Trust the tape.
It’s easier said than done. The NFL draft process, long and arduous, is a winnowing process. A dense list of hundreds of prospects must be thinned into a list of realistic targets through a variety of filters. A team’s coaching staff is looking for scheme fits and culture fits. The medical staff will flag dozens of players as untenable injury risks, and the analytics arm will flag the (lack of) production, athletic testing or quality competition of dozens more. Tick, tick, tick. Names get scratched off the list.
In this process, the tape sometimes gets easily lost. But I am not an NFL scouting department, and I don’t have access to medical records and projection models and locker room rumors. I have the tape — and the tape tells me which prospects I like.
Last year, I put together my All-Film team for the 2025 NFL draft, and despite the fact I purposely didn’t include a bunch of first-rounders, early returns were good. It had undersized players like Andrew Mukuba, older players like Tyler Shough, positional converts like Carson Schwesinger, tweeners like Ashton Gillotte and less-than-perfect athletic testers like Azareye’h Thomas. Some had exciting rookie seasons to build on, and one even won Rookie of the Year.
This year’s list will have the same: imperfect players who will go later than the tape suggests given the warts on their profiles. But I’m in on each of them because the film details players who, nevertheless, succeed — and will do so again in the league.
This is my All-Film team for 2026.
Jump to a position:
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | IOL
DT | Edge | LB | CB | S
Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 82
It’s tough to trust the tape on any quarterback in this class after Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. While I agree Alabama’s Ty Simpson is this year’s QB2 , I have serious film-born questions about his decision-making under pressure, accuracy and arm talent. He’s a good but incomplete player.
I’ve got serious film-born questions about Nussmeier, too. He isn’t the biggest (6-foot-2, 203 pounds) and is coming off an injury-shortened season in which a lingering core issue dramatically affected his ability to push the ball (6.4 air yards per attempt in 2025 relative to 8.4 the season previous). He took twice as many sacks, too (4.8% relative to 2.9%). The film shows a jumpy player who didn’t trust himself or his O-line.
But the 2024 film on Nussmeier? That’ll get your blood pumping a little bit.
Nussmeier is an uber-aggressive pocket passer who thinks he can solve any problem or beat any coverage with the perfect throw. It’s not that he’s constantly launching go balls. He attacks intermediate windows against all coverages, making earnest post-snap reads and buzzing through his options quickly. His immunity to pressure is at times impressive — he’ll climb the pocket and rip a deep backside route with bodies flying around him; other times, it’s concerning — he will take some brutal shots.
— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) March 31, 2026
Nussmeier’s 2024 film is quite reminiscent of Simpson’s 2025 film. Both are sons of coaches and have the polished play you’d expect from that lineage. Both are adequate movers who know how to avoid sacks. But Nussmeier might be available two, even three rounds later than Simpson, depending on how early the QB-needy teams draft Simpson. Of course, the Day 3 developmental quarterback is right next to Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster on the big board of things that don’t actually exist, despite all of our searching. If Nussmeier goes in Round 4, it’ll be to fight for a backup job … and then maybe luck into a few starts as his rookie season goes on.
Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 71
For the first time in NFL draft history, an RB2 is the RB2. Price is projected as a Round 2 pick, and if he is indeed the second running back selected after Fighting Irish teammate Jeremiyah Love, it will mark the first time teammates have been the first two running backs taken off the board.
Though Price was unquestionably the second fiddle behind Love, he still had 233 carries over the past two seasons to Love’s 362, thanks in large part to the high volume at which Notre Dame ran the football. That 233-carry sample is more than enough on which to base an evaluation. Bills running back James Cook III had only 230 career carries over four seasons before he was drafted in the second round out of Georgia, and new Commanders back Rachaad White had 224 carries at the Power 5 level before he went to the Bucs in the third round out of Arizona State.
