- The Jets take Ohio State's Arvell Reese at No. 2: The 2026 NFL Draft starts in earnest at No. 2 overall, and the Jets bolster Aaron Glenn's defense with the top-ranked linebacker prospect.
- Makai Lemon lands in Baltimore: The star USC wide receiver would be a top weapon for Lamar Jackson, who could use more wide receiver talent.
- 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Super Bowl 60 is in the books, with the Seahawks thrashing the Patriots through relentless defensive pressure.
Now that the NFL offseason is in full swing, let’s explore an updated 2026 NFL mock draft.
1. Las Vegas Raiders: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
You can just about write this one in pen. Mendoza enjoyed a dream season at Indiana, posting a perfect 16-0 record, helping the program claim its first national championship and becoming the school’s first Heisman Trophy winner. His 91.6 PFF overall grade ranked third among all quarterbacks. He would be a perfect fit in new head coach Klint Kubiak’s offense.
2. New York Jets: LB Arvell Reese, Ohio State
The draft starts in earnest at No. 2, and the Jets have plenty of options. New York sides with Reese, a player whom head coach Aaron Glenn will enjoy deploying as a chess piece in his defense. His eight sacks this year were tied for the fourth most among all college linebackers, and he logged an 86.5 PFF run-defense grade to boot. Reese can line up as either an off-ball linebacker or an edge defender in the Jets’ defense.
3. Arizona Cardinals: T Francis Mauigoa, Miami (FL)
Paris Johnson Jr. is entrenched as Arizona’s long-term answer at left tackle, but the Cardinals need to find a new right tackle. Mauigoa fits the bill after starting in that spot for all three of his seasons with Miami. His 87.0 PFF pass-blocking grade this season ranked sixth among FBS tackles.
4. Tennessee Titans: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami (FL)
While the Titans need to continue to surround quarterback Cam Ward with talent, new head coach Robert Saleh will also want to add more to an edge room that earned the fourth-worst PFF grade as a unit in 2025. Bain would immediately boost that group after leading all of college football with 83 pressures this past season.
5. New York Giants: T Spencer Fano, Utah
Developing and protecting quarterback Jaxson Dart should be a top priority for new head coach John Harbaugh. Fano produced a position-best 92.0 PFF overall grade over the past two seasons and would slot in seamlessly as the Giants' right tackle opposite of Andrew Thomas.
6. Cleveland Browns: WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State
New head coach Todd Monken knows he needs to build a better receiving corps and reinvent his team's offensive line, as the Browns earned the worst PFF pass-blocking grade and the second-worst PFF receiving grade in 2025. The latter is addressed here with an in-state star in Tate. His 151.8 passer rating when targeted led all college wideouts this past season.
7. Washington Commanders: EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech
The Commanders have fielded one of the NFL's six lowest-graded defenses in each of the past three seasons. Washington addresses that by drafting Bailey, college football's highest-graded defender this past season (93.3). He led college football in PFF pass-rush grade in each of the past two seasons at Texas Tech and Stanford.
8. New Orleans Saints: WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
The Saints should be excited about quarterback Tyler Shough, whose 74.6 PFF overall grade in 2025 led all rookie signal-callers and was a top-20 mark overall. New Orleans secures more talent for him here in Tyson, who generated an 89.5 PFF receiving grade over the past two years.
9. Kansas City Chiefs: RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco are unrestricted free agents this offseason, and the Chiefs seem likely to part ways with one or both. Kansas City turns to its future at running back with Love here. After posting a 91.1 PFF overall grade as a sophomore in 2024 (fifth best), he turned it up a notch with a nation-leading 93.1 mark in 2025.
10. Cincinnati Bengals: S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
The Bengals haven’t had a true star at safety since they let Jessie Bates III walk in the 2023 offseason. In fact, Cincinnati’s safeties have combined for the lowest PFF grade as a unit over the past three years (53.7). Downs would change the team's trajectory at the position after garnering an elite 93.6 PFF overall grade for his college career.
11. Miami Dolphins: CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
The only Dolphins cornerback who earned even a top-60 PFF overall grade this season was Rasul Douglas, and he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent at 30 years old. Delane would inject some much-needed youth and talent to Miami's secondary. He surrendered just a 31.3 passer rating in coverage this year (first among Power Four cornerbacks).
12. Dallas Cowboys: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
No Cowboys linebacker finished 2025 with a top-65 PFF overall grade, contributing to the unit's 31st-ranked mark (37.6). Styles' 88.6 PFF overall grade this season ranked third in the Power Four, and he led all linebackers in PFF tackling grade (91.6), missing just 2.2% of his attempts.
13. Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons): CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
Newly minted MVP Matthew Stafford announced his return to the Rams for his age-38 season, keeping Los Angeles’ Super Bowl window open for at least one more year. So, instead of prioritizing the future with a quarterback prospect like Ty Simpson, the Rams try to maximize the present and address a current need at cornerback with McCoy. While he missed all of 2025 with a torn ACL, McCoy managed an 89.6 PFF coverage grade as a sophomore in 2024, placing ninth in the FBS.
14. Baltimore Ravens: WR Makai Lemon, USC
The Ravens need to surround Lamar Jackson with more wide receivers outside of Zay Flowers, as 33-year-old DeAndre Hopkins is a free agent. Lemon was the best receiver in college football this season, taking home the Biletnikoff Award. His 90.8 PFF overall grade paced all FBS wideouts.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: EDGE Keldric Faulk, Auburn
The Buccaneers ranked seventh in team PFF pass-rush grade this season — but only 23rd in PFF run-defense grade. While Faulk has work to do as a pass rusher, he produced an outstanding 89.2 PFF run-defense grade over the past two years. He can play at edge defender or on the interior in Todd Bowles’ 3-4 defense.
