In the early going of the draft process, Auburn’s Connor Lew was the consensus top center prospect for the 2026 NFL Draft. Lew was playing well for the Tigers in the first half of the 2025 season, and multiple team sources said they had Lew projected with a starter grade. However, midway through the season, Lew tore his ACL, and that opened up the competition for the top center for the 2026 NFL Draft. In surveying many team sources, there was a variety of names as to who would be the top center prospect.
A few team sources felt Lew would still be the top center despite the ACL injury. A few said Florida’s Jake Slaughter could be the top center. One source said they thought Iowa’s Logan Jones could be the top center.
Kansas State’s Sam Heckt is a love/hate prospect with team sources. Listed at 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, some sources say Hecht is maxed out in his frame and has below-average power. The sources that don’t like him say he is very scheme-specific as a fit for zone blocking only. They feel he has a sawed-off body type, but he is a great kid, works hard, plays hard, and is smart. Other sources that like him more see him as a well-balanced blocker at the point of attack with the ability to protect the quarterback and get a push in the ground game. The sources that Hecht likes see second-round potential. The ones that don’t like him think he is a mid or late-rounder. From speaking with team sources, at this point, there does not seem to be a center prospect that has true first-round potential like Graham Barton or Grey Zabel in the past two drafts.
In my latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft, I have a center going in the second round. But right now, it sounds like an open debate as to who is the top center for the 2026 NFL Draft.