And Price’s 233 carries are good. A loose athlete at 5-11 and 203 pounds, he’s a more creative runner with quicker eyes and decision-making than Love. Price reliably puts the first would-be tackler in bad positions by manipulating tempo and activating his off hand, creating a ton of yardage after first contact. Love is the superior prospect for his receiving ability and explosive open-field speed, while Price is more of a tricky projection to the NFL. He’s not a high-impact pass protector or pass catcher, so he needs to find a home as an early-down, high-volume, ground-and-pound ball carrier. Those roles don’t open up often.
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Jadarian Price muscles in a TD for the Irish
Jadarian Price scores a 1-yard rushing touchdown for Notre Dame vs. Stanford.
But teams that already have a receiving back that they want to protect from 300-plus carries over the course of a season should prioritize Price. He’d be a great running mate for, say, Bucky Irving in Tampa Bay or Tony Pollard in Tennessee, but the dream landing spot is alongside Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. Price, who ran for 674 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, is a reliable singles and doubles hitter, and pairing him with a home run threat like Gibbs would bring out the best in him.
Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 33
Consider the list of ridiculous athletes at wide receiver to graduate from Alabama. Pass over the classics (Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, etc.) and just look at recent history: Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Jerry Jeudy and Jameson Williams. Bernard is … not in that group.
That isn’t to say Bernard is a bad athlete. He’s solid all across the board, with a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, 10-foot-5 broad jump, 32½-inch vertical jump and 6.71-second three-cone drill, all at 6-1 and 206 pounds. But Bernard’s athleticism does not jump off the film. He isn’t leaving corners in the dust or dropping highlight-reel jukes.
But he does everything well — and I mean everything. Bernard will dig out a linebacker to spring a handoff on one play, stretch a safety to open another route on the next play, grind out some tough YAC on an RPO on another play, and then cut up a mean route to separate downfield on the next play. Look at the stopping power and upfield displacement he gets on this block against Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff. This matters for light personnel teams that need their wide receivers to contribute in the running game.
— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) March 31, 2026
Bernard is unlikely to become a volume-dominant WR1 at the NFL level, nor will he fill the ever important WR2/WR3 role of big-play merchant. But for those teams that want to field three receivers, Bernard’s dirty work will maximize the wideouts who are in those roles. Because he has good hands and runs good routes, he still can punish defenses who forget about him. Bernard led the Tide in receptions in each of the past two seasons — his only two with the team after transferring in from Washington — which speaks to his reliability and QB friendliness.
Think about what Jauan Jennings has been for the 49ers over the past few seasons. That’s the sort of role Bernard can fill right away, with the potential to become a Jakobi Meyers-esque stick mover over time. Bernard to the Bears or Vikings on Day 2? Perfect fits.
Tight end: Eli Raridon, Notre Dame
Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 66
In last year’s edition of the All-Film team, I implored you to take a staggering leap of faith and trust a tight end prospect out of Notre Dame. Mitchell Evans, who went in the fifth round, ended up breaking into the Panthers’ rotation at the position nicely, playing 424 snaps by season’s end.
I’m back to the Fighting Irish well with Raridon, though through a different lens. Evans was a productive receiver in a small sample; with Raridon, it feels like the light bulb went on as a blocker last season. Raridon tore his right ACL twice (once in 2021 before he got on campus, then again in the fall of 2022 as a freshman). His development was impeded and playing time limited, especially on a dense depth chart of Notre Dame tight ends, including Evans. But over his one year as the unquestioned TE1 in South Bend, Raridon improved dramatically.
Prone to falling off blocks with an upright posture earlier in the season, Raridon learned how to use his length, flexibility and core strength to uproot defensive linemen and steer them out of gaps. He became an impactful player on pulls that Notre Dame featured in short-yardage and goal-line situations. The team wanted to run behind the guy.
