As we plug along this college football season, I want to start getting the names of some of the top players that should be in the 2026 NFL Draft. This week, I look at the top 15 offensive linemen you should have on your radar this season. If you’re looking for the position groups I’ve covered previously, click here.
NFL Draft Breakdown (2006-2025)
On average, over the 7 rounds of the NFL Draft, we see the following numbers of players taken at each position:
Position
Average Number Drafted Annually
Quarterback
12.8
Running Back
22.5
Wide Receiver
33.1
Tight End
15.4
Offensive Tackle
21.3
Interior OL (Guard/Center)
24.7
Defensive End
23.9
Defensive Tackle
19.6
Linebacker
31.8
Cornerback
30.5
Safety
21.1
Kicker
2.1
Punter
2.3
Long Snapper
0.8
And here’s a breakdown by round:
Position
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Quarterback
3.5
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.3
1.4
1.2
Running Back
1.3
2.5
2.7
3.6
3.5
4.8
4.1
Wide Receiver
4.6
4.4
4.1
4.2
4.3
5.8
5.7
Tight End
0.9
1.9
2.2
2.4
2.6
3
2.4
Offensive Tackle
4.1
3.2
2.9
2.8
2.5
3.1
2.7
Interior OL
2.2
2.9
3.8
4
3.7
4.5
3.6
Defensive End
3.9
3.6
3.1
3.2
2.9
3.8
3.4
Defensive Tackle
2.8
2.4
2.6
2.8
2.9
3.2
2.9
Linebacker
3.4
3.9
4.5
4.8
4.7
5.5
5
Cornerback
3.8
4.2
4
4.1
3.9
5.1
5.4
Safety
1.5
2.3
2.8
3.1
3.4
4.1
3.9
Kicker
0.05
0.1
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.4
0.35
Punter
0
0.05
0.1
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.45
Long Snapper
0
0
0
0.05
0.2
0.3
0.25
FIRST LOOK: Top 15 2026 NFL Draft Offensive Linemen
Rank
Position
Name
School
1
OT
Francis Mauigoa
Miami (FL)
2
OT
Kadyn Proctor
Alabama
3
OT
Caleb Lomu
Utah
4
OT
Spencer Fano
Utah
5
IOL
Jake Slaughter
Florida
6
IOL
Parker Brailsford
Alabama
7
IOL
Earnest Greene III
Georgia
8
OT
Austin Barber
Florida
9
IOL
Emmanuel Pregnon
Oregon
10
OT
Blake Miller
Clemson
11
OT
Isaiah World
Oregon
12
OT
Drew Shelton
Penn State
13
OT
Trevor Goosby
Texas
14
IOL
Logan Jones
Iowa
15
OT
Cayden Green
Missouri
Typically, you’ll see more offensive tackles get drafted on day one, and I suspect this draft will be quite the same. If you’ve looked at my most recent mock draft, I had a few go in round one, and right now I am leaning towards probably 4 getting drafted night one in this draft. The pair from Utah will definitely make a case for being the top taken, but both could hear their names called early in 2026, as they are extremely talented tackles. I will say, Lomu is probably the one with more room to grow and will probably need more development to be ready to start, but both are franchise cornerstone-type players.
Francis Mauigoa is a player who may wind up having to move inside at the next level, as I think he’s a bit too big to be a tackle but a great size for a guard. He’s extremely athletic for his size, and he’s very quick when you watch him play, especially when he has to get to the second level and beyond.
——
Kadyn Proctor is a massive human being, who you’ll hear the words road grader thrown around with him, with amazing athletic ability for someone his size. Obviously, at 6’7”, he’s going to have to work to keep his pads low and handle some of the faster edge rushers at the NFL level, but playing in the SEC, he’s getting plenty of reps against good talent.
Jake Slaughter may wind up being a center at the next level, but I could see him being used anywhere across the interior of the offensive line. At this point, I think he’s a better pass blocker than run defender, but I think he’s very strong and very smart, and will be a player teams fall in love with during the draft process.
The top 5 are my favorite players thus far to have watched; after that, all bets are off. If you told me the order was vastly different, I would not be surprised in the least. World and Green are two players that I’ve really enjoyed watching and think they could make a case for being further up my rankings as we get deeper into the season.
Thanks for Stopping By!
Follow Draft Countdown on YouTube for NFL Draft and fantasy football videos, including mock drafts, with college football analysis every season, and more!
Like this:
Like Loading…