NFL Confidential: Who is Actually the Best Player in 2026 Draft? Execs, Scouts Differ

INDIANAPOLIS — Everyone in the NFL is in agreement that Fernando Mendoza will be the top pick in the draft. But who is the best player in the draft? On that topic, there’s no agreement at all. In fact, when we polled a small group of NFL executives and scouts at the NFL Scouting Combine this week and asked them to name the top overall prospect in the draft, four different players received votes. Mendoza and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs tied for first with three votes apiece. But Ohio State edge rusher Arvell Reese and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love were right behind them with two votes each. Let’s take a closer look at what people around the NFL are saying about the top prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. *** Ralph Vacchiano: How do you determine who the best player in the draft is? Well, sometimes it comes down to positional value, which is why one NFC scout believes Mendoza might be getting votes. But that person doesn’t agree with that notion. “Everyone is going to have their own definition of ‘best’ this year,” the NFC scout told me. “It’s hard to go against a quarterback, but if we’re being honest, [Mendoza] probably isn’t the best player or prospect. He’ll have the biggest impact, sure, because of his position. But other players are better.” [2026 NFL Draft: Would Fernando Mendoza Have Been the Top QB in 2025 Draft Class?] An NFL general manager, meanwhile, told me that if you took away positional value, the question of who is the best player available is up for debate between several players. “There are five names you could put in a hat and any one of them is the right answer,” the general manager told me. “I know we all say ‘best player available,’ but in this case, the best player available might really depend on what you need.” Adding to the intrigue is that several of the most highly regarded players don’t play positions that are generally considered worthy of a top-five pick in the draft. Downs is hoping to become the first safety picked in the top-five since 2010, and Love could be just the eighth running back to go in the top-five since 2005. The top-five could even be crashed by a real rarity — an inside linebacker who doesn’t necessarily project as an NFL pass rusher: Ohio State’s Sonny Styles. “Arguably, some of the best players in this draft are maybe at non-premium positions,” said Chiefs general manager Brett Veach. “When you look at the Ohio State linebacker [Styles], the Notre Dame running back [Love], the safety from Ohio State [Downs], those are really, really good players.” Of course, even in a down year for quarterbacks in the draft, it’s hard to pick against the one at the top of the class. One scout who voted for Mendoza told me he likely wouldn’t have been the first quarterback taken in any of the last three drafts. “But he’s the best we’ve got this year. And these guys are so hard to find, that’s more than good enough,” the scout said. An assistant general manager echoed that thought. “If you need a quarterback, he’s the best player, no discussion,” the assistant general manager told me. “He’ll have the biggest impact and plays the position where the good ones are hardest to find. I wouldn’t compare him to any other position. Those guys are always in a class of their own.” *** Eric D. Williams: There was no real consensus on the No. 1 overall prospect in this year’s draft from the league sources I spoke with this week. One league executive singled out Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey and Jeremiyah Love as his top two, then went with the Notre Dame prospect as his top overall player. However, the personnel executive acknowledged the conundrum of taking a player at a non-premium position high in the draft when quality running backs can be had in the later rounds. “I wouldn’t take him No. 1 because the supply of running backs far outweighs the demand,” the front office executive told me. “But he has the most high-level traits for his position than anyone else in the draft.” Another NFL coach who works on the offensive side of the ball pointed to Love as a game-changer who could go early in this year’s draft. “He can play,” the coach told me. However, a league source said Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is his No. 1 overall player, which makes sense because it’s a foregone conclusion that the Las Vegas Raiders will make him the first overall pick in this year’s draft. While some scouts and personnel executives have questioned Mendoza’s arm strength and athleticism, this league source told me Mendoza’s ability to perform in high-leverage situations is elite. “People just like to say s— and be negative,” the league source told me. “He’s a great player and was as clutch as it gets. Beat Ohio State twice, destroyed Alabama, beat Miami and Oregon — look at how many guys those teams have drafted. He will be like a mix of [Jared] Goff and [Joe] Burrow, with some Andrew Luck.” For most teams, determination on positional value plays a role in how they rank the top overall players in this year’s draft and where they eventually wind up being selected. One of the best teams at doing that over the years has been the Baltimore Ravens. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta discussed his team’s reasoning for taking the best player available regardless of their needs. The most famous example of that was Baltimore selecting future two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson at No. 32 overall in the 2018 draft, even with a Super Bowl-winning quarterback on their roster in Joe Flacco. “Every team has their own philosophy,” DeCosta told reporters here at the combine. “So, you could interview every general manager here, and they would probably have a different belief and need versus BPA, or ‘best player available.’ I learned under Ozzie Newsome, and we’ve always been a best-player-available team. That’s important to me. That’s in my DNA. It is something I believe in. “You have to do it within reason. You’re not going to be crazy and just draft the best available player and end up with 17 different outside linebackers. You’re not going to do that. So, you’ve got to have the roster size, you’ve got to understand positional value and how many players are at each position. But all things being equal, I think you draft the best available player.” Greg Auman contributed to this report.