At 6-6 and 245 pounds, Raridon has enough long speed and length to be a seam runner at the NFL level, but his primary value will come as a movable blocker with the ceiling of a true hand-in-the-dirt Y tight end should he add another 10 pounds. That makes him a developmental prospect — more of an early Day 3 pick than a Day 2 selection in a thick tight end class. But it’s not hard to see a Josh Oliver-esque arc for him at the position.
Offensive tackle: Kage Casey, Boise State
The specific tape to trust on Casey is the Notre Dame game from 2025 and the Oregon game from 2024. Those were two of Casey’s biggest tests, and he rose to the level of both opponents. An adaptive and patient player, he is happy to let rushers test his speed, handwork and strength before calmly taking them where they want to go. He’s rarely caught leaning and is difficult to uproot. Some NFL coaches might ask him to become more proactive stylistically, but for Boise State’s quick passing game, Casey’s consistency and well-roundedness were highly valuable. It’s hard to build a rush plan and win fast against a guy with no major weaknesses.
Casey did have a rough outing against Penn State in the 2024 College Football Playoff, where the athleticism of Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton did indeed lead to quick penetration. Casey doesn’t have remarkable length or quickness for a tackle and might end up as a better fit at guard, where he spent some time taking reps at the Senior Bowl this year. He also snapped for teams at his pro day, though I’d be surprised if he ended up at center at 6-6 and 310 pounds.
But Casey is a legit needle mover as a run blocker. He has great hip sink and leg drive for a taller lineman and can really churn double-teams and combo blocks when he hits them with good timing. He’s good on the hoof, too, and teams that like to pull their linemen to get to the boundary will bump him up their board accordingly. It wouldn’t shock me if he sneaks into the end of Round 2, but Round 3 is more likely.
— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) March 31, 2026
Casey is very reminiscent of Braden Smith, who seemed destined to kick to guard in the league but held his water at tackle for the Colts. He’ll have a long NFL career.
Interior offensive line: Sam Hecht, Kansas State
Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 84
It’s a loaded class for experienced centers. We have Logan Jones out of Iowa, Connor Lew out of Auburn, Pat Coogan out of Indiana and Jake Slaughter from Florida. For my money, the best of the lot is Hecht. He’s not the heaviest center at 303 pounds, but he carries a ton of mass in his lower half and can exchange power for power with nose tackles 30 pounds his superior. He gave more trouble to my interior defensive lineman pick for the All-Film team than anyone else last season. (See below.)
Hecht doesn’t have the length to be late on blocks, so he’s an urgent and springy mover with scheme versatility. His feet never die on contact, and he has clearly poured hours into the technical side of the position. Hecht has teach-tape footwork when getting out on pulls and climbs, and the variety of punches and hand placements he uses to bait out rush moves or create torque in the running game is impressive. He rarely needs to reset his hands, as his first strike is so reliably sound — the hallmark of a technician.
In build and in play style, Hecht is cut from the cloth of Creed Humphrey. But he lacks Humphrey’s raw power and ridiculous explosiveness, so he takes a lot of plays to stalemates instead of emphatic wins. Still, on a shotgun- or RPO-heavy team that asks its center to wear a lot of hats, Hecht can be a plus starter, especially if he’s insulated by supersize guards.
Hecht is a fringe Day 2 prospect probably more likely to go on Day 3, but I’d take him comfortably in the third round, and I’d place a lot of marbles on him outplaying a few centers who ultimately get selected above him.
Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 112
Orange — affectionately called “Big Citrus” for his name and, well, bigness — had an interesting path to and through Iowa State. As Orange himself recalled: “I got up over 400 pounds in high school. … I had top-10 teams in the country knocking at my door, but when they found out I had got to 400 pounds, I lost those.”
Orange got down to 325 pounds with the Cyclones (he was 322 at the combine), and at that lower weight, his agility began to shine. As a two-gapping nose tackle, Orange isn’t often asked to play with upfield quickness, but his ability to cross face and win the corner on much smaller centers is eye-popping.
