College coaches pick 2026 NFL draft sleepers - ESPN

The first night of the NFL draft brings an incredible rush of anticipation and excitement, as the biggest names in college football hear their names called.

Once that wave washes over, though, the draft really gets interesting, in a stretch of selections that separates the great evaluators from the average ones. NFL teams are ultimately looking for value when drafting, and that truly starts at the end of Day 2 and into Day 3.

Every NFL talent evaluator is looking for a few sleepers, or under-the-radar players slotted outside the top 50-60 selections who end up filling key roles and, in some cases, becoming regular starters. The league is filled with productive players who, for various reasons, were a bit overlooked in the draft and had to wait longer for a life-changing phone call.

I polled more than 30 college coaches to identify potential sleeper picks for the upcoming NFL draft in Pittsburgh. Most coaches talked about their own players, but some identified under-the-radar prospects they faced and explained why they're going to succeed at the next level. You will recognize some of the names below, including Heisman Trophy runner-up Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) and Texas defensive mainstay Michael Taaffe, but others likely won't ring a bell. That's the point. These are names to study up on before the end of the month.

Draftniks, let's get started!

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Key numbers: 3,007 passing yards, 22 TDs, five INTs, 67.4% completions last season. Altmyer had 7,607 passing yards and 57 TDs in three seasons at Illinois, while adding 741 rushing yards and 12 scores. He set career highs for completion percentage (67.4) and passing yards as a senior and ranked 14th nationally in QBR (78.5).