{"id":745302,"date":"2026-07-05T21:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T21:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/745302\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T21:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T21:59:15","slug":"pff-names-top-50-players-entering-2026-college-football-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/745302\/","title":{"rendered":"PFF names Top 50 players entering 2026 college football season"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the 2026 college football season right around the corner, PFF revealed their Top 50 players<\/a> going into the new year. Pro Football Focus has their own metrics and ratings, but they spit out the 50 best players, regardless of position, that will take the field.<\/p>\n

We have some familiar names at and near the top going into the fall. But expect more to rise, and fall, on this list.<\/p>\n

$19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage<\/a><\/p>\n

So without further ado, let\u2019s dive into PFF\u2019s Top 50 players going into the 2026 season. We start at the top.<\/p>\n

Smith comes out to PFF\u2019s top player in college football. The Buckeyes\u2019 wide receiver arguably had that moniker as a freshman and sophomore too! That\u2019s how good he is.<\/p>\n

He should be near the top of the Heisman watch list this year and can help Ohio State win another national title. In two years, Smith has 163 catches, 2,558 yards, 27 touchdowns and 15.7 yards per catch.<\/p>\n

Moore is next up in PFF\u2019s rankings and is the top defender on the list as well. Notre Dame has an elite shutdown option on an island within their defense.<\/p>\n

But, he only helps the entire secondary (and there\u2019s another Irish DB on this list). Moore has 79 tackles, two tackles for loss, seven interceptions and 18 pass deflections in two seasons with Notre Dame.<\/p>\n

An elite pass rusher, Simmons is the top on PFF\u2019s list and comes out to No. 3 overall. The Texas defender should be key to helping the Longhorns make a long CFP run.<\/p>\n

What seems to be a surefire first round pick, Simmons had 12 sacks last year. In two seasons, Simmons has 91 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss and 21 sacks. Oh yeah, he even has an interception!<\/p>\n

Our first quarterback to dissect and the second Buckeye in the top four of PFF\u2019s rankings. Sayin was a first year starter in 2025 and seamlessly took control of Ryan Day\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n

With all of that in mind, what does he have for an encore? Sayin threw for 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a FBS-leading 77% completion percentage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Toney was the only incoming sophomore to make the top five of PFF\u2019s list. As a freshman, Toney made opposing defenders look silly en route ot helping the Hurricanes make the CFP national championship.<\/p>\n

Like Smith before him, Toney will have to bide his time before the NFL, but he\u2019s special. Last year, he had 109 catches for 1,211 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 yards per catch.<\/p>\n

Hardy continued his trend of getting better when he arrived at Missouri last year. Following a stellar freshman campaign at Louisiana-Monroe in 2024, Hardy had career numbers with the Tigers last season.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s the top RB on PFF\u2019s list going into the 2026 college football season. Last year, he had 256 carries for 1,649 yards, 16 touchdowns and 6.4 yards per carry. Overall, he has 493 carries for 3,000 yards, 29 touchdowns and 6.1 yards per carry.<\/p>\n

Moore is widely projected to be the top quarterback selected in the 2027 NFL Draft at this point. He opted to come back to school this fall rather than test the waters this past spring.<\/p>\n

The Ducks signal caller vastly improved in 2025 and the same should be expected this year for this top 10 player from PFF. Last year Moore threw for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 71.8% completion percentage.<\/p>\n

Smith anchors the Indiana offensive line going into the 2026 season. Already with national championship experience, Smith is one of the best in the country.<\/p>\n

In fact, he\u2019s the top offensive lineman on PFF\u2019s list going into a new year. A four year starter, Smith ranks top 10 in PFF\u2019s metrics for run and pass blocking.<\/p>\n

You were wondering when Manning would appear on PFF\u2019s list weren\u2019t you? Well, he\u2019s a top 10 player but QB3 according to these rankings.<\/p>\n

Still, Manning brings a dual threat ability to the table and improved as the season progressed last year. Manning finished with 3,163 yards, 26 touchdowns, seven interceptions, a 61.4% completion percentage, 399 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.<\/p>\n

To wrap up the top 10 of the PFF player rankings, Lacey is the next RB to appear in this tier. He provides a great backfield with QB Trinidad Chambliss as they look to run it back under Pete Golding.<\/p>\n

One of the best pure runners in college football, Lacey is a dangerous weapon to have on offense. He had 306 carries in 2025, leading to 1,567 yards, 24 touchdowns and 5.1 yards per carry. He also reeled in 29 catches for 177 yards.<\/p>\n

PFF names Top 50 players entering 2026 (11-25)<\/p>\n

11. KJ Bolden<\/a>, S \u2013 Georgia<\/a>
12. Trinidad Chambliss<\/a>, QB \u2013 Ole Miss<\/a>
13. A.J. Holmes<\/a>, DL \u2013 Texas Tech<\/a>
14. CJ Carr<\/a>, QB \u2013 Notre Dame<\/a>
15. Bray Hubbard<\/a>, S \u2013 Alabama<\/a>
16. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa<\/a>, LB \u2013 Notre Dame<\/a>
17. Clev Lubin<\/a>, EDGE \u2013 Louisville<\/a>
18. Cayden Green<\/a>, OT \u2013 Missouri<\/a>
19. Will Echoles<\/a>, DL \u2013 Ole Miss<\/a>
20. Dylan Stewart<\/a>, EDGE \u2013 South Carolina<\/a>
21. Trevor Goosby<\/a>, OT \u2013 Texas<\/a>
22. Rasheem Biles<\/a>, LB \u2013 Texas<\/a>
23. A\u2019Mauri Washington<\/a>, DL \u2013 Oregon<\/a>
24. John Henry Daley<\/a>, EDGE \u2013 Michigan<\/a>
25. Kade Pieper<\/a>, G \u2013 Iowa<\/a><\/p>\n

