Special teams harbor some special talents that may be worth a pick or two at the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh.
Special teams carry an increasingly special presence in the modern NFL, and the upcoming draft in Pittsburgh could soon highlight their value.
With deep field goals being more prevalent than ever and the battle for field position being the most manageable way to counter the offensive explosion that has turned scoreboards into pinball machines, teams are forced to do a little extra homework when it comes to handling the third side of the ball.
No one is probably willing to engage in a first-round gambit such as the ones the Oakland Raiders staged in 1973 (Ray Guy) and 2000 (Sebastian Janikowski), but there are still several specialist game-changers that could help in the later rounds.
5 Specialists To Know Entering The 2026 NFL Draft
With that in mind, TeamFB7 has five specialists worth popping a pick upon …
Garrison Grimes leads a top 5 Special Teams unit in America and is one of the more gifted athletes snapping the football. He is part of the coverage team and is a stabilizing person in the nation’s best FG unit. @GarrisonGrimes @BYUfootball pic.twitter.com/Ywv6wsD6Fl
— Senior Specialist All-Star Game (@SR_SpecShowcase) September 30, 2025
Garrison Grimes, BYU
Being a long snapper is the closest thing football has to a superhero, as it’s probably best if no one knows your real name. Grimes, however, made a name for himself during the all-star circuit: in addition to his flawless work in Provo, Grimes (a tight end in high scool) was one of the athletic standouts at the East-West Shrine Bowl, which could earn him a call come Saturday.
Long snappers are looking to rebuild their draft momentum: at least one was chosen in every draft between 2015 and 2021 (including three in that final year) before going three years without. Julian Ashby broke the trend when the New England Patriots brought him aboard at 251st overall last year.
Trey Smack smacked this one 🐊
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) November 1, 2025
pic.twitter.com/3V0XegkS86
Trey Smack, Florida
The meandering nature of the Gators’ offense certainly gave Smack his share of opportunities, ones he was fully able to capitalize on: Smack set a program record with 10 successful tries from at least 50 yards out, and he made all but one of 101 extra points attempts.
Smack’s pro pedigree will be well-cherished, as he’s working under the tutelage of longtime leg Matt Stover, whose own drafting in 1990 set the tone for a two-decade NFL career spent primarily in Baltimore … who could be looking for another Justin Tucker successor following 2025 draftee Tyler Loop’s memorable miss in January’s regular season finale.
Jack Stonehouse earned first team All-ACC honors after setting single season and career net punting yard records for @CuseFootball @_JackStonehouse is a field flipping weapon with 38 career punts over 50 yards and 44 downed inside the 20 https://t.co/M9jI6mnSVC pic.twitter.com/J2uP8yJ8fQ
— Shane Coughlin (@Shane__Coughlin) December 4, 2025
Jack Stonehouse, Syracuse
Cool it with the Colquitts: the Stonehouse family has formed the foundation for the league’s next punting dynasty. Following in the footsteps of his father John and cousin Ryan (an All-Pro with Tennessee), Stonehouse had just under a quarter of his 60 punts land inside the opponent’s 20 and leaves as the top Orange punter with a net tally of 45.8 yards per boot.
Such a leg would no doubt help counter the NFL’s over-the-top offensive explosion with field position becoming more vital with each passing game.
Tim Dwight 👉 Kaden Wetjen
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 24, 2025
The @HawkeyeFootball star’s record-breaking sixth career return TD is our Week 13 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠.
📍 @OldTrapper pic.twitter.com/PDuCKNxRua
Kaden Wetjen, Iowa
Frequent tampering with the modern kickoff has rendered the return specialist a bit of an endangered species despite the efforts of players like Charlie Jones and KaVontae Turpin. Wetjen’s work might be too good to pass up: he averaged nearly 30 yards on kickoff returns in each of his last two years as a Hawkeye and returned three punts for scores last year.
To top it all off, he put up a 4.47-second 40-yard dash at the 2026 Scouting Combine after scoring three offensive touchdowns this year, which could push him toward the top of Day 3 boards for a team searching for momentum in field position.
Dominic Zvada nails it 🙌
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 15, 2025
No. 18 @UMichFootball escapes Wrigley with a 24-22 walk-off win. pic.twitter.com/CO5u9AfjU2
Dominic Zvada, Michigan
It’s rare that the “go back for another year” gambit doesn’t work out for a kicker. But Zvada was a victim after trying to top his All-American junior campaign at Michigan, hitting just 68% of his triple tries after leading the Big Ten in threes and success rate the year prior (while succeeding fellow Blue alum Jake Moody as the B1G’s Kicker of the Year).
Still, Zvada’s threatening distance makes him a relative essential in today’s point-happy NFL: the 2024 campaign saw him boot a nation’s best seven field goals from at least 50 yards out and he tied his career-best this year with a 56-yard tiebreaker against Nebraska.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
