Jackson Cantwell
Nixa · Nixa, MO
What the model says
There's no college-production data for offensive tackles, so we project the outcome we have for every position — the NFL draft. Our all-position model gives Jackson Cantwell a 52% chance of eventually being drafted, driven by his composite rating and national rank.
Calibrated probabilities from models validated out-of-sample to beat the star ratings. They're the odds, not the call.
The scouting report
A 6-foot-8, 315-pound tackle from Nixa, Missouri, Cantwell is the No. 1 offensive-line prospect in 2026 and is ranked the No. 1 overall recruit by 247Sports, Rivals and On3 (ESPN has him No. 2). 247Sports' Gabe Brooks describes an "enormous, athletic presence who could play all over the offensive front" — a possible early plug-and-play at right tackle or guard with the tools to develop into a left tackle.
He is the son of Olympic shot putters Christian Cantwell and Teri Steer, and a national-champion thrower himself who broke the national sophomore shot-put record. As a senior he was named Gatorade National Player of the Year after racking up 173 pancake blocks and leading Nixa to the Class 6A title game. He chose Miami over a deep national field.
About as rare a tackle prospect as the class offers — elite size, real athleticism, multi-year tape. The honest constraint is ours, not his: we have no college-production data for linemen, so we project the draft, where his profile points high for the position.
Projection is data-driven (rating, national rank, position; validated out-of-sample). The scouting report is sourced reporting, cited above — we don't fabricate quotes or facts.

Miami