The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Joel Klatt’s Top 10 Offensive Players in the 2026 NFL Draft

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

FOX Sports’ lead College Football analyst Joel Klatt begins his NFL Draft rankings by looking at the offensive side of the ball and laying out his Top 10 prospects. Is the presumptive #1 pick, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza deserving of the #1 spot on his board? Or will a player like Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love jump to the top? He also dives into how he ranks the top of the Wide Receiver class as 3 wideouts crack his Top 10 including Ohio State’s Carnell Tate and USC’s Makai Lemon. 0:00-1:50 Intro1:51-4:51 Number 10 player4:52-6:17 Number 9 player6:18-7:29 Number 8 player7:30-9:48 Number 7 player9:49-11:01 Number 6 player11:02-14:25 Number 5 player14:26-16:10 Number 4 player16:11-17:56 Number 3 player17:57-20:40 Number 2 player20:41-28:33 Number 1 player Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My top 10 offensive players in the draft. I think he is a Julian Edelman, Wes Welker, Jackson Spith and Jigba type of player. This dude just gets football. I think he's going to make some quarterback at the NFL level very, very happy. Look at all the Ohio Statewide receivers. They go to the National Football League and they succeed.

He's the best non-quarterback in the draft on the offensive side. He's going to get taken number one overall because he's the best player. like today is why we love college football. Hey, welcome into the program. This is Joel Clatt. This show is brought to you by Graduate by Hilton. We thank them for their support as always. Welcome in.

Our offseason content rolls on. We're going to start getting into a little bit more draft talk, obviously. A lot of stuff coming out of the combine. I wanted to get into some of this draft content as we roll into April here and through March. So that's what we're going to do. Today is going to be top 10 offensive players. and this year's NFL draft.

So top 10 offensive players, a little big board style just on the offensive side of the ball. But if you have not subscribed to the program, please go do so over on YouTube. You can subscribe hit that notification button. We'll be here the entire offseason. We'll cover the draft and we'll obviously get you prepped for next season in college football. And if you want to follow us on social media, all of our content lives out there, as you know, and wherever you like to social media. Personal preference, I totally understand that and get it.

wherever you like to social media, we're there, all of our content lives there at Joel Clashow. You can find us there. Okay. Let's get into this. My top 10 offensive players in the draft. I do think that this draft is going to be interesting because we don't have a ton of quarterbacks. How many go in the first round? How many are in my top 10?

We'll see. We'll see. And again, this is just offensive players. And I want to start right there at number 10. Maybe this is quarterback bias as a former quarterback. I just value the position more. And so even when I'm doing a big board style, when it's just like, who do I think is a better player,

I cannot get the value of the quarterback out of my head. And for that reason, at number 10, Ty Simpson of Alabama. I am higher on Simpson than most. A lot of people, if you're just looking at like traditional draft boards, they'll knock him for his size. the biggest guy. He's only 6-2. I'm not as concerned about that. Now, granted, I'm only, what, about 6-1, and so maybe that's short quarterback bias. I don't know. I don't know. Here's what I do love about this guy. He is tough, and he makes great big-time throws down the field,

and in particular outside of the numbers. He did it all year, really, and that was not a great Alabama team. He was on his own for a lot of that year. His first year as a starter, and he had to roll out there behind an offensive line that did not give him a great amount of protection. It was not your traditional Alabama team. He goes out there, throws for, what, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions, 3,500 yards. Like, he was really good. He was really good. And really was their best piece. If you think about the best moments of the season. What do you think of? You think of Ty Simpson. You think of Ty Simpson. You think of the way he played in the first half in Athens against Georgia. Outstanding. Outstanding. You think of the playoff game against

Oklahoma. And Oklahoma coming out strong early in that game, only to see Ty Simpson rally his guys and drive right back down the field. And what do you see a comeback win on the road in the playoffs? That's a big deal for me, a big deal. And so I like the way that he plays. in those games. I think he's tough. And when you watch his film, the throws that he makes, in particular outside the numbers, they are great leverage throws. He's on time. He's anticipatory. That's a big part of what I think makes you succeed at the National Football League level. And five-star guy sat for three years. I know he doesn't have a ton of starts. I wish he would have more starts. I really do. I think he would be higher on my list. And I think he would be higher on my list.

he would be higher for the NFL if he had more experience. Because I think, as you'll see later in this list, I think that that's a big part of playing quarterback at the next level. So Ty Simpson's number 10 quarterback from Alabama. And number nine, a guy saw plenty of. Vanya Oweña, Vanga Oweña, Penn State Offensive Guard. I think he's the best offensive, interior offensive lineman in the draft. He's very athletic. The coach is raved about his work ethic, leadership, and his ability to do different things. He can bend and he's powerful. I loved, I loved over the last couple of years.

