• NIL and extended eligibility have reshaped the draft pipeline: Fewer underclassmen are declaring while prospects enter the NFL with significantly more experience and larger collegiate sample sizes.
• Experience comes with a trade-off: While teams gain more film and proven production, older prospects often carry capped ceilings and reduced developmental upside compared to traditional early declares.
• 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

Lenient eligibility rules combined with the rise of the NIL era have fundamentally changed the NFL draft landscape. The average NFL draft prospect now brings much more collegiate experience than those who entered the NFL a decade ago. 

Particularly for players who project as day three draft picks, rookie contracts simply don’t offer enough beyond standard NIL contracts to warrant an early draft declaration. 

Five years ago, 128 underclassmen declared for the draft. That number has since halved to just 63 in total in this draft cycle. 

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. In the case of many starting quarterbacks at top programs across America, they’ll typically earn much more by remaining in college instead of going to the league as a mid-to-late round backup. 

As a consequence, we now have prospects entering the NFL with several thousand collegiate snaps under their belt. Of course, this brings both pros and cons. While NFL evaluators have a large sample size of plays to draw on, these players typically raise concerns about their age and limited upside — a 25-year-old with six college seasons under his belt isn’t likely to have much untapped potential. What you see from these players is often what you get. 

Today, we’ll be looking at the 2026 draft-eligible players who bring the most college football experience. 

WR De’Zhaun Stribling, Ole Miss

PFF Big Board Rank: 112

Stribling enters the NFL with five years of mileage as a power five wide receiver across three different programs, totalling 3,008 offensive snaps. 

His overall PFF grade has improved with every season, and his late emergence in 2025 as Trinidad Chambliss’ top target on the Ole Miss offense has propelled the 23-year-old into day two conversations. 

From Week 12 until Ole Miss’ Fiesta Bowl exit, Stribling registered an overall PFF grade of 87.2 — the second-highest of any wide receiver to close out the season behind Indiana’s Charlie Becker. 

While five years and 3,000 snaps may suggest we know all there is to expect from De’Zhaun Stribling, this major rally to round out his college career certainly raised a few more eyebrows about the kind of impact he is capable of making at the next level. 

QB Carson Beck, Miami

PFF Big Board Rank: 113

The winning quarterback of the aforementioned Fiesta Bowl, Beck comes in just one spot below Stribling on the PFF big board, with a similarly lengthy college resumé including 2,916 total snaps and 11,696 passing yards. 

Technically, Memphis quarterback Brendon Lewis has played a few dozen more snaps than Beck, but the level of competition the latter faced at Georgia and then Miami takes precedence.

Beck can be an easy target for those who joke about fully grown adults playing against teenagers in college football, but it’s easy to overlook that he’s only 23 years old in a draft that features several 24 and 25-year-old prospects. 

Beck often felt like a passenger rather than the driver of Miami’s offense during their playoff run, but he’s still a prospect with ideal size, significant game reps and some undeniably great tape under his belt — most notably his 2023 season at Georgia when he posted a 91.5 PFF grade, the fourth-highest of any college quarterback that year.  

OT Blake Miller, Clemson

PFF Big Board Rank: 25

Miller is perhaps the best example of collegiate volume on this list. Unlike others who have taken advantage of additional eligibility, redshirt seasons and the transfer portal, Miller remained in place at Clemson, where he never missed a game over his four-year career. 

Miller’s unblemished starting streak of 54 straight games resulted in 3,762 career snaps under Dabo Sweeney at Clemson — the most of any offensive lineman in the 2026 draft. 

This is an unbelievable amount of high-level football played, considering Miller just turned 22 years old last month. 97% of his snaps came at right tackle, and he projects as a late first-round pick with sufficient size to continue his career as a tackle in the NFL. 

ED Mikail Kamara, Indiana

PFF Big Board Rank: 120

Mikail Kamara has been a well-known name in college football circles for a few years now. He could have declared for last year’s draft when he was considered by most as a lock for the second round, but opted to return to Indiana for his sixth consecutive season under head coach Curt Cignetti. 

Kamara’s draft stock isn’t quite as high this time around, but I’m sure the former James Madison walk-on will have no complaints after closing out his college football career as an undefeated national champion.

Kamara has played the most snaps of any draft-eligible defensive lineman. Over the course of his 19 games with the Hoosiers, he faced some of the best offensive linemen college football has to offer, capped off with a playoff run, bouncing from Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor to Oregon’s Isaiah World and finally Miami’s Francis Mauigoa. 

While Kamara’s overall PFF grade took a tumble from 86.4 a year ago to 71.9 this past season, his blend of experience, discipline and leadership is unmatched in this class. 

LB Deonte Lawson, Alabama

PFF Big Board Rank: 110

To play almost 2,800 snaps across defense and special teams is an achievement at any level of college football, but to do so at a program with the pedigree of Alabama is something very few can achieve. 

Lawson is one of the last remaining draft prospects to start multiple seasons under Nick Saban. The legendary head coach has spoken very highly of Lawson on several occasions.

The former four-star recruit may not possess ideal size or functional strength for transferring over to the professional ranks, but he’s an extremely intelligent defender who grew into a leading role on Alabama’s defense over the past two seasons.

When evaluating linebackers in the middle rounds, general managers often covet proven special teams commodities. They also look for linebackers with legitimate speed who can plug into the defense in specific packages. Lawson ticks both boxes, and he has all the film in the world to prove it. 

CB Chandler Rivers, Duke

PFF Big Board Rank: 83

Like Clemson’s Blake Miller, Rivers is a 22-year-old four-year college starter in the traditional sense, totaling an almighty 3,186 defensive snaps under his belt in Durham. 

Standing shorter than 5-foot-10 and just 185 pounds, Rivers is clearly on the smaller side for NFL cornerbacks, which could limit his pro projection to a nickel role despite aligning on the outside for more than 70% of his college snaps.  

Like Mikail Kamara, Rivers was phenomenal in 2024 but opted to return and may have potentially hurt his draft stock in doing so. While he didn’t return to the heights of his 90.7 overall PFF grade from a year ago, Rivers allowed only one touchdown in coverage this past year, and his passer rating when targeted sat below 85.0 for a third straight season. 

Despite his slim frame, Rivers never appears out of control when shadowing routes. He has been called for just four penalties over his last three entire seasons. Any remaining doubts about Rivers’ ability were put to rest when he delivered a fantastic performance at the NFL combine, solidifying his standing as a day two draft pick. 

Honorable mentions

• QB Taylen Green, Arkansas
• QB Cade Klubnik, Clemson
• OT Trey Zuhn II, Texas A&M
• G Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon
• ED Gabe Jacas, Illinois
• S A.J. Haulcy, LSU