2026 Risers and Fallers: Two-Weeks Out Edition
We're Officially in the Homestretch of 2026 NFL Draft..
Risers and Fallers Are the Mind-Killer
Here we are, with two weeks left. The next version of this article will come out on the Monday of Draft Week! So be prepared to be without your precious “Risers and Fallers” content for a week. I decided to look back at the Post-Combine numbers to pick out these prospects because there actually hasn’t been much raw player movement since our last update a month ago. Player ranks are changing to a certain extent but their underlying Expected Draft Positions are moving only slightly. This indicates that there is a clumping of players around a bunch of different draft positions that is still waiting to be settled. After Arvel Reese and David Bailey, it’s very clumped, especially with 4 players with an EDP in the 7 range from 5-8. Drama!
Top 3 Risers
Mirror, Mirror On the Ball…
Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State (9th Post-Combine → 5th Two-Weeks Out))
Now that we know that 40-yard dash timing is just an exercise in bootstrapping, we can evaluate how good Carnell Tate actually is. He’ll surely be the WR1 in this class!
Omar Cooper, WR, Indiana (33rd Post-Combine → 22nd Two-Weeks Out)
Omar Cooper has gone from a Round 2 player to solidifying his place in the Round 1 discussion. That kind of upward swing is all a part of Indiana’s fairytale season!
E. McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo (36th Post-Combine → 26th Two-Weeks Out)
The last time a DB from Toledo was in the Round 1 conversation, Quinyon Mitchell went later than his EDP. McNeil-Warren isn’t as highly rated but is universally liked!
Top 3 Fallers
Regression is in Session
Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State (4th Post-Combine→ 8th Two-Weeks Out)
Sonny Styles went from being outside the Top 10 before the combine to being inside the Top 5 after. Now, he’s fallen inside the Top 10 with Top 5 potential. Superb player!
Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon (13th Post-Combine→ 21st Two-Weeks Out)
After the combine, Thieneman’s rise was really extreme. He was due for some regression and has been falling ever since. Wide range of potential draft outcomes!
Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon (12th Post-Combine → 17th Two-Weeks Out)
Sadiq is still TE1 after a combine performance that will go down as the best testing by a TE ever (s/o Vernon Davis). Even with that, he seems more mid-Round 1, not Top 10!
My First (But Not Last) 2026 Mock Draft
And with that, toodaloo until draft week! Much, much, much more to come then.