Draft, 2026 NFL Draft. There, yay SEO!
#1 Las Vegas Raiders – QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
I’m not explaining this.
#2 New York Jets – LB Arvell Reese, Ohio State
I truly have no idea other than this pick will be Reese or Bailey, which isn’t breaking news. Schrager has Bailey here and he typically is pretty plugged in around the league. However Rich Cimini wrote on Sunday how the tea leaves are pointing to Reese since Aaron Glenn has been emphasizing players need to have scheme versatility so they can do “a little bit of everything” in their new 3-4 defense that will employ multiple fronts. Part of the allure with Reese is his ability to play multiple positions while having untapped pass rush upside.
#3 Arizona Cardinals – OT Francis Mauigoa, Miami
Another “I truly don’t know” pick. You can easily say this will be whoever the Jets don’t take between Reese and Bailey. According to McShay someone within the organization is strongly pushing for Love. Maybe they think Bain is the best pass rusher. Who knows.
For the time being the Mauigoa selection comes down to this logic: Mike LaFleur can add Mauigoa to Paris Johnson and the Cardinals are set at tackle for 12 years. It allows him to get inspired on offense. It provides protection for whoever is playing quarterback in 2027. Yes the defense needs to improve but Ossenfort just spent their first 5 picks last year on defense.
Mauigoa is a set it and forget it pick for a team that cannot get this wrong.
#4 Tennessee Titans – RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
Obviously I wouldn’t do this, and if the Titans (in this scenario) opt for Bailey or Bain it should come as no surprise. But I just think in this draft positional value is going to really get thrown out the window and teams are going to take whoever they think is the best player or whoever they think is the most impactful player. There is also an argument to be made that with Mauigoa off the board no one else helps Cam Ward more than Love with this pick (it’s not a very good argument however).
Also for what it’s worth Schrager does have Love at 4. Again, he’s not god, but he is very plugged in.
#5 New York Giants – S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
This would make Downs the highest drafted safety since Sean Taylor in 2004 which is an absurd sentence. Before getting into the logic I want to plug this theory: The Giants pick at 5 and 37 then don’t select again until 105. I’d bet a lot of money they move down from either 5 or 37. The problem is that in a bad draft everyone wants to move down and no one wants to move up. With Love off the board that probably removes Washington, unless they just super want Bain or Bailey.
My theory is the Chiefs trade with the Giants. The Chiefs never pick at 9 and likely won’t again assuming a healthy Mahomes year in and year out. They’re within striking distance of a top 5 pick and if they just LOVE someone here’s their chance. Top targets would be Bain or Bailey if they just absolutely fall in love (probably Bain). The Chiefs roster isn’t as loaded as it once was and they need extra picks, but they have 29 and 40. This would be 9 and 40 for 5.
The Giants can move down and likely get one of Downs, Fano, or their favorite receiver. Plus they add pick 40.
Anyway, this really boils down to John Harbaugh having experienced life with Ed Reed and Kyle Hamilton. The Giants may just think Downs is a top 5 player in this class and they should take him. Harbaugh also waxed poetic in February about “favor[ing] hall of fame safeties, so if we have a chance to draft future hall of famer Caleb Downs, that will be just fine with me. We’ll take the best player.”
#6 Cleveland Browns – WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State
This seems like a WR or OT, and it seems like between 6 and 24 the Browns are walking away from Thursday night with a WR and an OT. This boils down to Tate being “safer” than the OT’s available and the pairing/combination of Tate plus a tackle at 24 being better than a tackle here and then a WR at 24.
#7 Washington Commanders – LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
I know, it’s weird taking the linebacker over both pass rushers but positional value is going to get thrown out the window in this draft. Plus it’s not exactly clear how Bain or Bailey fits in this 3-4.
Also consider how long Dan Quinn has coached Bobby Wagner between Seattle and Washington and how he’d be the PERFECT mentor for Styles, and that Adam Peters had a front row seat to watch how Fred Werner impacted San Francisco’s defense.
