The Next Gen Stats Team uses its draft model to identify the five best value picks in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
- Production Score: 84
- Athleticism Score: 79 (estimated)
- OVERALL DRAFT SCORE: 84
Long viewed as a possible option for the Jets at No. 2, Reese gave the Giants a top-of-the-board talent at No. 5 overall. New York did not have to force the pick, which made this a clean best-player-available swing on a front-seven chess piece with real positional flexibility -- one who can slot in alongside Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
At 241 pounds, Reese ran a 4.46 40 and reached 22.58 mph at the NFL Scouting Combine, according to NGS tracking data, the second-fastest top speed among edge rushers in this year’s class. That speed showed up in movement drills, too: He hit 15.01 mph in the run-the-hoop drill and 14.20 mph in the defensive line pass-rush drill -- both top-two marks among edge defenders. Pair that athletic profile with an 84 production score and a 20-plus pressure rate in his lone season as a starter (according to Pro Football Focus), and it is easy to see why the Giants viewed him as a high-end value pick with immediate sub-package juice and long-term upside.
- Production Score: 91
- Athleticism Score: 94 (estimated)
- OVERALL DRAFT SCORE: 95
Daniel Jeremiah’s No. 3 overall player falls right into the lap of GM Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn at No. 7. The former safety-turned-linebacker gives Washington the kind of modern second-level playmaker defenses are built around, with the range, size and versatility to become the long-term green-dot successor to Bobby Wagner.
From a Next Gen Stats standpoint, Styles' profile is about as clean as it gets. At 6-foot-5 and 244 pounds with 32 7/8-inch arms, Styles ran a 4.46 40 at the scouting combine and became the first participant since 2003 to post a sub-4.5 40, 40-plus-inch vertical and 11-plus-foot broad jump at 230-plus pounds. NGS tracking data added even more context: Styles' 14.39 mph top speed during the short shuttle (4.26 seconds) was the fastest mark by any prospect in Indy since 2023, regardless of position. His 95 overall draft score is the highest by an off-ball linebacker over the last six draft classes, and his 94 athleticism score is the top mark at the position over the last four. He is also one of just two prospects in the 2026 class to clear 90 in all three NGS categories -- production, athleticism and overall score -- making this one of the clearest analytical value picks of Round 1 this year.
- Production Score: 91
- Athleticism Score: 65 (estimated)
- OVERALL DRAFT SCORE: 83
Add Lemon to the growing list of value selections GM Howie Roseman has pulled off in recent years. The former Trojan is now the fifth Eagles first-round pick over the past four drafts to appear in this exercise, following Jihaad Campbell in 2025, Quinyon Mitchell in 2024, and Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith in 2023.
Lemon's 91 production score is the third-highest by a wide receiver in the last five draft classes, according to the NGS draft model. At 5-11 and 190 pounds, Lemon reportedly ran a 4.50 40 at his pro day, but his game is more about polish, separation and reliability than pure long speed. As NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein put it in his scouting report, Lemon is "quicker than fast" and a crisp route runner, which helps explain why he makes sense in this offense. And with A.J. Brown’s long-term future still worth monitoring, the Eagles could view Lemon as the new complement to DeVonta Smith in their passing attack. Lemon should provide an immediate boost for Jalen Hurts, who averaged just 6.7 yards per attempt targeting the slot in 2025 -- the fifth-lowest mark in the NFL.
- Production Score: 77
- Athleticism Score: 85
- OVERALL DRAFT SCORE: 80
Daniel Jeremiah’s No. 16 overall prospect offers immediate help for a Bears defense that lost four safeties in free agency, including starters Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard. Thieneman started 39 career games over three college seasons (two at Purdue and one at Oregon), bringing proven experience and the versatility to align deep, in the box or over the slot; he's the kind of all-purpose DB that Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen can build around.
At 6-foot and 201 pounds, Thieneman owns one of the strongest athletic profiles at his position in this year's class. He ran a 4.35 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine, posting a blazing 1.52-second 10-yard split and the second-highest top speed (23.36 mph) among all safeties who competed in this year's event. His performance in Indy helped earn him the top NGS athleticism score among all safeties in the 2026 class.
- Production Score: 81
- Athleticism Score: 75
- OVERALL DRAFT SCORE: 79
After taking David Bailey at No. 2 and Kenyon Sadiq at No. 16, the Jets traded back into the end of Round 1 for Daniel Jeremiah’s 17th-ranked prospect, a player they had been linked to earlier in the night. Cooper followed a breakout 2025 campaign on Indiana’s national championship team with a strong combine performance, helping him earn one of the higher overall draft scores among wide receivers in the 2026 class.
Cooper is one of just three wideouts in this year's group to have a production, athleticism and overall score of 75 or higher. These scores help quantify his dynamic run-after-catch ability, which should provide a huge boost to a Jets receiving corps that produced the fewest yards after catch in the NFL last season. Since 2016, the Jets have had just three 1,000-yard receiving seasons -- and all of them were courtesy of Garrett Wilson (2022-24).
