Northwestern Wildcats: 5 Players to Watch in 2026
By Owain Jones
Northwestern is attempting to genuinely take a step forward in 2026. The Wildcats have invested heavily in the future, from the opening of a new Ryan Field to landing one of the Big Ten’s strongest transfer portal classes and convincing Chip Kelly to take over as offensive coordinator. On paper, the pieces are in place for Northwestern to field its most exciting offense in years.
However, the challenge is that the Big Ten won’t wait for them to catch up. Games against Indiana, Penn State, Oregon, Ohio State, Iowa, and Minnesota mean improvement alone won’t be enough. Meaning the realistic path to success in 2026 will need the Wildcats to win the majority of their nonconference games, hold serve against one of Iowa, Minnesota, or Illinois, as well as cause an upset against one of the conference’s premier programs.
Northwestern has undoubtedly raised its ceiling. The question now is whether it has closed the gap on the teams standing in its way. These five players will go a long way towards providing the answer.
The addition of Aidan Chiles through the transfer portal set out Northwestern’s ambition.
Head coach David Braun could have looked for another steady game manager after reaching bowl eligibility last season. Instead, he brought in one of the conference’s most talented quarterbacks and paired him with Chip Kelly, whose offenses have consistently maximised athletic quarterbacks throughout his career.
Chiles arrives after a disappointing, injury-shortened season at Michigan State in which he threw for 1,392 yards, accounted for 16 total touchdowns, and cut his interceptions from 11 to just three. The flashes have always been there, but the consistency hasn’t.
The 6’4”, 220-pound senior’s four-touchdown performance against Boston College and a school-record 20 consecutive completions against Indiana showed the player he can become.
Kelly’s task isn’t to reinvent Chiles. It’s to make those performances the expectation rather than the exception. If he succeeds, Northwestern’s offense could make one of the biggest jumps in the Big Ten.
Chip Kelly’s best offenses have always started with a strong running game that defenses fear.
Luckily, Northwestern already has that foundation in Caleb Komolafe.
After beginning the season as part of a committee, the 5’11”, 210-pound rusher developed into one of the conference’s most productive backs, rushing for 941 yards and 11 touchdowns while earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honours. More importantly, he gave the Wildcats an identity.
Kelly inherits a back capable of thriving in a varied rushing attack built around zone reads, quarterback movement, and tempo. He also won’t need to overwork him with Gavin Sawchuk joining the backfield, giving Northwestern far more flexibility than a year ago.
If Komolafe takes another step while becoming a bigger factor in the passing game, Northwestern’s offense will become much harder to defend.
Northwestern doesn’t need to wonder who its No. 1 receiver will be.
Griffin Wilde answered that question the moment he arrived from South Dakota State ahead of the 2025 season.
It took no time at all for Wilde to adjust from the FCS to Big Ten play, catching 71 passes for 880 yards and eight touchdowns while producing Northwestern’s best receiving season since Austin Carr’s remarkable 2016 campaign.
Now he gets an upgrade at quarterback and one of college football’s most creative offensive minds calling plays.
That combination should create opportunities that didn’t consistently exist last season. Chiles has the arm strength to attack deeper areas of the field, while Kelly’s offense has long excelled at creating favourable matchups through formation, tempo, and motion.
Wilde has already proved he can be a reliable, consistent target. The next step is becoming the go-to big-bodied target for Chiles and developing into one of the Big Ten’s genuine game-breaking receivers.
While most of the attention will fall on Northwestern’s new-look offense, Robert Fitzgerald remains the heartbeat of the defense.
The senior safety enjoyed a breakout 2025 season, leading the Wildcats with 114 tackles and earning Second-Team All-Big Ten honours. His role went deeper than his coverage responsibilities, regularly arriving downhill to stop the run and finishing with six tackles for loss, the most by any defensive back in the conference.
Those numbers reflect both his instincts and the accountability placed upon him.
But in 2026, the improved secondary means that Fitzgerald should have to make fewer emergency tackles. However, it is difficult to replicate his leadership and experience against one of the country’s toughest schedules.
If the Wildcats are going to spring another upset or two, expect Fitzgerald to be at the centre of it.
The Wildcats secondary is expected to shine in 2026, and with a schedule as demanding as this, they are sure to be tested.
That’s where Braden Turner becomes invaluable.
The veteran corner quietly produced one of the more impactful seasons by a Big Ten defensive back in 2025, forcing two fumbles, recovering two more, adding an interception, and scoring a defensive touchdown. Those momentum-changing moments helped Northwestern stay competitive against more talented opponents.
While the production matters, Turner’s true value comes from playing disciplined football, tackling reliably, and capitalising when opportunities present themselves. Against the caliber of quarterbacks Northwestern will face this season, those takeaways could be worth their weight in gold.
The Wildcats have invested heavily in raising the program’s ceiling. Turner and the defense now have the responsibility of proving those investments can translate into victories against one of the Big Ten’s toughest schedules.
OWAIN JONES
COLLEGE FOOTBALL & NFL DRAFT ANALYST
OWAIN jones COVERS EVERYTHING college football & NFL DRAFT. COMING WITH PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE, OWAIN was PREVIOUSLY a writer for pfsn and WAS THE NFL DRAFT EDITOR AT NINETY-NINE YARDS WHERE HE CREATED DRAFT TALK. YOU CAN FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @OwainJonesCFB