2026 NFL Draft scouting combine by the numbers: Arvell Reese leads talented LB class

The official invite list for the 2026 National Scouting Combine is officially out! After combing through the list, one of my favorite exercises is to try and gauge where this NFL Draft class may be deepest or shallowest. A good way to judge that is to look at this invite list and compare it to year’s past while also comparing it to how many players at each position get drafted every year.

I put together a quick table to look at that information, and will share some insights below from the notable positions, while also offering the full list of invitees as well as some surprising “combine snubs” at each spot.

QUARTERBACK

This class looks to be on par with classes of recent memory from a numbers standpoint, but there is one item to keep in mind. While most positions offer National Football Scouting (NFS) the flexibility to invite however many they see fit, at quarterback they don’t really have that luxury. Because they need a certain amount of quarterbacks in order to complete the wide receiver, tight end, and defensive back workouts, they will always have a number in that 14-18 range. Fifteen invites this year is right on the nose there. Here is the list of who will be in Indianapolis, in alphabetical order.

Drew Allar, Penn State

Luke Altmyer, Illinois

Carson Beck, Miami

Jalon Daniels, Kansas

Joe Fagnano, UConn

Taylen Green, Arkansas

Haynes King, Georgia Tech

Cade Klubnik, Clemson

Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

Behren Morton, Texas Tech

Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

Cole Payton, North Dakota State

Sawyer Robertson, Baylor

Ty Simpson, Alabama

As far as players left off the list, the biggest surprise for me would be Iowa’s Mark Gronowski. The guy has played a TON of football, is one of the winningest quarterbacks in college football history (he went 49-6 as a starter at South Dakota State before transferring to Iowa last offseason), is tough as nails, and was one of the best quarterbacks at the Shrine Bowl. He’s a different style of player but had a similar résumé as last year’s biggest snub, former North Dakota State QB Cam Miller, who ended up getting drafted in April. I can definitely see the same thing happening here with Gronowski.

RUNNING BACK

This is not a great running back class, and the invite list to Indy reflects that. This is the fewest number of backs we’ve seen at the combine since before Covid, and by a wide margin. Just 21 guys make up this list, and I personally have one of them graded as a receiver (Heidenreich) and one as a tight end (Bredeson). Here’s who we will see taking the field at Lucas Oil Stadium in a matter of days.

Kaytron Allen, Penn State

Max Bredeson, Michigan

Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest

Jonah Coleman, Washington

CJ Donaldson, Ohio State

Rahsul Faison, South Carolina

Eli Heidenreich, Navy

Roman Hemby, Indiana

Robert Henry Jr., UTSA

Emmett Johnson, Nebraska

Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame

Seth McGowan, Kentucky

Jam Miller, Alabama

Le’Veon Moss, Texas A&M

Jadarian Price, Notre Dame

Adam Randall, Clemson

Desmond Reid, Pittsburgh

Nicholas Singleton, Penn State

J’Mari Taylor, Virginia

Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas

Noah Whittington, Oregon

Last year’s big snub for me was Arizona’s Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and he went on to get drafted and have a solid rookie season. Who could follow in his footsteps? It’s slim pickings this year, obviously, but if I had to go with a name or two I’d bring up Oklahoma’s Jaydn Ott and Toledo’s Chip Trayanum. Ott was a ghost this year at Oklahoma but had a decorated career at Cal before that and I thought he reminded everyone of his talent level at the Senior Bowl. Trayanum is a big back and doesn’t have the same level of juice as Ott, but is a bit sturdier through contact. Both guys have shown good flashes in pass protection as well, which can always help a rookie upon entering the NFL. 

WIDE RECEIVER

There were more receivers invited to last year’s event, but this year’s number is still higher than the five-year average. There seems to be a surplus of wideouts available every year, and this season is no different. Here’s who we’ll see at the combine.

