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Rather than grading draft classes, an exercise I enjoy doing and believe has some merit, I like evaluating draft classes based on a “wisdom of crowds” approach.
Using that, we can see which players were draft-day steals and which players were drafted well ahead of consensus.
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Top 10 Biggest Offensive Line Steals & Values, 2026 NFL Draft:
10. J.C. Davis, Offensive Tackle, New York Giants
Davis took the long road — junior college to New Mexico to Illinois — and rewarded every stop along the way, earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors in 2025 and ending his college career as PFF's third-highest graded left tackle in the nation during the regular season.
The Giants snagged him in the sixth round at pick 192, a full 38 spots later than consensus boards projected, giving New York depth and insurance behind Andrew Thomas at one of the most premium positions in football.
9. Francis Mauigoa, Offensive Tackle, New York Giants
Multiple analysts considered Mauigoa the top offensive lineman in this entire draft class, and some mock drafts had him going as high as third overall to the Arizona Cardinals.
At 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, he is a bruising, reliable road grader who Joe Schoen called one of his top-five players in the entire draft, and New York landed him at 10.
8. Billy Schrauth, Offensive Guard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sharp Football Analytics had Schrauth projected to go at pick 125.
Tampa Bay got him at 160 in the fifth round, a full 35-spot windfall.
A team captain at Notre Dame, Schrauth is a road-grading blocker who helped the Fighting Irish average 203 rushing yards per game and 5.7 yards per carry in 2025, and his 6-foot-5, 310-pound frame with exceptional grip strength and a mean streak on every snap fits perfectly in Baker Mayfield‘s offense in Tampa.
7. Caleb Tiernan, Offensive Tackle, Minnesota Vikings
One analyst had Tiernan ranked 47 spots higher than where Minnesota took him at pick 97, making it one of the biggest board variances at the position in the entire draft.
The Northwestern product started 44 consecutive games in the Big Ten.
At a towering 6-foot-7 and 323 pounds, he brings starting-quality experience at both tackle spots with the versatility to kick inside to guard as head coach Kevin O'Connell builds out his depth.
6. Gennings Dunker, Offensive Guard, Pittsburgh Steelers
Dunker was the 64th-ranked player on the NFL Draft Expert Consensus Board.
Pittsburgh got him at 96, more than 30 picks after he should have been called.
His RAS score jumps to a 9.57 when projected at guard, and analysts called him a plug-and-play starter from Day 1 at left guard, the vacancy Pittsburgh has been desperate to fill.
With good initial power, violent hands, and a heavy anchor in pass protection, he is precisely the kind of mauling lineman Mike McCarthy‘s offense is built around.
5. Dametrious Crownover, Offensive Tackle, New England Patriots
Consensus big boards had Crownover projected as a fringe top-100 pick.
The Patriots got him 72 spots later at 196 in the sixth round, one of the largest board discrepancies at the position in the entire draft.
The Texas A&M product is a physical specimen at 6-foot-7, 319 pounds with 35.5-inch arms.
He started all 13 games at right tackle in 2025 en route to a College Football Playoff appearance, and allowed just two sacks all season.
4. Connor Lew, Center, Cincinnati Bengals
At one point in the pre-draft process, Lew was viewed as a late first or early second-round prospect.
The Bengals got him in the fourth round at pick 128 solely because of a torn ACL he suffered in October.
CBS Sports' Mike Renner had him ranked 43rd overall on his personal big board, and NFL.com's Lance Zierlein compared him to Zach Frazier.
Only 20 years old and already a 25-game starter in the SEC, Lew gives Joe Burrow a potentially elite center of the future behind the aging Ted Karras.
3. Brian Parker II, Center, Cincinnati Bengals
Parker was PFSN's 98th-ranked prospect overall and fifth-ranked center heading into the draft.
Cincinnati got him with the 189th pick in the sixth round, a staggering 91 picks later than expected.
He allowed just 4 sacks across 1,345 pass-blocking snaps at Duke, earned second-team All-ACC honors in back-to-back seasons, and brings the ability to play all five positions on the offensive line, which gives the Bengals extraordinary flexibility protecting Joe Burrow.
2. Sam Hecht, Center, Carolina Panthers
Sharp Football Analytics projected Hecht near the 80th pick.
Carolina landed him at 143, more than 60 spots after most boards expected him to go.
College Football News called him the best center in the entire 2026 draft class, and multiple analysts believe he could challenge for Carolina's starting job as a rookie behind veteran Luke Fortner.
The Kansas State product plays with outstanding technique, consistently winning the leverage battle, and brings the kind of football IQ and toughness the Panthers' coaching staff specifically highlighted in their post-draft scouting sessions.
1. Emmanuel Pregnon, Offensive Guard, Jacksonville Jaguars
This is the single biggest offensive line steal of the 2026 NFL Draft, and it isn't particularly close.
Daniel Jeremiah had Pregnon ranked 56th overall on his big board.
Next Gen Stats named him the No. 1 guard in the entire draft in overall score, production score, and athleticism score, the only guard to score at least 78 in all three categories.
PFF graded him at 86.7 overall in 2025 with an 88.1 pass-blocking grade, the seventh-best among all FBS guards, and he allowed just 1 sack on 471 pass-blocking snaps.
Jacksonville picked him at 88, a Day 2 price for what many evaluators considered a Day 1 talent.