More frequently, Orange simply walks opposing centers back into the quarterback’s lap. He has that great blend of explosive upper-body power to shock an opponent off his base and rolling lower-body power to prevent the blocker from recovering. Like all big players, Orange’s leverage will wane, but in a rotational role that keeps his legs fresh and his pads low, he will create splash plays at the NFL level.
Iowa State DT Domonique Orange. Big Citrus. Big ol’ Citrus. I love him. pic.twitter.com/Git9fykQwu
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) February 25, 2026
Iowa State religiously played a three-man front that asked Orange to eat space and do little else. As such, he has worryingly low production for a multiyear starter: seven career tackles for loss and one career sack over 50 games played. In a great defensive tackle class for heavier, run-defending bodies, Orange is likely to go later in Round 3 or even in Round 4. No matter; his role in the NFL will be much different than his role at Iowa State, as the league rarely plays with 0-technique nose tackles like that. I’m taking the risk on his movement skills at his size. Trust the tape.
Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 141
If you can watch Barham film without getting up out of your seat and whooping, you and I are made of different stuff (probably good news for you).
Barham is one of the most physical players in this class, bar none. At only 240 pounds, he is one of the lightest edge rushers in the class. But he’s the scariest 240 pounds I’ve ever seen. At his best moments (go watch the Wisconsin game), Barham is a game-wrecking upfield force with a wicked first step, excellent strain and balance through blocks, violent pop in his hands and a motor that never runs cold.
Barham consistently produces TFLs (both for himself and for his teammates) by beating blocks at the point of attack. He isn’t particularly sound yet as a pass rusher — he converted to the edge from off-ball linebacker after transferring from Maryland — but he’ll collapse the pocket with an impressive speed-to-power conversion behind his 34-inch arms. At 6-3 and 240 pounds, those long arms are critical in allowing Barham to win blocks and finish tackles at the edge of his radius. Don’t trust the box score (four sacks and eight tackles for loss in 2025). He’s an elite disrupter.
Barham plays with his hair on fire, so at times he runs himself out of plays. But any defense looking to base out of odd fronts that worries about its run defense off the edge should sprint, not walk, to turn the card in for him. Coordinators who care less for structure and more for blitzing and confusion will also seek his services. Fans of Jalon Walker‘s skill set in last year’s draft class will appreciate Barham’s game, but I think he’s more of a Frankie Luvu type at the next level.
Because Barham is an off-ball linebacker for some teams and an on-ball rush linebacker for others, it’s hard to figure out where he’ll get drafted. My guess is somewhere in the 90s, but don’t take that to the bank.
Linebacker: Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh
Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 111
You have to trust the tape on Louis, who tipped the scales in Indianapolis at 220 pounds. Only 11 linebackers have been lighter at the NFL combine since 1999.
That is not linebacker weight in the NFL, as the only guys playing at that size are safety converts, like Ronnie Harrison Jr. and Jamien Sherwood. To that point, Louis was often used by Pitt as an overhang defender — an alignment filled in the league by a variety of slot corners or box safeties. This allowed Louis to chase plays into the boundary unblocked or chase down runs from the backside unimpeded. It tested him in coverage, but Louis responded well to that ask, with the explosive change-of-direction skills of a true defensive back.
Watch him here against a misdirection shot play from Stanford. He stays home against the run action and the reverse, finds the late-releasing tight end, closes the distance to take away a quick target to the flat, then flips and runs downfield, knocking the receiver off his line and easily winning the catch point.
— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) March 31, 2026
Louis looks and plays and moves and acts like a supersize box safety. I think he can be a Joshua Metellus-like player — a “safety” who spends most of his time lined up on the edge, taking on tight ends in both the running and passing game. But that’s only if he lands in a Brian Flores-esque defense, which has that critical third safety role for him. In a Jim Schwartz-style system, he’d have to become Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, the speedy pursuit ‘backer whose game is built on penetration.
