2026 NFL Draft Focus: NFC West

Ian Stuart Martin examines prospects for the NFC West for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Arizona Cardinals

Head Coach Mike Lafleur and GM Monti Ossenfort are facing a massive rebuild. Moving on from Kyler Murray was a difficult but necessary choice. Without a franchise quarterback, the Cardinals need to ignore floor and target high-ceiling players. They have the chance to develop a franchise player with the 3rd overall pick.

Arvell Reese (LB, Ohio State) 

Reese is an athletic monster with a rare combination of speed, strength, and agility. Unlike most pure athletes, he has more than just athleticism. At 6’4”, 241 lbs., with 32½ inch arms, Reese is one of the draft’s best tacklers. He is an elite run-stuffer with the instincts to be a Day 1 downhill linebacker in the NFL.

Reese is unique as both a top linebacker prospect and an edge prospect. At the edge, he is a bendy, monstrous speed rusher. Ohio State split his time between positions to keep defenses guessing, but that dual-position potential is a dual-edged sword. On the edge, Reese relies purely on his athleticism and hasn’t been coached or developed. At linebacker, he was only used as a zone defender and struggled in man coverage against quick slot receivers and fast tight ends. 

The Cardinals’ coaching staff needs to use Reese correctly. He can develop both skill sets because he has the athleticism. He doesn’t have to be a pure edge like Micah Parsons; he can stay at linebacker. Reese could legitimately become an all-time great who rotates between edge and linebacker. The Cardinals’ defense can be elite simply by keeping Quarterbacks and OCs guessing where Reese will be post-snap.

Francis Mauigoa (T, Miami)

Mauigoa is the top tackle in this year’s draft. At 6’6”, 329 lbs., he is a beast. Mauigoa is sticky and won’t let defenders go once the strongest hands in the class get set. With Paris Johnson Jr. on the left side, the Cardinals need a franchise right tackle to anchor the other side of their line. Free-agent acquisition Elijah Wilkinson is a borderline starter, not the long-term solution Mauigoa will be.

The 2027 Quarterback class looks strong. Building a tackle tandem now gives the best chance for their future QB to succeed. Mauigoa doesn’t have the absolute highest ceiling in the class. However, he is one of the few near-guarantees to win at the next level, barring injuries. With 42 consecutive starts, he doesn’t have any injury history to hold him back from being a franchise tackle.

Los Angeles Rams

If Matthew Stafford is healthy, the Rams and Head Coach Sean McVay are legitimate contenders. They have one of the NFL’s best offensive lines, a top-five wide receiver in Puka Nacua, a great running back tandem in Kyren Williams & Blake Corum, and a strong run-stopping defensive line. What they need is secondary help, a long-term Davante Adams replacement, and immediate contributors. 

Kenyon Sadiq (TE, Oregon)

Though a tight end, Kenyon Sadiq has the athletic profile of an elite wide receiver. At 6’3”, 241 lbs., he shattered the 40-yard dash record for tight ends with a blazing 4.39. Add 25 bench press reps and a 43½ inch vertical at the combine, and you have a true first-round tight end. Sadiq is not just a big-bodied slot receiver. He can block one play and track a deep ball for a touchdown on the next.

The Rams already have Colby Parkinson and Terrance Ferguson, but Sean McVay would have a field day with Sadiq. Matthew Stafford can only fight Father Time for so long, and getting Sadiq instantly upgrades the TE room from solid to great Day 1.

Dillon Thieneman (S, Oregon)

On the other side of the ball at Oregon, there is 6’0”, 201 lb. Dillon Thieneman. With elite speed, agility, vertical, instincts, and his aggressive downhill play style, Thieneman is a defensive coordinator's dream. He can be over-aggressive at times; in man-to-man coverage he struggles as the play extends. He will also struggle shedding blocks at the NFL level.

Rams’ Defensive Coordinator Chris Shula has the personnel to mitigate Thieneman’s weaknesses. With the free-agency additions of cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, the Rams can let Thieneman roam and do what he does best. Existing safeties Kamren Curl and Kamren Kinchens are solid, but rotating fresh players in the secondary will help the Rams come playoff time.

