FCS and HBCU football prospects to know in the 2026 NFL draft

The 2026 NFL draft is April 23-26 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here are some FCS and HBCU players that should be on your radar.

FCS prospects that attended the NFL combine

Charles Demmings | CB | Stephen F. Austin

Charles Demmings left his mark at Stephen F. Austin, finishing as the program’s all-time leader in passes defended with 35, plus making nine career interceptions. It resulted in Demmings becoming the first-ever SFA player to earn a Senior Bowl invite.

Demmings continued his pre-draft process with an NFL combine invite where he jumped 42 inches in the vertical, the second-highest of all cornerbacks. His 4.41-second 40-yard dash and 1.55-second 10-yard split ranked fifth among his position and his 11-0 broad jump ranked second.

Charles Demmings is a CB prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.97 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 10 out of 2779 CB from 1987 to 2026.

Pending agilities and bench, splits projected.

— RAS.football (@MathBomb)

Bryce Lance | WR | North Dakota State

Bryce Lance opened the year as the top FCS NFL draft prospect, and as the calendar turned, Lance’s status atop draft boards has remained the same. Lance had back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons and backed up the film with a 4.34 40-yard dash at the NFL combine

Lance is ranked No 85 on, No. 87 among and top prospects and No. 93 on . It’s safe to assume Lance could be the top FCS player off the board, just like his brother was back in 2021.

Trey Lance's brother WR Bryce Lance runs a 4.34u

2026 NFL Combine on
Stream on

— NFL (@NFL)

Cole Payton | QB | North Dakota State

Cole Payton is , and the draft guru doesn’t think he’ll be on the board past the fourth round. He’s been the biggest FCS riser from the start of the season and during the pre-draft process. 

Payton sat behind sixth-round draft pick Cam Miller until 2025, his lone year as a starter, so entering the season his draft projection was unknown. After a strong season where he finished as a Walter Payton Award finalist, he earned an invite to the Senior Bowl. He boosted his stock even more during the all-star showcase, earning Player of the Game honors. Add on an NFL combine performance where his 4.56-second 40-yard dash ranked third among all QBs, and Payton is squarely in line to become the latest quarterback selected from NDSU.

Bison quarterback Cole Payton, Player of the Game

— NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball)

Kaleb Proctor | DL | Southeastern Louisiana

Kaleb Proctor is another one of . Proctor boosted his stock with a 4.79-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, the second-fastest of all defensive linemen. Proctor legitimized his NFL outlook with an elite showing against SEC power LSU, as he finished with two sacks and three tackles for loss.

Kaleb Proctor 4.80 unofficial 40

— Billy M (@BillyM_91)

Jalen Walthall | WR | UIW

The final FCS prospect to get an invite to this year’s NFL scouting combine was Incarnate Word wide receiver Jalen Walthall. Walthall had a down year this year and still finished with 70 catches for 847 yards and eight touchdowns. He has two years of great film in the FCS and stands 6-foot-1 and 191 pounds.

At the combine, Walthall ran 4.57 in the 40-yard dash with a 350-inch vertical and 10-11 broad jump, the fifth-best among all wide receivers.

Total number of FCS players invited to the NFL scouting combine this decade

2026 - 5
2025 - 7
2024 - 14
2023 - 8
2022 - 18
2021 - 11
2020 - 12

— Stan Becton (@stan_becton)

FCS prospects that didn't get combine invites

Erick Hunter | LB | Morgan State

There hasn’t been an HBCU football player drafted since 2023, but Morgan State linebacker Erick Hunter could buck that trend. Hunter is the unquestioned top HBCU football prospect in the 2026 draft cycle — and has the numbers to back it up.

In front of scouts from almost every NFL team, Hunter put on a show at the HBCU Showcase. He ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, had a 10-10 broad jump, a 4.21-second short shuttle and a 37-inch vertical. Hunter led the showcase in every category, and his testing numbers rank near the top of every linebacker measured at this year’s NFL combine.

With the testing numbers to support the film of a Buck Buchanan Award finalist, Erick Hunter has positioned himself as an NFL draft pick.

2025 NFL draft breakdown

In total there were...

19 Group of 5 players picked (w/ Washington State)
8 FCS players
0 International Players
0 DII Players
1 HBCU player

2024 for comparison

19 Group of 5 players picked
11 FCS players
3 International Players
1 DII Player
0 HBCU…

— Stan Becton (@stan_becton)

Derek Robertson | QB | Monmouth

Derek Robertson might have earned a combine invite or more if he didn’t end his 2025 season in October with an injury to his non-throwing hand. Regardless, Robertson still remains a dark-horse draft selection possibility thanks to what he did on the field.

Robertson passed for 10,807 yards during his career, paced by an elite final two seasons at Monmouth. Against FBS opponents, Robertson also lived up to the hype.

He led Monmouth to the program’s first win against the FBS by beating FIU in 2024, completing 69 percent of his passes for 361 yards and two scores. In 2025, Robertson passed for 410 yards and four touchdowns with a 74 percent completion percentage in a one-score loss to Charlotte.

Robertson has a career full of big-time plays that could lead to his draft selection.

Daniel Sobkowicz, Illinois State, WR

There might not have been a better player during the 2025 FCS playoffs than Illinois State wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz. His strong finish to the season saw him score nine total postseason touchdowns, but he’s only built on that momentum during the offseason.

Sobkowicz participated in the American Bowl and leaped 37.5 inches in the vertical and had a 10-1 broad jump. While his 4.60-second 40-yard dash at his pro day might cause some doubts, his play on the field was never about his straight line speed anyway.

The Illinois State career leader in receptions and touchdown catches could be a late-round draft pick.

Michael Wortham | WR/RS | Montana

Montana had a wide receiver that excelled in the return game hear his name called in the 2025 NFL draft when the San Francisco 49ers selected Junior Bergen in the seventh round. We could see something similar in the 2026 NFL draft with Michael Wortham.

Wortham is another smaller wide out at 5-foot-8 (Bergen measured 5-9) that was electric for the Grizzlies. Wortham had 2,431 all-purpose yards to break the Montana record. He then ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash with a 37.5-inch vertical leap at Montana’s pro day. Could he follow in Bergen’s footsteps and be drafted in 2026?

Other notable FCS prospects

• Temi Arjirotutu | OL | Villanova
• TJ Burke | DT | Lehigh
• James Conway | LB | Fordham
• Sam Hagen | OL | South Dakota State
• Jalen Jones | CB | William & Mary
• Barika Kpeenu | RB | North Dakota State
• Delby Lemieux | OL | Dartmouth
• Gavin Ortega | OL | Weber State
• A.J. Pena | OLB | Rhode Island
• Maximus Pulley | S | Wofford
• Max Tomczak | WR | Youngstown State