2026 Rookie Big Board: Jeremiah Love & Mendoza Lead Top 30

Rookie draft season is here, and JayDubb is running his full Top 30 for this year’s class — the good, the soft middle, and the dart throws worth stashing. This class gets called polarizing, but JayDubb’s take is simple: it’s strong up top, thin in the middle, and full of lottery tickets on the back end.

What We Cover

• Why NIL money and the NCAA’s new five-year eligibility cap are reshaping when college stars actually declare
• JayDubb’s RB1: why Jeremiah Love is RB1 in any format, Superflex or not
• The Fernando Mendoza vs. Carnell Tate debate for picks 2 and 3
• Landing-spot winners: Jadarian Price to Seattle, Ty Simpson behind Stafford, Kenyon Sadiq in the Jets’ slot
• The running back committees to watch: Raiders (Jeanty/Washington), Broncos (Dobbins/Harvey/Coleman), 49ers (Kaelon Black)
• Sleepers JayDubb is buying now before dynasty prices catch up

Top of the Board: Love, Mendoza, Tate

In any Superflex format, JayDubb’s 1.01 is Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Love, who went No. 3 overall to the Arizona Cardinals. JayDubb calls him a do-everything, blue-chip RB1 in the mold of Bijan Robinson or Saquon Barkley — dynamic in the passing game, natural hands, a real receiving profile. The only knock is a lighter college workload, since he split Notre Dame’s backfield with fellow first-rounder Jadarian Price. The landing spot isn’t glamorous — Arizona will likely take its lumps this year — but JayDubb points to the surrounding talent (Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson) as more than enough offense for Love to produce as a rookie.

At No. 2, JayDubb has Raiders No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. It’s a fantasy ranking, not a draft-slot ranking — JayDubb actually prefers that Mendoza isn’t handed the job immediately; Las Vegas has Kirk Cousins penciled in as the Week 1 starter out of camp, and JayDubb sees that as a gift, giving Mendoza time to learn behind an accurate, willing runner. JayDubb’s floor comp is Jared Goff, with more mobility. He rebuilt Cal, then went undefeated and won it all at Indiana — JayDubb trusts the résumé.

Controversially, JayDubb has Ohio State’s Carnell Tate at No. 3 instead of No. 2, even after Tate went 4th overall to the Tennessee Titans as Cam Ward’s new No. 1 receiver. The résumé argument: Tate was a five-star recruit but was WR2 in college behind names like Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jeremiah Smith. JayDubb’s take: a top-4 pick is a no-doubt talent regardless, and Tate should be a 100-plus-target guy quickly, with WR1 upside by year two.

The Next Tier: Price, Tyson, Lemon, and the Rookie QBs

JayDubb’s No. 4 is Jadarian Price, who went with the very last pick of round one — No. 32 overall to Seattle, brought in specifically to help replace departed Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III (now in Kansas City). JayDubb likes the fit: a strong, improving offensive line, an elite defense keeping games close, and a real shot at an RB2/RB3 role as a rookie even in a timeshare.

At No. 5, Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson went 8th overall to New Orleans. JayDubb loves the talent — early breakout, elite separation, YAC ability, a true WR1 profile — but flags the QB uncertainty around Tyler Shough and an already-established Chris Olave as the reason Tyson slots as a WR2 near-term rather than a locked-in WR1.

USC’s Makai Lemon lands at No. 6 after going 20th overall to the Eagles in a trade up from the Cowboys. JayDubb isn’t buying the lazy “A.J. Brown replacement” label — he sees Lemon as more of a Green Bay-style multipurpose X/slot piece, especially with new OC Sean Mannion importing that scheme. JayDubb thinks Dontayvion Wicks is the closer A.J. Brown comp, but likes Lemon’s path to real target volume as soon as year two or three.

Rounding out JayDubb’s dynasty-only Superflex tier: Ty Simpson (Alabama, No. 13 overall to the Rams) lands behind Matthew Stafford in Sean McVay’s system — JayDubb calls the long-term arm talent and offensive fit “very high,” even though McVay has been clear it’s still Stafford’s team for now. In a non-Superflex or shallow league, JayDubb says drop Simpson six-to-ten spots or more; he’s not draftable there as a rookie.

Committees, Sleepers, and Dart Throws

The running back rooms are where JayDubb spends real time. In Denver, Jonah Coleman (4th round, No. 108) joins JK Dobbins and 2025 second-rounder R.J. Harvey in a crowded committee JayDubb doesn’t love long-term — he sees Coleman as handcuff insurance more than a real path to volume. In Las Vegas, JayDubb is much higher on Mike Washington Jr. (4th round, No. 122), the 4.33-40 Arkansas product JayDubb expects to complement Ashton Jeanty in new coach Klint Kubiak’s two-back scheme. In San Francisco, JayDubb flags third-round back Kaelon Black as a name to watch behind Christian McCaffrey, who turns 30 this year — if McCaffrey misses time, JayDubb thinks Black profiles as an every-down option in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

At tight end, Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq (No. 16 to the Jets) gets JayDubb’s top billing at the position — a 4.39-40, 43.5-inch vertical athlete JayDubb sees used more as a big slot weapon than a traditional in-line tight end early on. Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers (2nd round to the Eagles) is JayDubb’s succession-plan pick behind an aging Dallas Goedert.

On the QB developmental side, JayDubb likes Georgia’s Carson Beck (3rd round, Cardinals) and Penn State’s Drew Allar (3rd round, Steelers) as stash-and-wait plays behind bridge starters, plus Arkansas’s Taylen Green — a 4.36-40 arm talent JayDubb calls a two-week fantasy streamer if he ever starts, but not a guy you win with consistently.

Deeper sleepers JayDubb flagged include Clemson’s Antonio Williams (3rd round, Commanders) as a target-share bet next to an aging Terry McLaurin; Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton (5th round, Titans) and Kaytron Allen (6th round, Commanders) as former teammates now on separate depth-chart paths; and Baltimore’s rookie receiver room of Ja’Kobi Lane (3rd round) and Elijah Sarratt (4th round), both fighting for snaps behind Zay Flowers.

Bottom Line

This class isn’t the disaster some scouts made it out to be — it’s top-heavy, thin in the middle, and loaded with dart throws on the back end, and JayDubb thinks that’s a completely normal rookie class, not a red flag. If you only walk away with three names, make them Jeremiah Love, Fernando Mendoza, and Carnell Tate — JayDubb has all three graded as true difference-makers regardless of where they landed. Everything after that is about knowing the depth chart cold, because in this class, situation is doing as much work as talent.

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