Hello friends, it's your buddy Lou Pickney with you here with a DKDB update.
March 17th, 2026.
Happy St. Patrick's Day.
I'm going to have some reactions to recent mock drafts here in the DKDB where I put the best of the best.
My personally curated, expert curated 2026 NFL mock draft database.
Put the best of the best in here.
I'm going to be reacting to three that went up on Monday.
I thought we'd have more out on Monday, but there's still a lot of information being sorted through.
Pro Days are taking place.
New data is coming in.
I imagine soon a lot more will be updated as far as some of the more popular mock drafts go and some of the top mock drafters overall.
I've got them all here in the DKDB, the best of the best.
No AI.
No tandem efforts.
Human curated expert mock drafts.
So, let's start with Joel Klatt from Fox Sports.
I'm a big fan of Joel's work.
He does a great job for Fox.
So, as you'd imagine, he starts with Fernando Mendoza, quarterback from Indiana at number one.
Anything other than this would be a massive surprise at one.
Arvell Reese at two to the Jets remains the favorite.
I'd say maybe half of the credible mock drafts have that.
And yet, there's nothing certain at this point for the Jets who've been overhauling their defense.
But the anticipation is that Reese with his dynamic ability as both a linebacker and particularly as an edge rusher give a lot of options to that Jets defense.
At three, David Bailey, edge rusher Texas Tech to the Arizona Cardinals.
It's an interesting spot for Arizona.
I've heard they like Francis Mauigoa.
I've also heard they like Spencer Fano.
You hear whispers about the Cardinals having interest in Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
Number three overall would not be a place you would expect Simpson to go.
I could anticipate Arizona potentially trading up into the late part of the first round.
Just a possibility to think about.
They could stick at three and go with an offensive tackle.
They could go with an edge rusher, Bailey, one of the best in this class.
A tremendous season at Texas Tech in 2025.
At four, my hometown Tennessee Titans, Jeremiah Love, running back from Notre Dame.
That's the latest projection I have in my most current mock draft as well.
I think people that see running back at four and bristle don't appreciate the value that Jeremiah Love is going to bring to whatever team he goes to in their passing attack.
Obviously, he's a great runner, consistent.
He's stood top running back prospect in this draft for some time.
But in the modern NFL, if you're going to go in the top five of the NFL draft, you better be a really good receiver out of the backfield.
And Jeremiah Love is.
Great showing at the combine.
A lot of talk to the Titans to be adding Love at four.
Number five, Joel Klatt of Fox Sports says Carnell Tate, wide receiver Ohio State.
There's considerable range on Tate as far as to some top five talk and then you see some to think, well, maybe he's more in the teens.
But here, off the board at number five.
Joel noting that Caleb Downs, safety from Ohio State, a consideration as well for the Giants at number five.
At six, Cleveland Browns, Monroe Freeling, offensive tackle Georgia.
Had a great showing at the combine.
At this point, appears to be the top prototypical left offensive tackle, that blind side blocker.
Critical position.
Cleveland has been in the midst of an overhaul of its offensive line.
And the anticipation is that either here at six or down at number 24, at least one of those spots that the Browns would address their offensive line needs.
>> >> And more and more as it this process has played out, there's been talk that it'll be Freeling going to the Browns at six.
At seven, Joel Klatt of Fox Sports and Sunny Styles, linebacker Ohio State to the Washington Commanders.
The Commanders have several options.
They've talked about edge rusher, although they've spent considerably at the position in free agency.
Styles is a dynamic linebacker.
Started his career at Ohio State as a safety.
Would be a nice addition to that Commanders defense.
Here he's off the board at seven to Washington.
At eight, the New Orleans Saints, Joel Klatt says Makai Lemon, receiver, wide receiver, USC.
Lemon had a great 2025 season for the Trojans.
Very sure-handed, explosive playmaker.
And the question would be would the Saints go with Lemon or perhaps Jordan Tyson from Arizona State?
But here, they take Lemon at eight.
At nine, Joel Klatt of Fox Sports says Mansour DeLaine, corner from LSU.
And Joel's not the only person saying this.
