NFL Rookies Who Already Look Like Draft-Day Steals After 2026 OTAs

Grab your shorts and buckle up your shells—it's OTA time across the NFL.

Voluntary workouts are underway from Arizona to Washington, and while many veterans are still hanging out with their girlfriends, "voluntary" has a different meaning for this year's incoming rookies.

They had best be there. Or else.

For fans, it's often their first chance to grab a glimpse of their team's first round picks on the field. And for those high picks, there's more margin for error in these early stages. But the deeper into the draft you get, the more important even non-contact practices are. For late-round picks, it's an opportunity to stake an early claim to a sport on the 53-man roster. To show that they belong. And for some players it's a chance to show that they deserve more than just a roster spot. They are ready to contribute from the jump.

Every starter NFL players can field on a relatively inexpensive rookie deal is another step closer to success. Every draft-day steal gets them closer to contention. The playoffs. The Super Bowl.

And these youngsters look like larceny as we head into the summer.

CB Jermod McCoy, Las Vegas Raiders

AP Photo/John Locher

There was time when Tennessee cornerback was viewed as the No. 1 cornerback in the 2026 NFL Draft. Despite missing the 2025 season with an ACL tear, McCoy was still ranked 11th overall on the Bleacher Report NFL Scouting Department's final big board.

However, reports surfaced the week of the draft that McCoy might need another surgery on his knee, and the 6'1" 188-pounder's stock plummeted—McCoy fell all the way to Round 4 before the las Vegas Raiders selected him 101st overall.

McCoy was out there for the beginning of OTAs, and while appearing on the JT the Brick Show, Silver & Black Sports Network's Jesse Merrick said that McCoy didn't look the part of  a player whose knee was a concern.

"Anybody that's been around athletes knows this, and all these guys that play are athletes, but you can just tell how springy guys are and the way they walk. That's one of those things that stands out a lot of times. And you watch [McCoy] and you're just like, 'Yeah, I can tell he's a freak of nature athlete,'" Merrick said. "As I'm watching him, I'm sitting there trying to see like, okay, where does he look hampered by this knee? Because it is such a big deal in the storyline. And yes, they're keeping him on a pitch count and kind of limiting what he's doing and everything like that. But if you had no idea that he had this knee problem, you wouldn't notice it out there on the field."

After posting the NFL's worst record last year, it's no secret that the Raiders need help on both sides of the ball. If the team was able to get a legitimate top-15 talent on the draft's third day, it could be the biggest case of larceny in the 2026 draft.

Pirates, indeed.

WR Ted Hurst III, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

It's the dawn of a new age in Tampa Bay—after 11 seasons, wide receiver Mike Evans is gone. The team still has veteran Chris Godwin and second-year pro Emeka Egbuka, but the team needs a big-bodied wideout to step into Evans' "X" receiver role outside.

The Buccaneers spent a third-round pick on small-school star Ted Hurst of Georgia State, and as Ashlie Abrahams wrote for Buccaneers Wire, the 6'4", 216-pounder has wasted no time making an impression on the practice field.

"Despite the three-inch height difference between the two," Abrahams said, "Hurst mirrored much of Egbuka's burst and movement ability throughout drills. Egbuka, listed at 6'1, has already built a reputation for his smooth route running and sharp acceleration, but Hurst showed flashes of similar explosiveness while bringing a completely different frame to the offense. That combination is exactly why offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has been vocal about Hurst's role in the offense. Robinson has already referred to the rookie as a true X receiver, while Egbuka is expected to primarily settle into the Z or flanker role entering Year 2."

Granted, there's a long way to go before Hurst is an NFL starter (the jump from FCS to the NFL is a big one) and there's an even bigger way to go before Hurst can be mentioned in the same breath as a player like Evans.

But Hurst possesses a tantalizing blend of size, 4.42-second speed and catch radius. He could have a real role in Tampa's offense as a rookie—especially with a solid summer.

S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Cleveland Browns

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Cleveland Browns safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren was regarded in many circles as a first-round prospect in this year's draft. In Bleacher Report's final pre-draft big board, the 6'3", 201-pounder from Toledo was ranked as the No. 3 safety and 20th-ranked prospect overall.

However, McNeil-Warren fell into the latter stages of Round 2 before the Browns took him at Pick No. 58. Per Zac Jackson of The Athletic, McNeil-Warren has wasted no time making an impression on his new team.

"McNeil-Warren looks the part, and he arrived with a reputation for being a disruptor," Jackson said. "In what was mostly a half-speed drill Wednesday, he punched a ball out of an unsuspecting runner's hands and the defense wildly celebrated the subsequent recovery. New defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg has veterans Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman atop the depth chart, but as the Browns continue to install and tinker, they'll eventually take advantage of McNeil-Warren's range and physicality."

