PFF releases 2026 NFL Draft big board, featuring several Rutgers players
Pro Football Focus released their Big Board for the 2026 NFL Draft and it features several Rutgers Football players. With that being said, let’s take a look at which Scarlet Knight is ranked where.
No. 46 WR Ian Strong
The New York native has continued his upward trend this season, as he has once again become the Scarlet Knights go to threat through the pass game. So far this year, Strong has hauled in 29 receptions for 413 yards and three touchdowns over four games.
As long as he continues his strong start to the year, he has a good chance to become the first Rutgers wide receiver drafted since Bo Melton in 2022.
No. 205 QB Athan Kaliakmanis
The Scarlet Knights gunslinger has taken his game to a whole new level this season, going from a 53.9% completion percentage last year to 67.3% this 2025 season. On top of that, he’s among the Top 25 passers in college football with 1,399 yards to go along with nine touchdowns and two interceptions.
As long as the consistency continues, Kaliakmanis has a great chance to be drafted in 2026. That would make him the first Rutgers quarterback drafted since Mike Teel in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft and only the second ever under Head Coach Greg Schiano.
No. 242 EDGE Eric O’Neill
Arguably Rutgers Football’s top defensive player this season, O’Neill leads the team in pressures (17), hurries (13), and sacks (3). On top of his production this season, O’Neill also has some really good tape from his lone season with James Madison in 2023, where he finished with 18.5 tackles for loss and 13.0 sacks while earning Second Team All-America honors per the College Football Network.
No. 287 RB CJ Campbell
Unfortunately fans weren’t able to see a whole lot of Campbell in a Rutgers uniform, as he was hurt during the third game of the season versus Norfolk State and was later ruled out of the remainder of the season after that.
Despite the injury, Campbell has enough good tape out there from his time at Florida State and Florida Atlantic, that he’s seriously considered a legitimate NFL prospect. Last season with the Owls, Campbell rushed for 844 yards and 11 touchdowns, with a total of 1,310 all purpose yards on the year.
Despite Campbell technically being out of eligibility, there’s a very good chance that he could qualify for a medical redshirt this season and return in 2026 if he wanted to. However he does have some NFL potential and running backs don’t last long in the league, so he has quite the choice to make this offseason.
No. 457 WR DT Sheffield
Throughout his career, Sheffield has bounced around a bit going from JUCO to Washington State to North Texas and now Rutgers, but last year with the Mean Green is where he career really took off. During the 2024 season, Sheffield hauled 66 receptions for 822 receiving yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns. He also ran the ball four times for 86 yards and a touchdown, along with being a return man for the Mean Green, where he returned 13 kicks for 157 yards (12.1 AVG) and six punt returns for 127 yards (21.7 AVG). Those numbers were good enough to earn him All-AAC First Team honors, as well as an Honorable Mention All-American selection by College Football Network.
Sheffield joined the Scarlet Knights this offseason and earned the starting slot receiver pretty quickly and has been consistent through the first six games of the season. So far this year, Sheffield has been called upon a few times, hauling in 26 receptions for 394 yards and three touchdowns on the year.
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