Hello, hello!
I’m going to send out my normal email on Friday, but I wanted to send you a special note today to let you know that my latest Top 100 Big Board is out! Below you’ll get the Top 15, with some additional context on the positional value aspect of things.
If you want access the top 100, here it is! Just know that you have to be a DieHard to gain access (you can become a DieHard in any of our markets from this link).
Now, you may remember back a few weeks ago in this email I gave you a peek behind the curtain at my process when creating this Big Board. If you didn’t catch that note, maybe give it a quick read before you dive into this! It can give you some extra background into why thing look the way that they do. With that, here’s my board as it stands now - and check out a little something extra at the end!
HORIZONTAL BOARD - DEFENSE
HORIZONTAL BOARD - DEFENSE
THE VERTICAL BOARD
— TIER 1 | $48 Million AAV —
n/a
— TIER 2 | $28 Million AAV —
1 - QB Fernando Mendoza | Indiana
His toughness and intangibles are impossible to ignore; I see him ascending to being a Top 15-18 quarterback in the NFL
— TIER 3 | $22 Million AAV —
2 - EDGE Keldric Faulk | Auburn
The combination of physical tools, character and youth equate to upside I’ll always bet on; not a finished product but I feel it’s a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ he hits his ceiling
3 - EDGE Arvell Reese | Ohio State
His pass rush upside sets his physical ceiling while his physicality and versatility set his floor; I think his landing spot will have a large impact on his final outcome
4 - EDGE David Bailey | Texas Tech
His improved pass rush plan this season makes him nearly unblockable 1-on-1 but run defense is still a concern for me and could limit his 3-down potential
— TIER 4 | $17 Million AAV —
5 - LB Sonny Styles | Ohio State
The physical tools and mental makeup give him about as high a grade as allowed at that position, but he’s as clean as it gets as far as projection is concerned
6 - S Caleb Downs | Ohio State
He’s tough, instinctive and athletic with traits to be one of the league’s best thanks to his versatile skillset
7 - RB Jeremiyah Love | Notre Dame
Outstanding mental makeup to go along with explosive potential as both a runner and receiver; I wanted to see him stay healthy this year as a feature back and he did that
8 - EDGE Rueben Bain JR | Miami
Hard not to love his tempo-setting physicality; has the well-rounded game that should allow him to be a disruptor against the run and pass
9 - WR Carnell Tate | Ohio State
A big-bodied technician with ability to win at all three levels but he’s humble enough to do the dirty work as well
10 - T/G Spencer Fano | Utah
He’s athletic, tough and positionally versatile, though he won’t be a fit for every scheme with his size limitations
11 -T/G Kadyn Proctor | Alabama
The upside is sky-high and even his floor should equate to a volatile, yet serviceable, starter unless he completely bottoms out
12 - T/G Francis Mauigoa | Miami
Just rock solid across the board; feel the best about him plugging in at tackle and sticking there for a decade
13 - TE Kenyon Sadiq | Oregon
A dynamic pass catcher who gets after second-level defenders as a blocker; not a finished product but can be a difference maker
14 - CB Avieon Terrell | Clemson
Undersized but ultra-competitive corner with a man-to-man skillset and the ability to match up inside and out
15 - DL Peter Woods | Clemson
Highly-athletic 3-technique tackle who was near the top of my board coming into the season but saw his play fall off after losing weight in 2025
For a look at the rest of the Top 100 and full-access to the entire Draft Guide, become a DieHard!!
THE ‘PRO’ BOARD
As I explained in that previous email, I track transactions across the league on a regular basis and keep tabs on how players are getting paid at each position. Literally every player in the entire league in one spreadsheet.
It’s a pretty unruly sight.
So I’ll spare you the nitty gritty of the sheet and trim it down considerably so you can get a sense of what I’m looking at on a regular basis.
Below, you’ll find a version of the ‘Pro Board’, broken out by position the same way my horizontal draft board is. In each tier you’ll find up to two players, one who is at or near the top of the bracket and one who is at or near the bottom of the bracket. This should give you a sense of the types of players you’re talking about at each tier.
There are obviously a lot of things to consider in this part of the exercise. How many players are in each tier at each position? That’s important to note when thinking about positional value.
For instance, there are three linebackers at the top of the market in Tier 4 (Roquan Smith is the one not listed there), and I’m not sure I see any coming down the pipeline any time soon who will be reaching that bucket (hold out hope for Sonny Styles).
Conversely, safety currently has six players in Tier 4, with one in Tier 3 and another couple in the pipeline (Brian Branch, Nick Emmanwori, etc) trending that way. These are the fun exercises I put myself through occasionally, and it’s always something that is front of mind when I’m stacking players into the Big Board throughout the year.
If any of this interests you more, and you have follow-up questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
I’ll be back on Friday with my normal email - expect some free agency impact notes in that one - so be on the lookout for that!
Best,
Fran Duffy
PS — I’m going to keep doing some team-specific content here in the Newsletter. If you want me to cover your team with some notes about the types of players that I think they could be adding based off their draft history, especially now that have seen the first bit of Free Agency play out, respond and let me know!