I've been thinking this would be where some people would be predicting things to go, but I hadn't heard anything really pointing in that direction until Monday, until the 16th.
And then, started to get more intel that maybe the Chiefs would be thinking about DeLaine at nine.
I think the Chiefs may have to do some spend some draft capital on cornerbacks.
They've got to do some rebuilding.
The Chiefs are up against the salary cap.
Here, they get person many says the top cornerback in this draft, Mansour DeLaine, corner from LSU at nine.
At 10, Joel Klatt says Rueben Bain Jr., edge from Miami to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals lost Trey Hendrickson in free agency to Baltimore.
Here, the Bengals get a replacement with the high-motor Bain who brings that energy on every play.
Some have docked him because of his arm length being below prototype.
But he brings the intensity and energy off the edge.
He's got the size to handle the running game as well.
He could be a good consideration here for Cincy at 10.
At 11, Miami Dolphins.
A lot of different needs for Miami right now.
And here, they go with Francis Mauigoa, offensive tackle from the University of Miami, the U.
Sticking in Miami here, staying in town to play for the Dolphins.
There's been talk the Dolphins would consider Mansour DeLaine here at 11, but DeLaine's off the board.
I don't think they necessarily stretch to take a corner.
There's enough depth at corner in this draft.
You can get a quality player on day two.
Mauigoa, one of the top offensive line prospects in the draft and here, going to the Dolphins at 11.
At 12, Joel Klatt says Caleb Downs, safety Ohio State to the Cowboys.
Cowboys have some flexibility with the 12 and the 20 pick as well in this first round.
You figure edge rusher will be a consideration, but there's a decent probability that somebody like Downs, that could be a top 10 pick, that has that potential, but maybe plays at a devalued position like safety.
But there's so much emphasis on the top players at those key positions in the passing game, passing offense, passing defense.
Now, obviously, safety is a big part of that as well at passing defense, but the way the position is looked at overall.
And yet, Downs is not necessarily your everyday safety with his remarkable ability to read, react.
There's a lot of talk that if Downs slides a bit, which would likely be due to his position, uh that Dallas would be the stopper for me at 12.
That's what Joel Klatt of Fox Sports says here in his latest mock draft.
My reaction to it here with the DKDB where I put the best of the best.
Personally curated 2026 NFL mock draft database.
At 13, Joel Klatt says Kenyon Sadiq, tight end from Oregon to the Rams.
There's talk the Rams could go with a receiver here.
As wide receivers go, if you want to go with a tight end, Sadiq who had that remarkable showing at the NFL combine, running a sub 4 4 40, 4.39 for a guy with his size.
Here, he goes to the Rams at 13.
At 14, Spencer Fano.
And talking about arm length, Fano, likewise, some thought that maybe because his arm length being uh below the prototype for an offensive tackle, that he might be a better fit as a guard for some teams.
So, maybe that's the thought for the Ravens at 14.
They need an interior offensive lineman.
It'll be interesting.
Bono ended up to the Ravens there at 14.
At 15, Keldrick Faulk, edge rusher from Auburn, went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Bucks keys a linebacker.
I think if Sunny Styles were to slide, this would be the spot, but I don't think slide Styles will be sliding this far way it looks now.
But Faulk is one of the top edge rushers in the draft.
He's got good size.
Here he goes to the Bucks at 15.
At 16, here's Ty Simpson, quarterback from Alabama.
New York Jets.
We'll see.
I don't buy it.
The Jets have three first-round picks in next year's draft.
Now, if they really believe in Ty Simpson, then great.
But I don't think you have to force it here.
But it is interesting to think if they do like Simpson, he's on the board there at 16, well, perhaps that's the move.
I think they're waiting for next year.
They got three first-rounders in what is lining up to be potentially historic quarterback class as far as that quality goes.
Number 17, Joel Klatt of Fox Sports says Blake Miller, offensive tackle Clemson.
Detroit Lions.
Detroit needs a boost to its offensive line.
There's been a lot of talk of Miller as a first-rounder.
Not everybody is sold on him as a first-round prospect.