#8 New Orleans Saints – Edge David Bailey, Texas Tech
Last year I did a deep dive into what Mickey Loomis does in the first two rounds because he inexcusably has a 25 year track record for us to look at. He has now taken 6 OT’s in the first round, 5 pass rushers, and 4 WR’s. When he drafts a pass rusher he really likes athletic traits.
Bain isn’t a slouch but Bailey posted a 9.67 RAS during the pre-draft process. Add in questions about Bain’s arm length and here we are.
#9 Kansas City Chiefs – Edge Reuben Bain Jr., Miami
However the Chiefs will gladly scoop up Bain immediately after as he just looks and feels like a dude Spags wants.
#10 Cincinnati Bengals – Edge Keldrick Faulk, Auburn
I’m convinced Faulk is going top 15 if not top 12. Between Travon Walker and Mykell Wiliams the NFL has demonstrated they don’t let large, athletic, quality run defenders with untapped pass rushing potential fall very far.
Plus the Bengals have a type. They’ve recently taken both Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart in the first round, athletic yet unrefined pass rushers. With Henderickson gone, here we are.
#11 Miami Dolphins – CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
Wouldn’t it be funny if the dude who spent 20+ years coming up through the Packers organization who famously didn’t draft a receiver in the first round for 600 years spends his initial first round pick on a receiver in Miami because of how dire the situation is?
Anyway, the corner situation is also dire and the Dolphins get the best one in the draft here. They can target a receiver at 30 or the early 2nd.
#12 Dallas Cowboys – OL Spencer Fano, Utah
Say what you will about the Cowboys but their drafts tend to be restrained. Ever since trading up for Mo Claiborne in 2012 they have either been reasonable or outright strategic drafters. The next year they traded down from the middle of the first to take boring ole center Travis Frederick at 31. In 2014 when they passed on Johnny Football for A GUARD in Zack Martin that was the signal that it was a new day in the Dallas War Room.
I’m not saying the Cowboys are done with Guyton, I’m just saying he’s been disappointing thus far. Steele isn’t incredible either but they’re financially stuck with him through 2027. Fano can start off as a super sub with his 5 positional potential (if anyone knows offensive linemen get hurt its Dallas) before starting in 2027.
#13 Los Angeles Rams (F/ATL) – WR Makai Lemon, USC
#Chalk
#14 Baltimore Ravens – TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
Likely took the I-95 up north and Andrews isn’t getting any younger. In a lackluster class Sadiq has the ability to be one of the few “math changers” at a position Lamar loves to target.
#15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – OG Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State
This isn’t the most on-brand for Licht but it isn’t too far off and you can probably forget a lot of tendencies in this draft. Licht commonly drafts the trenches or pass catches/pass defenders in the first round. He’s just never taken an offensive lineman that wasn’t a tackle this high before. But alas, Ioane might be the best player on their board and they need him.
#16 New York Jets (F/IND) – WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
I’m pretty sure the Jets would sprint this card in.
#17 Detroit Lions – OL Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
The closer we get to the draft the more I feel like Proctor is going to rise. Anyway, this dude’s run blocking just screams Dan Campbell and the Lions can choose whether he works better for them at tackle or inside at guard.
#18 Minnesota Vikings – S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon
This is kind of chalky but I just truly believe it’s going to happen. Thieneman is too good (though the NFL hates drafting safeties; see Brian Branch, Nick Emmanwori, etc.).
#19 Carolina Panthers – CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
The Panthers presumably believe they won’t be picking this high ever again. That would make this their last chance to get a player of McCoy’s caliber. Had McCoy played in 2025 and maintained or improved his performance for 2024, he’d be long gone by now. McCoy allegedly lit up his pro day with a 4.38 40, 38″ vertical, and a 10’7″ broad. He’ll have gone from January of 2025 to September for 2026 without having played live action football but the potential here is too great to pass on.
