- The Rams address their cornerback need before adding a top quarterback: Los Angeles doubles down on SEC talent in the first round, selecting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson after opening the draft with LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane.
- Sonny Styles comes off the board as LB1: The Ohio State standout boasts one of the most impressive grading profiles in the class, and he goes ahead of teammate Arvell Reese in this mock draft.
- 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
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With the NFL Scouting Combine set to begin next week, the 2026 NFL Draft season is about to kick into another gear. Before narratives shift based on what unfolds in Indianapolis, here is a three-round mock draft.
Round 1
1. Las Vegas Raiders: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
At this point, there is little debate about whether the Raiders will use the No. 1 overall pick on Mendoza. The Indiana quarterback posted a 5.7% big-time throw rate and a 2.6% turnover-worthy play rate in 2025, helping him earn a 91.6 PFF overall grade for the season.
2. New York Jets: S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
Downs notched an 85.0-plus PFF overall grade in each of the past three seasons and is firmly in the conversation as the best overall player in this draft. Positional value will determine when he ultimately comes off the board, but look back at the 2022 NFL Draft and consider how much earlier Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton would go in a redo.
3. Arizona Cardinals: EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech
One of the hottest debates of draft season will center on whether Bailey or Miami edge defender Rueben Bain Jr. should be the first edge defender selected. Both are excellent prospects, but Bailey gets the nod after producing a 93.8 PFF pass-rush grade in 2025.
4. Tennessee Titans: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami (FL)
The Titans are in an ideal position to let the board come to them and take the best player available, which in this scenario is Bain. He generated an outstanding 23.5% PFF pass-rush win rate in 2025 and offers the versatility to kick inside as an interior rusher.
5. New York Giants: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
While I agree with the recent declaration from multiple draft analysts that Ohio State’s Arvell Reese is a better prospect as a linebacker than an edge defender, I think his teammate is the best linebacker in this draft class. Styles’ grading profile is similar to that of San Francisco 49ers star linebacker Fred Warner from his BYU days, and he could easily be a decade-long NFL starter.
| Sonny Styles | Fred Warner | |
| Negatively Graded Play Rate (Coverage) | 5.6% | 5.9% |
| Positively Graded Play Rate (Coverage) | 4.6% | 4.2% |
| Negatively Graded Play Rate (Run) | 6.4% | 5.9% |
| Positively Graded Play Rate (Run) | 10.2% | 10.7% |
6. Cleveland Browns: WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State
The Browns will likely address their offense early in the 2026 NFL Draft, perhaps with either a pass catcher or an offensive lineman. Tate has the size and skill set to be an elite X receiver at the next level after averaging 3.02 yards per route run, catching 85.7% of his contested targets and producing a 0.0% drop rate in 2025.
7. Washington Commanders: RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
An edge defender would be a strong consideration here for the Commanders, and they’d likely sprint the card in for either Rueben Bain Jr. or David Bailey. However, there’s something to be said for adding an elite talent if one falls. Love, who earned PFF overall grades above 90.0 in each of the past two seasons, could pair Jayden Daniels to give the Commanders their version of the Baltimore Ravens‘ rushing attack featuring Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.
8. New Orleans Saints: EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M
The Saints could go in several directions here, but Howell makes sense because of the class’ drop-off at edge defender after him. He earned a 90.3 PFF overall grade and produced a 19.9% PFF pass-rush win rate in 2025, and he could form a formidable duo with Chase Young in New Orleans.
9. Kansas City Chiefs: WR Makai Lemon, USC
After making some improvements to their offensive line over the past couple of drafts, the Chiefs now have a top-10 pick to try to give Patrick Mahomes his best wide receiver since Tyreek Hill. Lemon averaged 3.13 yards per route run and dropped just 2.5% of the catchable targets thrown his way this past season.
10. Cincinnati Bengals: OL Francis Mauigoa, Miami (FL)
The Bengals could look to address their defensive woes in Round 1, especially if positional value causes safety Caleb Downs to fall to this spot, but with the way this mock draft has played out, an offensive lineman makes a lot of sense. Mauigoa spent the past three seasons at right tackle but could easily kick inside to guard and start immediately. He is coming off an 85.8 PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets in 2025.
11. Miami Dolphins: WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
The Dolphins are releasing Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle has been the subject of trade rumors over the past year. Even if Waddle sticks around, this is a good opportunity for the Dolphins to secure another top receiving talent. Tyson earned an 89.0 PFF overall grade against man coverage and averaged 2.37 yards per route run in 2025.
12. Dallas Cowboys: LB Arvell Reese, Ohio State
There’s a lot to like about Reese as an off-ball linebacker, and he earned an 86.5 PFF run-defense grade in 2025. His average depth of tackle against the run was just 1.9 yards downfield, and he figures to test well during the pre-draft process.
13. Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons): CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
This draft falls perfectly for the Rams, who have the top player at their biggest position of need sitting right in front of them. Delane earned an elite 90.7 PFF coverage grade and allowed a catch on just 40.0% of the passes thrown into his coverage in 2025.
14. Baltimore Ravens: WR Denzel Boston, Washington
If Declan Doyle brings over the scheme that the Chicago Bears deployed in 2025, then the Ravens will have three wide receivers on the field significantly more in 2026. Right now, they don’t have the talent to do so, so Boston would be a strong selection. He would give them a different type of receiver, too, coming off a season where he hauled in 76.9% of his contested targets.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
The Buccaneers would likely love to have either of the two Ohio State linebackers, but McCoy would be a great fallback option for a team that could lose cornerback Jamel Dean to free agency. McCoy missed all of the 2025 season but earned an 87.0 PFF overall grade in 2024.
16. New York Jets (via Colts): DI Peter Woods, Clemson
The Jets continue to upgrade their defense with the second of their first-round draft picks, adding some talent to the interior defensive line. Woods is coming off his lowest-graded season in three years, but with PFF overall grades above 83.0 in both 2023 and 2024, the talent is clearly there.
17. Detroit Lions: EDGE Keldric Faulk, Auburn
Faulk carries some risk as a first-rounder because he didn’t prove to be an elite pass rusher in college. There were flashes, though, and given that he doesn’t turn 21 years old until September, he has plenty of time to develop. What we do know is that he is productive against the run, earning an 85.5 PFF run-defense grade in 2025. At 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds, he has the size to be a disruptive force in the NFL.
18. Minnesota Vikings: CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson
Terrell secured PFF overall grades above 80.0 in each of the past two seasons, playing almost 1,500 defensive snaps in that span. In addition to his coverage skills, he is a willing run defender who earned an 85.2 PFF run-defense grade in 2025.
19. Carolina Panthers: DI Caleb Banks, Florida
Banks flashed at the Senior Bowl after returning to action for Florida late in the year due to injury. He has the size that NFL teams look for on the defensive interior, and he flashed both as a pass rusher and against the run in college, recording four sacks back in 2024.
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