Ranking the Top 250 Prospects in the NFL Draft Led By Fernando Mendoza
| Revisiting Every 2025 NFL Draft Trade Involving a First-Round Pick: Who Won and Who Lost?
In two weeks, several draft prospects will be in Pittsburgh, Pa. to see their professional football dreams come to fruition when they are selected in the 2026 NFL draft.
This year, there will be 16 players attending the draft in person. That’s one fewer than last year, when 17 prospects went in person to the draft in Green Bay. The number is up from the 2024 NFL draft, when just 13 players attended the event live.
Here is the list of prospects who will be in attendance for this year’s draft, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
- Edge David Bailey, Texas Tech
- DE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami
- CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
- S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
- Edge Keldric Faulk, Auburn
- CB Colton Hood, Tennessee
- WR Makai Lemon, USC
- RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
- OT Francis Mauigoa, Miami
- DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State
- OT Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
- LB Arvell Reese, Ohio State
- QB Ty Simpson, Alabama
- LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
- WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State
- WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
Notably, presumed No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza has informed the league that he will not beattending the draft in person, instead opting to take in the event with family and friends in Miami. Mendoza will be the first No. 1 pick since Travon Walker in 2022 that is not present at the draft.
For the players that do opt to attend the draft, it’s a once in a lifetime experience to celebrate one of the biggest milestones in their lives and professional careers. When drafted, the players are called to the stage to shake commissioner Roger Goodell’s hand and pose with gear from their new team. There are a multitude of reasons players choose not to go to the draft, including because they prefer to watch from home or have too big of a group to bring with them to the event.
While Mendoza will be watching the draft from elsewhere, many other potential top-10 picks—including Bailey, Bain, Delane, Downs, Love, Mauigoa, Reese, Styles and Tate will be there in person.
Not all the prospects attending the draft, however, are locks in the first round. Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is viewed as a potential first-round pick, but there’s also a good chance he’s not taken until the second round. In the latest mock draft from Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano, he did not predict either McDonald or Faulk getting picked in the first round. Despite going to the draft last year, both Will Johnson and Jalen Milroe had to wait until Day 2 to hear their names called. Draft falls have created awkward scenarios in the past. Notably, the biggest storyline of the 2025 NFL draft was Shedeur Sanders’s fall to the fifth round, though he was not there in person.
More NFL from Sports Illustrated
Published | Modified 
EVA GEITHEIM
Eva Geitheim is an NFL writer at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor’s in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or rewatching Gilmore Girls.
Share on FacebookShare on XHome/NFLOriginal Article
