1. Raiders – Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza
Raiders co-owner Tom Brady likely sees much of himself in fellow football junkie Mendoza. Kirk Cousins will serve as Las Vegas’ short-term bridge quarterback and veteran mentor to Mendoza.
2. Jets – Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey
Bailey piled up 19.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks in his final college season. The 2025 Jets finished bottom two in sacks (26). Bailey is a top-tier athlete whose calling card is elite first-step burst.
3. Cardinals – Miami (FL) OT Francis Mauigoa
31-year-old sixth-team journeyman Elijah Wilkinson would be Arizona’s starting right tackle if the season began today. A 42-game starter at The U, Mauigoa is a battle-tested, high-floor, plug-and-play prospect.
4. Titans – Ohio State OLB Arvell Reese
Tennessee is remaking its defensive front seven under first-year HC Robert Saleh and DC Gus Bradley, who both cut their NFL teeth coaching linebackers. Not yet 21 years old, Reese’s floor is a freaky-athletic off-ball linebacker with upside to disrupt the edge.
5. Giants – Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love
Love’s home-run-hitting game mimics Jahmyr Gibbs, yet Love makes house calls with 13 more pounds on his frame. Giants owner John Mara is still reeling from Saquon Barkley’s departure, while new HC John Harbaugh has no tangible connection to Cam Skattebo, who dislocated his right ankle, fractured his right fibula, and ruptured his right deltoid ligament last Week 8. Reports suggest Giants GM Joe Schoen may have no say in this pick and could be ousted after the draft.
6. Browns – Ohio State WR Carnell Tate
An elite downfield separator and contested-catch technician, Tate is this year’s cleanest wide receiver prospect. Tate didn’t drop a pass in 2025; catch reliability has been a foreign concept for Browns wideouts for years.
7. Commanders – Ohio State LB Sonny Styles
HC Dan Quinn’s 2025 defense coughed up the league’s third-most yards per play (6.0) and sixth-most points per game (26.5). Commanders GM Adam Peters, a former 49ers exec, helped draft Fred Warner in San Francisco. Styles’ game is similar.
8. Saints – Miami (FL) EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.
Bain’s sub-31-inch arms are a legitimate concern, but his production speaks for itself at a premium position. NFL teams have been aware of Bain’s recently reported off-field incident since last winter, and he was cleared of wrongdoing.
9. Chiefs – Utah T/G Spencer Fano
Short-armed (32 1/8 inches) but impressively athletic 36-game starter across three seasons at Utah. Fano earned the 2025 Outland Trophy and Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year. The Chiefs have question marks at both tackle spots and left guard.
10. Bengals – Ohio State S Caleb Downs
The Bengals need a field general on the back end to calm down a defense that hemorrhaged a league-high 6.2 yards per play. Downs’ calling card is his football intelligence. He was 2025’s Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top defensive back.
11. Dolphins – LSU CB Mansoor Delane
The rebuilding Dolphins need to devote their two first-round picks to safe bets at premium positions. The cleanest of this year’s top cornerback prospects, Delane yielded a paltry 31.0 passer rating when targeted last year.
12. Cowboys – Oregon S Dillon Thieneman
Last year’s Cowboys allowed a league-high 30.1 points per game. Thieneman is an outrageous athlete with 4.35 speed and a 41-inch vertical at 6-foot, 201. It’s no secret around the league that Dallas has its sights set on this safety class.
13. Rams – USC WR Makai Lemon
Davante Adams turns 34 late this year, while Puka Nacua’s off-field decision-making has raised red flags. Lemon is a physical, high-volume interior receiver fitting the Rams’ mold.
14. Ravens – Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq
New Ravens OC Declan Doyle’s 2025 Bears offense ranked top five in multiple-tight end usage. Isaiah Likely signed with the Giants, while Mark Andrews is running out of steam.
15. Bucs – Miami (FL) EDGE Akheem Mesidor
Already 25 years old. Mesidor was a menace throughout 2025, racking up 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss across from Rueben Bain Jr. Todd Bowles’ defense is always far more effective when it can affect the quarterback with four.
16. Jets – Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson
Many analysts consider Tyson this year’s top wideout prospect, but he was hurt every year in college. Tyson tore his ACL, MCL, and PCL in 2022, later fractured his collarbone, and dealt with lingering hamstring woes throughout the pre-draft phase. Tyson could still be a steal in the middle of Round 1.