PFF names Top 50 players entering 2026 (26-50)<\/p>\n

26. Evan Tengesdahl<\/a>, G \u2013 Cincinnati<\/a>
27. KJ Duff<\/a>, WR \u2013 Rutgers<\/a>
28. Austin Romaine<\/a>, LB \u2013 Texas Tech<\/a>
29. Darian Mensah<\/a>, QB \u2013 Miami<\/a>
30. Jayden Maiava<\/a>, QB \u2013 USC<\/a>
31. David Stone<\/a>, DL \u2013 Oklahoma
<\/a>32. Teitum Tuioti<\/a>, EDGE \u2013 Oregon<\/a>
33. Matayo Uiagalelei<\/a>, EDGE \u2013 Oregon<\/a>
34. Trevor Lauck<\/a>, OT \u2013 Iowa<\/a>
35. Mario Craver<\/a>, WR \u2013 Texas A&M<\/a>
36. Caleb Hawkins<\/a>, RB \u2013 Oklahoma State<\/a>
37. Jaden Baugh<\/a>, RB \u2013 Florida<\/a>
38. Dijon Lee Jr.<\/a>, CB \u2013 Alabama<\/a>
39. Brandon Finney Jr.<\/a>, CB \u2013 Oregon<\/a>
40. Cam Coleman<\/a>, WR \u2013 Texas<\/a>
41. Sam Leavitt<\/a>, QB \u2013 LSU<\/a>
42. Bryce Fitzgerald<\/a>, S \u2013 Miami<\/a>
43. Jordan Seaton<\/a>, OT \u2013 LSU<\/a>
44. Brauntae Johnson<\/a>, S \u2013 Notre Dame<\/a>
45. Jontez Williams<\/a>, CB \u2013 USC<\/a>
46. Amare Ferrell<\/a>, S \u2013 Indiana<\/a>
47. Kelley Jones<\/a>, CB \u2013 Ole Miss<\/a>
48. LJ Martin<\/a>, RB \u2013 BYU<\/a>
49. Trey\u2019Dez Green<\/a>, TE \u2013 LSU<\/a>
50. Jamari Johnson<\/a>, TE \u2013 Oregon<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the 2026 college football season right around the corner, PFF revealed their Top 50 players going into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":745303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[283103,179247,172810,306229,7303,320025,125632,267201,175219,125633,125634,42972,175223,150654,127827,279096,199474,162245,7310,136901,1383,109825,175230,399,272965,264365,125270,42984,175236,289530,196847,7319,301168,264366,140562,221247,271779,160531,272967,126784,170457,127111,312917,398,396,397,42168,7326,99,279098,179253,283106,130268,96467,289533],"class_list":["post-745302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-a-j-holmes-22-westfield","tag-amauri-washington-23-chandler","tag-ahmad-hardy-24-lawrence-county","tag-amare-ferrell-23-columbia","tag-arch-manning-23-isidore-newman","tag-austin-romaine-23-hillsboro","tag-brandon-finney-25-mcdonogh-school","tag-brauntae-johnson-24-north-side","tag-bray-hubbard-23-ocean-springs","tag-bryce-fitzgerald-25-belen-jesuit-prep","tag-caleb-hawkins-25-north-rock-creek","tag-cam-coleman-24-central","tag-carter-smith-22-olentangy-liberty","tag-cayden-green-23-lees-summit-north","tag-cj-carr-24-saline","tag-clev-lubin-21-u-s-military-academy-prep","tag-colin-simmons-24-duncanville","tag-dante-moore-23-martin-luther-king-jr","tag-darian-mensah-23-st-joseph","tag-david-stone-24-img-academy","tag-dijon-lee-25-mission-viejo","tag-dylan-stewart-24-friendship-collegiate-academy","tag-evan-tengesdahl-23-wayne","tag-football","tag-jadan-baugh-24-columbia","tag-jamari-johnson-23-inglewood","tag-jayden-maiava-22-kaimuki","tag-jeremiah-smith-24-chaminade-madonna-prep","tag-john-henry-daley-21-lone-peak","tag-jontez-williams-22-bradford","tag-jordan-seaton-24-img-academy","tag-julian-sayin-24-carlsbad","tag-kade-pieper-23-norfolk-catholic","tag-kelley-jones-23-clarksdale","tag-kewan-lacy-24-lancaster","tag-kj-bolden-24-buford","tag-kj-duff-24-st-anthonys","tag-kyngstonn-viliamu-asa-24-st-john-bosco","tag-l-j-martin-23-canutillo","tag-leonard-moore-24-round-rock","tag-malachi-toney-25-american-heritage","tag-mario-craver-24-clay-chalkville","tag-matayo-uiagalelei-23-st-john-bosco","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-rasheem-biles-23-pickerington-central","tag-sam-leavitt-23-west-linn","tag-sports","tag-teitum-tuioti-23-sheldon","tag-trevor-goosby-23-melissa","tag-trevor-lauck-23-roncalli","tag-treydez-green-24-zachary","tag-trinidad-chambliss-21-forest-hills-northern","tag-william-echoles-24-houston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=745302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=745302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}