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Welcome to our annual NFL Draft Report Card, in which we grade both the teams and ourselves on how well they fared in this NFL Draft.
First off, we grade ourselves on how many players were drafted that we had featured on our NFL Draft website.
| On Site/Drafted | Pct | |
| 2026 | 244-of-257 | 95% |
| 2025 | 241-of-257 | 94% |
| 2024 | 241-of-257 | 94% |
| 2023 | 238-of-259 | 92% |
| 2022 | 226-of-262 | 86% |
| 2021 | 218-of-259 | 84% |
| 2020 | 199-of-255 | 78% |
| 2019 | 174-of-254 | 69% |
When taking out specialists, which we currently don’t write up, there were only 10 players drafted who weren’t on the site. Additionally, we don’t write up true international players, meaning anyone who hasn’t played college football. That adds an additional player, meaning 9 non-specialists or international players who didn’t make the site, and only 4 of which we didn’t formally watch. That’s over 98% of the NFL Draft covered! Plus, many players we had on the site who didn’t get drafted have already signed free agent deals with teams.
Using our grades, we attempted to rank each team’s draft class. Just like in our article from last season, we assigned all players who were drafted but not on the site a 5.4, which is the equivalent to a training camp body. We took those grades for each player and divided that by the number of selections the team had.
These rankings do not account for positional value, the value of where players were drafted, or trades teams made; it is literally based on the grades we gave the players who were drafted and how much talent we feel teams got from their selections compared to the number of picks they made.
And with that, the 2026 Best Draft Class, with an average grade of 6.41, goes to the Carolina Panthers. They grabbed solid players throughout the entirety of the draft.
The Panthers draft class is in the table below.
| Carolina Panthers 2026 Draft Class | ||||
| Pick | Position | Player | College | Grade |
| 19 | OT | Monroe Freeling | Georgia | 6.5 |
| 49 | NT | Lee Hunter | Texas Tech | 6.7 |
| 83 | WR | Chris Brazzell II | Tennessee | 6.7 |
| 129 | CB | Will Lee III | Texas A&M | 6.4 |
| 144 | OC | Sam Hecht | Kansas State | 6.5 |
| 151 | S | Zakee Wheatley | Penn State | 6.4 |
| 227 | MLB | Jackson Kuwatch | Miami OH | 5.7 |
The Panthers take our top spot for the second time. We ranked them No. 1 in 2023 when they took Bryce Young first overall. This time around, they picked No. 19.
With that 19th pick, they chose OT Monroe Freeling out of Georgia, our No. 6 ranked player at the position and the fifth to have come off the board by that point already. Freeling has a lot of upside with his best football ahead of him, and he shouldn’t have any problem seeing the field, especially if Ikem Ekwonu isn’t ready by the start of the season.
With the 49th and 83rd picks, Carolina drafted our No. 24 and No. 23 ranked players, respectively. First, they chose big NT Lee Hunter (SIS No. 2 NT) out of Texas Tech. He’s a big-time run stuffer who has potential as a pass rusher as well. At pick No. 83, they selected Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II (SIS No. 5 WR). Brazzell is a legit height, weight, speed player who can win at all levels of the field, making him a perfect option opposite Tetairoa McMillan.
In the 4th and 5th rounds, they snagged three more of our Top 100 players. Will Lee III (SIS No. 13 CB) of Texas A&M and Zakee Wheatley (SIS No. 9 S) of Penn State should compete for snaps in the secondary. Additionally, getting our top-rated center and No. 51 overall player in Kansas State’s Sam Hecht was solid value at pick No. 144.
