by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/19/2026 Photo Credits to Justin K. Aller via Getty Images Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons (CAR -2.5) The Falcons plan to start Cooper Rush again, meanwhile the Panthers' offense looked great last week and should easily do it again. This may be the easiest bet of the week. Prediction: Panthers -2.5 Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots (NE -5) A great defense in Pittsburgh against a Patriots team with decent-to-good offense and defense

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/18/2026 Photo Credits to Robert F. Bukaty via Associated Press For their 2026 home opener, the Patriots will host the Steelers Sunday afternoon. Losing their first game of the season in true heartbreaking fashion, the Pats lost to the Seahawks in Seattle by a score of 13-10 and the Steelers come into this game 1-0 after beating the Falcons at home, 20-13. Pats-Seahawks Takeaways The Patriots season opener was a morale defeat as much as it was

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 9/1/2026 Photo Credits to Williams Navarro via Imagn Images Above Everyone Else 1. Los Angeles Rams ESPN Rank: 1 Super Bowl Odds: +500 Key to Season: Not underperforming The Rams added Myles Garrett, Trent McDuffie and Aaron Donald on the defensive end while keeping their offensive talent and adding Kliff Kingsbury as assistant Head Coach for a little extra fire power in the passing game. They were already one of the favorites before their histo

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/28/2026 10. Wyatt Young 6'0" 195 lbs. Oklahoma St Pro Comparison John Metchie 2025 Overview Young went from an okay freshman season to an absolute breakout year in 2025 at North Texas and one of the best slot receivers in all of FBS. Young didn't truly gain WR1 favor until Week 6 but once he did he was unguardable. He had 5 games over 100 yards in a 6 week period including 9-190-1 and 8-295-2 performances against admittedly weaker teams in Cha

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/26/2026 Photo Credits to Jamie Rhodes via Imagn Images 10. Isaac Brown 5'9" 190 lbs. Louisville Pro Comparison Bucky Irving 2025 Overview Brown was starting 2025 pretty good before a hamstring injury would keep him out of 5 games towards the end of the season. In the 3 games before his injury, Brown was TORCHING ACC defenses for 150 yards per game and 10 yards per carry. He would even return for Louisville's final game of the season and went

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/20/2026 Make sure to come back everyday for positional rankings and my MOCK DRAFT 1.0 releasing Thursday, August 27 at noon Top-10 Quarterbacks of the 2027 Draft Class Photo Credits to Chad Hamilton/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images 10. John Mateer 6'1" 225 lbs. Oklahoma Pro Comparison: Older Russell Wilson 2025 Overview 2025 was a very up and down year for the former Washington State transfer. At one point early in the season, Mateer's name wa

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/19/2026 We are 3 weeks away from the start of the 2026 season and if it's anything like last year, the only thing we know for sure is that making predictions like this are almost useless and more often wrong than not. Just to make my case, let's look at my predictions for the 2025 season that I made the same time last year: MVP - Baker Mayfield Super Bowl MVP - Lamar Jackson Coach of the Year - Todd Bowles Comeback POY - Christian McCaffrey OP

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/18/2026 Photo Credits to Al Bello via Getty Images Tier 1: Guarantees 1. Josh Allen 2. Lamar Jackson _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Tier 2: Good but Not Great 3. Joe Burrow 4. Jalen Hurts 5. Justin Herbert 6. Caleb Williams 7. Dak Prescott 8. Bo Nix Tier 3: Bust Year Incoming 9. Jayden Daniels 10. Drake Maye _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Tier 4: League Winners/ Steals 11. Kyler Murray 12. Jared Goff _ _

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/13/2026 Photo Credits to Kevin Sabitus via Getty Images Tier 1 Guarantees 1. Bijan Robinson 2. Jahmyr Gibbs _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Tier 2 Still Elite 3. Jonathan Taylor 4. Christian McCaffrey 5. Saquon Barkley 6. De'Von Achane 7. James Cook 8. Derrick Henry _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Tier 3 Breakouts 9. Ashton Jeanty 10. Kenneth Walker 11. Chase Brown 12. Kyren Williams 1

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/9/2026 Photo Credits to Todd Kirkland via Getty Images 10. Bijan Robinson Falcons Running Back Last Year's Rank: 24 Bijan spent 2 days as the highest-paid RB in NFL history and it was well-deserved. Robinson had just under 2,300 yards of total offense this season along with 11 TDs all while rushing for 5.1 yards per carry. Robinson's true value and reason he cracks the Top-10 list is his dual threat ability. Robinson's 287 carries and 79 catc