But demand of the position and the way this draft is playing out, this may be a bit higher than he'll actually go, but Detroit is expected to give strong consideration to offensive line here at 17.
And here they take Blake Miller from Clemson.
At 18, Peter Woods from Clemson listed as an edge.
Defensive tackle that they when he was in college at Clemson, the Tigers tried to make him into an edge.
Doesn't have that prototype size you would think of for an interior defensive lineman, but he's exceptionally quick.
In the right scheme, he should be able to thrive in the NFL.
It is interesting to see that edge designation for him, though.
Vikings, they got some needs for their secondary, but Woods is unique talent.
At 19, Joel says Caeden Proctor.
Talking about a unique talent.
Offensive tackle, Alabama to the Panthers who need some help.
Their offensive line has some questions.
Proctor with talking about player trying to recover from a massive injury, a ruptured patella.
Just mhm.
That's tough.
So, if the Panthers don't go with maybe if Tuli Tuipulotu is on the board here, maybe it's different.
But here they take Caeden Proctor.
Very large, very athletic offensive lineman from Alabama.
If he gets in the right system, he can get dialed in.
Proctor has the physical skills where he should be able to dominate even on the NFL level.
He's an interesting prospect to watch.
At 20, Dallas back on the board.
They go with Jer'Zhan Newton.
Which is interesting.
So, you go with Caleb Downs at 12.
You come back here at 20.
Maybe you consider Keldrick Faulk, but he's gone.
Or it's edge rushers.
So, Dallas fills a need at quarterback with Jer'Zhan Newton.
Of course, there are questions for Newton.
Suffered a torn ACL in January of last year.
But people who know things and evaluators seem to believe he's going to be good to go.
He's a viable first-round prospect.
At 21, Olaivavega Ioane, guard Penn State, one of the best interior offensive lineman in the draft.
This may prove to be low compared to where he actually goes.
There's been some talk he could be a sleeper as the top 10.
Even though interior offensive line is not seen as a necessarily high-value position in a draft that some don't see as very deep at the very top of the draft, uh Ekwonu is kind of not let's say the exception, but he stands out as somebody that, look, he should be relatively safe as far as this projection goes.
Nothing is certain.
The human element and a lot of other things play into these way things play out for players, but Pittsburgh has a need in its interior offensive line.
Ekwonu is one of the very best in this draft at the position going here at 21 to Pittsburgh.
At 22, the LA Chargers go with Lee Hunter, defensive tackle Texas Tech.
Hunter's got great size as far as his bulk goes.
He was listed almost 6'3.
There've been some mixed thoughts on Hunter as far as is he really worthy of a first-round pick?
Perhaps he slides to day two, or perhaps he goes here at number 22 to the LA Chargers.
At 23, Akheem Mesidor, edge rusher from Miami to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Mesidor turns 25 years old early next month, which is old for an NFL draft prospect.
But Mesidor had a great 2025 season for Miami.
Great one-two combo playing opposite Rueben Bain Jr.
It makes sense for Mesidor to go to a team that already has a lot of strong parts and pieces like the Eagles have.
He should be ready to go.
He's not going to need to ramp up I think like a lot of some of these players will.
I mean, the expectation at least is that you're coming at age 25, you better be ready to go right out of the box.
It's when you're drafted at age 25, you're coming in less than 5 years from when you're going to turn 30.
These teams play pay very close attention to such things.
At 24, the Cleveland Browns back on the board.
Going with Omar Cooper Jr., wide receiver Indiana.
Cooper's a solid prospect.
He might not be on the board there for Cleveland.
So, there's a lot of thought the Browns would go at number six with Monroe Freeling, which is what Joel Klatt has here.
What I have in my latest mock as well.
Then back here at 24, you've got some latitude.
If they like Cooper, and they should, he's a great route runner.
Reliable receiver, good hands.
It's a good pick up here for Cleveland at 24.
25, Chicago Bears, Jordan Travis, wide receiver Arizona State.
So, a bit of a slide here for Travis.
Injury concerns.
Very serious thing that's been a problem for Travis.
But when he's healthy, he's an electric playmaker.
Look at his highlights, his time at Arizona State.
