How many blue-chip prospects are in the 2026 NFL Draft class?

• Jeremiyah Love has all the qualities of an elite that is declining: The Our Lady star brings size, athleticism and massive amounts of production.

• Other players can join the exclusive list: Caleb Downs, Rueben Bain Jr. and Sonny Styles are all productive options but may have to answer questions at the NFL Combine.

Estimated reading time: 18 minutes

As we move through the draft calendar, our view of the 2026 NFL Draft is becoming clearer. There’s still a very important piece of the draft evaluation puzzle that we need to put on the board at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February, but beyond that, we’ve seen all the game tape these prospects will have. We also survived All-Star Bowl weeks.

Every lesson comes with a base level of excitement. These are new players who, in theory, have the potential to put franchises over the hump when it comes to turning the corner and becoming a contender, making the playoffs or even reaching the Super Bowl. But how do we measure the positive conversations around players?

One way to do that is to identify blue chip prospects in a class. That term – blue-chip – refers to a player who has everything you look for in a prospect at his position when projecting him to the NFL, including both a high floor and a high ceiling. They possess measurable attributes and top-level athleticism, extensive experience and impactful production.

Identifying how many top players are in a class can be a signal of how strong a group is when it comes to the value of the top-10, top-five and even the No. 1 overall pick. So, what about this class of 2026? Are there any blue chip prospects? If so, how much?

As previously mentioned, we still have the Combine to evaluate the official size and also athletic ability of some of these players, who may still have question marks in certain areas. But even without the Combine, I believe there is at least one promising candidate in this class: Our Lady running back Jeremiyah Love.

Let’s look at love through the categories that make a big chip player.

Let’s first examine his measurables. We won’t have official numbers until the Combine, but… Our Lady lists Love at 6-foot-4 and about 215 pounds. His height, if accurate, would put him in the 70th percentile for running backs in the NFL, and that weight would put him just above the 50th percentile. Those numbers easily check the boxes you want to see for a potential RB1, especially when you combine them with his athleticism.

I could understand why Love would opt out of all athletic testing at the Combine, since he can just let his tape do the talking — but selfishly, I’d like to see him tested, because his tracking numbers suggest he’d blow our minds. A former high school sprinter, Love recorded a time of 10.76 in the 100-meter dash. He has also achieved an average maximum speed (five fastest runs) of over 33 km/h in each of the past two seasons, and even exceeded 35 km/h this year.

His in-game athletics score has also been in the 80s or 90s throughout his career. When you watch the tape and see how he explodes on his first step, you can believe all those numbers. As an athlete, we are once again checking the boxes of a blue chip player.

Then we have the production category. Love has rushed for 2,469 yards over the last two seasons (2nd most in the FBS, over 1,100 per year) with 1,607 yards after contact (2nd most in the FBS) and 35 rushing touchdowns (1st in the FBS). His PFF rushing grade of 96.1 over that two-year span was also the best. He also posted a PFF grade of 82.5 with over 500 receiving yards, five receiving touchdowns and 25 receiving first downs over the past two seasons, giving him true three-down impact ability.

Likewise, Love’s missed tackle forced (MTF) per attempt of 0.33 was in the 95th percentile; his average of 4.45 yards after contact per attempt was in the 98th percentile; his MTF per reception was in the 90th percentile; and his yards per route run as a running back was in the 85th percentile. The production box is checked, and playing 41 games with 29 starts in just three years as a true junior also checks the experience box.

All of that makes Love a blue-chip prospect in my eyes. There are a few more guys who are close.

I think State of Ohio safety Caleb Downs is a top talent in almost every way, except he may not be a top athlete. If he tests well at the Combine, he’s absolutely right with Love. Miami (FL) defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. has the overall size, athleticism and production of a blue-chip edge rusher, but if he has much shorter arms than average, that would keep him from becoming that true blue-chip tag. State of Ohio Linebacker Sonny Styles could very well be a promising prospect when we start to see his NFL career manifesto, but he just doesn’t have a lot of real drop coverage experience in the NFL (he just wasn’t asked to do it much this year).

I like all three of these prospects. I believe they are worth a top 10 and will be fantastic professionals, but I wouldn’t call them blue-chippers yet (pending some Combine numbers).