Virginia Football’s J’Mari Taylor and Sage Ennis declare for 2026 NFL Draft

After a successful 2026 campaign, both running back J’Mari Taylor and TE Sage Ennis announced via their Instagram pages that they are entering the 2026 NFL Draft.

J’Mari last took the field in Charlotte, where the Cavaliers lost to the Duke Blue Devils in the ACC Championship game, after he opted out of their most recent bowl game against the Missouri Tigers. The graduate senior spent his first four seasons with the NC Central Eagles, then transferred to Virginia this past offseason and was one of, if not the best, gets for Tony Elliott and his coaching staff. Taylor lit a fire in Charlottesville and found himself with the ACC rushing crown at the end of the regular season, becoming the first UVA player since 2018 to rush for over 1,00 yards and the first Virginia RB since 2004 to earn first team All-ACC honors.

Taylor had 1,062 yards on the ground and added 14 rushing touchdowns, all with an average of nearly five yards per touch. His longest rush was against Duke with they met in Novermber in Durham where he broke loose for a 78 yard touchdown, his best game was against NC State in September where he rushed for 150 yards and added three touchdowns, and his most outsanding play came against Virginia Tech where he canneled his inner Chandler Morris and tossed a touchdown pass to the other feature of this article, TE Sage Ennis. Thank you, J’mari, go be great!

Not twenty minutes after Taylor declared for the draft, graduate student and team captain Sage Ennis hopped on board. Ennis had his best year at tight end this past season with 23 receptions, 214 yards, five touchdowns, and, maybe most importantly, a trusted blocker in Des Kitchings’ offense.

Ennis was a significant factor in all of Virignia’s big wins this season. He had a touchdown in both the Florida State and Virignia Tech victories, and had five receptions in their most recent victory in the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl. Thank you, Sage, and best of luck to you!