They would stand him up in that Andy Kodalnicki offense, and they would have him in motion. And then he would like blast in there. Like he's athletic enough. You're seeing it now if you're watching on YouTube. He's just crushing his UCLA defensive end. And he's like, yeah, that's right, that's right. I think his ability to move around is a huge asset for an NFL organization. Because, yeah, he can go in there and play guard.

Yeah, he'll be fine. He'll play guard and he'll do it well. But if you need, like, an extra offensive lineman on the field, he can do that. He can line up as an extra, like, kind of a tied-in position. He can be an h-back. That versatility, I think, will pay dividends. He's smart. 32 career starts. He's tough, and like I said, he's strong. He can bend.

I think he's the best interior offensive linemen in the draft, and he's my number nine offensive player available. At number eight, Jordan Tyson, wide receiver from Arizona State. He's long, he's rangy, 6-2, 200 pounds. I think his size is fine. I think he's best when the ball is up in the air, and you need that late in the season. That contested catch area, right? like everything doesn't have to be clean for him. He is tremendous high pointing the ball. He's competitive in the area across the middle of the field. He knows how to use his body in order to catch the ball.

He knows how to use his hands. He's not afraid of contact. All of that is going to be, I think, huge for him. Now, there is some injury concern with him from his past. He had a few injuries. He tore up his knee when he was at Colorado. Then he transferred to Arizona State, missed the playoff game in 2020, with a broken collarbone.

He had a hamstring issue this last season, but in that excellent performance against Texas Tech, he gutted it out and he was on the field. So he's tough. He's been coached at ASU by Heinz Ward, a guy that knows all about being a technician at the NFL level. That's going to pay off for him. So Jordan Tyson is number eight on my list. I think he's going to have a really successful career in the National Football League. At number seven, another guy, and I think that the versatility that he provides,

higher on my list than maybe others. Number seven for me is Kenyon Sadiq, the tight end at Oregon. So I think he's the best tied end in the draft. And it's not just that he can catch the ball, although he does that really well. He's super

athletic and he's tough to cover. He's 6'3, 245 pounds so he can split out, he can do all of those things. But I think it's his ability to be everything as a tight end. He's a great blocker. He can I think make you more dynamic in more personnel groups.

Because like, for instance, you can get into 12 personnel. If you don't know what 12 personnel means, that means there's one back on the field and two tight ends. That's 12 personnel. Well, in 12 personnel, the defense has a choice to make. Like, do we line up for run and stay base with three linebackers on the field? Or do we play nickel and substitute a defensive back for one of those linebackers? Now, typically, you want to stay base because with two tight ends, you've got to be able to stop the run.

Sadiq can block. You keep him in base. But here's the deal. He's way more athletic than your traditional linebacker. So he can split out and he can attack that seam of the defense when you're in base and there's three linebackers on the field. So he's a matchup nightmare. NFL offensive play callers are going to love Kenyon Sadiq. eight receiving touchdowns in 2025 that led all of FBS tight ends.

Why? Because in the red zone, a tight end is so valuable because of the matchup that I'm talking about. When I was doing their game, Dan Lending, I asked him about Kenyon Sadiq. And he said, first, he's like, Joel, this guy is special. Like a special talent, he's going to play for a long time. Dan knows. Called him a very confident player. And then before talking about his past catching.

ability, which is rare and special, he talked about his ability as a blocker and his willingness as a blocker. So again, this versatility that you can go and play with, I think NFL organizations are going to love Kenyon Sadiq. That's why he's in my top 10 as an offensive player, and he is number seven as an offensive player in this board. And number six, oh, here's a guy I really like, the tackle from Utah, Spencer Fana. And when I was talking with Kyle Whittingham about Spencer before that Texas Tech game, he said Spencer Fano was the best he's had at Utah. I went back and checked my notes because I was like, man, they've had some really good offensive linemen at Utah.

I mean, they've produced some good NFL offensive linemen. And Kyle Wittingham's like, yeah, this guy is the best one of them all. So there's that. I put a lot of stock in what Kyle Wittingham told me about him. He started out at left tackle early in his career. He moved to right tackle, so he's got some versatility. He provides flexibility, which I think is valuable for an NFL organization because it's not just about, oh, he's got to come in and fill one side. He can fill either.

