The 2026 NFL season is almost here\u2014and that, as always, means not only new games, but also new Latino players to root for.<\/p>\n
Our communities remain underrepresented in the NFL, but with each passing year, the number of Latino players continues to grow. A report by the Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport found that only 12 NFL players identified as Latino in 2021. In 2026, however, 55 Latinos are on NFL teams, with 38 on 53-man rosters and 17 on practice squads or reserve lists.<\/p>\n
Some of those names are already familiar, like 2025 Pro Bowlers Nik Bonitto and Christian Gonzalez. There are also exciting rookies joining the league this year, including Fernando Mendoza, KC Concepcion, and Jacob Rodriguez, plus veterans like Fred Warner and Isiah Pachecho. We also have a player who entered the league through the NFL International Player Pathway: Isaac Alarcon.<\/p>\n
In 2026, 20.5% of the U.S. population identifies as Latino, so there\u2019s still work to do. But with the numbers steadily rising\u2014and with the NFL playing two regular-season games in Latin America this year, one in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and one in Mexico City, Mexico\u2014this is the perfect time to start investing in the sport.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve put together a list of 10 Latino NFL players to watch out for this season, in case you want to enjoy the game while supporting our communities. These aren\u2019t the names you usually hear\u2014and that\u2019s what will make this season so fun.<\/p>\n
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Any list of players to watch has to start with the number 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Fernando Mendoza. All eyes are on him after a fantastic college career that saw him win the Heisman Trophy and lead Indiana to a national championship before the Las Vegas Raiders selected him.<\/p>\n
Mendoza completed 55.6% of his passes with one touchdown and two interceptions during his first NFL preseason, and though he will begin the season behind veteran Kirk Cousins in Las Vegas, the future is bright for Mendoza, and the entire Raiders organization is counting on him.<\/p>\n
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Perhaps the most established name on this list, Bryce Young is still very much at the beginning of his career. Like Mendoza, he was the number one pick in the draft, but in 2023. Like Mendoza, he also won a Heisman Trophy. And though he had a tough start, as most rookies do when they have to step up right away, Young improved in 2025, setting career highs with 3,011 passing yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 63.6% of his passes.<\/p>\n
Now going into his fourth NFL season, Young is looking for his breakout year. And he\u2019ll get to try for just that while playing for the only Latino head coach in the NFL, Dave Canales\u2014quite a team.<\/p>\n
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Skattebo was a rookie last year, but he was fun to watch. His numbers during his last college season were good enough (1,711 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns) to make us believe he had a bright future in the NFL. And we were right. In just 8 games, he rushed for 410 yards with five touchdowns, while adding 24 catches for 207 yards and two more scores.<\/p>\n
An ankle injury cut down his season, but Skattebo enters 2026 looking to prove that, if healthy, he can be in the conversation with the best running backs in the league. He\u2019s the starter for the New York Giants, so he\u2019ll get plenty of chances.<\/p>\n
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We\u2019ve yet to see KC Concepcion in the NFL, but he\u2019s without a doubt one of the most exciting players coming out of the 2026 NFL Draft. The receiver, who was selected in the first round by the Browns, is looking to be the spark his team needs to become a contender. And if there\u2019s a player ready to contribute now, it\u2019s Concepcion.<\/p>\n
He had a very strong training camp and was outstanding in his one preseason game, totaling 72 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. Now, let\u2019s see what he does when the games count.<\/p>\n
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Another rookie, and one of the most decorated defensive players in the 2026 rookie class. In his final college season, he registered 123 tackles, four interceptions and seven forced fumbles. Those are Pro Bowl numbers. He also earned unanimous All-America honors while winning the Butkus Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Lombardi Award.<\/p>\n
Now, the Dolphins are hoping he can translate all of that to the NFL and make a difference from Day 1.<\/p>\n
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Hawkins, a 2020 draft pick, could be considered a veteran at this point. Still, it\u2019s fair to say people truly started paying attention to him after his 2025 season with New England, where he recorded four interceptions, 84 tackles, six pass deflections and a forced fumble over 16 games.<\/p>\n
Now, he\u2019s headed to Baltimore, ready to prove 2025 wasn\u2019t a fluke and that he deserves to be in any conversation about the best defenders in the league.<\/p>\n
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Levi Drake Rodriguez has quite a story. He was a 7th-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and anyone who follows the sport knows that 7th-round picks don\u2019t usually make it to the NFL. But after playing just 2 games as a rookie, Rodriguez broke through in 2025, playing 16 games and recording 43 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks and five quarterback hits.<\/p>\n
Now, he has that experience and enters the season as a starter. Can his numbers get better? The Vikings certainly hope so.<\/p>\n
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One of the top kickers in the 2025 NFL Draft, Borregales won the starting job as a rookie and connected on 27 of 32 field goals last year, including all four of his attempts from 50 yards or longer. He also made 53 of 55 extra points, scored 134 points and earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors during the season.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s only in his second year. And he\u2019s bound to get better. That\u2019s a scary thought for other teams.<\/p>\n
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A second-round draft pick in 2025, Arroyo saw action in 13 games as a rookie, catching 15 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown while averaging 11.9 yards per reception. Modest numbers, but he did end the season with a Super Bowl ring.<\/p>\n
Now, with a year of experience, he\u2019ll look to become even more of a threat for the defending champions.<\/p>\n
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Carmona isn\u2019t your typical prospect. In fact, he didn\u2019t even start playing tackle football until his junior year of high school, and he first started as a tight end. But he was selected in the fifth round with the 142nd overall pick in this year\u2019s draft and has played guard during the preseason.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s physical and can play multiple positions, so expect Carmona Jr. to become a valuable piece of the Titans\u2019 offensive line sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL season is almost here\u2014and that, as always, means not only new games, but also new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":990926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[37623,1476,746,1162,125270,3619,7,35794,7895,43380,23284,6],"class_list":["post-990925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-andres-borregales","tag-bryce-young","tag-cam-skattebo","tag-elijah-arroyo","tag-fernando-carmona-jr","tag-fernando-mendoza","tag-football","tag-jacob-rodriguez","tag-jaylinn-hawkins","tag-kc-concepcion","tag-levi-drake-rodriguez","tag-nfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117208370618833738","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/990925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=990925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/990925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/990926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=990925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=990925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=990925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}