Finally, they selected Jackson Kuwatch (SIS No. 14 MLB) of Miami OH early in Round 7. He has some developing to do, and while he has upside, he should make a name for himself on special teams early on.
| SIS Top Draft Classes | ||||
| Year | Team | Previous Season | Following Season | 2nd Season |
| 2019 | Tennessee Titans | 9-7 (No Playoffs) | 9-7 (L, AFC Champ) | 11-5 (L, Wild Card) |
| 2020 | Cleveland Browns | 6-10 (No Playoffs) | 11-5 (L, Divisional) | 8-9 |
| 2021 | Detroit Lions | 5-11 (No Playoffs) | 3-13-1 | 9-8 |
| 2022 | New York Jets | 4-13 (No Playoffs) | 7-10 | 7-10 |
| 2023 | Carolina Panthers | 7-10 (No Playoffs) | 2-15 | 5-12 |
| 2024 | Chicago Bears | 7-10 (No Playoffs) | 5-12 | 11-6 (L, Divisional) |
| 2025 | Cleveland Browns | 3-14 (No Playoffs) | 5-12 | ? |
| 2026 | Carolina Panthers | 8-9 (L, Wild Card) | ? | ? |
Since we grade players based on what they will be at the beginning of Year 2, let’s widen the table of our recent Draft Class winners.
All of these teams improved in either their first or second season following their top class draft, with the exception of the Panthers who struggled in their first two seasons of the Bryce Young era. Overall, it hasn’t translated into much playoff success, as only the Titans, Browns, and Bears made the playoffs in one of the following two seasons and none made a Super Bowl.
What does that mean for the Panthers this time around?
Carolina is coming off an NFC South championship in Year 1 of the Dave Canales regime and Year 3 following us tabbing them with our No. 1 ranking in 2023. They are the first team to receive our top spot after having made the playoffs the season prior. While other teams have shown improvement, the Panthers are in a division that’s very much up for grabs, and this class could solidify their spot at or near the top for the next few seasons.
Now, let’s check out how the rest of the teams fared in our rankings. Here are the draft classes ranked in order of their grade:
| 2026 Final Rankings | |||
| Rank | Team | # of Picks | Draft Grade |
| 1 | Panthers | 7 | 6.41 |
| 2 | Chiefs | 7 | 6.39 |
| 3 | Giants | 7 | 6.37 |
| 4 | Jets | 8 | 6.33 |
| 5 | Buccaneers | 7 | 6.30 |
| 6 | Browns | 10 | 6.26 |
| 7 | Cowboys | 7 | 6.20 |
| 8 | Colts | 8 | 6.19 |
| 9 | Commanders | 6 | 6.18 |
| 10 | Dolphins | 13 | 6.18 |
| 11 | Raiders | 10 | 6.17 |
| 12 | Titans | 8 | 6.14 |
| 13 | Cardinals | 7 | 6.13 |
| 14 | Lions | 7 | 6.13 |
| 15 | Chargers | 8 | 6.13 |
| 16 | Saints | 8 | 6.11 |
| 17 | Bengals | 7 | 6.09 |
| 18 | Packers | 6 | 6.08 |
| 19 | Bills | 10 | 6.08 |
| 20 | Rams | 5 | 6.08 |
| 21 | Ravens | 11 | 6.07 |
| 22 | Vikings | 9 | 6.07 |
| 23 | Texans | 8 | 6.06 |
| 24 | Seahawks | 8 | 6.05 |
| 25 | Bears | 7 | 6.04 |
| 26 | Steelers | 10 | 6.04 |
| 27 | Falcons | 6 | 6.03 |
| 28 | Patriots | 9 | 6.02 |
| 29 | 49ers | 8 | 5.98 |
| 30 | Broncos | 7 | 5.96 |
| 31 | Eagles | 8 | 5.94 |
| 32 | Jaguars | 10 | 5.84 |
It shouldn’t be a surprise that three of our top five teams had multiple picks in the 1st round. With that said, they not only grabbed strong players in Round 1, but also throughout the entirety of their drafts.
The Chiefs began their night by trading up to ensure they took LSU’s Mansoor Delane (SIS No. 1 CB, No. 8 Overall). Then, they took Clemson’s Peter Woods (SIS No. 1 DT) at pick No. 29. The Giants drafted 2 of our top 6 players in Arvell Reese (SIS No. 2 ED, No. 4 Overall) of Ohio State and Francis Mauigoa (SIS No. 1 OT, No. 6 Overall) of Miami FL. New York’s other team, the Jets, had three selections in Round 1. Texas Tech’s David Bailey (SIS No. 1 ED, No. 2 Overall), Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq (SIS No. 1 TE), and Indiana Omar Cooper Jr. (SIS No. 7 WR) are all playmakers who should see significant snaps their rookie season.
