The 2026 NFL Draft is just over a week away from kicking off in Pittsburgh — which means crunch time for Daniel Jeremiah and the draft process.
The lead draft analyst for NFL Network held an hourlong conference call Tuesday with nine days to go until the draft as the countdown is on and final previews inch closer.
Here are five takeaways from Jeremiah's call:
1. Chargers best case scenario?
There's a lot to be hashed out by the time the Chargers are on the clock at No. 22 with just over a week away from the draft.
As we saw just a year ago, when the Bolts also at No. 22, how the board shifts remains to be seen.
Not to mention the unpredictability of this year's class, the draft analyst believes the Chargers sit in a very intriguing position.
"It's an interesting spot to be in," Jeremiah said.
Jeremiah mentioned that after the top of the draft, there's a lot of unknown left to be decided.
One home run scenario for the Chargers, in his eyes, however?
Jeremiah laid out what that would look like, though he added he believes it is not likely.
"If there's any miracle out there in the universe that Vega Ioane from Penn State is there, I don't know if you can run that card up there fast enough," Jeremiah said. "That would be an absolute home run pick.
"But I don't anticipate that's going to happen," Jeremiah added.
Ioane, the consensus top interior offensive line prospect in the draft, was Jeremiah's No. 11 overall player in his most recent rankings.
Though Jeremiah's last mock draft a month ago had the Bolts taking Ioane at No. 22, at this point he considers him reaching that point unlikely.
Another scenario he believes the Chargers would welcome, however, involves some movement in the first round.
Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz has not traded up or down in the first round during his first two drafts with the team, but comes from a Ravens front office that has a history of being active on Day 1 during his time there.
If an opportunity like that were to come up, Jeremiah sees the Bolts being for it as it fits the team.
"Moreso than anything else, if you have a video inside the draft room, there will be a lot of eyes staring at the phone begging it to ring because it marries up better for them to be able to trade back," Jeremiah said.
2. Where they stand at No. 22
Assuming no trade and the Chargers staying at the current pick, Jeremiah sees a number of different avenues the team could go.
Of course as he previously mentioned, the first look he would give is to see the options along the offensive trenches.
"You look at interior offensive line, that would be the first place to look," Jeremiah said.
If the board falls a certain way and that is no longer an option though, he added that No. 22 overall aligns nicely for an addition on the edge.
The Bolts have two starters with Tuli Tuipulotu coming off a career season and future Hall of Famer Khalil Mack back for another season.
But with the way Jeremiah sees the class shaking out and the strengths of it by the time the Chargers are on the clock, a long-term addition is one he believes makes sense in terms of value.
"I think there's a chance when you're looking at options at 22 that you're looking at some edge rushers," Jeremiah said. "Whether that's T.J. Parker or where they are on Zion Young.
"Those guys are good scheme fits there on the edge," Jeremiah added.
Jeremiah dove deeper into Parker, a player who has been a popular projection in the most recent Chargers Mock Draft Tracker.
The 6-foot-4, 263-pound edge rusher finished his time at Clemson ranked 10th in career sacks (21.5) and tied for fourth in career fumbles recovered (six) in his three seasons.
"T.J. Parker, the edge rusher, it's already been a full cycle for him," Jeremiah said. "A lot of excitement coming into the year but the year didn't get going the way he'd like. But finished up strong and had a great Senior Bowl week.
"I think he has built some momentum back at the end of the process," Jeremiah added. "He's my 26th overall player."
3. A closer look at EDGE
The back half of the first round is primed to be a big spot for edge rushers according to Jeremiah.
The top three of David Bailey, Arvell Reese and Ruben Bain, Jr., will go early, but from there it remains to be seen.
He mentioned Miami's Akheem Mesidor, Parker, Texas A&M's Cashius Howell and Auburn's Keldric Faulk as players who could go in the back half of the first round.
"One of the more polarizing of that group is Faulk, I think he has the biggest range," Jeremiah said. "There's teams that feel like he's a top 15 pick, there's teams that feel like he's a second round pick.
"What would you do with him, can he rush inside, it's a good opportunity to be able to do that, that inside outside versatility," Jeremiah added.
For the Chargers specifically, Jeremiah mentioned Parker and Young previously as potential fits.
If they want to go another direction, he suggested Howell as someone to fit the mold.
"If they want to replace what they lost in Oweh — being that third rusher and a real fastball — Cashius Howell from [Texas] A&M is the fastball rusher in this draft. He would be one that could factor in there."
Something to keep in mind about where the edge rushers go is the ability to have that inside and outside flexibility.
Because of the lack of pass rush on the interior, players could get a good bump if they're able to be versatile.
"In this draft, we really don't have a lot of interior pass rush, so guys like Bain, Mesidor, Faulk, that can kick inside and rush inside, you got a chance to fill that void in a draft that really doesn't have those penetrating, dynamic rushers," Jeremiah said.
4. Big Day 2 for DTs?
Aside from offensive line and edge rusher, defensive tackle has been mocked to the Chargers over the draft process in the first round.
However, Jeremiah offered interesting insight into why he believes the opportunity for teams to make additions there could come on Day 2, not on the first day.
"With the D-tackles, I think potentially none of them go in the first round," Jeremiah said.
The draft analyst will release his final rankings soon ahead of the draft, but his most recent from almost two weeks ago had no defensive tackles in the top 30.
He had Kayden McDonald as his higher ranked prospect, but said he could see Clemson's Peter Woods as the first taken at his position.
"Peter Woods has a chance to be the first defensive tackle off the board. He ended up being my second defensive tackle and is my 39th player. I think he goes in the 20s or 30s, I think that is his range."
In terms of the interior trenches late in the second round, he has his eyes on a number of defensive tackles that could start runs on the position on Day 2 depending on where they go.
"We'll see where Christen Miller comes off the board from Georgia," Jeremiah said. "Some people have him in the 40s, other people talk about him more toward 60.
"Chris McClellan from Missouri is a really good player and is in that kind of range," Jeremiah added. "Tyler Onyedim from Texas A&M would be another one."
5. Top tight ends
Jeremiah also dove in on the top two tight end prospects — Oregon's Kenyon Sadiq and Vanderbilt's Eli Stowers.
Sadiq remains the consensus top prospect at his position, with Jeremiah ranking him inside his top 15 prospects.
"Dynamic, explosive player, competitive guy," Jeremiah said. "Sadiq is a really good blocker, you can do a lot of things with him creatively."
Sadiq, who is 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, had 51 catches for 560 yards and eight touchdowns for Oregon during the 2025 season.
Where he goes remains a question, but he has fully etched himself as the top guy.
Stowers, meanwhile, is also firmly in that No. 2 spot at his position.
"He's my number two tight end, I think he's a second round pick all day long," Jeremiah said of Stowers.
The big, pass-catching tight end wowed with an eye-popping NFL Combine, and his tape makes his case as to why he believes he will go early Day 2.
"He's explosive, has unbelieve ball skills to track it and go get it down the field. The highlights, he can break tackles, after the catch he has burst into and out of breaks," Jeremiah said.
"I don't know he's going to be a butt kicker in there, but he can improve in that area," Jeremiah later added. "I don't know how much you're really going to put his hand in the ground. He's comfortable as that jumbo slot."
