NFL draft prospects have until January 14th to declare for the 2026 draft, but some of these players are already making their decisions clear. So far, 23 players have already declared for April’s draft, which is a fairly significant amount considering how few underclassmen have come out in recent years.

From 2019 to 2021, before the extra eligibility for Covid seasons, NIL payments and the transfer portal really started to kick in, the league averaged 126 underclassmen declarations per class. From 2023 t0 2025, though, that number dropped to just an average of 70, 56 fewer underclassmen per class and a 44 percent overall drop in underclassmen declaring.

With direct payments from schools to players now allowed, plus the NFL still having a rookie wage scale, you could see even more kids el

See Full Page