The Buccaneers rounded out our Top 5 after having Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. (SIS No. 3 ED, No. 7 Overall) fall into their laps at No. 15.
The Browns get a shoutout for following up our top draft class last year with the No. 6 class this year. Additionally, the Dolphins made our No. 10 spot with a whopping 13 selections, which is incredibly tough to do.
The bottom three teams for 2026, listed 30 to 32, were the Broncos, Eagles, and Jaguars.
The Broncos had our No. 31 class last year, and they followed it up with the No. 30 class this year. While their first selection wasn’t until pick No. 66, they used that selection on Texas A&M’s Tyler Onyedim (SIS No. 5 DT), who we tabbed as a top backup. While they did get our No. 3 RB, Washington’s Jonah Coleman, in Round 4, every other selection we graded as a backup.
The Eagles began the night by making a trade up for USC’s Makai Lemon at No. 20, which went viral due to the phone call situation. Their second selection was Eli Stowers (SIS No. 3 TE) out of Vanderbilt. While he has upside as a playmaker, they have a similar player in Johnny Wilson on the roster, likely meaning some roster moves may be made. Beyond that, we tabbed the rest of their picks as backups. Uar Bernard, one of the International Player Pathway players, had freaky testing numbers and was drafted late, giving hope that he can turn into a Jordan Mailata type of player on the defense.
Finally, the Jaguars took home our worst class. This comes as no surprise to many in the media. They took many players who were considered major reaches, and that’s not any different compared to our board. While their first pick was No. 56, they selected Texas A&M’s Nate Boerkircher (SIS No. 12 TE), someone we tabbed as a top backup. They followed it up by selecting his teammate Albert Regis (SIS No. 11 NT) at No. 81. They did make two strong picks late in the 3rd round with Oregon’s Emmanuel Pregnon (SIS No. 4 OG) and Maryland’s Jalen Huskey (SIS No. 10 S). However, their next three picks were all players we had as top backups and their final three picks were players we deemed not good enough for the site. Time will tell if the class makes some noise in Jacksonville over the next few seasons.
Key Facts
* With only 13 players drafted this year who weren’t featured on the site, our best year ever, many teams added a lot of talent in this year’s draft. The Jaguars were the only team to draft multiple players we didn’t feature on the site, and they drafted three of them. That means 10 other teams took one player we didn’t feature, but four of them took special teamers or an international player. That makes only six teams taking a position player we deemed wasn’t good enough for the site.
* Four of our top six players and 6 of our top 17 went to the NFC East, with only one going to Philadelphia. Could this suggest a changing of the guard in that division? Let’s just say it should be a fun, competitive division for years to come.
* The Panthers still have the best average SIS Draft Class rank and grade average over our eight seasons doing this. It finally seemed to pay off in 2025, and if the team keeps developing, they could put a stranglehold on the division. The Titans, Lions, Bengals, and Falcons continue to round out the top 5 draft class ranks.
* The Colts finally got out of the cellar, moving up a spot to No. 31 after our No. 8 draft class. The 49ers take over as our worst draft class rank over all eight seasons after back-to-back bottom 4 classes.
* We came within one player of our entire Top 100 Big Board being selected during the draft, with 74 of them being selected in the first 100 picks. Our top 5 UDFAs were Deontae Lawson (SIS No. 4 MLB, No. 66 Overall), Louis Moore (SIS No. 11 S, No. 102 Overall), Isaiah World (SIS No. 12 OT, No. 109 Overall), Lander Barton (SIS No. 5 WLB, No. 127 Overall), and Jordan Hudson (SIS No. 22 WR, No. 137 Overall). Lawson has reportedly signed with Philadelphia as a UDFA. The top UDFA on our board two of the past three seasons made our All-Rookie Team, so maybe that bodes well for Lawson in 2026.
