The Road from College to the NFL Draft

Welcome to the first edition of Essentially CFB’s Draft special! I’m Tim Wood, Editorial Chief at EssentiallySports, and the co-host of the ES DraftCast with Tony Pauline.

Some might say it’s a dreadful week for the 18 teams on the outside looking in of the 2026 NFL playoffs. But the eternally optimistic fan knows the future begins now, as we get excited about the next wave of NFL stars.

That’s what you’ll find here each week. We will cover every angle of the NFL Draft, as we delve deep into the more than 400 prospects that hope to catch the attention of NFL scouts over the next 15 weeks. From the Shrine and Senior Bowl straight through to Commissioner Goodell announcing the first pick in Pittsburgh, we want to be your main source to debunk the rumors and separate the misinformation from the straight scoop.

The first episode of the DraftCast breaks down the QB standouts in the CFP, the draft status of Oregon QB Dante Moore and the scout’s consensus on Miami prospect Rueben Bain Jr. Plus, we answer your questions! We hope you’ll subscribe to the podcast and hit us up with comments and questions on your favorite players.

Happy Draft Season, everybody!

With the 2025 NFL regular season coming to an end and the playoffs kicking in, you shouldn’t miss a sneak peek into the NFL draft history!

As the CFP national championship nears, and the NFL enters into the postseason, teams have started strategizing about their future. While the Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza remains hot, other prospects see unexpected slides.

We’re equally excited to launch our draft big board. Here, you’ll see Tony’s rankings and scouting reports for each prospect. And you can build a watchlist by clicking on the star at the far right of each prospect ranking.

With Carnell Tate declaring for the NFL draft, he will look to become the SIXTH Buckeye WR taken in the first round since 2022.

You can email me questions directly at [email protected].