Jacory Croskey-Merritt wakes up his alarm clock and gives the sun permission to set. He's the most popular out-of-nowhere running back in recent fantasy football memory, but at the end of the day, he's still a Day 3 running back. And Day 3 running backs get replaced. [Jeremiyah] Love is the consensus top running back in the class and would be an injection of dynamic youth to the oldest roster in football.
I can't wait to see some of the top prospects from the 2026 NFL draft class in action. Texas quarterback Arch Manning facing off against Ohio State safety Caleb Downs? LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier vs. defensive tackle Peter Woods and a loaded Clemson defense? This is going to be fun. Now, it's really early. The 2026 draft is still almost eight months away.
For this exercise, I used ESPN's Football Power Index -- which uses thousands of simulations to predict the entire NFL season -- to project where every team will make its pick. Remember that only 30 franchises currently have a first-round selection, though. The Jaguars and Falcons both dealt away their 2026 Day 1 picks during the 2025 draft. I also crafted two more moves at the top of the order that would make sense if things played out like this.