Happy holidays everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the festive season. We’re coming down to the wire in the NFL, with just two weeks (and one game) to go in the regular season before the playoffs kick off.
We’re through the first round of the College Football Playoff, and as more teams get eliminated, we’ll get more draft decisions from the prospects we’re still waiting to hear from. In the meantime, I have a new mock draft for you all, reflecting the new results, new tape I’ve watched, and evolving draft order and team needs.
If you want to learn more about these prospects, check out my updated position rankings at the links below. I’ve done four positions so far, with more to come soon:
Draft order is based on Tankathon’s updated draft order.
1 — New York Giants: Miami ED Rueben Bain Jr.
The top player in this class is very clear. If you aren’t in the quarterback market at No. 1, you’re taking Bain. Speed, power, short-area quickness, bend — Bain has it all. He’s the type of game-changing pass rusher you can build a defense around.
2 — Las Vegas Raiders: Oregon QB Dante Moore
It’s a two-man class at the top at quarterback, and Moore gets the nod for me as the top passer. He’s such a natural in the pocket, navigating traffic and delivering pinpoint-accurate passes. Moore can dissect a defense from the pocket or make plays on the move, and the ball snaps out of his hand with such natural feel. It remains an open question if he will declare, as the lucrative nature of NIL contracts has made it more enticing for prospects to stay and develop. But it’s still hard to turn down a chance at being a top-five pick.
3 — Cleveland Browns: Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson
The Browns have the worst receiving corps in football this year, and Tyson would immediately upgrade it. He’s a natural separator, using his size and quick feet to dominate the middle of the field. There isn’t a route he can’t run nor a role he can’t fit in an offense. Cleveland can funnel their passing attack through him next year.
4 — New York Jets: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza
The odds-on favorite to be the first player taken in the 2026 draft, Mendoza is putting together a phenomenal season for the Hoosiers. He has incredible arm talent and reads the field well, executing the offense on rhythm and playing with great anticipation and timing.
5 — Tennessee Titans: Ohio State WR Carnell Tate
With a series of high-difficulty catches on his tape, Tate has incredible body control and hands. He’s faster than defenders expect and uses that to his advantage, tempoing his routes to gain easy separation all over the field. Tate has all the makings of a No. 1 receiver.
6 — Arizona Cardinals: Ohio State LB Arvell Reese
An uber-athlete at linebacker, Reese’s true gifts lie in the pass-rushing department. He has the length and size to bother tackles at the NFL level and pairs it with freakish speed and get-off.
7 — Washington Commanders: Ohio State S Caleb Downs
The most fundamentally sound player in this class, Downs will elevate the play of everyone around him in the secondary. He takes on a massive amount of responsibility and makes plays in every area of the field.
8 — New Orleans Saints: Clemson DT Peter Woods
A formidable interior pass rusher, Woods is solid against the run but gets to flash his exciting upside when he chases quarterbacks. Few people on this planet can move the way he does at his size.
9 — Cincinnati Bengals: Utah OT Spencer Fano
The best offensive lineman in this class, Fano has immense upside, even if he’s still learning to put it all together. In the run game, he’s a mauler, using his strength and flexibility to connect on blocks in space and erase defenders from the play.
10 — Miami Dolphins: LSU CB Mansoor Delane
Delane is the favorite to be the first cornerback taken, and Miami needs reinforcements in the secondary badly. He moves so fluidly and competes at the catch point. Delane is silky-smooth through his breaks and has the awareness to be a plus in zone coverage as well.
11 — Los Angeles Rams (via ATL): Ohio State LB Sonny Styles
The Rams can go best player available here, and that’s Styles. A true playmaker in the middle of the defense, he flies around the field, erasing zones in coverage or firing through the line to make tackles in the backfield.
12 — Kansas City Chiefs: Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love
The Chiefs have a lot of needs, but this fit is too tempting to pass up. Kansas City cannot run the ball, and they need more production at this position. Love could be used by Chiefs HC Andy Reid the way RB Jahmyr Gibbs is used in Detroit.
13 — Dallas Cowboys: Texas Tech ED David Bailey
The Cowboys need to keep adding to their defense, especially at edge rusher. Obviously Micah Parsons was a loss just before the start of the season, but three more key rotation players are due to be free agents. Bailey is a potent pass rusher with spectacular burst off the line and a dizzying array of moves to win with. He’s a plus against the run, too, which Dallas desperately needs.
14 — Baltimore Ravens: Penn State G Olaivavega Ioane
A smooth pass protector who’s equally effective across multiple run blocking schemes, Ioane could easily go higher than this. He’s the top interior offensive lineman in the class.
