Way-Too-Early 2026 NFL Draft Preview: Miami Hurricanes Who Could Be First-Round Picks
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The 2025 NFL Draft has now come and gone so there is only one thing left to do. It's time to take a look at the 2026 NFL Draft. Could this be a tad early for that? Who's to say? Either way, we're going to do it. So without further ado, these are a few Miami Hurricanes football stars who might be highly touted prospects heading into next year's draft.
QB Carson Beck
Many projected the now former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback to be a top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, a down season and a serious injury were enough to coax him to Miami for one more year of college ball. That, along with a hefty NIL deal. With his National Championship pedigree, a bounce-back season in Miami should propel him back up draft boards. However, he will need his play to prove that he's fully healthy and that last year was a fluke and not a sign of things to come.
The 2026 NFL Draft QB Class has a chance to be an all time Class:
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) April 24, 2025
- Arch Manning
- Drew Allar
- LaNorris Sellers
- Garrett Nussmeier
- Cade Klubnik
- Sam Leavitt
- Dante Moore
- Carson Beck pic.twitter.com/ilEPfqu8Jz
DE Rueben Bain Jr
As of now, Bain Jr projects to be a first-round pick and potentially a top-10 pick in next year's NFL Draft. The former four-star recruit has everything you look for in a stud edge rusher. He's 6'3, 275 pounds, long and explosive with an ability to dominate as a pass rusher and also defend the run well. After dealing with a calf injury last year, he will need to show why he was so great as a freshman, but there is little reason to doubt that he will do just that.
OL Francis Mauigoa
Mauigoa is the brother of Francisco, who was just drafted by the Jets in the fifth round on Saturday. He projects to potentially be the top offensive tackle in next year's draft and perhaps the first non-quarterback taken off the board. The big tackle is 6'6 335 pounds, and coming off a year in which he allowed just one sack all season. To go along with his incredible size, which makes him an immovable object, he also displays intelligence, technique, and good mobility for a man his size.
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Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites.
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