PITTSBURGH, PA — With Paris and Milan Fashion Week SS 2026 in the books and the 2026 NFL Draft less than one month away, things are gonna be more in flux in terms of draft picks and where various players may land.
Here is my updated mock draft with some major changes.
1.) Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana: Still a lock at No.1. Unless a mind-blowing offer is made, pencil Mendoza in for the Silver and Black here.
2.) New York Jets: Arvell Reese: OLB/EDGE – Ohio State: With fellow linebacker teammate Sonny Styles and Miami pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr. on the board, and growing odds of Greg Bailey possibly being in the mix,the Jets go with the uber-athletic hybrid edge rusher, who can step in immediately in NYC.
3.) Washington Commanders (via trade with Arizona): David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech: Having just let QB Kyler Murray leave in free agency, and in a division that has Sam Darnold, Brock Purdy and Matthew Stafford, the Cardinals need all the help they can get in getting the other team’s passer down. Bailey helps them with that right away.
4.) Tennessee Titans: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame: Either the biggest reach of the whole draft or the scone coming of Saquon Barkley, for the sake of Cam Ward and new head coach Robert Saleh, Love had better be the latter.
5.) New York Giants: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State : With John Harbaugh now in charge of Big Blue, the former Ravens head coach selects his new version of Kyle Hamilton in the former Ohio State national champion and new chess piece for his defense.
6.) Cleveland Browns: Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State: This pick could go either way, unless Dallas makes a Godfather-level of an offer, Cleveland GM Andrew Berry resists the urge to trade down and select the best player on the board, and a position of dire need for QB1 Shedeur Sanders
7.) Arizona Cardinals (via trade with Washington): Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami (FL): Arguably the best OL prospect in the draft, whomever is under center in Arizona will have some much needed protection in the tough NFC West.
8.) New Orleans Saints: Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State: With Chris Olave on one side, and an emerging QB1 in Tyler Shough set to take the next step in 2026, the former Sun Devil standout will step in nicely as WR2 down in the Big Easy.
9.) Kansas City Chiefs: Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia: If the massive Freeling manages to slide down this far to the Chiefs at No.9, Mahomes will bust out of his walking boot to make this pick himself!
10.) Cincinnati Bengals: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State: Despite Reuben Bain Jr. on the board still, the Bengals with the former Buckeye national champion to help be the man in the middle of their defense in the post Trey Hendrickson era.
11.) Miami Dolphins: Makai Lemon, WR, USC: Trading away Jaylen Waddle to Denver, and giving their new QB1 Malik Willis an explosive WR1 in the vein of Tyreke Hill makes this an easy pick.
12.) Dallas Cowboys: Rueben Bain, EDGE, Miami (FL): Short arm concerns aside, the Cowboys pull the trigger on Bain, who immediately becomes a problem in Dallas.
13.) Los Angeles Rams (via Atlanta Falcons): Spencer Fano, OT, Utah: With Matthew Stafford deciding to run it back one last time, the Rams invest in his protection up front in the stud Utah offensive tackle.
14.) Baltimore Ravens: Peter Wood, DL, Clemson: With Hendrickson on one side, the Ravens decide to go younger and give him some help up front on the DL.
15.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Olaivavega Ioane, IOL , Penn State: You can only afford to protect your quarterback at all costs, especially in the always wild and crazy NFC South.
16.) New York Jets (via Indianapolis Colts): Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama: The second worst-kept secret in the draft. The Jets simply wait for their future franchise QB1 to slide to them here. Simpson is either the guy or another bust, but he gets to sit behind Geno Smith for a year.
17.) Detroit Lions: Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee: You can never have enough good DB’s in the NFC North. Facing Caleb Williams, Kyler Murray and Jordan Love two times a year makes this an obvious choice.
18.) Minnesota Vikings: Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU: Same as the Lions, you’re in the same division as Caleb Williams, Jared Goff and Jordan Love. Only difference is that Minnesota has a better defense than Detroit, grabbing Delane here is an almost a steal.
19.) Carolina Panthers: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo: After seeing the success of Seattle drafting their own “eraser” on defense last year in Ewanunori, en route to a Super Bowl title, Carolina decides to burrow from the Hawks in grabbing arguably the second best safety in the draft here.
20.) Dallas Cowboys (via Green Bay): Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson: In a division that has the likes of Jayden Daniels, Jaxson Dart and Jalen Hurts at QB and Malik Nabers, A.J. Brown and Terry McLaurin on the outside, Dallas needs all the secondary help they can get.
21.) Pittsburgh Steelers: Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon: As usual, Pittsburgh lets the board fall to them, and in the brutal AFC North, having one of the best safeties playing centerfield is always a good thing.
22.) Los Angeles Chargers: Kayden McDonald, DL, Ohio State: Another former Buckeye going to pay for a former Wolverine head coach, McDonald helps give the Chargers some much needed beef up front if they’re gonna keep Patrick Mahomes, Bo Nix and Fernando Mendoza in check.
23.) Philadelphia Eagles: Denzel Boston, WR, Washington: Either the fore-mentioned Brown’s replacement at WR or a new teammate and WR2, Boston falling to Philly at No.23 is just scary unfair.
24.) Cleveland Browns (via Jacksonville Jaguars): Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah: The Browns finally resist the urge to be cute and stick to the board. In landing possibly the best OL in the draft, Sanders gets his LT protector for the next decade.
25.) Chicago Bears: Keldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn: Being one player away from a possible Super Bowl window, the Bears load up on defense upfront in the former Tigers pass rusher.
26.) Buffalo Bills: Omar Cooper Jr., WR, Indiana: Possibly the best technical receiver in the draft, Cooper Jr. could emerge as the best WR in this draft and Josh Allen’s new WR1.
27.) San Francisco 49ers: Kevin Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M: After dealing Deebo Samuel to the Commanders and signing future Hall of Fame WR Mike Evans in free agency, the Niners strike gold in landing the first explosive Concepcion here.
28.) Houston Texans: Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama: After a rough 2025 season which saw QB1 CJ Stroud sacked 23 times, the Texans add some much needed beef up front to protect their franchise signal-caller in the massive 6’7, 366-pound behemoth out of Alabama.
29.) Kansas City Chiefs (via Los Angeles Rams): Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon: After somehow landing OT Monroe Freeling and giving Mahomes some protection up front, the Chiefs double down on offense in landing the eventual successor to future Hall of Fame TE Travis Kelce in the athletic and explosive Sadiq.
30.) Miami Dolphins (via Denver Broncos): Akheem Mesidor, EDGE, Miami (FL): Despite being 25 already, the Dolphins land a real gem in the high-motor and relentless Mesidor, who gets to stay in South Florida and play at his old college home field.
31.) New England Patriots: Blake Miller, OT, Clemson: After seeing Will Campbell get turned into a human traffic cone in the Super Bowl, and at various points of the season, the Pats double down on OL this draft in adding the very talented Miller to give QB1 Drake Maye some more help up front.
32.) Seattle Seahawks: Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee: Welcome to the Dark Side. The defending Super Bowl champions land one of the best CB’s at the end of the first round in the aggressive Hood.