Pittsburgh will host the 2026 NFL Draft, with the first round set for Thursday at 8:00 p.m., and a cluster of former North Carolina high school stars enters the weekend with their names already on the board. Five players from the state appear on Wide Left's Consensus Big Board, led by wide receiver KC Concepcion at No. 23.
Concepcion, who played at Chambers High School in Charlotte and was a state champion at then-Vance High School, has built a profile that keeps rising. He is 5-11 and 196 pounds, was a Freshman All-American at NC State, and put up 839 yards and 10 touchdowns there before transferring to Texas A&M, where he was a First Team All-American in 2025 with 919 receiving yards, nine receiving touchdowns, 456 punt return yards and two punt return touchdowns. For a draft class that will begin moving on Friday at 7:00 p.m. with the second and third rounds, his production makes him the most bankable of the North Carolina group.
Nick Barrett sits much lower on the board at No. 174, but his path is just as long. The 6-3, 312-pound defensive tackle from Eastern Wayne High School in Goldsboro missed his senior season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, then built a résumé that included 114 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 17 sacks over three high school seasons. At South Carolina in 2025, he started, posted 42 total tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks, and was named a team captain. Diego Pounds, ranked No. 175, played at Millbrook High School in Raleigh, started his college career at North Carolina and finished as Ole Miss' left tackle, where he earned Third Team All-SEC honors in 2025. He is 6-6 and 325 pounds.
J'Mari Taylor rounds out the middle of the list at No. 209. The 5-9, 199-pound running back from West Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 36 touchdowns in high school, added 1,832 passing yards and 21 passing touchdowns, and also had 808 receiving yards and four scores. He began at NC Central, remains in the top 10 on the school's career rushing list, and then was named First Team All-ACC in his lone season at Virginia. Vincent Anthony Jr., No. 231, is the youngest of the group and will turn 22 on April 26. The Jordan High School product in Durham is listed as an edge rusher, measured at 6-6 and 250 pounds in his profile and 6'5 5/8" and 258 pounds in his draft frame, and earned Honorable Mention All-ACC.
The draft's remaining four rounds begin Saturday at 12:00 p.m., and that final stretch is where these North Carolina names will learn whether the season that built their cases is enough to carry them into the league. Concepcion looks like the best chance at early attention, but the others bring enough production, size or conference recognition to make the weekend matter well beyond Pittsburgh.
