Mock Draft NFL - 2026 NFL Draft

Maxx Crosby and the Raiders

Lou Pickney
December 27, 2025

An Uncertain Future in Las Vegas

One of the weekend’s biggest stories is the Las Vegas Raiders shutting things down for the season with star EDGE Maxx Crosby, citing an ongoing knee injury.

Some believe this is a prelude to the Raiders trading Crosby this off-season. That might seem strange considering Crosby just signed a new three-year, $106.5M contract ($91.5M guaranteed) with Las Vegas prior to the season, but things can change quickly in the NFL.

If true, one would think the Raiders might look to work a deal with Dallas considering the Cowboys need an elite EDGE and have draft capital to offer in return.


Expanding to 17 Games Had Consequences

The addition of an extra week to the NFL regular season meant that each week was made slightly less important overall. It also meant more money and more games, and this is a business. The public has accepted it, just like they'll eventually accept an expansion to 18 games.

The concept of player safety is really more a sliding scale than anything. It's a physically brutal sport, and this doesn't help. The NFL realizes that, yet it's happening anyway.

And now we're staring down a Week 18 schedule that has the potential to be remarkably anticlimatic. It didn't need to be like this, but here we are.


The FBS Quarterfinals Should Be Happening Today

As much as things have changed in college football, one lingering vestige from the past persists: bowl games.

We have a 12-team playoff, and soon we'll get to 16 where it should be. But having to bend the schedule around outdated institutions like the Rose Bowl makes no sense for anyone involved -- except the bowl reps.

The best move would be to replicate what FCS football has done for decades: higher seed hosts until the championship game.

For all the lip service I heard paid to the argument that expanding the mini-playoff would cheapen the regular season, taking away home field advantage just for the sake of appeasing the bowl barons is the epitome of that.

Move the big bowl games to the start of the season. That's the only move that makes sense long-term.

Then again, at this point I'm just happy they're not playing in Riyadh. Though you know that is coming to the EA Sports College Football video game at some point.

Of course, there are some people who actually do like non-playoff bowl games. And as long as there is money to be made from glorified made-for-TV exhibition games, they're going to continue.


Blinding Lights

I'm not sure whose idea it was to do the stadium light color-changing gimmick, and maybe it looks cool in person. But on television it's a horrible visual, a blur of color and darkness that undermines the idea of high definition.

Just because your new LED light system can do that doesn't mean that it should be used that way.

It really messes with the still photographers, who I imagine dislike it even more than me.


Reddit Discussion

I posted in the r/NFL_Draft subreddit for the first time possibly ever earlier in the week. Reddit is usually where I go to read, not to write, but I was convinced by a consultant to give it a try.

And there was a good reason to do it: I legit wondered what readers think would happen if there isn't a single quarterback with remaining NCAA eligibility who files for early entry into the 2026 NFL Draft. It's unlikely, but it's still in play.

You can read it here. There are 72 responses as of this writing, but I haven't looked at them yet as I want to save that for a live reaction on stream. Might mix that with the ESPN NFL 2K5 game for the PS2 that I haven't played in years.

I'm thinking tomorrow night on NashvilleLou Live on Twitch & Kick after the late NFL game, which this week is Chicago at San Francisco.

twitch.tv/nashvillelou


Castellanos Gives Up Appeal

Florida State QB Thomas Castellanos will be entering the 2026 NFL Draft, but only because he decided to give up his appeal for an extra year. Castellanos appeared in five games for UCF in 2022, ruining his redshirt for the season.

The rule is four games. It's unfortunate for Castellanos, but he faced an uphill battle, even though the fifth game was a conference championship game.

The reality is that Castellanos would've been valuable for a college team next season, whether Florida State or elsewhere. But now he's forced to head to the NFL, where he faces some long odds to end up making a roster.


2026 NFL Mock Draft

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