SEC Spotlight: Comparing top 2026 standouts to NFL Draft prospects

As the NFL Draft creeps closer, the national analyst team at Rivals is taking a look at some current 2026 recruits that compare favorably to upcoming draft picks. Next up is the SEC.

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Georgia‘s hybrid LB Jalon Walker is a projected first-round pick as a prospect being viewed as an off-ball linebacker or EDGE by various teams in the NFL. Walker is exceedingly productive and impactful in Athens – flying to the football, disrupting plays behind the line of scrimmage and defending the run from sideline to sideline, as well as working in the box.

Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann has already drawn this comparison, but Tyler Atkinson possesses several of the same qualities. Atkinson is extremely instinctual and sound and has proven on various occasions to be a stout defender capable of making plays on three downs, including the Georgia state title game and again in the Navy All-American Bowl.

Shemar Stewart was a five-star in the 2022 Rivals250 and coming out of high school had a college-ready frame. Even though the production isn’t glaring, the impact at Texas A&M was. Stewart provides a ton of pressure off the edge and is excellent with some less exciting job responsibilities like setting the edge in the run game and cutting off running lanes behind the line of scrimmage.

Top-100 2026 edge defender Jamarion Carlton is a plus-athlete and multi-sport standout for Temple (Texas) High and showed off similar burst and pressures during the Navy All-American Bowl. His impact was evident and the Aggies are squarely in the mix for Carlton, too, along with Texas, LSU and others.

Malaki Starks saw action in various positions in the Georgia secondary during his successful run in Athens. Starks clocked a 4.5 at NFL Combine and plays even faster working over the top and in coverage. Starks has elite anticipation and can break and close on a ball mid-air in a flash.

LSU-bound 2026 safety Aiden Hall has many overlapping traits to Starks. In particular, position versatility to line up and effectively play multiple positions in the defensive backfield. Like Starks, Hall is exceedingly physical and punishes ball-carriers and receivers.

Kelvin Banks was a five-star at one point in the 2022 cycle. The elite OL took a massive step forward in his development as a junior for Humble (Texas) Summer Creek and was absolutely dominant in various settings the spring and summer leading into his senior year.

Banks was a steady rock protecting Quinn Ewers‘ blindside the past few seasons on the Forty Acres and five-star OT Felix Ojo is in the midst of a similar leap forward that Banks enjoyed not too long ago.

The light turned on for Ojo as a junior for Mansfield (Texas) Lake Ridge – and it was evident at the Navy AAB and again at UA Next in Dallas earlier this off-season. Ojo has even more projectable traits at tackle and potentially an even higher ceiling.

The nickel position is a must for contenders in the NFL and Jahdae Barron is considered one of those missing pieces for several potential contenders in the first round. The defending Thorpe Award winner from Texas is constantly around the football, is a ballhawk that consistently battles for the ball, and does his best work in covering the middle of the field.

Those are several overlapping traits along with Rivals’ No. 1 nickel Bralan Womack out of Mississippi, who plays on both sides of the ball at the high school level. He has shined in various settings in coverage, particularly in the middle of the field, along with elite ball skills when the ball is in the air, and being a sound run defender.