Even against top-notch teams, even against look at this game against Texas Tech last season.
He's got to be healthy.
The Bears, for all the talk, maybe they go defensive line, defensive tackle here.
Jordan Travis is on the board.
Could be a surprise.
Best player available, perhaps.
What do the Bears do at 25?
At 26, Joel Klatt says Dylan Tevaga, safety from Oregon to the Buffalo Bills.
Tevaga ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the combine.
Really good safety.
Again, remember the Seattle Seahawks traded up behind the second round of last year's draft with the Tennessee Titans to get South Carolina safety Nick Cross.
And he ended up being a key piece of that puzzle to as part of Seattle's road to the Super Bowl victory.
The NFL's a copycat league.
So, while Cross fell out of the first round of last year's draft, everybody saw what happened.
Buffalo.
Few different needs on defense, and here they go with the popular choice at safety with Tevaga.
Oregon.
At 27, San Francisco 49ers, Caleb Lomu, offensive tackle Utah.
Young player that over time could be expected to develop into a a long-term stalwart position.
He's got the flexibility to play a number of different spots for the 9ers.
So, Lomu to San Francisco at 27.
At 28, Joel Klatt says Max Eichenberg, offensive tackle Arizona State to the Houston Texans.
A lot of thought the Texans would go O-line.
Eichenberg extremely athletic.
Even in a group of first-round prospects where you get a lot of great athletes, he stands out.
He only started playing the sport in 2021, so a relative newcomer to American football.
But he impressed people at Arizona State.
In this whole pre-draft prospect process, he's been talked about more and more as a potential late first-round pick.
Here he goes to the Houston Texans at 28.
29, Kansas City back on the board.
They go with Emmanuel Forbes, safety from Toledo.
And a tall safety like Forbes, 6'4.
He doesn't have the blazing speed of Tevaga.
He's an excellent prospect.
Toledo is a large university, but it's from a smaller conference.
Uh and so, in the era of NIL, you get fewer and fewer of these first-round prospects from non- Power Five conferences.
Power Four.
The power is getting consolidated.
But here it's Forbes.
Kansas City at 29.
At 30, Joel Klatt says Casey Washington, wide receiver Texas A&M.
And Denver, if they're looking for a receiver here late in round one, they're going to have some options.
I think linebacker might also be a consideration, but Washington, a really talented playmaker at Texas A&M.
The knock on him was he had some drops last season, but he came across as very sure-handed in the drills of the NFL combine.
Here he goes to Denver at 30.
At 31, New England Patriots, Cash Harris, edge rusher Texas A&M.
Joel Klatt says Harris, but he had 11 and a half sacks last season.
And Joel notes here the knock of the short arms.
I mean, it's considerably shorter than what Bane has.
If you're going to downgrade Bane, you got to downgrade Hall as well.
Although, this should not have been new information for people.
I I wonder sometimes about these evaluations.
Like, you knew going into this.
This was talked about months and months ago.
But, evaluations cover a number of different things.
Be that as it may, you look at the on-field performance.
T-Rex arms or not, Hall got the job done as far as that pass-rushing, that edge-rusher.
And that's such a pivotal role in the modern NFL.
Here he goes the Patriots at 31.
And then 32, T.J.
Parker, edge-rusher from Clemson, still on the board.
And the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks get Parker here at 32.
That's my reaction to the latest mock draft from Joel Klatt of Fox Sports.
Couple of well go through here.
We'll react here to the latest mock draft from Justin Melo.
Now with Sports Illustrated.
See what Justin has here, formerly of The Draft Network.
At one, Fernando Mendoza.
Like, nearly everybody's going to have at this point.
I mean, the Raiders, if they weren't going to take Mendoza, we would have heard something by now in all likelihood.
Still the question, what's going to happen with Max Crosby in Las Vegas, but we'll see.
He may stick around after all, which is very unusual for a player that was nearly traded.
At two, the New York Jets, Reese.
And it's a popular choice.
I think the Jets are still in the deciding process with this.
They've got until April 23rd to figure it out.
Here they take Reese at two.
