The 2026 NFL Draft is almost here. In collaboration with the Pod Like a Raven podcast, fellow sports journalists and show co-hosts Tim Horsey and Jace Evans helped me out to mock the first round of the draft. The episode is available here. Each pick is broken down in detail, including the different directions the Ravens could go with pick No. 14.
For this mock, I was randomly assigned the first pick (AB), followed by Tim (TH) and Jace (JE). The order continues from there. Here’s how the first round played out, along with analysis of the picks and draft board after every few selections.
1. Las Vegas Raiders (AB): Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
2. New York Jets (TH): Arvell Reese, LB/EDGE, Ohio State
3. Arizona Cardinals (JE): Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami
4. Tennessee Titans (AB): David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech
5. New York Giants (TH): Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
The Raiders, as expected, draft Mendoza to be their franchise QB as they begin another rebuild. With the Cardinals selecting Mauigoa, the Titans debate Bailey and Love. Tennessee has a need for talented playmakers on both sides of the ball. But in the end, new head coach Robert Saleh’s defensive identity wins out and the Titans can’t resist taking the best pure pass rusher in the draft. The Giants, meanwhile, establish their own identity as a run-first team in taking Love, a player many draft boards have as the best overall talent.
6. Cleveland Browns (JE): Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
7. Washington Commanders (AB): Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
8. New Orleans Saints (TH): Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU
9. Kansas City Chiefs (JE): Ruben Bain Jr., EDGE, Miami
10. New York Giants (via Cincinnati Bengals) (AB): Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
Washington does not currently have a receiver on its roster who caught 40 or more passes last year and would have loved for Tate to fall to them. Tate, however, gets selected by the Browns one pick before the Commanders. Washington instead takes the versatile Styles as heir apparent to Bobby Wagner. The Chiefs choose college production over combine measurables in taking Bain. The Giants, after their trade of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals, add a second cornerstone piece in the first 10 picks, this time on the defensive side.
11. Miami Dolphins (TH): Spencer Fano, OT, Utah
12. Dallas Cowboys (JE): Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee
13. Los Angeles Rams (via Atlanta Falcons) (AB): TRADE to Philadelphia Eagles — Makai Lemon, WR, USC
Speaking of teams that need help everywhere, Miami is in a full rebuild and takes the best available tackle in Fano to strengthen the trenches. Then the first splash trade of the draft occurs at No. 13. The Rams have few glaring holes on their roster and are in win-now mode with a 38-year-old Matthew Stafford. They also host the Super Bowl this February and take a swing at playing in it by trading No. 13 to the Eagles for disgruntled wide receiver A.J. Brown. The Eagles get younger (and cheaper) at the position with Lemon. The Rams build one of the best receiving trios in the NFL with Brown, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
14. Baltimore Ravens (TH): Olaivavega Ioane, G, Penn State
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (JE): Keldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn
16. New York Jets (via Indianapolis Colts) (AB): Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
17. Detroit Lions (TH): Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
On the clock at No. 14, the Ravens see pass-catchers Tyson and Kenyon Sadiq available but instead add a player many expect to start from day one and anchor an offensive line for a decade in Ioane. They also consider trading back a handful of spots to add draft capital and take Ioane later, but they stick at No. 14 to not give line-needy teams like the Lions and Steelers a chance to nab him. The Lions, with only one starting offensive lineman (Penei Sewell) left from the 2024 team that went 15-2, instead add Freeling to reestablish head coach Dan Campbell’s road-grader identity.
18. Minnesota Vikings (JE): Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon
19. Carolina Panthers (AB): Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon
20. Dallas Cowboys (via Green Bay Packers) (TH): Akheem Mesidor, EDGE, Miami
21. Pittsburgh Steelers (JE): Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama
22. Los Angeles Chargers (AB): Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah
Sadiq’s slide ends at No. 19 when Carolina selects him to lead its feeble tight end group. There has been a lot of buzz around the Cowboys packaging their two first-round picks in some way to move up into the top 10 or higher. In this mock, they keep what they have and get two top prospects to bolster their porous defense, which finished dead last in points allowed in 2025. The run on offensive linemen continues with Proctor, a mammoth three-year starter for the Tide, going to the Steelers and the nimble Lomu to the Chargers.
23. Philadelphia Eagles (TH): T.J. Parker, EDGE, Clemson
24. Cleveland Browns (via Jacksonville Jaguars) (JE): Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson
25. Chicago Bears (AB): Peter Woods, DT, Clemson
26. Buffalo Bills (TH): Cashius Howell, EDGE, Texas A&M
27. San Francisco 49ers (JE): Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo
The Browns use the selection they received in last year’s Travis Hunter deal to take Terrell, the younger brother of Atlanta starting cornerback A.J. Terrell. Otherwise, several playoff teams from 2025 improve their defensive lines during this run of picks. The 49ers draft McNeil-Warren, an intriguing prospect due to his 6-foot-4 frame and turnover prowess at Toledo. He had five interceptions and eight forced fumbles in his last three seasons.
28. Houston Texans (AB): Max Iheanachor, OT, Arizona State
29. Kansas City Chiefs (from Los Angeles Rams) (TH): KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M
30. Miami Dolphins (via Denver Broncos) (JE): Omar Cooper Jr., WR, Indiana
31. New England Patriots (AB): Blake Miller, OT, Clemson
32. Seattle Seahawks (TH): Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State
Houston and New England, both scarred from postseason losses in which their quarterback was under constant duress, take offensive linemen. The Super Bowl champion Seahawks lost several defensive starters in free agency and select Johnson, a playmaking corner and reigning Mountain West Conference co-Defensive Player of the Year, to close out the first round.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Penn State Athletics