42 Players Granted Special Eligibility for 2026 NFL Draft Footballology by Russ_Cohen - January 20, 2026January 20, 20260 Share on Facebook Share Share on TwitterTweet Share on Pinterest Share Share on LinkedIn Share Send email Mail Print Print NEW YORK –– The National Football League announced today the names of 42 players who have been granted special eligibility for the 2026 NFL Draft and 21 underclassmen who have fulfilled their degree requirements with college football eligibility remaining and are also eligible for selection in the April 23-25 Draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sixteen players applied for special eligibility prior to the newly instituted early “soft” deadline of Jan. 5, which was added to assist players and all-star game organizers in the planning and invitation process. Twenty-six additional players submitted their petitions prior to the traditional deadline of Jan. 14. This list does not include players that are playing in the FBS National Championship Game on Jan. 19. For those players, a “Championship” deadline of Jan. 23 has been added. Each of the 42 players listed below have met the league’s three-year eligibility rule and have renounced their college football eligibility by submitting written notification to the league office on or before the Jan. 14 deadline. Consequently, they are eligible for selection. The players granted special eligibility for the 2026 NFL Draft: Name Pos. College 1 Keith Abney DB Arizona State 2 C.J. Allen LB Georgia 3 Aaron Anderson WR LSU 4 Chase Bisontis G Texas A&M 5 Denzel Boston WR Washington 6 Zachariah Branch WR Georgia 7 Arion Carter LB Tennessee 8 Kage Casey T Boise State 9 Brandon Cisse DB South Carolina 10 K.C. Concepcion WR Texas A&M 11 Dylan Devezin RB Notre Dame 12 Caleb Downs DB Ohio State 13 Charles Du DB Notre Dame 14 Logan Fano DE Utah 15 Spencer Fano T Utah 16 Jalen Farmer G Kentucky 17 Keldric Faulk DE Auburn 18 Monroe Freeling T Georgia 19 Anthony Hill LB Texas 20 Colton Hood DB Tennessee 21 Olaivavega Ioane G Penn State 22 Emmett Johnson RB Nebraska 23 Max Klare TE Ohio State 24 Ja’Kobi Lane WR USC 25 Makai Lemon WR USC 26 Caleb Lomu T Utah 27 Kyle Louis LB Pittsburgh 28 Jeremiyah Love RB Notre Dame 29 Jermod McCoy DB Tennessee 30 Kayden McDonald DT Ohio State 31 Malik Muhammad DB Texas 32 Kamari Ramsey DB USC 33 Arvell Reese LB Ohio State 34 Jimmy Rolder LB Michigan 35 Kenyon Sadiq TE Oregon 36 Genesis Smith DB Arizona 37 Carnell Tate WR Ohio State 38 Avieon Terrell DB Clemson 39 Dillon Thieneman DB Oregon 40 Josiah Trotter LB Missouri 41 Jordyn Tyson WR Arizona State 42 Taurean York LB Texas A&M The following underclassmen, have in timely fashion under NFL rules, officially notified the league office that they have fulfilled their degree requirements. Consequently, they are eligible for selection in the 2026 NFL Draft: Name Pos. College 1 Jude Bowry T Boston College 2 Parker Brailsford C Alabama 3 Chris Brazzell WR Tennessee 4 Ryan Eckley P Michigan State 5 Jack Endries TE Texas 6 Jalon Kilgore DB South Carolina 7 Marlin Klein TE Michigan 8 Connor Lew C Auburn 9 Christen Miller DT Georgia 10 Brian Parker T Duke 11 T.J. Parker DE Clemson 12 Harold Perkins LB LSU 13 Jadarian Price RB Notre Dame 14 Kadyn Proctor T Alabama 15 Billy Schrauth G Notre Dame 16 Ty Simpson QB Alabama 17 Aamil Wagner T Notre Dame 18 Antonio Williams WR Clemson 19 Wesley Williams DE Duke 20 Peter Woods DT Clemson 21 Collin Wright DB Stanford # # #
