2026 Nfl Mock Draft Reid S Predictions On First Round Picks

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 11, 2026, 5:12 AM

2026 nfl mock draft reid s predictions on first round picks

With the 2026 NFL Draft looming in April, analyst Jordan Reid has released a detailed projection of first-round picks, offering insights into potential team-player pairings and positional trends. As teams across the league continue their evaluations, Reid’s mock draft serves as an early framework for how the opening round might unfold. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 1 overall pick. Reid suggests they are most likely to select a quarterback, addressing a significant need at the position following recent transitions within their roster. Although specific player names are subject to change pending the scouting combine and remaining college evaluations, quarterback remains a focal point for the Raiders’ first selection.

Among the notable players rising up the draft board is running back Jeremiyah Love. His stock has strengthened due to a standout college season, vaulting him into potential first-round status. The value of running backs in early draft rounds has fluctuated in recent years, but Love’s versatility and performance may place him high among offensive prospects. Ohio State appears poised to have a strong presence in the first round once again. Reid’s mock draft includes several Buckeyes projected as early picks, continuing a tradition of Ohio State producing NFL-ready talent. This potential dominance highlights the program’s ongoing success in developing players at multiple positions.

Reid’s mock also touches on positional trends throughout the draft. Quarterbacks and offensive linemen are expected to be well-represented among early selections, while edge rushers and defensive backs also feature prominently. Team needs, combined with individual performances during the college football season and pre-draft process, will continue to shape projections leading up to April. The 2025 NFL regular season is now wrapped, and the league's 14-team postseason field is set. It also means that the 18 teams that failed to make the postseason now know exactly where their first-round selections for the 2026 NFL Draft will fall. The Las Vegas Raiders earned the No.

1 overall selection, and it is widely believed they will take a quarterback with the No. 1 pick. Many presume that it will be Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, but could Dante Moore ultimately emerge as the Raiders' quarterback of choice? Elsewhere, pass rushers like Arvell Reese, Rueben Bain Jr. and David Bailey are getting a lot of love as potential top-10 selections. Fittingly, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is also getting that same sort of attention.

How could the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft look? Below are the latest expert projections with the top 18 picks set ahead of the wild-card round of the playoffs. Paul Finebaum and Stephen A. Smith explain why they are currently favoring Indiana's Fernando Mendoza over Oregon's Dante Moore as the top pick in the draft. (2:49) The 2025 NFL regular season concluded Sunday, which means the 2026 NFL draft order is set for the first 18 picks.

We now know the Raiders will have the No. 1 selection. So let's project which prospect Las Vegas might take and how all 32 first-round picks could play out with a brand-new mock draft. Keep in mind that we have three-plus months until the draft starts April 23 in Pittsburgh. There are still three games left in the 2025 college football season, too. Some players could decide to head back to school before declaration day later this month, while others could surprisingly leave early to join the class.

We also have predraft events such as all-star games and the combine, which will shake up boards. And let's not forget that every NFL team's needs will continue to evolve as they take inventory of their rosters this offseason and sign players in free agency to fill voids. That all said, this is where things stand right now. For this mock draft, we know the order for pick Nos. 1-18 but then used ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) to project the order for Nos. 19-32, covering slots for the 14 NFL playoff teams.

Four teams also have multiple picks: the Rams (from the Falcons), Jets (from the Colts), Browns (from the Jaguars) and Cowboys (from the Packers). Here are my projections for all 32 first-round picks in 2026, starting with a new QB in Las Vegas. (Underclassmen are noted with an asterisk.) The regular season has concluded, which means the first 18 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft are locked into place. Of course, there could be trades to shake that up — even the ones that we least expect. With the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets picking 1-2 in the draft, people are expecting the clear-cut top quarterbacks in the class to go off the board in that order.

But what if a wild card entered the chat with a trade offer to shake things up? That's where we're heading at the top of our first post-regular season 2026 NFL Mock Draft. Obviously, there's still quite a lot that needs to be decided in the NFL Playoffs, and then in free agency. That is to say, none of this should be written in stone just yet. However, with how things currently stand, we're projecting the entire first round of the 2026 draft, starting with the Raiders on the clock and making an obvious selection that, frankly, might be less obvious... Fernando Mendoza should be the No.

