2026 NFL Mock Draft: Updates After The National Championship

At long last, the longest College Football Playoff in history is over, and the Indiana Hoosiers have defeated the Miami Hurricanes to win their first football championship.

Meanwhile, the NFL playoffs have reached the NFC & AFC Championships, with only the Seahawks, Rams, Broncos and Patriots left in the postseason.

And that means it's time to update my 2026 NFL mock draft.

I'm not one to brag, but …

For the 2025 draft, I was No. 1 in big board accuracy and No. 3 in mock accuracy. Since 2020, I'm the No. 1 mocker in the known universe.

For all of our draft coverage, check out our Fantasy Life NFL Draft Hub.

2026 NFL Mock Draft - The First Round

The 2026 NFL draft order is set for the top 28 picks.

For the remaining four, I'm using a combination of postseason seeding, consensus odds to win the Super Bowl, and my own personal postseason projections.

Every week this postseason, you can access my team projections in our Fantasy Life Game Models (accessible with a FantasyLife+ subscription).

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Methodology For My 2026 NFL Mock Draft

Here's an outline of my mock process.

1. Identify the 32 players most likely to go in Round 1.
2. Order players correctly within their position groups.
3. Match teams with positions of need.
4. Attempt to mock players within their likely draft ranges.

No trades: I don't like stacking randomness on top of chaos. Sure, a mock without projected trades isn't realistic … but it might be more accurate.

Analysis Of My 2026 NFL Mock Draft

As we get closer to the draft, I'll provide pick-by-pick analysis in my mocks. For now, here are some general thoughts.

Quarterbacks

This is not the class that was promised.

In my way-too-early May 2025 mock, I had five QBs in Round 1.

• Arch Manning (Texas): Staying in school one more year.
• LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina): Returning to school.
• Drew Allar (Penn State): Season-ending ankle injury has impacted draft stock.
• Garrett Nussmeier (LSU): Benched midseason after struggling with abdominal injury.
• Cade Klubnik (Clemson): Regressed in final season (8.4 AY/A as junior, 7.6 as senior).

This list is a reminder that no one knows anything. Not one of these guys is in my updated mock.

Based just on vibes, this class feels a little bit like the 2022 cohort (Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder, Malik Willis). All three of them had hype, but only one landed in Round 1.

When we get to May and look back, I won't be surprised if we see just one QB in Round 1: Fernando Mendoza. (At least that's my early read right now.)

Check out my Fernando Mendoza scouting report.

With the exception of 2024 (I'm looking at you, Michael Penix and Bo Nix), QBs almost always go later than we expect.

Wide Receivers

This is a decent year for the position, but athletic testing will determine a lot. If a number of WRs tear up the combine, we could see six WRs go in Round 1, maybe more.

But if this class has modest pre-draft workouts, the number of WRs in the top 32 could drop to just two.

With five currently in my mock, I'm taking something of an optimistic view on this class. All of the WRs have imperfections—but enough of them have Round 1 qualities.

Defensive Front Seven

This is the strength of the class. 

QB Fernando Mendoza is all but a lock to go No. 1 to the Raiders—but immediately after him, I have three straight EDGEs going off the board in Arvell Reese, Rueben Bain and David Bailey.

Is that aggressive?

Maybe—but this class is relatively bereft of no-doubt blue-chip prospects, and in their absence, the players who check the most boxes this year are generally in the defensive front seven.

After the EDGE triumvirate of Reese, Bain and Bailey, I have another three EDGEs (as well as three DTs and two LBs) going in Round 1.

And that doesn't take into account the five EDGEs I have slated for the borderline of Rounds 1-2.

Offensive players are usually the guys who get most of the attention, but I expect Day 1 of the draft to be heavy on defensive contributors this year.

The No. 1 Pick in Dynasty Rookie Drafts

In superflex leagues, positional scarcity may push QBs up the board, but in non-SF formats, the No. 1 pick in dynasty rookie drafts is RB Jeremiyah Love.

He's just 20 years old, he won the 2025 Doak Walker Award as the top RB in college football, and over the past two seasons, he put up 3,014 yards and 40 TDs from scrimmage in 28 games.