How the NFL Draft Site Compared to the Draft
Let’s take a look at how the website stacks up to the NFL’s thinking of where players were selected.
On offense, the first player drafted at every position except WR, OT, and OC was the No. 1 player on our board. Carnell Tate was our No. 2 WR, Spencer Fano was our No. 3 OT, and Logan Jones was our No. 2 OC.
On defense, the top player at each position matched the first player drafted for all except DT and MLB. Caleb Banks was our No. 2 DT and Josiah Trotter was our No. 3 MLB.
None of the positions had the first five players off the board match our rankings, but QB, RB, OT, OG, OC, NT, DT, and ED had 4 out of 5 match.
Overdrafted?
Only three players graded below a 6.5 were drafted in Round 1. Ty Simpson (SIS No. 2 QB, No. 72 Overall) by the Rams at No. 13, Keylan Rutledge (SIS No. 5 OG, No. 83 Overall) by the Texans at No. 26, and Chris Johnson (SIS No. 7 CB, No. 69 Overall) by the Dolphins at No. 27. All three were given a 6.4 grade by our scouts. Rutledge was a first-team All-American though we did not project him as a high-end prospect.
Only four non-Top 100 players were drafted in Round 2: De’Zhaun Stribling (SIS No. 23 WR), Treydan Stukes (SIS No. 15 CB), the aforementioned Nate Boerkircher, and Marlin Klein (SIS No. 15 TE). Stukes was graded as a position-flexible backup, but the other three were tabbed as backup-level players.
The first eligible player (non-specialist) taken who we did not give a strong enough grade to reach the threshold we set for the website was Stanford WR CJ Williams, drafted by the Jaguars in the 6th round, No. 203 overall. There were only four players drafted that we didn’t get a formal look at. Those were Gabriel Rubio, Gavin Gerhardt, Parker Hughes, and Michael Dansby.
Underdrafted?
The only 6.7 or better player not drafted in the top two rounds was Chris Brazzell II, and he went No. 83 to Carolina.
Jermod McCoy (SIS No. 4 CB, No. 29 Overall) was the only 6.6 not drafted by day 3, and his fall was well documented, as he was selected with the first pick of Round 4, No. 101, by the Raiders.
All of our 6.5 or better players were drafted by the end of Round 6 with the exception of Deontae Lawson, who was undrafted. Additionally, Louis Moore, Isaiah World, and Lander Barton rounded out the only players graded above a 5.9 who went undrafted.
Conclusion
Every year the SIS scouting department looks to make improvements, and this year was no different. Our six-man scouting team, consisting of Nathan Cooper, Jordan Edwards, Jeff Dean, Ben Hrkach, Chad Tedder, and Jeremy Percy, with the help of the rest of our full-time football operations staff, put in the hard work to finalize 617 reports, of which 413 were featured on our NFL Draft site, plus get looks at another 95 players to see if they were worthy of being written up. That includes another 59 players who ultimately didn’t declare. Our full-time staff and data scouts had looks on 772 players this cycle.
The number of players on the site this year was up by 24 compared to last year. We attributed that to an overall weaker class than recent years, as we posted more players on the site underneath our grade cutoffs in anticipation of them getting a shot to be drafted or picked up as a priority UDFA this year. Our 244 players drafted who were featured on the site are the most we’ve ever had. Additionally, only 4 unwatched players is an improvement from last year’s 5. Our Top-100 evaluations continue to be solid, as we now have a three-year average of 76 going in the top 100 picks.
We want to thank the hard work our engineering, R&D, and product teams put in this year to enhance our draft site, put in the work of editing all of the reports and stats, and making sure the site is in the best shape it can be! We’re excited to continue to grow it each year and make it the best one out there.
Please continue to check out our NFL Draft site as the offseason continues now that all of these players are headed to mini camps and training camps in preparation for their rookie seasons. If you’d like to be involved in our scouting and charting processes next year, consider applying to our Football Data Scout position. We’re taking applications and interviewing for next year’s class now.
