The wild free agency period will shake up the 2026 NFL Draft order, at least in the eyes of draft analyst Todd McShay. Specifically, McShay believes the recent transactions will affect top prospects Jeremiyah Love, Rueben Bain Jr. and Sonny Styles.
While McShay still views Love as the No. 1 prospect of the class, he believes the changes in the running back market dimmed his outlook. The longtime NFL Draft analyst does not see a clear destination for Love anymore, believing it is possible a team will trade into the top 10 to select him.
“Free agency/trade movement made the picture a bit murkier for RB Jeremiyah Love, LB Sonny Styles and Edge Rueben Bain,” McShay tweeted. “For Love (my No. 1 prospect): if not TEN (4), is it WAS (7) or a team trading up?”
As for Styles, McShay believes the New York Giants' signing of Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds boots him out of the top five. He now sees the Ohio State standout potentially falling down to the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 10.
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“Styles: if not NYG (5), which signed [Tremaine] Edmunds, is it all the way down to CIN (10)?”
However, McShay's biggest question is about Bain. With two edge-rushing prospects in Arvell Reese and David Bailey ahead of him, Bain could potentially take a significant tumble in the draft, ‘The Ringer' analyst suggested.
“For Bain: Reese and Bailey go top 10. Several other teams addressed Edge. KC (9) feels like OT and CIN (10) could be Styles or Downs. Where's his landing spot?”
Mock drafts were already all over the place before free agency, with analysts unable to agree on anything beyond Fernando Mendoza going first overall. Teams still have time to make further trades before April's draft, potentially shaking up the order even more in the next month.