Louis is a true tweener, and his landing spot will determine what position he plays in the NFL. He has the speed, open-field tackling and disposition to stick on special teams for a long time, which will help him grow into whatever unique NFL job awaits him. I’m willing to bet on the honed instincts and truly elite change-of-direction skills in the middle rounds, and figure out the rest once I get him in the building.
Cornerback: Chris Johnson, San Diego State
Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 47
The top of the 2026 cornerback class is well established: Mansoor Delane, Jermod McCoy, Colton Hood, Avieon Terrell. But there’s a little intrusive voice in the back of my head that tells me Johnson should be squarely in that group of names.
He is a classic small-school study. An easy mover with delightful patience and technique, Johnson (6-0, 193 pounds) outclasses many of his opponents and plays without fear accordingly. He never bites on route fakes or overexerted releases. He never panics when the ball is in the air and doesn’t draw flags when he’s forced out of phase. With four INTs and nine pass breakups last season, he looks like a 10-year NFL vet who sneaked an Aztecs jersey on just to get some reps in before his game on Sunday. I have zero doubt that Johnson would be a first-round pick if he did this in a jersey with a Big Ten or SEC patch on it.
But he didn’t. Johnson’s lone Power 4 opponent last season was Cal (and not for nothing, he was lights out in that game, housing a 97-yard pick-six). His toughest matchup over the past two seasons was Washington State WR Kyle Williams, who would go in the third round of the 2025 draft to the Patriots. Williams caught a few passes on him, including a downfield back-shoulder ball that details Johnson’s biggest issue: He isn’t particularly long or physical, so he will lose contested situations. But he was step for step with Williams for much of the game.
Drafting Johnson early will take some belief in his ability to ratchet up his play speed and intensity at the NFL level — he cannot be as patient in the league as he was at a lower level. But I’d lie if I said he didn’t remind me, at times, of watching Quinyon Mitchell at Toledo. The payoff was enormous for the Eagles, and Johnson will likely come at a round’s discount. Of all the players I have listed here, Johnson has the highest ceiling.
Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 77
The red flags on Stukes’ profile are the familiar ones: age and injury history. Stukes is 24 years old and will turn 25 during his rookie season, making him older than current and established NFL defensive backs like Nate Wiggins, Calen Bullock, Kamari Lassiter, Christian Gonzalez and Cooper DeJean. Stukes is leaving college so late in large part because of a 2024 ACL tear that shortened his would-be senior season and kept him out of the first few games of the 2025 season to boot.
That’s the bad news. Here’s the good: Stukes had a career year off that ACL tear. He snagged four picks in 10 games in 2025, exceeding his career total (three) up to that point. He dominated the combine as well, with a 38-inch vertical jump, a 10-foot-10 broad jump and a 4.33-second 40-yard dash before he called it a day. While the knee warrants long-term concern, there’s no doubt that Stukes worked his way back into form off that injury.
And Stukes is a grinder as a former walk-on who became a four-year starter and team captain. Over his entire career in Tempe, he played 815 snaps at outside corner (mostly in his younger years), 1,333 in the slot and another 199 at safety (155 of which came last season).
I cannot believe how natural he looks in safetylike roles despite the lack of true experience he has at the position. When forced to sink off the line of scrimmage and play routes from depth, Stukes demonstrates tremendous footwork, angles and ball tracking. Given his longer and leaner frame (6-1, 190 pounds), I like the idea of taking him out of the box and playing him from depth. He’s a hand-in-glove fit for quarters defenses that need their safeties to play quasi-man coverage over slot receivers and tight ends.
— Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) March 31, 2026
I think Stukes can become a Bullock-esque policeman in the deep middle of the field — rangy with ball skills and willing toughness. If he doesn’t end up having that special level of range, then the career arc of Super Bowl champion Coby Bryant, who started with the Seahawks as a corner before flipping to safety and blossoming there, is another possible outcome.