Here at number three, the Arizona Cardinals, Francis Mauigoa, offensive lineman Miami.
And you hear with the Cardinals, a lot of talk they might want to trade back.
You get that from a lot of teams in draft season.
You can imagine a team wanting to get Jeremiah Love moving up here.
Now we know with full and deep for the Cardinals at right offensive tackle.
Here he goes to the Cardinals at three.
At four, speaking of Jeremiah Love, the thought process being if he's still on the board here at four, my hometown Tennessee Titans go with Jeremiah Love.
Again, you have to understand with Love that he brings a unique element as far as being a receiver out of the backfield.
While also being a high-quality running back cross back.
It's not the stretch some people are going to portray it as.
The Titans have been loading up on players in free agency with their defense.
They had a lot of perimeter to the salary cap to spend.
There's a lot of thought that if Love is there on the board, the Titans will take him at four.
At five, Justin Melo of SI says Caleb Downs, safety from Ohio State.
Remember in Joel Klatt's latest mock draft, Caleb Downs slid to the Dallas Cowboys at 12 here.
He's off the board at number five to the New York Giants.
The Giants would be in position if they wanted to move up to get Jeremiah Love.
Perhaps that's the move going from five to three.
Or they could stick here, and if Love isn't there, get a quality defensive player like Downs.
At six, Carnell Tate, wide receiver Ohio State to the Cleveland Browns.
So, for all the talk, including on my mock draft, projecting the Browns to take Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims here.
Also, a line of thought they may go with a top receiver if Mims is on the board, of course.
Carnell Tate, very sure-handed, very reliable receiver at Ohio State.
I think some people knocked him a bit in their evaluations because he didn't run a blistering fast time at the combine.
But again, that was the expectation going in.
So, if anybody legitimately thought he was going to run a track star type speed, they were just not paying attention.
Whatever the case, again, it's not the full consensus that Tate's going to slide.
Here he goes to the Browns at number six.
At seven, the Washington Commanders go with Sunny Styles, linebacker Ohio State.
It makes sense.
Styles is there, he'd be a good fit for that Commanders defense.
And Styles has impressed people in this pre-draft process.
He had a very good career at Ohio State.
At eight, David Bailey, edge-rusher Texas Tech.
So, there's some thought that the Saints would go with the receiver here.
There's the thought of Jeremiah Love were to slide, he would definitely be of interest, although that's less likely to happen now from the looks of it.
David Bailey, excellent edge-rusher from Texas Tech.
Here he goes to the Saints at number eight.
My reaction here to the latest mock draft from Justin Melo of Sports Illustrated.
You look in the description of this YouTube video.
I'll have links to these latest mock drafts.
Of course, a link to the DKDB, where you can find the very latest, the best of the best.
Go to DKDB.
My personally curated 2026 NFL mock draft database.
My reaction here to the latest mock draft from Justin Melo of SI, Manso DeLane to the Chiefs.
So, another thought.
The Chiefs have a major need at corner.
You don't have to force it here, but DeLane on most evaluator boards is a top corner prospect.
Would Kansas City value taking him at number nine?
We'll find out.
Here he goes at nine to the Chiefs.
At 10, Rueben Bain Jr., edge from Miami going to the Bengals.
He's got the size to fill that edge-rusher spot and handle the run.
So, it makes sense for Cincy.
That matches what Joel Klatt had.
At 11, Miami.
So, another thought that Miami could go perhaps a different direction than I expected.
They go with an interior offensive lineman, Viliami Fehoko, Again, there's a lot of talk that he could go top 10.
Maybe he goes to Baltimore if he's on the board at 14, but here he's going at number 11 to the Miami Dolphins.
At 12, Jermaine McCollum, corner from Tennessee to the Cowboys.
So, Dallas back on the board at 20.
The Rams at 13 go with Maika Lemon, wide receiver USC.
Big-time playmaker.
>> >> At 14, Jordan Travis.
And so, notice here it's a little bit higher as far as Travis is projected.
Baltimore, the pick that was supposed to be part of the Max Crosby trade before that was next.
The Baltimore keeps the pick.
They signed Hendrickson out of free agency.
