2026 CFB Transfer Portal Tracker
We have been hard at work developing the most comprehensive 'portal tracker' for this craziness that has ensued. Take a look at what we offer, including a new update series to keep you in the know.
To say the transfer portal in college football has gone off the rails, well, that would be an understatement. In our day of ‘amateur’ free agency, it seems everybody and their brother (literally, in some cases) are entering the portal in hopes they can find a quick pay day and/or set themselves up for future success. Some are using it to find the right fit and actually get on the field. Whatever the motivation, we are tracking over 2,600 players in our new, improved 2026 Transfer Portal Tracker on the website.
So, we say it is new and ‘improved’, but what makes it better than the rest? We’ll attempt to answer that here and then give you a glimpse into how we will keep you updated (daily) on the movement and ultimately who has the most (and least) impact on the roster talent heading into 2026.
EVERY PLAYER RATED
First of all, if you have been following up for a while now, you know we utilize our data to produce a player rating for every single player in our database. This includes recruiting information, on-field performance (weighted to competition level), and player-level data from PFF. This all combines into a rating (out of 20). If you need a primer on how we go about developing these player ratings, you can go back to this article:
LEDGER STYLE ‘TALENT CHURN’
Many ‘trackers’ will show you only who is coming in and may not tell the whole story. To properly ‘grade’ each school, you must take into account both sides of the ledger and get to a combined ‘talent churn’ number. So, you’ll see this for each school. Here is an example to show what we mean. We’ll use Minnesota as an example, since they are the most active to begin this cycle:
We have one of these puppies for every school and you can navigate to them through our rankings and team breakdowns links found here:
DELIVERY
Perhaps the most critical aspect of providing insight with so many constantly moving parts is to find a way to display and deliver that information. We have multiple methods, a couple of which you have seen above. It starts with a ‘summary’ page that gives you the most up-to-date, impactful look at things at the player and team levels.
We then provide a ‘breakdown’ of all 136 schools. How many players are entering the program, and what is their subsequent ‘talent level’? How many are leaving? This gives an overall picture and ultimately drives our rankings. Here is an example:
This is constantly updating as players come and go. You’ll see links to the ‘churn report,’ which is the ledger-style breakdown showing each player and breaking it down by position, and a link to the full depth chart. When we move these puppies to ‘2026 mode’ following the season, you’ll begin to see ‘at a glance’ where the new pieces may fit into the plans for next season. Until then, we are just focused on pure talent infusion to get us to our rankings.
We also have data tables available for you to look over. How deep do you want to dive?
Sortable Player Database — every player we are tracking is included and ranked by their player rating. You can filter, sort and download as you choose to get what you need.
Latest Movement — want to see the most recent movement — both entries and signings — we have that too. Check out this tool and you can similarly sort, filter and download the data as you see fit.
CONTENT PLAN
We have been quiet on Substack the past few weeks as we have been updating bowl and CFP ‘game cards’ and building this unique portal tracking tool. That is about to change. We will be providing daily and weekly updates specifically focused on the portal. These written content pieces are primers to help keep you up to speed on what’s going on with your favorite teams and their rivals. Who is winning? Who is losing?
If you have not yet subscribed, please do so. You’ll get updated via email when posts are published (usually early AM) and it’s the very best way to stay informed during this craziness.
Thank you for your support and let’s go portaling!