Hello friends, it's your buddy Lou Pickney with you here.
The DKDB update.
April 7th, 2026 A little more than 2 weeks away from opening night of the 2026 NFL mock draft.
With that in mind, be sure to check out the DKDB.
My human curated expert curated 2026 NFL mock draft database.
I put the best of the best in the DKDB.
Got a bunch of new ones in from the last couple of days.
There's been a lot to parse through.
Had a couple of NCAA men's lacrosse broadcast up at Sewanee over the weekend and on Monday.
And so I had a lot in a short amount of time with that.
A lot to catch up on.
But I'm caught up now.
And yet, you get caught up only to find new questions.
You get those answers the questions change.
And that includes at number two.
To this point, the presumption has been by and large that the New York Jets would go with Ohio State linebacker/edge Arvell Reese.
It's kind of been the prevailing thought.
Reese is a tremendous talent.
Remarkable flexibility that he could play off-ball linebacker and edge rusher and be elite at both.
But ultimately, it's that edge rusher part of it that's going to matter the most.
There's more and more talk that the Jets at number two, instead of Reese, might go instead with Texas Tech edge David Bailey.
Bailey had a tremendous 2025 season for Texas Tech.
Elite edge rusher talent.
Much ballyhooed a transfer from Stanford.
Part of a Texas Tech team that had a lot of NIL spending and thus a lot of attention.
They showed that the right people in place things can change in a hurry.
Texas Tech had a great 2025 season putting David Bailey.
There's also been talk that whether it's Reese or Bailey, but thinking that if Reese were to go to the Jets at two at three, the Arizona Cardinals could go with Bailey.
They could go with Ruben Bain Jr.
They could go with a lot of things.
But the talk is that the Cardinals really want to go with the right offensive tackle.
Most likely Francis Mauigoa from Miami.
The question becomes for the Tennessee Titans.
So let's say either Arizona takes if Reese goes at two or if Bailey goes at two, vice versa.
Whether it's Arizona at three picking Reese or Bailey or a team trading up.
I hear a lot of talk about Dallas.
Talk means nothing until it happens, but there's a lot of smoke about Dallas Cowboys maybe wanting to move up there, get one of those elite edge rushers.
It's a little tricky because you could have a deal in mind with Arizona.
But maybe you'd only want to do that for one of the two, whether it's Reese or Bailey or or somebody else.
But if you believe some of the talk with the Tennessee Titans at four, let's say Reese and Bailey are off the board along with Fernando Mendoza.
There's a lot of talk with the Tennessee Titans that while some people believe that Jeremiah Love will be the pick at four.
You think back to Adam Schefter.
He's been pretty adamant about it.
But saying it first at the market for Jeremiah Love would start at number five with the New York Giants and then later amending that to saying be on there.
My most recent mock draft I have Love going to the Washington Commanders at number seven.
But if it's not Love and then if you believe the latest whispers that it's not going to be Ruben Bain Jr.
for the Titans at four.
I've had other indicators from other sources that lean in that same direction.
Well, who are the Titans going to take then?
What are they going to do?
If it's not Love, if it's not Bain Reese is gone, Bailey's gone then what?
Something to consider.
Let's talk about Mansour Delaine.
Got his name off there.
There we go.
Mansoor Delane someone that many people have seen as the top cornerback prospect in the draft.
He's expected to go in the top 12, maybe top 10.
You hear good things about him from various evaluators.
I think the real question is the question of who's going to be the first corner taken.
Delane is a strong possibility still, but you can't overlook Jermod McCoy.
Corner from the University of Tennessee.
Had a tremendous 2024 season for the Tennessee Vols.
Suffered a torn ACL in one of his knees in January of last year.
And there's lingering questions like, okay, is McCoy going to be able to work out and prove that he's ready, that he's good to go?
Injured corners and a prove you're ready to go if you want to be a first round pick that you still have that ultra high-end speed.
McCoy proved that he was able to do that Tennessee's pro day.
Now a lot of talk that McCoy's going to be a top 12 pick.
Talk about McKai Lemon.
It's interesting with Lemon because he had a great 2025 at USC, the Trojans.
He believe only had one drop.
Also a playmaker.
But I felt some conflict as far as the way some evaluators and some people in the know are suggesting.
Heard some that have faded Lemon a bit.
And some of that attributed to interviews from the NFL combine.
But I don't know specifics on that.
And there's been quite a bit of pushback.
People saying, "No, you're not you're not getting it with Lemon.
He's going to be Some people really believe he's going to be a top 10 pick." A lot of talk the New Orleans Saints at number eight.
Of course, time will tell with that, but it's interesting with Lemon.
There's been a bit of a fade with Jordan Travis.
Wide receiver from Arizona State.
His injury history seems to be a concern.
I mean, understandably is a concern.
It has limited his ability to show up what he can do in this whole pre-draft gauntlet.
So those are things to keep in mind.
At this point, I see Carnell Tate, wide receiver Ohio State the likely first receiver to be taken.
A lot of talk about Tate and the Cleveland Browns at number six.
That's talk at this point.
Also a lot of talk that the Browns would like to trade back from that number six spot and get Spencer Fano, offensive tackle Utah, but there's also a lot of rumors, especially these teams that have multiple first round picks.
That includes Cleveland at six and at 24.
So we'll see with Lemon if he ends up going at number eight to New Orleans.
He slides a bit.
Great talent.
One other note, Caeden Proctor.
Offensive tackle Alabama 6'7" north of 350 lb.
There is a lot of talk that Detroit at number 17 is the floor for Proctor as far as to be sliding.
People see it as a slide.
If he's still there at 17 there are some people that very strongly believe the Detroit Lions will draft Proctor there.
Now, in 23 years of doing this, I've heard plenty of times people were sure seemingly sure about something, felt very strongly about something.
But then there'll be a mystery player that'll slide.
Oh, we didn't think that would happen.
Dot dot dot.
And so that floor is not so sturdy.
But there's a clear need in Detroit for an offensive tackle.
With Proctor if you get him in the right system and get him dialed in he's got the size and the quickness to provide a lot of options.
An offensive lineman, I think Detroit would want him as a tackle.
It's wild to think that somebody could have that height and weight being north of 350, whether it's 360 or 357 or whatever the official weight is.
With Proctor, he's just got the physical tools.
And when he's been dialed in, when you look at his film from Alabama that's that's pretty sturdy.
And so it makes for an interesting situation with Proctor.
They okay, just like with some players that are that hybrid ability, that's great.
But if somebody's looking for that cornerstone left offensive tackle, if you can get Proctor in the right spot in the right system, he could be a dominant player for a long time.
So, I can see why that could potentially, if it's true, and who knows?
I mean, the whispers and rumors It's misdirection season, after all, but there are there are people that believe it pretty strongly that Proctor to Detroit at 17.
And it makes sense when you look at team needs.
So, it's something to consider.
Be sure to check out the DKDB.
A human-curated 2026 NFL mock draft database and a bunch of new mock drafts entered over the last couple of days.
The best of the best in here.
No AI.
No gimmicks.
No staff composite efforts.
No tandems.
Just the best of the best goes into the DKDB.
I anticipate having a new mock draft coming up.
Possibly uh as soon as Wednesday, maybe Thursday, midweek.
It's funny because some of the changes I made have already like, okay, those were questionable revisions.
I've gone back and redone things that I have my current mock, like Carnell Tate at number six to Cleveland.
Another rumor's about Spencer Fano.
It's a lot to track, but it's time to get dialed in.
A little more than 2 weeks out from opening night.