He's a three-year starter. And listen, he's super athletic. He can bend. I like him in the past set, although David Bailey from Texas Tech made life very difficult on him in that Utah, Texas Tech game. He can move. He's agile. He's athletic. He's got arms.

He's kind of your whole package at offensive tackle. So Spencer Fano, the tackle from Utah is number of. six of my offense of big board top 10. At number five, now we get into the top five. Gosh, these guys are all really good. Let's get to a couple of wide receivers here. Number five, Mackay Lemon from USC, the wide receiver. I love Mackay Lemon.

This dude just gets football. There's an old adage. I had a coach. I owe a lot to him. Taught me the game really, really well. His name was Sean Watson. Sean was our offensive coordinator of Colorado. And I loved just sitting and talking ball with Sean.

And part of it is he had these old coach sayings that now are stuck in my head. But they just apply. And one of them applies to Mackay Limon. Watts used to say, we called him Watts, Sean Watson, we called him Watts. Watts used to say when a guy didn't have the like traditional size, maybe speed, makeup, right? Like, there were guys that looked like Tarzan and played like Jane.

There were guys that looked the part and it's like off the bus. You wanted them off, off the bus first and that's the way that they played. And then there were the guys that are like, wait, really? And he had this term for guys like that. And it was, he's a football playing Jesse. And it always stuck with me.

And we always made fun of like the way Watts would give out these sayings. but it's like when I watch Mackay Lemon play, it's like, yeah, like, dude's just a football playing Jesse. The dude just is an excellent football player. He gets space. He understands coverage. He's got exceptional feel for the game of football. I think he is a Julian Edelman,

Wes Welker, Jackson Spith and Gigba type of player. He can operate in the middle. He can operate outside, although I think he's better in the middle. But again, it's this idea of, his intelligence and his feel for the game, his feel for coverage, his feel for leverage, his ability to make the play on the ball. He's great with the ball in the air. Like, there's, I just can't say enough about Mackay Lemon. That game that we called the

USC Illinois game, he was phenomenal in that game. Now, he's only 5-11, 195 pounds. But again, the dudes of football playing Jesse, Blitnikov Award winner, 79 catches, 1100 yards, 13 total touchdowns last year. Against Illinois, they could not stop him. They only scored too early and then Illinois was able to go down and kick a field goal late and ended up winning that game. But man, this dude just gets it. I mean, he just gets it. I think he's going to make some quarterback at the NFL level very, very happy. My hope is that he goes to a place that has a quarterback that knows how to use him, okay? Because as we saw with a guy like Jackson Smith and Jigba at Seattle, similar type of player,

and was not utilized very well in his first few years as Seattle because they didn't have a quarterback that knew how to use him. Lo and behold, they get a guy that understands, can sling it around a little bit, some new offensive theory in there, and now you got Donald, and all of a sudden, JSN goes off. And it was like, oh, man, he turned into such a great player. No, no, no, no. He was always a great player.

He just finally had a guy that could actually utilize him. So my hope for Mackay Limon is that he goes to a guy that knows what he's got. All right. Number four. Another wide receiver, Carnell Tate from Ohio State. Carnel Tate is so good. I mean so good. I love both of these guys. I give Tate the bump over Lemon because of his size

and his ability to really win down the field. Because when it comes down to it, and I said this with Jordan Tyson a little bit earlier, when it comes down to it, you know, in crunch time in the NFL and playoff time, you've got to win contested catches. And there was nobody better than Carnell Tate. at winning contested catches, in particular down the field. He tracks the ball exceptionally well. He's faster than people think.

He runs great routes. And oh, by the way, he played at Ohio State. Look at all the Ohio State wide receivers. They go to the National Football League and they succeed. They succeed. As long as they've got a quarterback that knows how to use them and an offense that knows how to use them, they are terrific players.

They're the best coached position group in college football. And Tate was so good. every year he got better and better and better. He was unselfish. He ran great routes. He was unbelievable down the field. And again, this explosiveness and this combination with the way that he tracks it and catches it down the field, like I give him the edge over Lemon because of that.

He's a little bit bigger. So Tate gets that edge right there. At times, he's obviously going to be overshadowed because of the guy opposite him. But I think he should be the number one wide receiver taken in this draft. I think he should be taken in the top 10 in this draft. And yes, I understand that he wasn't even the best wide receiver on his college football team. But that's okay because that other guy is Jeremiah Smith. And Tate was phenomenal, phenomenal.

