7 sneaky first round prospects based on consensus board standing

There are a couple handfuls of players who sit outside of the top-32 on the consensus board who we need to have a conversation about.

Every year, there are surprise names that end up in the first round; the 2026 NFL Draft will be no different. So, my intention here in this article is to prepare for a handful of names that could be among the surprise first rounders given their standing on the consensus board.

Of course, the consensus board does not take into account positional need of individual teams, nor do we have access to every team’s board. Last year, I had heard of a team that had linebacker Carson Schwesinger as the No. 2 player on their board and would have taken him in the first round if their top option had not been on the board.

The Seattle Seahawks, when Pete Carroll was the head coach, routinely took outliers from the consensus board in the first round, and the Las Vegas Raiders under Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock were the same way. It’s an interesting thought discussion to have about who some of these surprise first rounders could be in this year’s class.

So, I took a look at the consensus board and at names that currently sit lower than 32nd to see who could sneak their way into the first round this upcoming April.

For the consensus board, I am using my podcast co-host James Foster’s board from his app. You can find that consensus board here.