Aaron Anderson, LSU

Vinny Anthony II, Wisconsin

Chris Bell, Louisville

Dillon Bell, Georgia

Skyler Bell, UConn

Malik Benson, Oregon

Germie Bernard, Alabama

Denzel Boston, Washington

Zachariah Branch, Georgia

Chris Brazzell II, Tennessee

Barion Brown, LSU

Deion Burks, Oklahoma

Jeff Caldwell, Cincinnati

Josh Cameron, Baylor

Kevin Coleman Jr., Missouri

KC Concepcion, Texas A&M

Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana

CJ Daniels, Miami

Caleb Douglas, Texas Tech

Malachi Fields, Notre Dame

Emmanuel Henderson Jr., Kansas

Chris Hilton Jr., LSU

Jordan Hudson, SMU

Ted Hurst, Georgia State

Caullin Lacy, Louisville

Bryce Lance, North Dakota State

Ja’Kobi Lane, USC

Kendrick Law, Kentucky

Makai Lemon, USC

Eric McAlister, TCU

Donaven McCulley, Michigan

Eric Rivers, Georgia Tech

Chase Roberts, BYU

Elijah Sarratt, Indiana

De’Zhaun Stribling, Mississippi

J. Michael Sturdivant, Florida

Carnell Tate, Ohio State

Zavion Thomas, LSU

Brenen Thompson, Mississippi State

Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State

Reggie Virgil, Texas Tech

Harrison Wallace III, Mississippi

Jalen Walthall, Incarnate Word

Kaden Wetjen, Iowa

Antonio Williams, Clemson

Colbie Young, Georgia

There were no real Earth-shattering surprises as far as names left off the invite list. There were a few Senior Bowl wideouts, including John Carroll’s Tyren Montgomery, Cincinnati’s Cyrus Allen and Boston College’s Lewis Bond, who did not make the cut. As I said when I was down there, however, it was not a great crop of Senior Bowl receivers this year, so it’s not a complete shock. 

TIGHT END

Are we seeing a bit of a resurgence here at this position? Last year there were 21 players invited to Indy, and that was tied for the most in at least five trips to the combine. This year a whopping 27 tight ends will be at the event. It’s not that the group is chock full of blue-chip talent. We’ve seen more players go in the Top 50 in other springs than what we will see in April, but the depth is outstanding in this cycle. Here’s who is headed to Indy.

Dallen Bentley, Utah

Nate Boerkircher, Texas A&M

Josh Cuevas, Alabama

Oscar Delp, Georgia

Khalil Dinkins, Penn State

Jack Endries, Texas

John Michael Gyllenborg, Wyoming

Matthew Hibner, SMU

Justin Joly, N.C. State

Will Kacmarek, Ohio State

Jaren Kanak, Oklahoma

Miles Kitselman, Tennessee

Max Klare, Ohio State

Marlin Klein, Michigan

Tanner Koziol, Houston

RJ Maryland, SMU

Lake McRee, USC

Riley Nowakowski, Indiana

Eli Raridon, Notre Dame

DJ Rogers, TCU

Sam Roush, Stanford

Joe Royer, Cincinnati

Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon

Bauer Sharp, LSU

Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt

Michael Trigg, Baylor

Dae’Quan Wright, Mississippi

With so many guys getting the call, who didn’t make the cut that surprised me? I’m a big fan of NC State’s Cody Hardy; he’s one of the best blockers at the position that I’ve studied this year. Former Michigan quarterback-turned Syracuse TE Dan Villari was at the Senior Bowl and had some nice moments; he won’t be in Indy. It’s tough to pick nits with this group, though. 

OFFENSIVE LINE

Last year’s event featured an extremely low number of participants (50) at the position, but it leveled out a bit this year as this number hits the five-year average right on the nose. It’s a solid offensive line class with depth throughout. Here’s who is heading to the combine in the trenches.

