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Nfl Mock Draft 2026 New Year Looms The Draft Network

Bonisiwe Shabane
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nfl mock draft 2026 new year looms the draft network

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. By the time you reach Week 17 of the NFL season, just as many teams are eyeing the 2026 NFL Draft and free agency as they are thinking about the playoffs.

Heck, even some playoff teams, already have one eye on the NFL Draft, knowing a Super Bowl run isn't in the cards. But with the New York Giants currently holding the No. 1 overall pick, draft drama is already brewing as multiple teams position themselves to trade up for a quarterback. The New York Jets and Cleveland Browns are the obvious options, as they should look to jump ahead of the Las Vegas Raiders. But what about sleeper teams like the Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams? They might have even more incentive to trade up for their choice of Fernando Mendoza or Dante Moore Jr.

One of them does exactly that in our latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft, which projects the entire first round. It's become undeniable that the Tua Tagovailoa era is over in Miami. But with it looking like Mike McDaniel could be the one who sticks around, the Dolphins need surety at quarterback and Quinn Ewers hasn't shown those signs yet. It's time to make an aggressive trade, and Fernando Mendoza would be perfect in this offense. His decisiveness, plus arm and mobility would reinvigorate the Miami attack and, though it'll cost likely multiple first-rounders, it'd be worth it to reset this franchise's trajectory. The race for QB1 between Mendoza and Dante Moore has gotten closer throughout the year, but the Raiders should happily take whichever quarterback falls to them at No.

2. Vegas misplayed their timeline with the Geno Smith deal, but getting out of it and moving on to Moore makes perfect sense. He's got all the tools, but just might need a bit more experience and polish. However, he would allow the Raiders, who are flush with cap space, to build around Moore and some other attractive pieces to make the elevation they'd hoped to this past season. There's a chance that the Browns make a draft move for a quarterback in 2026, but it's not a guarantee. They could also either stick with Shedeur Sanders or make a move for a veteran.

That seems more likely right now, which brings wide receiver to the forefront given how lackluster that corps is right now. Jordyn Tyson remains my WR1 by a hair over Carnell Tate. The ASU product has the size and movement skills to be a No. 1 at the next level, and the Browns direly need that no matter who is under center. A curated, up-to-date list of the best 2026 NFL mock drafts and draft resources from Draft King. High-visibility mocks from network and national writers.

Ideal for a broad view of the 2026 class. Draft specialists and independent sites that often spot trends and sleepers before the big networks. Great for seeing where the draft community as a whole is trending. Perfect if you follow one franchise closely. The 2026 NFL Draft order is now set for the non-playoff teams at the end of the 2025 regular season. Outside of the Falcons and Colts, who have traded their first-round picks, 16 teams know for sure when they are picking first on April 23.

From the growing obvious choice at the top based on need and talent to the teams who just missed the postseason, here's the latest look at Sporting News' projections also with the College Football... MORE: Ranking NFL playoff teams 1-14 based on Super Bowl 60 chances Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (6-5, 225 pounds) The 2026 NFL Draft is now in about five months, and with the college football season set to end in the coming weeks, the NFL Draft will become center-stage. It's really an ideal time of the year, as we still have the rest of the regular season, the playoffs, and the exciting free agency period. And after all of that, the 2026 NFL Draft happens.

It's a great time to be a football fan, and it's a very interesting time for teams that are slated to pick high in the coming NFL Draft, as those front offices could truly... The QB class in 2026 appears to be quite strong, and our latest NFL mock draft does have a run of QBs in the first round, so let's dive into that here. The Tennessee Titans simply need to stack roster talent, and Cam Ward won’t develop until the Titans fill each side of the ball with better players, period. While Tennessee could field offers to trade out of the first overall pick, they keep the pick and take Rueben Bain Jr, a top-tier pass rusher. The New York Giants might have something special in Jaxson Dart, and with no realistic OL prospects to take this high, they give Dart another weapon and grab Carnell Tate from Ohio State. With Malik Nabers recovering from a torn ACL, Tate could be the go-to guy in the meantime.

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