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 8/5/2026 Photo Credits to Sam Greene/ The Enquirer/ USA Today Network via Imagn Images Tier 1 Guarantees 1. Ja'Marr Chase 2. Amon-Ra St. Brown 3. Puka Nacua 4. Jaxon Smith-Njigba Tier 2 Almost Elite 5. Justin Jefferson 6. Ceedee Lamb 7. Rashee Rice 8. Zay Flowers 9. George Pickens 10. Malik Nabers 11. Nico Collins Tier 3 Still Unproven 12. AJ Brown 13. Chris Olave 14. Devonta Smith 15. Tetairoa McMillan 16. Drake

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 7/26/2026 Photo Credit to Stephanie Scarbrough via Associated Press 20. Matthew Stafford Rams Quarterback Last Year's Rank: N/A Does Matthew Stafford have one of the best arms in the league? Absolutely. Is he surrounded by one of the best rosters and Head Coaches in the league? Yes. Has he shown to be inconsistent year-by-year? Yes he has. Stafford was rightfully given the MVP award last year and showed that when healthy and put with the right

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 7/25/2026 oto Credits to Norm Hall via Getty Images Tier 1 1. Trey McBride 2. Brock Bowers 3. Tyler Warren 4. Colston Loveland 5. Tucker Kraft Tier 2 6. Travis Kelce 7. George Kittle 8. Sam LaPorta 9. Harold Fannin Jr. Tier 3 10. Mark Andrews 11. Kyle Pitts 12. TJ Hockenson 13. Dallas Goedert 14. Juwan Johnson 15. Jake Ferguson Tier 4 16. Brenton Strange 17. Dalton Kincaid 18. Hunter Henry 19. Isaiah Likely 20. Chig Okonk

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 7/19/2026 30. Jared Goff Lions Quarterback Last Year's Rank: 55 Photo Credits to Peter Casey via Imagn Images Jared Goff had another outstanding season last year in Detroit in the midst of one of the worst teams Dan Campbell has ever produced and for that reason I'm seeing a LOT of people that are really underrating Goff this year. 4564-34-8 was his line last season and it was a statistical down year for him some how as he continues to show tha

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 7/12/2026 Photo Credits to Eric Hartline via Imagn Images 40. Cooper DeJean Eagles Defensive Back Last Year's Rank: N/A DeJean is one of the new school DB's that are all the rage now because of their versatility. DeJean could be a lockdown, boundary corner one play and a soul taking, Box Safety the next in the blink of an eye and the way he showed improvement from his rookie season to his sophomore makes me really excited for his 3rd. DeJean is

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 7/5/2026 Photo Credits to Mitchell Leff via Getty Images 50. Saquon Barkley Eagles Running Back Last Year's Rank: 2 After Barkley was debatably snubbed for the 2024 MVP award due to his 2,000-yard rushing season and Super Bowl winning season, we all thought Barkley and the Eagles were the best rushers in the league. With their 2025 season looking to be their Championship run part 2, both the team and the superstar fell well short of expectatio

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/28/2026 Photo Credits to Jeff Roberson via Associated Press 60. Caleb Downs Cowboys Safety Last Year's Rank: N/A In my 3rd season of making my Top-100 players list, no rookie has even come close to being in the Top-60 but Caleb Downs is nowhere near a normal rookie. Not only was he the best pound-for-pound player to come out of the 2026 draft class but he went to the Dallas Cowboys where he will have the best opportunity to make the best of h

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/21/2026 70. Deommodore Lenoir 49ers Cornerback Last Year's Rank: Not Ranked Here's a guy that if you're not a 49ers fan you may never had heard of but has become the backbone of San Francisco's secondary. Lenoir signed a 5-year extension with the 49ers worth up to $88 million and immediately paid dividends for the niners with his best season to date. A rare Cornerback in the league who is considered elite at both zone and man coverage, Lenoir

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/14/2026 Photo Credits to Eric Hartline via Imagn Images 80. Jalen Hurts Eagles Quarterback Last Year's Rank: 35 The Eagles offense is under transition after the departure of A.J. Brown and the replacement of Kevin Patullo for the new OC Sean Mannion. Hurts had a statistical better season in passing the ball but all around some what of a disappointment as the team's offense severely regressed from the 2024 Super Bowl group. Hurts has shown tha

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 6/7/26 90. Cedric Gray Titans Linebacker Last Year's Rank: Not Ranked Gray is one of the most underrated players coming into the season and likely one of the least known. His reputation has definitely been hindered by being in Tennessee but the work speaks for itself. After a shoulder injury caused him to miss the first 10 games of his 2024 rookie season, he was never 100% until the offseason. When he came back healthy for 2025, he instantly be