well could go second-overall.

    

5. Sonny Styles, LB (Ohio State) – The Giants will have a host of Ohio State products to choose from here on both sides of the ball, and some will project them to go running back, but we keep hearing new head coach John Harbaugh has a thing for Styles, and rightfully so. He is a unique defensive weapon in this draft and while defensive might be more of a pressing need, the kids character and worth ethic and game film is too impactful to ignore.