Chris Adams, Memphis

Austin Barber, Florida

Evan Beerntsen, Northwestern

Markel Bell, Miami

Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M

Jude Bowry, Boston College

Parker Brailsford, Alabama

Joshua Braun, Kentucky

Travis Burke, Memphis

Jager Burton, Kentucky

DJ Campbell, Texas

Fernando Carmona, Arkansas

Kage Casey, Boise State

Pat Coogan, Indiana

Anez Cooper, Miami

Dametrious Crownover, Texas A&M

Enrique Cruz Jr., Kansas

J.C. Davis, Illinois

Garrett DiGiorgio, UCLA

Gennings Dunker, Iowa

Fa’alili Fa’amoe, Wake Forest

Spencer Fano, Utah

Jalen Farmer, Kentucky

Monroe Freeling, Georgia

Matt Gulbin, Michigan State

Alex Harkey, Oregon

Sam Hecht, Kansas State

Alan Herron, Maryland

Max Iheanachor, Arizona State

Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State

Logan Jones, Iowa

Connor Lew, Auburn

Caleb Lomu, Utah

Francis Mauigoa, Miami

Blake Miller, Clemson

Micah Morris, Georgia

Febechi Nwaiwu, Oklahoma

Brian Parker II, Duke

Diego Pounds, Mississippi

Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon

Kadyn Proctor, Alabama

Ar’maj Reed-Adams, Texas A&M

Jaeden Roberts, Alabama

Keylan Rutledge, Georgia Tech

Billy Schrauth, Notre Dame

Drew Shelton, Penn State

Jake Slaughter, Florida

Beau Stephens, Iowa

Logan Taylor, Boston College

Caleb Tiernan, Northwestern

Keagen Trost, Missouri

Dillon Wade, Auburn

Aamil Wagner, Notre Dame

Carver Willis, Washington

Isaiah World, Oregon

Jeremiah Wright, Auburn

Trey Zuhn III, Texas A&M

My biggest snub last year was UNC C Willie Lampkin, and while I am not as aggrieved this year by any of the non-selections, there were a few names that surprised me a bit. Michigan G Giovanni El-Haadi has traits and looks like an NFL player on tape (albeit a backup). Dartmouth C Delby Lemieux and Wyoming G Caden Barnett both popped up close at the Shrine Bowl. At tackle, a couple of potentially deserving names included Iowa State’s James Neal, Penn State’s Nolan Rucci and Florida State’s Micah Pettus.  

EDGE RUSHER

This edge rush group is on par with what we’ve seen from recent years in Indianapolis volume-wise, and it’s a pretty good group overall, with several players set to go pretty high in this first round. There’s a good mix of body types and skillsets here, and I’m excited to see them kick off the workout in a couple of weeks. Here’s who we’ll see in that opening session.

Vincent Anthony Jr., Duke

David Bailey, Texas Tech

Rueben Bain Jr., Miami

Jaishawn Barham, Michigan

Keyron Crawford, Auburn

Caden Curry, Ohio State

Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State

Logan Fano, Utah

Keldric Faulk, Auburn

George Gumbs Jr., Florida

Romello Height, Texas Tech

Cashius Howell, Texas A&M

Aidan Hubbard, Northwestern

Quintayvious Hutchins, Boston College

Gabe Jacas, Illinois

Marvin Jones Jr., Oklahoma

Joshua Josephs, Tennessee

Nyjalik Kelly, UCF

Malachi Lawrence, UCF

Max Llewellyn, Iowa

Anthony Lucas, USC

Akheem Mesidor, Miami

Derrick Moore, Michigan

Trey Moore, Texas

LT Overton, Alabama

T.J. Parker, Clemson

Patrick Payton, LSU

Jack Pyburn, LSU

Mason Reiger, Wisconsin

Tyreak Sapp, Florida

R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma

Nadame Tucker, Western Michigan

Wesley Williams, Duke

Zion Young, Missouri

I don’t have any huge issues with anyone left off the list this year at this position. There was one Senior Bowl participant (Cian Slone from NC State) who didn’t get the invite. New Mexico’s Keyshawn James-Newby was really productive this year and had some good moments off the edge at the Shrine Bowl. Indiana’s Mikail Kamara is a big name that was left off the list as well.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

After last year’s exorbitant number of 40 interior linemen earning invitations to the combine, we’ve seen it come back down to Earth a bit this year, with the number sitting above the five-year average with 29 big guys getting the call. Here is who we will see in Indy, in alphabetical order.

Cameron Ball, Arkansas

Caleb Banks, Florida

Nick Barrett, South Carolina

Rayshaun Benny, Michigan

DeMonte Capehart, Clemson

Brandon Cleveland, N.C. State

Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati

Zane Durant, Penn State

Bryson Eason, Tennessee

Deven Eastern, Minnesota

Skyler Gill-Howard, Texas Tech

David Gusta, Kentucky

Gracen Halton, Oklahoma

Zxavian Harris, Mississippi

Lee Hunter, Texas Tech

Darrell Jackson Jr., Florida State

Bobby Jamison-Travis, Auburn

Tim Keenan III, Alabama

Jackie Marshall, Baylor

Chris McClellan, Missouri

Kayden McDonald, Ohio State

Christen Miller, Georgia

Tyler Onyedim, Texas A&M

Domonique Orange, Iowa State

Kaleb Proctor, Southeastern Louisiana

Albert Regis, Texas A&M

Gary Smith III, UCLA

Damonic Williams, Oklahoma

Peter Woods, Clemson

I do have a few names not on this list that I would have liked to see in Indianapolis. Illinois’ James Thompson looked the part at the Shrine Bowl and has had a productive career when healthy in the Big Ten. I get that the body type may be an eliminating factor for some, but Navy’s Landon Robinson has piqued my interest throughout the process as an undersized three-technique. I didn’t love this player’s film, but SMU’s Jeffrey M’ba has fans out there and he did some nice things at the point of attack at the Senior Bowl. 

LINEBACKER

This position has been a model of consistency, as 29 were invited this year, which matches both last year’s count as well as the five-year average. Honestly, one of the most notable things here is that Ohio State’s Arvell Reese is working with the linebackers and not the defensive linemen (although I’m sure he will do DL drills after his workout concludes). Here is the rest of the group.