And they'll keep both those first-round picks, this year's and next year's that they were going to trade to Vegas.
A next trade that's going to go down in infamy.
We'll be talked about for years to come.
So, with this pick, maybe they go with Van Ginkel if he's here, but he's not in this case.
And so, it's Jordan Travis, receiver Arizona State to Baltimore at 14.
At 15, Justin has Hendrick Foote, edge from Miami to Tampa Bay.
The Bucs go with an edge-rusher here at 15.
Foote, one of the top edge prospects in the draft.
At 16, here's Maika Lemon.
Defensive tackle Ohio State to the Jets.
McCollum had eight and a half tackles for loss last season despite playing from an interior defensive line position.
Not easy spot to do that from.
He's very quick.
One of the top defensive tackle prospects in the draft.
He'd fill a need as well for the Jets.
At 17, Detroit Lions, Spencer Fano.
Another thought that the Lions would go offensive tackle.
At 18, Justin has Dylan Feeneyman, safety from Oregon to the Minnesota Vikings.
I could easily see that happening.
The expectation, Harrison Smith retiring.
Feeneyman, top prospect at safety.
19, Kenyon Sadiq, tight end Oregon.
There's thought that Carolina could go offensive tackle here.
But if Sadiq is still on the board, he would be a big-time boost to that Panthers offense.
Real difference-maker, that speed at the tight end position.
It did Most teams don't have a tight end that can run a 4.39 40-yard dash.
So, C.J.
Allen, linebacker from Georgia, goes to Dallas at 20.
So, Dallas at 12 goes with the corner, McCollum.
So, at 20, back on the board here, and they go with an off-ball linebacker.
Well, that position is not a priority in the way the NFL is now with so much being focused on the passing game and passing defense, of course.
But, Allen, one of the best off-ball linebackers.
He'd fill a need for Dallas.
And here he's off the board at 20 to the Cowboys.
21, Casey Conception to the Steelers.
There's been some thought the Steelers could go with a receiver here at 21.
They should have several different options to choose from.
Conception, a solid prospect from Texas A&M.
At 22, T.J.
Parker, edge from Clemson, going to the Chargers, which is interesting.
Some latitude here for the Chargers.
I'm really interested what they're going to do here.
There was a one point I thought, okay, they'll probably go interior offensive line, but now maybe not.
Maybe best player available, and maybe that's T.J.
Parker.
Caleb Williams to the Eagles.
So, the Eagles, again, we see Eagles going offensive line.
Williams, young player from Utah.
He was only a redshirt sophomore last season.
He'd be a helpful part for that Eagles offensive line in 2026.
If Philly takes him there at 23.
Monroe Freeling, so Freeling slides to 24.
And that would be great for Cleveland if that happened if they want Freeling like many evaluators believe that they do.
Question would be do you take him at six?
Do you risk If you really see him as a top left blindside blocking protection offensive tackle in this draft, do you risk not taking him at six?
An interesting choice for Cleveland.
Here they go with Freeling at 24.
25, Cash Hall, Texas A&M edge rusher.
Talk about his arm length all you want.
But the on-field production, the 11 and 1/2 sacks last season, he's a legit edge rusher.
The Bears, a lot of different thoughts of what the Bears might do here at 25.
Jake Golday, linebacker from Cincinnati to the Bills at 26.
Looking at off-ball linebacker, not a priority position per se, but Golday, one of the top off-ball linebacker prospects in the draft.
Noted here the DJ Moore trade made by Buffalo means they're probably not going to go with a receiver at 26.
But the Niners could go receiver at 27.
Here they get Omar Cooper Jr.
Wide receiver, Indiana.
Big part of that national championship team with the Indiana Hoosiers.
Reliable route runner.
Solid as far as his reception skills go.
At 28, Caleb Banks.
Defensive tackle from Florida to the Houston Texans.
Banks has had injury issues.
When he's healthy, he's a dynamic player, exceptionally good as a pass rusher, very athletic for his size.
But it's with a caveat, when he's healthy.
That might cost him a first-round spot.
And here the Texans take Caleb Banks at number 28.
At 29, the Kansas City Chiefs back on the board.
