My guys: 6 players I would pound the table for early in the draft process
Everyone has those players they fall for. Here are six of mine as summer scouting comes to an end.
The 2026 NFL Draft summer scouting cycle is coming to an end. My big board is over 100 players, and now it’s time to let everyone in on a short list of some of my favorite players that I’ve encountered this summer.
For this shortlist, however, I left off the obvious high-end players that everyone should be familiar with. It would be quite easy for me to put names like Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano or Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods on the list. I’m not going to do that.
Instead, I’ll give some names that I’ll be higher on than the consensus. Some of these names might be household names, but every player that I’ll mention is someone that I’d pound the table for if I had a seat in an NFL draft room.
So, here are six of “my guys” heading into the 2025 season who I expect to be risers this upcoming cycle.
QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
This one is easy, right?
If anyone has been following me at all this summer, then they know that I am a massive fan of Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Not only does he possess great accuracy with the football, but the wits that got him offers from Yale and UC Berkeley shine through on the football field too.
While the box score didn’t reflect the kind of quarterback that Mendoza was a year ago, he’ll have a massive opportunity to load up his statsheet in Bloomington this year after transferring in from Cal.
Mendoza has a big arm, fluid pocket movement skills, and a great internal timer, understands his role in pass protection and where his easy outs are when he needs them, and possesses the arm arrogance to take shots with the football, too. Some of his best throws a year ago came in the last two minutes of games and under pressure as well.
This is my summer scouting QB1.
WR Chris Bell, Louisville
It’s hard to find 227-pound wide receivers in today’s state of football. It’s harder to find 227-pound wide receivers who move the way that Louisville’s Chris Bell does.
At 6-foot-1, Bell possesses gobs of explosiveness with the ball in his hands and shows a more violent hip-sink than you would imagine someone with his body type would be able to put on tape. He runs a high volume of deep outs, comebacks, and dig routes (all require a more violent hip sink to get out of breaks), and Bell gets out of them hot.
Go watch the end-around carry he has against Clemson as well and see how quickly he eats up green grass as a ball carrier. The top dog in Louisville this year, expect a massive season from Bell.
TE John Michael Gyllenborg, Wyoming
I’ve been on the trail of Wyoming tight end John Michael Gyllenborg since the Spring of 2024. He entered last season as a guy that I was going to keep a close eye on. However, he missed the first chunk of the season due to a high ankle sprain.
When he came back, however, he came back explosive. He now enters his final year of eligibility as the top tight end on Wyoming’s roster, and with improved quarterback play as his quarterback from last season has made a position change and is in the same room as him now.
He could have transferred up, but instead, Gyllenborg went to work this offseason. The Wyoming pass catcher is up to a verified 251 pounds this offseason and even told me directly in our 1-on-1 interview that he is working hard to become a pure in-line blocker rather than a massive passing game mismatch.
As it stands now, however, he’s the closest tight end comparison to what we saw from Mike Gesicki coming out of Penn State in 2018. Gyllenborg is that kind of athlete.
OC Braelin Moore, LSU
He’s undersized, but Virginia Tech to LSU transfer center Braelin Moore can play. I got turned onto Moore’s tape thanks to the high grade of offensive tackle Xavier Chaplin (now at Auburn) from BLESTO. However, my eyes kept wanting to gravitate toward the center instead.
The size of Moore comes into play, both good and bad. For starters, he doesn’t have a power profile. His hands aren’t strong, and he’s not going to displace defenders out of gaps in the run game. However, what his stature does do for him is allow for him to play with a natural low center of gravity and into the chest of the man across from him without compromising his balance.
This helps Moore hop into an anchor rather cleanly despite that lack of play-strength. The height of his game, however, is his athleticism. Moore is a fluid mover, climbing to the second level and getting to the boundary, and possesses light and fast feet working in his pass set.
He’s a fun player who I’ll be watching closely at LSU this season.
DT David Oke, Arkansas
It’s not often that a player who has never played a down of FBS football gets summer scouting hype (unless they’re one of the various North Dakota State offensive linemen). However, former Abilene Christian defensive tackle David Oke deserves every bit of hype as he enters his first year at Arkansas and into SEC play.
Oke is not only explosive, but he is a flexible pass rusher who can take the outside track of the man across from him at will. Abeline Christian put him on a record number of stunts and twists upfront last year, and Oke can even be seen beating offensive tackles against Texas Tech and NDSU (his two toughest opponents last year) on tape.
Entering the season, it’s impossible to be lower than a third round grade on Oke for me. He’s got high-end athletic traits and the wits to wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks. Now he’ll get to do it on the center stage at the SEC level.
CB Keith Abney II, Arizona State
Many are now on the scent of Arizona State cornerback Keith Abney II. He first popped out to me while writing up Matthew Golden last winter. His tape in that Texas game is exceptional, and he was one of the first players I went back to this year at the start of the cycle.
Abney is what I’d classify as a good enough athlete. His top-end speed isn’t going to shatter any records, but he’s likely a high-4.4 or low-4.5 athlete. However, he is a fluid mover with a high IQ in zone coverage. Then add in that he’s a complete gnat in man coverage with inside-out versatility, and there is a ton to love about the Sun Devils’ lockdown cornerback.
I’m very bullish on Abney. He sits as my CB2 entering the season.