And again, I just go back to this. Trust the Ohio State wide receivers. Every one of them come out of that program and they're ready to go. Ready to go. All right. Number three, guy that I just thought late in the season played himself up this board. Francis Maui Noah. What an incredible playoff run for not only my,

Miami, but the offensive line led by Francis Maui Noah. He was tremendous. Now, there was a thought, and I heard this, trust me, I heard this rumble through college football and even some now in the draft season. But I do think it's a bit, I don't want to say lazy, but I don't think it's accurate. I heard a little bit like, well, he's great at run blocking, but he needs some help in past protection. I'm sorry, did we watch the playoff?

because in the playoff, he was outstanding in pass protection. Outstanding against some really good defensive ends in every one of those matchups and teams and programs and defensive lines that had put up a lot of numbers from a pressure standpoint and a sack standpoint. And he gave up nothing, man, nothing. He was outstanding. Five-star out of high school, started every game since he's been in there and stepped on campus three years ago.

Dude is phenomenally. Six-six, three-35 pounds. an all-American. I don't have, like, no notes. No notes for Francis Maui Noah. Could he be a little cleaner in his pass set? Yes. Is he young enough and athletic enough

where I think that he's going to grow into one of the better offense of linemen in the National Football League? Absolutely. Absolutely. And he has the size to do it. To be that athletic and agile is 6-6-335 pounds. First of all, he's powerful. Everything they said about him as a run blocker is accurate.

I just think he's a better pass-blocker. than people give him credit for. I think he is. And I think that the playoff run proved that. I think it really did. Now, there's going to be some debate about these top two players. And I think that that's fine. I do think that that's fine.

But I talked to you about my bias earlier in this top 10 list, about quarterback bias, and that's going to play a part here. Because at number two, I'm going to go with Jeremiah Love, the running back at Notre Dame. I think this guy is phenomenal. He's the best non-courteback in the draft on the offensive side. I should say on the offensive side.

He is a home run threat when he touches the ball out of the backfield. He had 11 touchdowns of at least 45 yards the last two seasons. That's a lot. That is a lot of explosive plays. You put the ball in this guy's hands and good things happen. Really good things happen. And very rarely do bad things happen. No fumbles in college.

for as explosive as he is. You know, normally sometimes those guys that hit home runs, they can be searching for those home runs, and they can't at times be a little bit loose with the football, not Jeremiah Love. Oh, by the way, it's not just his ability to run in the ball. It is his ability to catch it out of the backfield as well. So yes, he can hit the home runs.

Yes, he can be your every down back between the tackles on toss sweeps, everything that you need a back to do. He can also be a threat as a wide receiver, 55 catches over the last two years. to me, to be a great back to be considered one of the better players in the draft or available for the draft, you've got to be able to threaten the defense in multiple ways. And he can do that. So to me, he's a lot more like Jemir Gibbs and Christian McCaffrey than let's say, you know,

some of the other backs in the National Football League. If you look at some of the recent backs like Genti, Omorion Hampton, Bejohn Robinson, Jamir Gibbs, some of those recent backs. I think Love, and listen, this is no knock to any of these guys. He is as good or better than all of those players. I think he's going to have a phenomenal professional career. And again, he's really clean catching it. That's going to serve him so well to get on the field and stay on the field,

even in critical downs. To me, Jeremiah Love is a guy that can be a league leader in rushing, although we'll see if he can stay healthy. That's always a question from a running back perspective. And now it comes down to value. Like, are you going to value a running back that high? Listen, I have him rated as my number two offensive player other than my top guy who's a quarterback. So how are we valuing running backs?

If we look around the league right now, man, you better have a back that can threaten the defense in multiple ways. And this is absolutely that guy. Number one, Fernando Mendoza, the quarterback at Indiana. I get it. I've got a quarterback bias. I think the idea that Fernando Mendoza is also just flat out the best offensive player has some merit. And the reason is that you can't get the value of that position out of your head and you should never overlook the clutch performances that this guy put together last year at Indiana.

I mean, guys, do we really appreciate how good Mendoza was? was in those moments last year. All-time performances. You can go back to Iowa and the way that he played late in that game on the road. Oregon, the way that he played late in that game on the road. Penn State, the way that he played late in that game on the road, I was there, I witnessed it firsthand. I will tell you this.

I will tell you this. And I know that we've got footage of this one as well. That game at Penn State, I'll always remember that. because specifically, and my man here, you guys know Steve, Steve Owens, he's my right-hand man, he's with me on the games, he's with me here on the podcast all the time. Steve's with me in the booth every single Saturday. And Steve and I have been to Beaver Stadium, and we've seen Penn State, Ohio State, we've seen Penn State Michigan, and we've heard that place get loud.