With a three-down skill set and workhorse frame (6-0, 214 lbs.), Love could be one of the NFL's top backs as a rookie.

If he lands in a functional offense—unlike Ashton Jeanty this past year—he could reasonably draw Round 1 investment in fantasy drafts for season-long, best ball and Guillotine Leagues™.

I currently have him mocked to the Chiefs at No. 9 … but I strongly considered him to the Commanders and Saints at Nos. 7 & 8.

And I even thought about the Giants at No. 5 for half a second.

Anything can happen in the draft, and RB isn't widely regarded as a premium position, but I'd be surprised if Love made it out of the top 10.

Four Teams Control the Draft

Attention always goes to the team with the No. 1 overall pick—and the Raiders are certainly intriguing—but I tend to think the franchises with multiple selections in Round 1 usually control the draft.

This year, we have four such teams: The Jets, Browns, Cowboys and Rams.

Each of these teams has key questions entering the postseason:

• Jets: Is there a QB who deserves to go at No. 2? (Answer: No.) If they think this is a class with only one viable QB, will they attempt to package their two picks to move up one spot?
• Browns: Do they believe that QB Shedeur Sanders is the guy? And if not, will there be a QB they like enough at No. 6? (Answer: Probably not.)
• Cowboys: They need help all over the defense. Do they invest both Round 1 picks in that side of the ball?
• Rams: Is now the time to find QB Matthew Stafford's eventual successor? Or do they look to fortify an already-strong roster with OT and CB reinforcements?

"Must Include" Prospects in Round 1

So much will change over the next few weeks (and months), but right now, here are the 26 players I feel I must include in current mock iterations.

I think they all have a 75% chance (or better) to go in Round 1 (unless something drastically changes between now and the draft).

• QB: Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), Ty Simpson (Alabama)
• RB: Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame)
• WR: Carnell Tate (Ohio State), Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State), Makai Lemon (USC), Denzel Boston (Washington)
• TE: Kenyon Sadiq (Oregon)
• OT: Francis Mauigoa (Miami), Spencer Fano (Utah), Kadyn Proctor (Alabama), Caleb Lomu (Utah)
• OG: Olaivavega Ioane (Penn State)
• EDGE: Arvell Reese (Ohio State), Rueben Bain (Miami), David Bailey (Texas Tech), Keldric Faulk (Auburn)
• DT: Peter Woods (Clemson), Kayden McDonald (Ohio State), Caleb Banks (Florida)
• LB: Sonny Styles (Ohio State), CJ Allen (Georgia)
• CB: Jermod McCoy (Tennessee), Mansoor Delane (LSU), Avieon Terrell (Clemson)
• S: Caleb Downs (Ohio State)

If not for his season-ending ACL tear, I also would've included WR Chris Bell (Louisville) on this list, but now—like CBs Benjamin Morrison and Shavon Revel last year—he will probably fall to Day 2 due to injury.

Also, the decision to return to school by two Oregon Ducks—QB Dante Moore and DT A'Mauri Washington—has solidified for me the Round 1 status of QB Ty Simpson and DT Caleb Banks.

"Want to Include" Prospects for Round 1

After the aforementioned players, here are the remaining guys I definitely want in Round 1 (as of now).

• WR: Kevin "KC" Concepcion (Texas A&M)
• EDGE: Cashius Howell (Texas A&M), T.J. Parker (Clemson)
• DT: A'Mauri Washington (Oregon)
• CB: Brandon Cisse (South Carolina), Colton Hood (Tennessee)

Borderline Prospects for Round 1

With QB Dante Moore and DT A'Mauri Washington returning to Oregon, I have one more spot available in Round 1.

Here are my top seven candidates to fill that spot.

• OT: Monroe Freeling (Georgia), Gennings Dunker (Iowa)
• OG: Emmanuel Pregnon (Oregon)
• EDGE: Akheem Mesidor (Miami), Zion Young (Missouri), R. Mason Thomas (Oklahoma), LT Overton (Alabama)

Of these eight, I'm going with Freeling: On the OL, I have him ahead of Dunker and Pregnon, and the EDGE depth in this class makes OT in Round 1 more of a priority.

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