And they go with Denzel Boston, wide receiver University of Washington.
6'4, he's got good size.
A big target to add there for Patrick Mahomes once he gets back to full health.
At 30, Peter Woods, defensive tackle, Clemson to the Denver Broncos.
A lot of different thoughts of what the Broncos might do here.
But if top few off-ball linebackers are gone, that would take that position, at least seemingly, out of the equation here.
But if that happens, I mean, there'll be other players sliding down that the Broncos might not expect to be there, like Woods at 30.
31, New England Patriots, Akeem Mesidor, edge from Miami.
He'll be 25 years old when the draft happens.
He's an elite edge rusher.
And it makes sense that for Mesidor to go to a team that is ready to compete in 2026 and the defending AFC champion Patriots uh certainly fit the bill for that.
Finally at 32, Avyon Terrell, corner from Clemson to Seattle.
Seattle has needed corner.
Terrell had a solid career.
Playing corner with the Clemson Tigers.
That's my reaction latest mock draft Justin Melo of Sports Illustrated.
One more to react to here real quick.
Caden Steel of nj.com.
Here we go, taking a look at latest mock draft on nj.com.
Caden Steel.
So at one, Fernando Mendoza, as expected, to the Raiders.
Sunny Styles at two to the Jets.
That's very interesting.
That's >> >> argument made here is that Styles the best player available even at number two.
He sees that claim they're a weak class.
There's some people that see this draft as a weak overall class, particularly at the top.
At three, the Cardinals.
I think if Arvell Reese is there, it makes a lot of sense for the Cardinals to take him.
He can play linebacker or edge.
I can see that.
Even above any needs at offensive tackle.
Reese is a special player.
At four, I mean, the defense going here strong early, isn't it?
David Bailey, edge rusher, Texas Tech to the Titans.
And that means Jeremiah Love is there for the Giants at five.
You know, within the organization up there in New York, the Giants reflecting on life after Saquon Barkley.
But as I've talked about with Love, he's a really special player coming out of the backfield as a receiver along with being a great running back.
Be a nice pick up for the Giants at five.
At six, Carnell Tate, wide receiver, Ohio State.
So again, there's a couple of lines of thought with the Browns, either go with an offensive tackle here at six, particularly Monroe Freeling, or they go with maybe their choice of the entire wide receiver class.
Tate, very sure-handed.
An uncanny ability to get open in 3 seconds or less.
Really good at that.
Commanders at seven get Caleb Downs, safety, Ohio State.
Though Sunny Styles is gone, Caleb Downs also going to be a nice addition to that Commanders defense.
Again, they did some spending at the edge position in free agency.
They've got some latitude here at seven.
I think I mean, it feels like they're getting in position to either take Caleb Downs or Sunny Styles there at seven.
At least that's the way it feels now.
At eight, the Saints get Makai Lemon, wide receiver, USC.
Well, there is some thought the Saints would go receiver there at number eight.
And here the Chiefs take Sedrick Tydes, and there's a wide range for Tydes in in large part due to his upside potential.
When he's healthy, just a spectacular playmaker.
So look at these three mock drafts and three different people saying the Bengals taking Ruben Bain Jr.
here at number 10.
It's Mansour Delane still on the board for the Dolphins at 11.
I think that's the most likely move for the Dolphins if he's on the board.
As we've seen with these mocks here, not a guarantee.
Tydes and Bain going to the Cowboys at 12.
I mean, if you want him that badly, you need to take him at 12.
Don't expect him to get past Minnesota at 18.
A 4.35 40-yard dash, attention getter.
The Cowboys are known to have strong interest in Caleb Downs.
But if Downs is gone, and he would be here, I'm sorry, off the board up here.
Commanders got him at seven.
Cowboys get Tydes at 12.
Kinyon Sdaik to the Rams.
So there's thought that the Rams could go with player seen as the top tight end prospect by nearly every evaluator in this draft.
Sdaik just a unique athleticism.
He'll be a solid prospect at tight end.
Spencer Fano to the Ravens at 14.
And a lot of talk to his shorter arms being that teams might consider wanting to move Fano in to play guard.