16. New York Jets (via Colts): QB Ty Simpson, Alabama
The Jets simply have no answer at quarterback right now, and pressure is mounting on head coach Aaron Glenn. He can reduce some of it by selecting Simpson here, giving the franchise hope for the future. The Alabama passer's 30 big-time throws in 2025 were tied for the most among all quarterbacks in college football.
17. Detroit Lions: T Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
Taylor Decker has served as Detroit’s left tackle for the past decade, but he’s currently mulling retirement and is a cut candidate even if he does return. Proctor could be quarterback Jared Goff’s next blindside protector after ranking fourth among FBS tackles in PFF overall grade (86.1) this past season.
18. Minnesota Vikings: CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson
The Vikings have finished outside the top 15 of team PFF coverage grade in each of the past six seasons and need plenty of help in their secondary. Terrell's 90.6 PFF overall grade over the past two seasons ranked fifth among all Power Four cornerbacks.
19. Carolina Panthers: DI Peter Woods, Clemson
Woods would shore up a Panthers defense that placed in the bottom 10 in both team PFF run-defense grade and team PFF pass-rush grade in 2025. He earned an impressive 87.1 career PFF overall grade and would form a powerful partnership with Derrick Brown in the middle of Carolina’s defensive line.
20. Dallas Cowboys (via Packers): EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M
Four Cowboys edge defenders are set to hit free agency, leaving the team in search of a long-term running mate for Donovan Ezeiruaku. In this mock, Dallas goes with Howell, whose 12 sacks this year were tied for the fifth most in the FBS.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: WR Denzel Boston, Washington
New head coach Mike McCarthy needs to find his starting quarterback, and then there's the question of the team's infrastructure for that player. It starts with upgrading a receiving corps that earned the third-worst PFF receiving grade in 2025. Boston, meanwhile, earned an 87.2 PFF receiving grade this past year, ranking ninth among more than 400 qualifying wide receivers.
22. Los Angeles Chargers: IOL Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State
The Chargers' offensive line, marred by injuries, was the league's worst front this season. While the return of tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt will improve the unit, Los Angeles also fielded the lowest-graded interior in the NFL. Enter Ioane, who allowed no sacks or hits across his 311 pass-blocking snaps in 2025.
23. Philadelphia Eagles: TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
Dallas Goedert is coming off the lowest-graded season of his career (66.7) and will be a free agent at 31 years old. The Eagles find his replacement here in Sadiq, whose eight receiving touchdowns in 2025 were the most among college football tight ends.
24. Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars): T Caleb Lomu, Utah
After selecting Carnell Tate at No. 6, the Browns turn their attention to an offensive line that was tagged with the worst PFF pass-blocking grade and the fourth-worst PFF run-blocking grade in the NFL in 2025. Lomu, on the other hand, earned an impressive 82.1 PFF pass-blocking grade at Utah this year with no sacks allowed.
25. Chicago Bears: DI Kayden McDonald, Ohio State
No Bears defensive tackle earned a 60.0 PFF overall grade this season. The front office addresses those woes by picking up McDonald, who led all FBS interior defenders with a 91.2 PFF run-defense grade in 2025. His 86.5 PFF overall grade was the best mark in the Power Four.
26. Buffalo Bills: WR KC Concepcion, Texas A&M
Finding a true No. 1 weapon for Josh Allen should be at the top of the to-do list for new head coach Joe Brady. Concepcion is that type of prospect after pacing the SEC with 48 receptions that went for either a first down or a touchdown in 2025.
27. San Francisco 49ers: EDGE T.J. Parker, Clemson
The 49ers have Nick Bosa and 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams, but both are coming off season-ending torn ACLs and Williams struggled as a rookie. San Francisco still needs to upgrade its defensive line and does so here with Parker. He notched 85.0-plus career PFF grades as a pass rusher and a run defender.
28. Houston Texans: DI Caleb Banks, Florida
The Texans fielded the NFL's highest-graded group of edge defenders in 2025 but could stand to upgrade at defensive tackle. Banks played in only three games this past season at Florida due to a foot injury, but his 12% pressure rate since 2023 still ranked sixth among Power Four interior defenders over that stretch.
29. Los Angeles Rams: T Monroe Freeling, Georgia
Warren McClendon Jr. performed admirably at right tackle for the Rams this year, but Los Angeles could still be on the hunt for a long-term answer at the position. Freeling’s 85.7 PFF pass-blocking grade in 2025 ranked seventh among all college football tackles.
30. Denver Broncos: LB CJ Allen, Georgia
While the Broncos showcased one of the NFL's most fearsome defenses in 2025, they could still improve at linebacker. Allen’s 88.6 PFF run-defense grade in 2025 ranked ninth among Power Four linebackers.
31. New England Patriots: EDGE Akheem Mesidor, Miami (FL)
No Patriots edge defender earned a top-40 PFF overall grade this season. While Rueben Bain Jr. was Miami’s star edge rusher in 2025, Mesidor shouldn’t go overlooked. He and Bain were the only Power Four edge defenders to rank in the top 10 in both PFF run-defense grade and PFF pass-rush grade.
32. Seattle Seahawks: CB Colton Hood, Tennessee
Devon Witherspoon may have been the NFL's highest-graded cornerback this season, but the Seahawks still need more help at the position. Hood’s 80.3 PFF coverage grade in 2025 ranked sixth among SEC cornerbacks.
© 2026 PFF - all rights reserved.