My Favorite Day 2/3 Prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft

My Favorite Day 2/3 Prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft

By: George Tsilfidis, Director of Marketing for The Hammer Betting Network

Let me start with a small caveat. Some teams prefer to use mid-round picks on players with safer profiles—productive college performers who can fill a role and make the roster right away. That approach has its merits.

I tend to lean the other way.

When evaluating Day 2 and early Day 3 prospects, I’m chasing ceiling outcomes. I’m looking for rare athletes or players whose draft stock has slipped due to injury or circumstance—guys who, in the right environment, could significantly outperform their draft position.

Below are a few prospects who fit that mold. I’ll walk through what stands out, the upside, and what could hold them back.

RB Mike Washington Jr.

A week before the Combine, I was recording with Rob Pizzola and we got into a discussion about who might emerge as the second running back off the board behind Jeremiyah Love. At the time, Love was practically a lock for RB1.

The name I brought up was Mike Washington Jr.—a player sitting in the mid-100s on consensus boards.

The reasoning was simple: I had heard he was going to test extremely well, and his physical profile suggested he could generate serious buzz. I predicted a 4.4 40-yard dash.

He significantly beat that.

Washington Jr. ran a 4.33, and from that moment on, his stock took off. His speed score—a combination of size and speed— is off the charts.

He’s not without flaws. His pass protection needs work, and he’s not yet a complete back. But his rare blend of size and explosiveness is exactly the type of profile worth betting on in the middle rounds.

Landing spots like Seattle or Baltimore are particularly intriguing. In Baltimore, he could be the heir apparent to Derrick Henry—a big physical running back with game-breaking ability.

WR Chris Bell

This wide receiver class comes with its share of uncertainty, particularly when trying to identify true WR1 ceilings. That’s part of why Chris Bell stands out.

Bell is coming off a torn ACL, and we didn’t get testing numbers from the Combine or his pro day. There’s a real chance his rookie season starts slowly as he works his way back.

Still, players with his combination of size and run-after-catch ability rarely fall to Day 2.

What stands out most on film is his fearlessness over the middle. He’s willing to absorb contact and consistently works in high-traffic areas. That kind of toughness, paired with his physical tools, suggests he could develop into a true all-around receiver.

There are questions about the breadth of his route tree, but those limitations feel more tied to what his college coaches asked of him, rather than his actual capability.

When I think of his upside, I like the idea of a Chris Bell on Day 2 a lot more than I like the idea of a Denzel Boston in Round 1. And if Bell ends up in the right situation like in Philadelphia or Kansas City, he could be the steal of the draft at WR.

LB/S Kyle Louis

Let’s start with the concern: Kyle Louis may not have a natural position.

He’s undersized for a traditional linebacker role and doesn’t cleanly project as a full-time safety. That “tweener” label can push players down boards.

But in today’s NFL, that kind of versatility can also be an asset.

Louis is an explosive, high-energy athlete who flies around the field and can pressure the quarterback. He plays like he's shot out of a cannon. Used creatively, he could carve out a valuable role in a modern defense.

The ideal deployment looks something like a hybrid role: a big nickel defender who can blitz off the edge, contribute against the run, and match up with tight ends or running backs on passing downs.

Athletically, he checks a lot of boxes—agility, vertical explosion, and range. Even if he doesn’t fit neatly into one position, defensive coordinators will see the appeal of having a chess piece like Louis.

Dane Brugler also wrote about his character and leadership, and he’s the kind of player who could easily outperform a Day 2 or early Day 3 draft slot.

CB Ephesians Prysock

I’ll admit it—I’m a sucker for Day 3 cornerbacks with elite athletic traits and size.

We’ve seen this story before. In the Tariq Woolen and Zyon McCollum draft, both players entered the league as raw, but highly athletic prospects and developed into productive starters. They were both guys I was banging the table for.

Ephesians Prysock fits the same archetype.

At 6’3” with long arms and a 4.45 forty-yard dash, he has the physical profile teams covet. He’s shown the ability to play both man and zone, which only adds to his appeal in versatile defensive schemes.

The main area for growth is his ball production—turning pass breakups into interceptions. But some of that might just be variance or luck, especially when the physical tools are already in place.

For a player likely to be available on Day 3, Prysock offers exactly the kind of upside worth betting on.

Final Thoughts

Mid-round picks are where philosophies diverge. Some teams prioritize floor. Others take calculated risks on traits and upside.

I’ll take the swing.

Players like Washington Jr., Bell, Louis, and Prysock may come with questions, but they also bring the kind of physical tools and developmental potential that can reshape a draft class if things break right.


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