CJ Allen, Georgia

Lander Barton, Utah

Wesley Bissainthe, Miami

Bryce Boettcher, Oregon

Kendal Daniels, Oklahoma

Kaleb Elarms-Orr, TCU

Keyshaun Elliott, Arizona State

Aiden Fisher, Indiana

Eric Gentry, USC

Jake Golday, Cincinnati

Owen Heinecke, Oklahoma

Anthony Hill Jr., Texas

Justin Jefferson, Alabama

Jack Kelly, BYU

Deontae Lawson, Alabama

Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh

Red Murdock, Buffalo

Namdi Obiazor, TCU

Harold Perkins Jr., LSU

Arvell Reese, Ohio State

Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech

Jimmy Rolder, Michigan

Karson Sharar, Iowa

Xavian Sorey Jr., Arkansas

Sonny Styles, Ohio State

Josiah Trotter, Missouri

Scooby Williams, Texas A&M

Wade Woodaz, Clemson

Taurean York, Texas A&M

This is one of my biggest beefs. I’m sad to not see Louisiana LB Jaden Dugger in Indy. I haven’t even gotten through the tape yet, but he’s a converted safety who came in at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds at the Shrine Bowl with outstanding length and he showed up in practice consistently. I would have loved to see him work out side-by-side with some of these guys. A few other notable names include Miami’s Mohamed Toure and Michigan’s Ernest Hausmann. 

CORNERBACK

This is a weird cornerback class, because I think there are some really good players in the group and I think the middle of the draft just outside the Top 50 is really thick. But I think the talent drop-off is massive and much starker than normal. That’s reflected with this combine list, as ‘just’ 34 corners earned an invite, which is tied for the lowest number since 2020. Here’s who is headed to Indy.

Keith Abney II, Arizona State

Marcus Allen, North Carolina

Jadon Canady, Oregon

Brandon Cisse, South Carolina

Tacario Davis, Washington

Mansoor Delane, LSU

Charles Demmings, Stephen F. Austin

Thaddeus Dixon, North Carolina

Daylen Everette, Georgia

Andre Fuller, Toledo

Jaylon Guilbeau, Texas

TJ Hall, Iowa

Ahmari Harvey, Georgia Tech

Colton Hood, Tennessee

Davison Igbinosun, Ohio State

Domani Jackson, Alabama

Chris Johnson, San Diego State

Will Lee III, Texas A&M

Hezekiah Masses, Cal

Jermod McCoy, Tennessee

Latrell McCutchin Sr., Houston

Devin Moore, Florida

Malik Muhammad, Texas

Julian Neal, Arkansas

D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana

Toriano Pride Jr., Missouri

Ephesians Prysock, Washington

Chandler Rivers, Duke

Keionte Scott, Miami

Avery Smith, Toledo

Treydan Stukes, Arizona

Lorenzo Styles Jr., Ohio State

Avieon Terrell, Clemson

Collin Wright, Stanford

Because I don’t love the depth in the later rounds of this draft (from the sample of players that I’ve studied so far), there aren’t a lot of names that I was surprised to see left off here. I had a draftable grade on Nebraska CB Ceyair Wright, and I thought he was one of the better corners at the Shrine Bowl before being a late call-up to the Senior Bowl. Northwestern CB Fred Davis II was down in Mobile and has length that will attract teams. NC State’s Devon Marshall is smaller but he’s a feisty corner with some solid tape. 

SAFETY

Like corner, the safety class is a bit light this year as well at the combine when compared to both last season as well as the five-year average. I do think the talent at the top of this class is better than a typical draft, but obviously the depth is what concerns NFL teams for the class as a whole. Here is who NFS felt deserved the invite.

Bud Clark, TCU

Caleb Downs, Ohio State

Bishop Fitzgerald, USC

A.J. Haulcy, LSU

Jalen Huskey, Maryland

Dalton Johnson, Arizona

Jalon Kilgore, South Carolina

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo

Louis Moore, Indiana

Ahmaad Moses, SMU

Xavier Nwankpa, Iowa

VJ Payne, Kansas State

Kamari Ramsey, USC

DeShon Singleton, Nebraska

Genesis Smith, Arizona

Robert Spears-Jennings, Oklahoma

Michael Taaffe, Texas

Dillon Thieneman, Oregon

Jakobe Thomas, Miami

Zakee Wheatley, Penn State

I can’t quit Missouri S Jalen Catalon, even though he turns 25 years old this spring. If he can stay healthy, I think he has starting ability in the NFL. I was disappointed he did not make the cut here. After him there were a couple of bigger-bodied safeties with coverage chops that I thought would get invited in Texas Tech’s Cole Wisniewski and Oregon State’s Skyler Thomas. Both guys impressed me a bit on the All-Star Circuit.