McNeil-Warren didn't play against the stoutest of competition in college, but he had a penchant for big plays—five interceptions and eight forced fumbles over the last three years to go along with 207 total tackles and 11 tackles for loss.

A big, physical player, McNeil-Warren was already regarded as a value pick by the Browns. The more he impresses as we move through the summer, the better that value will look—and the greater the chances he pushes for a starting role in Cleveland as a rookie.

WR Antonio Williams, Washington Commanders

AP Photo/Nick Wass

There wasn't a team in the NFC that needed to add a wide receiver more in this year's draft than the Washington Commanders. But it wasn't until later in Day 2 that the team added one, selecting Clemson's Antonio Williams at No. 71 overall after a 2025 season in which the 6'0", 190-pounder tallied 130 catches for just over 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns over the past two seasons.

Per Ivan Lambert of Commanders Wire, while making a radio appearance in Washington, 14-year NFL veteran Brian Mitchell said that he was impressed by what he saw from Williams in early practice sessions.

"It's not that you see a finished product," Mitchell said. I think so many fans and a lot of people in the media (do this). They look for the finished product instead of, okay, I see why they drafted him. Antonio Williams yesterday? He gave you many reasons why. I could see why. You can see the quick twitch, you can see how the guy settles, or the route running. And if you continue with that, and keep building, then you see why. Then you start to see the person develop that we already look at now."

The Commanders badly need someone to step up opposite Terry McLaurin at wide receiver. Williams isn't guy yet, but given Mitchell's comments, early indications are that he can be.

And when teams can get real offensive contributors in the back half of the draft's second day, that's how winning is done.

LB Jacob Rodriguez, Miami Dolphins

AP Photo/Marta Lavandier

Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez won just about every award a defensive player can last year at Texas Tech—the unanimous All-American won the Bednarik Award, the Lombardi Award, the Butkus Award and the Nagurski trophy last year after topping 125 total tackles each of the past two seasons and setting an FBS record last year with seven forced fumbles.

Despite all those accolades and takeaways, Rodriguez fell into the middle of Round 2 before being taken by the Miami Dolphins. While appearing on The Set podcast, star Dolphins running back De'Von Achane said that after getting a glimpse of the 6'1", 231-pounder on the practice field, he's surprised that Rodriguez made it out of the 2026 NFL Draft's first day.

"He gets the ball a lot," Achane said. I think he had like the most turnovers, but he gets the ball a lot. And even when we are doing seven-on-seven, you know what I am saying, he always gets the ball. He knows where to be. So I was pretty shocked. I was like, he fell that late. They were thinking he was going to be gone, but I did not know who he was, so I had to watch him, watch some film. But he nice, bro, he nice."

The Dolphins are in the early stages of a ground-up rebuild, and both of the team's starting off-ball linebackers (Tyrel Dodson and 2025 NFL tackle leader Jordyn Brooks) will be free agents next spring.

At the very least Rodriguez appears headed toward a role as Miami's "green dot" linebacker in 2027. And if he continues to shine on the practice field, Rodriguez could find himself making the defensive play-calls as a rookie.

WR Denzel Boston, Cleveland Browns

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Hope can be a dangerous thing in Cleveland. But given how the team's rookie class is standing out in early practices, it's getting harder and harder for the team's beleaguered fanbase not to have it.

Cleveland's wide receiver corps was arguably the NFL's worst last year, and the team double-dipped at the position in the early stages of this year's draft, selecting KC Concepcion of Texas A&M in Round 1 and then circling back for Washington's Denzel Boston in Round 2.

Boston has wasted no time standing out in practices, including a highlight-reel touchdown grab while being covered by veterans Tyson Campbell and Ronnie Hickman in 7-on-7 drills that drew raves from Cleveland head coach Todd Monken.

"That was awesome, wasn't it? Wasn't that cool?" Monken told reporters. "I mean, I know I'm an offensive head coach, but hell, you know, you get a draft pick and it's on one of the most talented guys in the league. So, it's encouraging, right? That's what you want to see. You want to see your guys, especially some of your younger draft picks, make some of those plays."

The 6'4" 215-pounder is the biggest wide receiver on Cleveland's roster, and Boston was already headed toward a potentially prominent role on the boundary opposite veteran Jerry Jeudy while Concepcion mans the slot.

But the Browns need someone to step up and be "the guy" at wide receiver in Cleveland, because Jeudy ain't it.

And Boston is already showing flashes of being that guy.