1 pick in the 2026 draft, especially for a Raiders team that needs to not grasp at straws to find an answer at quarterback. He's a more athletic version of Kirk Cousins or Jared Goff (though I wouldn't call him a super athlete by any stretch), and that type of stability with a core of Ashton Jeanty and... Having said that, I'm not entirely convinced that the Raiders won't eventually get overly enamored with Dante Moore's upside, but for now, the pick is Mendoza. The thought of the Jets not taking a quarterback at No. 2 has been rattling around in my brain. Naturally, I had to explore what that would look like.

And with the Arizona Cardinals evaluating the future of Kyler Murray, what if the also quarterback-needy Cards traded up one spot, sent Murray to the Jets to answer the QB question, and then took... Because we're so early in the offseason, I'm not sure how in play this is — but I can say it's not unrealistic. And for the Cardinals, I love this direction. There have been so many ill-advised draft decisions over the years that has led to such a mismatched roster. Moore can be an equalizer in that, a player with C.J. Stroud-like poise and arm talent that could start to elevate this team with a new coaching regime to the next level.

It's sad to think that the 2025 NFL season is nearing its end, but for many fan bases around the league, the end of this season will mark the beginning of renewed hope. For more than half the league, this season didn't go the way everyone expected. Or maybe in the case of some teams, it went exactly as expected, and that's part of the problem. Thankfully, there's a new batch of prospects coming up to the league, but at the most premium positions (QB, OT, CB, WR, EDGE), beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. With big names like Arch Manning returning to school for another season, who is going 1st overall? Will quarterback-needy teams be able to bank on this year's draft class?

We're making picks for the entire first round in this all-new 2026 NFL mock draft. The Raiders play against the New York Giants in what could end up being a battle for the #1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. And right now, the Raiders need it more. They even put Brock Bowers on IR to give themselves a better chance. Okay, we can’t say that as fact, that’s more tongue in cheek, but if the boot fits… The Raiders need a QB to build around, and Fernando Mendoza looks like he’s got what it takes to come run the point effectively.

Paul Finebaum and Stephen A. Smith explain why they are currently favoring Indiana's Fernando Mendoza over Oregon's Dante Moore as the top pick in the draft. (2:49) The 2025 NFL regular season concluded Sunday, which means the 2026 NFL draft order is set for the first 18 picks. We now know the Raiders will have the No. 1 selection.

So let's project which prospect Las Vegas might take and how all 32 first-round picks could play out with a brand-new mock draft. Keep in mind that we have three-plus months until the draft starts April 23 in Pittsburgh. There are still three games left in the 2025 college football season, too. Some players could decide to head back to school before declaration day later this month, while others could surprisingly leave early to join the class. We also have predraft events such as all-star games and the combine, which will shake up boards. And let's not forget that every NFL team's needs will continue to evolve as they take inventory of their rosters this offseason and sign players in free agency to fill voids.

That all said, this is where things stand right now. For this mock draft, we know the order for pick Nos. 1-18 but then used ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) to project the order for Nos. 19-32, covering slots for the 14 NFL playoff teams. Four teams also have multiple picks: the Rams (from the Falcons), Jets (from the Colts), Browns (from the Jaguars) and Cowboys (from the Packers). Here are my projections for all 32 first-round picks in 2026, starting with a new QB in Las Vegas.

(Underclassmen are noted with an asterisk.) It’s been a while since we’ve done a mock draft roundup, but the season’s over and playoffs start tomorrow, so let’s dive into it again. The Washington Commanders’ season has thankfully ended, and they finished with a 5-12 record, and the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft. Head coach Dan Quinn has already made several changes to the coaching staff, with OC Kliff Kingsbury moving on, and DC Joe Whitt Jr and OL coach Bobby Johnson fired. This roundup has 43 mock drafts and 21 of them feature EDGE rushers.

2026 Nfl Mock Draft Reid S Predictions On First Round Picks

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