7 First-Round NFL Draft Prospects Who Could Slide to Day 2

The 2026 NFL Draft begins on Thursday. We celebrated by releasing our final first-round mock draft. Months of speculation will finally conclude and the actual scenarios will play out. We're expecting one of the more unpredictable NFL Draft's in recent history.

Several prospects have increased their pre-draft stock throughout the process, and that's reflected in our final top 100 rankings. The opposite is also true. Injuries, poor athletic testing, and character concerns have dropped prospects, too.

We've identified seven prospects who were once considered surefire first-round picks who may be available on Day 2.

2026 NFL Draft: First-Round Prospects Who Could Slide to Day 2

Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson

Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell was a frequent top-15 pick in mock drafts. The former Tigers standout is the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons star cornerback A.J. Terrell and appears to possess natural ability on tape. He's competitive at the catch point with patience and timing to generate pass breakups. At 5-foot-10 and 186 pounds, size concerns are present that may force him to play nickel. With those questions already leading to value questions, Terrell then completed a disappointing 4.64 40-yard dash at Clemson's Pro Day.

Caleb Banks, DT, Florida

Florida defensive tackle Caleb Fanks is a fascinating and risky prospect. He possesses built-in-a-lab size at 6-foot-6 and 327 pounds with 35-inch arms and near 11-inch hands. Banks, who was limited to just three appearances in 2025 due to a foot injury, occasionally dominates opponents. Injuries and inconsistent play make him a high-variance prospect, however. The NFL Combine was a perfect example of how frustrating his evaluation is. He suffered a setback through another foot injury after posting exciting testing results such as a 5.04 40 and 32-inch vertical. He comes with a buyer beware tag.

T.J. Parker, EDGE, Clemson

Clemson defensive end T.J. Parker recorded nine sacks in 2024, entering the 2025 season with significant momentum. Unfortunately, he was unable to replicate that form. The entire program struggled, and Parker regressed both statistically and on film, notching just five sacks. The Phenix City, Alabama native is a powerful edge defender with well-developed hands, but appears to lack top-tier athleticism to replicate his 2024 numbers with any consistency. In a deep pass-rushing class, it would be borderline surprising to see him be a top-32 pick at this point.

Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama

Kadyn Proctor is the wild-card of the offensive tackle class. The expectation is that Spencer Fano, Monroe Freeling, and Francis Mauigoa will be the first three players off the board at the position. After that, prospects like Proctor, Blake Miller, Max Iheanachor, and Caleb Lomu are jockeying for first-round positioning. At least one of them could slide to the second round. The mammoth Alabama offensive tackle is facing a wide range of outcomes on Thursday.

Peter Woods, DT, Clemson

Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods is another Tigers-based defender who hasn't fully met initial expectations. Voted a top-10 overall prospect nationally in high school, the flashes of dominance were fleeting. Woods went from recording 8.5 tackles for loss in 2024 to just 3.5 (with two sacks) this past campaign. Even in a weaker interior defensive line class, there's no guarantee he's a first-round selection.

Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee

The cornerback class is a competitive one. Tennessee's Colton Hood is among the cluster of prospects at the position hoping to be a back-half first-round pick. A one-year starter, he's raw and super athletic, having posted a 40.5-inch vertical and 10-foot-5 broad jump at the NFL Combine. He's currently overly reliant on those athletic tools, as opposed to technique, to be disruptive in coverage. If cornerbacks like Chris Johnson are first-round picks, it could mean a slide for Hood.

CJ Allen, LB, Georgia

Georgia linebacker CJ Allen began the pre-draft process as a consensus first-round pick. A pre-draft injury limited his participation in the process, seemingly leading to a loss of momentum. Allen recovered to work out for NFL scouts on April 15, but it may have been too late to recover first-round hype. In a competitive linebacker class that includes Jacob Rodriguez and Anthony Hill Jr. as potential Day Two picks, there could be a run on off-ball defenders during the second round.

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