15 — Minnesota Vikings: Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy
McCoy’s draft range is impossible to determine right now. He didn’t play at all this season after suffering a torn ACL in January, and we likely won’t know his medical situation until the Combine, if not later. Still, his 2024 tape is that of a top 15 pick.
16 — Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tennessee ED Joshua Josephs
I have Josephs ranked higher than this. He’s an exceptional pass rusher, with long arms and ridiculous burst off the line. On top of that, he sets a hard edge in the run game. Bucs OLB Haason Reddick is on just a one-year deal and the team needs more juice on defense.
17 — Detroit Lions: Miami OT Francis Mauigoa
A true mauler of a right tackle, Mauigoa destroys defenders in drive blocking situations. He’s a bully on the line of scrimmage who made strides as a pass protector this year, learning to better use his length to his advantage.
18 — New York Jets (via IND): USC WR Makai Lemon
This is a dream scenario for the Jets after taking Mendoza with their first pick, as teams love to follow up a rookie quarterback pick with a pass catcher for him to develop alongside. Lemon is a route-running savant who can line up across the formation and make things happen after the catch. He’d be a great WR2 next to Garrett Wilson.
19 — Carolina Panthers: Auburn ED Keldric Faulk
A big-bodied edge sealer, Faulk is dominant against the run and can rush the passer from multiple alignments. With ridiculous length, he has immense upside as a pass rusher long-term.
20 — Pittsburgh Steelers: Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor
Third time’s the charm? The Steelers have taken several offensive tackles in recent drafts and they haven’t panned out. Proctor is a massive tackle who got much more technically proficient this season, learning to play with better balance.
21 — Dallas Cowboys (via GBP): Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price
The Cowboys ate their vegetables with the first pick, so now let’s let owner Jerry Jones have some fun. Price is a dynamic mover in space, with impressive contact balance and utility in the receiving game. He can house a run from anywhere on the field.
22 — Philadelphia Eagles: Clemson CB Avieon Terrell
A ball of energy and turnovers, Terrell is never afraid to lower the boom in run support. He has twitchy hips in coverage and a nose for the football. The Eagles need to shore up the second outside cornerback spot that’s been a sore spot all season.
23 — Houston Texans: Iowa OT Gennings Dunker
A college tackle who will play guard in the NFL, Dunker should upgrade one of the league’s worst interior offensive lines. He’s so strong, with fluid movement skills for the inside.
24 — Buffalo Bills: Texas A&M ED Cashius Howell
A veteran pass rusher with quality production across multiple seasons in the SEC, Howell wins through quickness and savvy. With one of the deepest bags in the class, he has a bunch of counters when a tackle overcommits.
25 — San Francisco 49ers: Washington WR Denzel Boston
A monster X-receiver listed at 6-4 and 210 pounds, Boston can climb the ladder against anyone. He’s fearless over the middle of the field, making tough catches in traffic and blocking his tail off in the run game. With WR Brandon Aiyuk’s days in the Bay Area almost certainly over, Boston could be the new leader in the receiver room.
26 — Los Angeles Chargers: Oregon DT A’Mauri Washington
A freakish athlete who can devastate on the interior, Washington is still developing his pass-rushing skills. But he does things no one else in this class can do, and he offers a high floor as a run defender.
27 — Cleveland Browns (via JAX): Clemson ED T.J. Parker
The most developed pass rusher in the class, Parker has some athletic limitations. But when given one-on-one matchups, he goes to work, systematically dismantling the opposing tackle. Across from Myles Garrett, he’ll get a ton of one-on-one reps.
28 — Los Angeles Rams: Texas CB Malik Muhammad
The Longhorns run an extremely conservative scheme in their secondary, so Muhammad doesn’t get much ball production. But his physical tools are elite and he’s a fantastic processor on the back end, with the bend and length to excel in zone or man.
29 — Chicago Bears: Alabama ED LT Overton
Overton is a physical specimen, with freakish athleticism and the fundamental run defense to raise the floor of the entire team. Coaches will want to get him into the building to teach him some pass-rush moves because his potential is sky-high.
30 — New England Patriots: Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion
He didn’t have the best performance in the CFP loss to Miami, but Concepcion showed a lot this season after transferring from N.C. State. He wins downfield and after the catch through a combination of short-area quickness, deep speed and precise route running that gives defenses headaches. New England’s receiver room by committee has worked okay this year, but QB Drake Maye needs more weapons.
31 — Denver Broncos: Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq
The Broncos have been on the hunt for an upgrade at tight end, and Sadiq is the best one in the class. He’s athletic, with fluid movement skills in space, and worked a lot on his blocking this season.
32 — Seattle Seahawks: Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald
McDonald is on the field to do one thing and one thing only: stop the run. He erases his side of the line, handling double teams with impunity and plugging multiple gaps by himself.
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