2026 NFL Draft: Emerging Stars to Watch in the First Round – Spotlight on Running Backs and Safeties

PITTSBURGH — As the NFL draft looms on the horizon, we’re witnessing the predictable drama of prospects rising and falling in the rankings.

Every draft brings its fair share of unexpected developments, and this year is proving to be no exception.

Here are three athletes who might hear their names announced much sooner than initially anticipated:

Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame running back

It’s almost amusing to label someone considered the draft’s top talent as a “riser” at this point. Yet, such is the reality in today’s game when it comes to running backs.

In an era driven by analytics, teams have become hesitant to select running backs within the top 10, much less the top three. This isn’t a slight against Love, who stands out as a formidable force both in rushing and receiving; it’s simply the current state of affairs.

Simply put, the positional value just isn’t there anymore, compared with years ago when it was standard practice to draft a running back within the first three picks.

Love might buck that recent trend, though, with his Superman capabilities just too enticing in a draft that isn’t deep at quarterback and isn’t expected to produce an elite, can’t-miss player at edge rusher, cornerback or wide receiver.

It’s why the link between Love and the Cardinals, who pick third in the first round, seems to get stronger by the day. If not them, the Titans at No. 4 and the Giants at No. 5 are also considered strong possibilities. That is a far cry from a couple of months ago, when Love was projected to get selected at the bottom of the top 10, if not lower.

Dillon Thieneman, Oregon safety

This one has been brewing for a little while, with the splash Thieneman made with an epic athletic performance at the NFL scouting combine catching everyone’s eyes and forcing them to go back to watch the game film.

In his case, the tape doesn’t lie.  

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Thieneman produced high-level numbers at two different schools while starting for three straight years. Between his two seasons at Purdue and his one year at Oregon, he racked up 302 tackles and showed ball-hawking abilities with eight interceptions in his career.

Once the stopwatch and tape measure came into play, it was a done deal. You can’t fake the 4.37-second 40 or a 41-inch vertical leap Thieneman put on display at the combine. The stunning athletic ability, coupled with the high-level production, means Thieneman continues to shoot up the draft board and now could be selected within the top 12 picks.

Monroe Freeling, Georgia tackle

Based on the eyeball test, Freeling is a no-doubter, standing at 6-foot-7, weighing 315 pounds and putting a solid season together last year at left tackle for the Bulldogs.

But he falls under the recommended level of experience that NFL teams typically adhere to when it comes to the draft. Freeling spent just one season as the Bulldogs’ everyday left tackle, and he has just 13 career starts

If there is anything that gives talent evaluators anxiety heading into the draft, it’s medical records and time on task. The more games someone plays, the more uncertainty is removed from the evaluation. The fewer games played, the bigger the risk becomes.

What changed the calculus for Freeling, and why he is pushing up the draft board, is the real-time improvement he made throughout the season. And the fact that he is a mountain of a man who moves like a ballet dancer.

He just kept getting better from a technical, fluidity and play-level standpoint, which gives teams hope that he will continue to get better at the next level. And, well, there just aren’t humans as big as he is that move as well as he does.

He isn’t the best tackle available in the first round. But three years from now, he has a chance to be the best tackle from this entire draft. Maybe by a country mile.

It’s why more and more teams are coming around to taking him far higher than they may have imagined a few months ago. Don’t be surprised if Freeling’s name gets called in the upper half of the first round.