#20 Dallas Cowboys – CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson
It’s likely the Cowboys leave Thursday having taken a defensive player at both 12 and 20. It just didn’t happen in this particular mock draft. However, going offense at 12 would (presumably) guarantee defense here at 20. It also seems to be a guarantee Dallas will leave Thursday with a new defensive back.
I know everyone is talking about the Cowboys trading up from either of their first round picks, but look out for this (or the Vikings or Panthers above) to be a trade down spot. The 4 of the next 5 teams – Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Chicago – are all teams that could feasibly take an offensive tackle in the first round, and Houston and Miami are lurking at the end of the first. If the tackles fly off the board faster than this mock is projected, or if one of these teams falls in love with a specific tackle, someone could get aggressive in leapfrogging their competition to secure their guy.
#21 Pittsburgh Steelers – OT Blake Miller, Clemson
What the Steelers really need is a left tackle but I don’t know that they’ll have a desire to get into the Freeling business since the reason they need a left tackle is that Broderick Jones hasn’t panned out so far. Miller being a college right tackle doesn’t mean he can’t play the left side, but what it at least would allow is for Fautanu to move over to left guard while Miller plays right tackle. It gives them options. Either way, Pittsburgh needs improvements along the offensive line.
#22 Los Angeles Chargers – DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State
Are any of you going to bat an eye if Harbaugh takes a massive run-stuffer in the first round?
#23 Philadelphia Eagles – WR Denzel Boston, Washington
Even if Philadelphia holds onto AJ, you can still argue for a receiver here. Despite the trade for Wicks and signing of Hollywood, they’re thin behind Brown and Smith. Boston provides another big bodied receiver for 3-wide sets, naturally placing Smith in the slot. When the time comes that the Eagles and Brown part ways, they already have Boston in the pipeline.
#24 Cleveland Browns (F/JAX) – OT Monroe Freeling, Georgia
There’s no shortage of mock drafts that have Freeling going to Cleveland at 6, so I guess this is a “steal.”
#25 Chicago Bears – Edge Akheem Mesidor, Miami
Chicago sits tight and gets their pick of the second wave of pass rushers.
*TRADE*
Buffalo Receives: #36, #102, #134
Las Vegas Receives: #26
#26 Las Vegas (F/Buffalo) – OT Max Iheanachor, Arizona State
This trade is nearly identical based on the Jimmy Johnson chart (absurd the NFL still uses it but alas). Vegas gets antsy and moves up to secure better protection for Mendoza while also improving life for Ashton Jeanty. Buffalo, meanwhile, recoups some picks after sending away their 2nd rounder for DJ Moore.
#27 San Francisco 49ers – CB Colton Hood, Tennessee
It’s weird to say the 9ers could go in a number of directions of here but it’s true they have more needs than is typical of a contender. They opt to grab the last of the consensus first round corners to upgrade their secondary.
#28 Houston Texans – Edge R Thomas Mason, Oklahoma
The Texans could easily opt for an offensive lineman here but I think they’ve slapped enough band-aids on up front that they don’t have to force it, especially given they have two second round picks. This came down to Thomas, Allen, and McNeil-Warren, with Thomas winning out based on the NFL being a copycat league and the Seahawks just won the Super Bowl running like 8 deep at pass rusher.
#29 Kansas City Chiefs (F/LAR) – WR Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana
Rice seems to have escaped any potential suspension but the Chiefs have more questions than answers behind him on the depth chart.
#30 Miami Dolphins (F/DEN) – OT Caleb Lomu, Utah
At a certain point the Dolphins are setting Willis up to fail and they need to use at least two of their three top 43 picks to change that.
#31 New England Patriots – Edge Zion Young, Missouri
The Patriots needed more pass rush juice even before Chaisson left in free agency.
#32 Seattle Seahawks – CB Chris Johnson, San Diego State
With the departure of Tariq Woolen in free agency the Seahawks are looking thin at corner behind Witherspoon.