17. Lions – Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor
The Taylor Decker era is over, and the Lions’ offensive line took a crippling step back last season. With Penei Sewell under contract through 2029, drafting Proctor would give the Lions an offensive tackle duo locked up for at least the next four seasons.
18. Vikings – Toledo S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
College takeaway machine at 6-foot-3, 201. Similarities to Derwin James. Future Hall of Fame Vikings S Harrison Smith, 37, is expected to retire.
19. Panthers – Georgia OT Monroe Freeling
LT Ikem Ekwonu tore his patellar tendon in Carolina’s playoff loss to the Rams. He likely won’t play a snap in 2026 and isn’t under contract for 2027. At 6-foot-8, 315, with nearly 35-inch arms, Freeling is built like an NFL blindside tackle and registered a 99th-percentile Relative Athletic Score.
20. Cowboys – Clemson EDGE T.J. Parker
Armed with two top-20 picks, Dallas needs to double down on defense. Not yet 22 years old, Parker banked 21.5 sacks in three seasons at Clemson.
21. Steelers – Penn State OG Olaivavega Ioane
Ioane would be a Day 1 starter at left guard in Pittsburgh after Isaac Seumalo departed in free agency. Ioane is a thick, powerful drive blocker who didn’t allow a sack in 2025.
22. Chargers – Texas A&M OG Chase Bisontis
The Bolts are getting back OTs Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt from injury, but both guard positions remain unresolved. Bisontis is a nasty, physical interior presence capable of winning quickly post-snap. He fits the Jim Harbaugh mold.
23. Eagles – Washington WR Denzel Boston
A trade sending A.J. Brown to New England seems inevitable. A traditional X receiver at 6-foot-4, 212, Boston makes tactical sense in Philly as a complement to versatile DeVonta Smith.
24. Browns – Arizona State OT Max Iheanachor
Ideal dimensions (6-foot-6/321) and athleticism (9.86 RAS) for an NFL offensive tackle. Yet Nigerian-born Iheanachor has only played football for five years. The non-competitive Browns have time to wait.
25. Bears – Utah OT Caleb Lomu
Injury-plagued Braxton Jones would be Chicago’s starting left tackle if the season began today. Due to a torn patellar tendon, incumbent LT Ozzy Trapilo may not play a snap in 2026. The Utes’ blindside protector for the last two seasons, Lomu is an exceptional athlete at 6-foot-6, 313, and allowed zero sacks in 2025.
26. Bills – Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr.
GM Brandon Beane shouldn’t stop bolstering Buffalo’s wideout room even after trading for D.J. Moore. Capable of winning inside and out, Cooper averaged over 2.0 yards per route run every season he played in college and scored 22 touchdowns over the past two years.
27. 49ers – Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy
Arguably the nation’s best corner in 2024, McCoy missed all of 2025 with an ACL tear. Mixed medical reports cause a mini-slide for McCoy, but he could be the steal of the draft here.
28. Texans – Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald
A fire hydrant at 6-foot-2, 326, McDonald was a productive enough Buckeye to earn Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year honors in 2025. His addition would make life easier on Texans EDGEs Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.
29. Chiefs – Tennessee CB Colton Hood
DC Steve Spagnuolo’s secondary is being remade following the departures of Trent McDuffie (Rams), Jaylen Watson (Rams), and Josh Williams (Titans). A physical man-to-man cover guy, Hood is built ideally at 6-foot, 193, with 4.44 speed and a springy 40.5-inch vertical.
30. Dolphins – Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion
Miami’s pass-catcher room is all but empty. A playmaker with the ball in his hands, Concepcion scored twice on punt returns in 2025, broke out at an early age, and has a knack for creating separation at all levels of the field. He’s a ready-made Jaylen Waddle replacement.
31. Patriots – Oklahoma EDGE R Mason Thomas
Thomas is a hyper-disruptive outside rusher who tallied 22 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks in the SEC over the last two seasons.
32. Seahawks – Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price
Kenneth Walker III signed with the Chiefs, and Zach Charbonnet tore his ACL on Jan. 17. Price is this year’s consensus No. 2 running back prospect behind college teammate Jeremiyah Love.
Just Missed: San Diego State CB Chris Johnson, Alabama QB Ty Simpson, Auburn EDGE Keldric Faulk, Texas A&M EDGE Cashius Howell, Georgia Tech G/C Keylan Rutledge, Georgia LB C.J. Allen, Clemson DT Peter Woods, Clemson OT Blake Miller, Florida DT Caleb Banks