San Francisco 49ers

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch have an aging, injury-laden roster. The team is still loaded with talent, but the 49ers need long-term pieces from this year’s draft while letting existing young players develop. With the 27th pick, they need a guaranteed starter.

Emmanuel Pregnon (G, Oregon)

Over the last three years, two at USC, one at Oregon, 6’4”, 314 lb., Emmanuel Pregnon has allowed one sack. That’s not one per season; just one in three years. Pregnon has a reinforced steel base that leverages his elite explosiveness, which he showed with a 35-inch vertical at the combine. Pregnon didn’t test well for agility, but his tape rarely shows that limitation. He hasn’t shown positional versatility, but he will be a starting guard for years to come.

At 23, Pregnon is an older prospect. But like Akheem Mesidor of Florida, picking Pregnon gives the team five prime years of contract control. The 49ers’ expected left guard is Colby Connor, a 7th-round pick last year, who hasn’t had the time to develop. Shanahan’s wide-zone running needs solid run blockers. Pregnon will start immediately at left guard and will help aging veterans Trent Williams at left tackle, and Jake Brendel at center, extend their careers a few more years.

Caleb Banks (DT, Florida)

2025 draft picks Alfred Collins and CJ West are absolute run-stoppers on the interior defensive line. However, with only the addition of Osa Odighizuwa in free agency, the 49ers need more pass rush. Edge rusher Mykel Williams should be given time to develop alongside Nick Bosa. What the 49ers could really use is someone who can collapse the pocket from the interior.

Enter 6’6”, 330 lb. Caleb Banks. Banks is a quick-footed giant. Watching his tape, he moves like he’s 30 lbs. lighter and is a crushing gap-eater in the run game. He has the raw strength to bull rush and collapse pockets at the NFL level. Most years, Banks would be a top-10 pick. However, he has big red flags. Banks rushed back from a foot injury this past year and required a second surgery last month after reinjuring it. He also only has a bull rush, and his pad level is often too high. If he recovers, the 49ers will have a giant ball of athletic clay to mold into the spitting image of Dexter Lawrence.

Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks’ GM John Schneider has one of the hardest jobs in the NFL. Key players like Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, Pro Bowl cornerback Riq Woolen, and ball hawking safety Coby Bryant left in free agency. Now, the Seahawks need to find players Head Coach Mike Macdonald can use in their title defense this coming year.

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (S, Toledo)

A good secondary is a deep secondary. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is a 6’3½”, 201 lb. contact-seeking safety out of Toledo. He is a true run-stuffing strong safety. While he has experience rolling into the deep third, his calling card is tackling. He has mastered the “Peanut Punch” and is truly special when rolling downhill. That isn’t to say he only impacts run plays. On passing plays, McNeil-Warren has a nose for the ball, frequently jumps routes, and clogs passing lanes.

The Seahawks’ secondary dealt with injuries last year but held up thanks to their depth. Adding a box safety who can handle the physicality of covering tight ends while also being a roaming ballhawk would fit perfectly. McNeil-Warren has only average speed and agility, but those weaknesses get exposed only if he’s asked to cover speed demons outside the numbers. He can truly shine in Seattle, where existing personnel let him focus on using his size and instincts to keep offenses on their toes.

Keylan Rutledge (G, Georgia Tech)

The Seahawks’ starting right guard, Anthony Bradford, is in the last year of his deal. The good news: a potential replacement is available in the second or third round. Keylan Rutledge is a 6’4”, 316 lb. athlete who also plays offensive line. At the Senior Bowl in January, Rutledge not only needed coaches to tell him not to play so hard after the whistle but also played every position along the line. At the Combine, he ran a 5.05 forty, had a 32½” vertical, a 4.54 20-yard shuttle, and a 7.54 3-Cone. He has the mentality and tools to be a top-level guard, but he needs coaching.

The Seahawks need a long-term plan at right guard. They can re-sign Anthony Bradford, but Super Bowl-winning teams see their players command larger contracts. Seattle could add depth and get a potential starter on a rookie contract. Rutledge isn’t ready to start his rookie year. He has numerous technical issues, from pad level to stuttering footwork to balance. But they only appear intermittently on tape, and his athleticism has always covered them up. With a year of development under veteran offensive line coach John Benton, he could clean up his technique.