With OTAs getting underway all over the NFL, the pressure is on every incoming rookie to live up to the hype.
As close as fans pay attention to the NFL Draft these days, the pressure isn't just on 1st-round picks, either. Players taken on Day 2 or Day 3 will also be under the microscope, and there are a handful of players on every team with chances to make a much bigger impact than expected.
The NFC East includes some of the highest-profile top picks in the league. Both the Giants and Cowboys had two 1st-rounders. The Commanders had a top-10 pick. The Eagles traded up in the 1st round. But you really make your hay in the NFL Draft on the second and third days.
Our latest NFL Power Rankings will take a look at the players we think will be the most impactful non-1st-round picks from this year's rookie class for each NFC East team.
NFL Power Rankings: NFC East most impactful non-1st-round picks in 2026
4. New York Giants: Malachi Fields, Wide Receiver
There was a lot of talk in the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft that the New York Giants were going to be in on the wide receiver position with one of their two selections in the top 10 overall. And they might have been, but the unexpected availability of linebacker Arvell Reese shifted the entire course of their strategy.
As a result, there's now going to be some added pressure on a player like 3rd-round pick Malachi Fields.
This was a guy that John Harbaugh was pounding the table for in the 2026 NFL Draft, and we'll soon find out exactly why.
At 6-foot-4, 218 pounds, Fields is imposing with his size, and will have to carve out a role immediately as Malik Nabers continues to recover from his major injury last year.
3. Dallas Cowboys: Jaishawn Barham, Linebacker
There are certain things you simply cannot teach to young prospects coming up from the college level, and a relentless motor is one of them. But it's one thing to be a try-hard, and it's a completely different thing to combine unstoppable effort with elite athletic traits and instinctive play.
You'll hear competing thoughts when you ask different people about "positionless" players coming up from the college ranks, but with a player like Cowboys 3rd-round pick Jaishawn Barham, you really have to evaluate individual skills.
In coverage, he's outstanding. As a pass rusher, he's outstanding. Is he an edge player or is he going to play off the ball? He's landing in the right spot, because Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker just came from the Eagles where they turned former EDGE Zack Baun into a Defensive Player of the Year candidate at linebacker by highlighting all of his best skills.
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