And it is loud. It is a great environment. and I have never heard that stadium louder than when Mendoza was sacked on first down late in that game. Never heard it louder. Second and 15, what, I don't, one time out, with no time out? I don't think they had a timeout, to be honest with you. And he goes right down the field in what was the most insane drive that I've ever seen. in that moment, because they hadn't done much.

They had not done much. He goes, boom, Noah Kowski. Boom, Charlie Becker. Boom. It was incredible. It was incredible. I still think back to that drive, and I'm like, did that just happen? He did it in the Ohio State game in the Big Ten championship game.

Some of the throws he made in that game late, 30. downs, fourth downs. He did it in the national championship. Okay, so why do I say all of that? The guy's not going to just get taken number one overall just because he's a quarterback. He's going to get taken number one overall because he's the best player. I really believe that. His game translates to the National Football League. He sits in the pocket. He evaluates what he sees. He knows where his eyes are supposed to be. He's big. He's 6-5, 225 pounds. He runs well.

72% completion percentage. 48 total touchdowns, only six interceptions. He's highly accurate. When I mean accurate, it's not just about completion percentage. It's also about like, how do you complete the ball? I used to talk about this with Michael Pennix, the way that he threw the ball at Washington and that DeBore offense, in particular down the field.

Remember Roma Dunzei and those guys. And I would always talk about how it was always on the correct side. So Pinnock's through with proper leverage. It wasn't just accuracy. It was hyper accuracy. Because he turned what could have been a 50-50 situation into a 60-40 situation, a 70-30 situation, always favoring his wide receiver. The same can be said and applied to Fernando Mendoza. He throws the ball with exquisite leverage all the time. When you're seeing those throws down the field, in particular in crunch time, third down, fourth down, red zone, all these different throws. These guys are making incredible catches, yes, but, but it's always away from the defender.

They're never having to, like, actually fight in a contested area because the ball is underthrown. If it's underthrown, it's underthrown on purpose to the back shoulder. If it's to the sideline and they've got to make a, you know, what is a toe tap catch, it's because the defender's draped all over them and the ball's in a place where only they can get it or it's incomplete. time and time again, man. You watch this guy, it's so good. I think about some of the guys that came out in recent vintage. And there have been some good ones now.

Cam Ward last year. Caleb Williams went to the playoffs. Jaden Daniels went to the NFC championship game his first year. Drake May just went to the Super Bowl. Pinnix, I know it's been a little bit Rocky. McCarthy has been rocky. Bo Nicks should have gone to the Super Bowl, got to the AFC championship game,

beat Josh Allen in a playoff game. And this is going to sound crazy. I know it's going to sound crazy. But if you had just one drive tomorrow for the national championship, do you take Mendoza over all of those guys I just mentioned? You take him over Cam Ward. Williams? Possibly.

Jaden Daniels? Possibly. May. certainly after the Super Bowl. Pinnock's and McCarthy, absolutely. Nix, questionable the way Nix played in crunch time in some of those games in particular in the fourth quarter. But you get what I'm trying to say here.

Mendoza in crunch time, unbelievable. Anticipates, accurate, smart, great teammate, checks every single box, every single box, including this final one. And this is what I want to end on. If you look at the Super Bowl winning quarterbacks, I say this stat all the time. I give it to Colin all the time. I give it on this show all the time.

Over the last 20 years, the average number of college starts for Super Bowl winning quarterbacks is 35. That's the average. That's the average. Everyone that has won a Super Bowl has at least 24 starts. That's going back two decades, 20 years of data here. Every single quarterback that has eventually won a Super Bowl has a minimum. of 24 starts in their college football belt, if you will. By the way, that low number just sat by Sam Darnold on his, what, fourth team?

13, 14, whatever it was. So average is 35 starts. Guess how many starts Fernando Mendoza had in college? 35. Good luck with the Raiders. I hope that they put the pieces around him to succeed because I think that if they're there, he will succeed. He did more with less in college than maybe anybody,

well, at least of some of these other guys that I was mentioning up there in the draft. Fernando Mendoza, my top player on my offensive big board. There you go. There's my top 10 offensive players for the NFL draft. We'll be back next week with more coverage as we roll through the offseason. Remember to subscribe to the channel if you would over on YouTube, hit the notification button, get down into the comments. I'll try to get down there here in the off season as well.

Leave some ideas from us. What do you want to hear about? What do you want to, you know, who do you want me to talk with, interview ideas, whatever you want to throw it out there, throw questions out with us. We'll take them in the comments down below. We'll get down there and we'll cook up some good off-season content for you as we move along. Follow us on social media, agile flash show. Have a great week. I'll be back next month.