The 2026 NFL Draft is a few weeks away, and the excitement for a new season is starting to amplify. As teams try to find franchise cornerstones in the new prospects, fans start eagerly anticipating the next player they can pin their hopes on.
In that exchange, analysts and insiders play a key role. They can give a pulse on where certain teams are headed and the direction they want to pursue. Now, one such personality has given an inside look into the process that goes into the draft.
Albert Breer Breaks Down the Pre-Draft Process
With over 250 picks and 32 teams, each with specific agendas for the draft, the focus can be on a multitude of stars entering the event. However, in the weeks and months leading up to the event, fans get a reasonable idea of how things will fall.
That comes at the mercy of insiders, who get a pulse on the way organizations are thinking. Albert Breer, one of the premier NFL insiders, is among the most trusted voices for those updates.
Recently, for Sports Illustrated, he broke down his specific process for arriving at conclusions and gathering draft intel. The first step was rather straightforward for him, as he explained.
“Most of it is not someone telling you who they’re taking, but you learn how to pick up on things,” Breer said. “I try to talk to multiple people with all 32 teams in the weeks leading up to the draft, and what you pick up from these teams is what other teams are thinking. If you hear something over and over again, then it gains validity.”
From there, it’s about figuring out its validity with the specific team in question. That’s when his insider qualities and contacts play a major role for Breer.
“Sometimes, you can bring that up with the team that’s the subject of that rumor, and just get a feel based on their response,” Breer continued. “It’s a lot of work, but the information trade is fun to be a part of.”
But there was one key element to making the process a success: trust. “You have to understand other people’s jobs, and what you’re working around, and that’s just having basic empathy,” Breer added.
At this point, the business has been in existence for decades, and Breer’s enthusiasm is contagious. Calling this the “favorite parts of his job,” he revealed the transactional nature of gathering the specific information.
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“But the cool thing is, if you’re any good at it, you’ll have plenty to offer the teams, and in a lot of cases, more than they can give you,” Breer added.
As we inch closer to the NFL Draft, Breer will be providing fans with detailed insight into the mindsets teams are adopting.