Which fill a need for the Ravens.
CJ Allen, linebacker from Georgia to the Buccaneers at 15.
Off-ball linebacker, I think that's well within reason this could happen.
Sunny Styles rightly gets a lot of attention.
Arvell Reese, very unique in what he can do.
And CJ Allen, solid player in what is a need position for the Bucks.
That could be a good move there for Tampa Bay at 15.
So my reaction here to the latest mock draft from Caden Steel of nj.com.
At 16, New York Jets, Jermaine McCoy, corner from Tennessee.
So McCoy still on the board.
The Jets last season didn't have a single interception.
17 games as a team, zero interceptions.
Staggering that happened.
But it did.
The Jets now making moves to try and remedy that, redoing their whole defense much as possible.
When you get zero interceptions in 17 games, you're going to have wholesale turnover.
Just how it is.
At 17, Monroe Freeling.
>> >> There's a danger that Cleveland likes Freeling.
They can't just hope he'll be there at 24.
And so he'll probably get nabbed.
Here the Lions get him at 17.
At 18, Caleb Banks, defensive tackle from Florida to the Minnesota Vikings.
Boost to that D-line for the Vikings.
And ends here again with these tackles.
You'll notice in most cases the priority is there because they are very adept at pressuring the quarterback from an interior defensive line position.
That gets you special consideration when the draft comes around.
At 19, and here's one showing Francis Mauigoa sliding a bit.
So Mauigoa still on the board here at 19.
He played right offensive tackle at Miami.
Panthers would need somebody to move up to that left side.
Avyon Terrell to the Cowboys at 20, a corner from Clemson.
There's thought that Terrell would possibly be on the board late in that first round, but if he's not, here are the Cowboys at 20.
So if the Cowboys here taking Tydes in at 12, you go safety, come back here at 20, and you go corner.
21, Vae Yu Ony, guard, Penn State to the Steelers.
And there's talk that he go considerably higher than this.
So if he's on the board at 21, be a nice pick up there for the Steelers.
Be the hometown for the draft this year.
Pittsburgh's hosting it.
At 22, the Chargers, Akeem Mesidor, edge from Miami.
25 years old, I keep waiting for a fade.
Okay.
Eventually they're going to say, "Okay, you're going to slide to day two." But that hasn't happened yet.
Indicators still are tracking Mazi Smith as a likely first-rounder.
All these mocks we've looked at through here, you notice his name keeps showing up with good reason.
At 23, Keion White Conceição, wide receiver Texas A&M to the Eagles.
Elite speed.
Blake Miller, tackle from Clemson to the Browns at 24.
So if the Browns like a few different offensive tackles with receiver at six, come back at 24.
Even if Freeland is gone, perhaps Blake Miller from Clemson.
He's got long arms.
25, the Bears.
Emmanuel Mims II, safety from Toledo.
Technically 6'3 and 1/2, I've seen 6'4 on this list.
Great height for the position.
26, Peter Woods, tackle from Clemson.
Buffalo Bills, boosting their defense.
Keanu Benton, the 49ers.
Like Benton, offensive tackle 49ers too, the 49ers.
Benton from Utah.
Solid player.
And somebody that it's not a lock he'll be a first-round pick, but that's the expectation.
A lot of thought late first round is the likely range for Benton.
At 28, Houston Texans, Keidron Smith.
Defensive tackle Ohio State.
He had those eight and a half tackles for loss from interior defensive line position.
He had Smith a lot of looks.
A lot of consideration for night one.
At 29, Cam Smith, corner from Tennessee.
Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs need help at corner.
Late in this first round they should have several viable options at the position if that's the move.
At 30, the Broncos get Omar Cooper Jr., wide receiver from Indiana.
There's a lot of talk that Cooper will be in strong consideration for first-round selection.
At 31, B.J. Hill.
Edge from Clemson to the Patriots.
And Derick Hall, edge from Texas A&M to the Seahawks at 32.
That's my reaction to the latest mock draft.
That's the latest from the DKDB.
Be sure to check this frequently.
I update this on a daily basis, often multiple times a day.
