The 2026 NFL Draft is already just over a week away. The latest Wolf Sports YouTube video highlights our history of prospects ranked inside our top 10 who fall to Day 2 of the draft becoming stars—and who those players could be this year.
Two undoubted superstars
The headliners among players who we had as top-10 prospects but weren’t seen as such by the consensus and by the NFL? A.J. Brown and Jonathan Taylor. Brown has arguably been a consistent top-three receiver during his prime, as someone who has an all-around game that includes torching defensive backs on both routes and as a ball-carrier. JT is a former league-leading rusher who was also on an MVP pace for much of last season; the blend of talent and production at Wisconsin should have made him an easy home-run pick in the draft.
The other stars
You can make a case for Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Nakobe Dean, and Joey Porter Jr. all being star-level players. At the very least, they were major values on Day 2 of the draft—and we believe deserving of where we had them ranked.
Roger McCreary can be classified as a “miss” for his top-10 ranking on the Wolf Sports board. But he’s been solid, and we’re anxious to see how he performs with the Lions this season.
The 2026 gems
For the 2026 NFL Draft, we like Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard and Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds as future difference-makers who appear poised to drop out of the first round.
Bernard has shades of A.J. Brown and Deeob Samuel to his game, with a smoothness that extends to all areas of the field both with the ball in his hands and on routes to every level. But the first thing that stands out about the dynamic weapon might be his hands. Bernard has extremely confident and sticky hands to pluck the ball like many of the greats.
It seems the only reason Ponds isn’t seen as a surefire first-round pick is because of his size. At five-foot-nine, you’ll hear a lot about Ponds being “pound for pound” one of the best players in the class. With how sticky he is in coverage and him being undaunted despite the relatively smaller frame, it might be a mistake to let Ponds drop because of his size. He has 4.3 speed and a 43.5-inch vertical, with the athleticism translating to exceptional coverage at corner.
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