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6 NFL Draft Risers And Fallers: Jordyn Tyson Climbs While KC Concepcion Drops

By Mark Morales-Smith Sports Illustrated

Updated April 20, 2026 2:53 PM

The 2026 NFL Draft will take place this week. Round 1 will kick off on Thursday, April 23, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While at this point, everything is still just speculation, we are going to take a look at some players who have seen their projections rise and fall in this week's NFL Draft.

Risers

WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State

Tyson has been flying up draft boards as of late. Last week, he held a private workout to show that the hamstring issue that caused him to miss the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine and his Pro Day is now behind him.

That news came at the perfect time because he's gone from a player to be projected late in the first round to a top 10 pick in mock drafts. It will be interesting to see if it plays out the same way on Thursday night.

WR Omar Cooper Jr, Indiana

This offseason, Cooper has gone from on the fringes of the first and second rounds to being projected in the first half of the first round. The Indiana star is a high-upside prospect, and analysts have taken notice. In Mel Kiper Jr's latest mock draft, Cooper is projected to land at No. 16 to the New York Jets. Almost nobody had him being drafted that high as recently as March.

RB Jadarian Price, Notre Dame

A new popular landing spot for Price is at the bottom of the first round for the Seattle Seahawks. Since the reigning Super Bowl MVP, Kenneth Walker III, left in free agency for the Kansas City Chiefs, speculation has begun that the Seahawks could be in the market for a running back in the first round. Especially with Zach Charbonnet recovering from a torn ACL.

Over the past few months, Price has separated himself as the RB2 in this draft, edging out Jonah Coleman in the eyes of many. This looked like a draft with only one running back being selected in the first round; it now looks like Price could sneak in with the last pick. His fantasy value would skyrocket if this comes to fruition.

Fallers

QB Ty Simpson, Alabama

Simpson looked like a locked-in top 20 pick earlier in the offseason, but that is no longer the case for a number of reasons. The first reason being that almost all the quarterback-needy teams have signed a quarterback. Teams like the Dolphins, Vikings, and Falcons all brought in new quarterbacks. With the Arizona Cardinals picking far too early to invest in Simpson it there doesn't seem to be a market for an average quarterback in the first round unless Aaron Rodgers decides to retire and Pittsburgh gets desperate.

Another reason is that other quarterbacks have closed the gap on Simpson, who was once a distant QB2 in this draft without anyone else being close behind him. Now, other quarterbacks have made their case, most notably Drew Allar, who has been getting more attention as of late.

RB Emmett Johnson, Nebraska

Johnson was very much in the conversation to be the second running back off the board early in the offseason. However, a poor combine performance has sunk his value. Now there is a chance that he doesn't even get selected on Night 2 of the draft, and if he does, it will likely be late in Round 3.

WR KC Concepcion, Texas A&M

With Tyson, Cooper, and Denzel Boston all climbing up draft boards this offseason, someone has to fall. It looks to be Concepcion. He had gone from the likely WR4 early in the offseason, to potentially falling out of the first round on Thursday night.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as 6 NFL Draft Risers And Fallers: Jordyn Tyson Climbs While KC Concepcion Drops.

This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 2:44 PM.