Hello friends, it's your buddy Lou Pickney with you here.
The DKDB update.
April 17th, 2026.
The DKDB is my expert curated human curated 2026 NFL mock draft database.
With the best of the best in the DKDB.
A bunch of new mock drafts up in the last few days.
A lot of new information in from the top insiders.
So, I'm going to go through my most recent mock draft, which was from the 13th and talk about so the latest insight and what I've learned and what I'm seeing at this point.
And here we are less than a week out from night one of the 2026 NFL draft.
Almost here.
At one, Fernando Mendoza, quarterback Indiana, is going to be the pick for the Las Vegas Raiders absent a surprise the likes of which we haven't seen in many years.
Expect Mendoza to go to the Raiders although by rule they're not allowed to say who they're taking at number one.
So, the NFL draft is a television event after all.
Never underestimate the power of that 1% of doubt.
At two, New York Jets, David Bailey.
It still seems to be leaning in that direction right now.
Either Bailey or Arvell Reese.
I think if I had to lock it in right now, I'd say Bailey, but I wouldn't be surprised by either.
Where it gets interesting is at three.
Hearing that Arizona wants to trade down.
A lot of teams want to trade down.
But here's the thing, these teams that want to trade down from what I've gathered, what I've observed, they don't necessarily want to leave the top 10.
It creates a problem for a team like Dallas.
Dallas has two picks in the first round.
But after that it's a bit more complicated with the Cowboys and they wouldn't likely want to give up both of those first rounders.
They've got a no second round but they traded that.
A third, a fourth, three fifths and a seventh as of this recording.
So, somewhat limited as far as what they can do, especially if you want to look to next year's draft.
They've already traded away some of those picks.
So, limited options on trading up.
And you got teams not wanting to necessarily trade all the way out of the top 10.
Teams that might want an offensive tackle like the Cardinals or like the Cleveland Browns at six.
Trading behind Miami at 11, which is expected to strongly consider drafting an offensive tackle.
That would be That makes it a tough sell.
And you figure if the Cowboys are going to trade up, they want to do it once.
So, it makes for an interesting situation.
We'll see how it plays out on draft night.
But I would expect the Cardinals to be looking to trade back.
Question is how far?
I can see a scenario where this holds up actually.
Well, how does Reese get to the Titans?
Well, let's say the Giants although it gets tricky as well with the Giants limited draft capital.
But just for the sake of argument, the Giants move up to three.
Actually, they lock in Sunny Styles.
With Tennessee, you get a lot of people think it's going to be Jeremiah Love, running back from Notre Dame.
The I think if it's Reese or Bailey, if either were there the way it looks now, the Titans would likely take one of those two.
But if they're gone and Mendoza's gone, this is the same scenario I've been going over the last few episodes, these DKDB updates.
We get to that kind of holding pattern this time of year.
The question is would the Titans at four be a serious threat to draft Sunny Styles, linebacker, Ohio State at off-ball linebacker position.
A little bit misleading with Reese having linebacker as well cuz the reason Reese is getting this look is because of his edge rushing potential.
And yet I could see the Titans utilizing Reese or perhaps better than Arizona or even the Jets that defense, but maybe not.
You know, that's just conjecture from the outside.
You know, some of the top talents.
You get the idea this is not a particularly deep draft the way many evaluators see it, which makes trading back a more That's another reason these teams don't want to trade back out of the top 10.
They mainly see a certain number as being of this top caliber.
But as always with the draft, opinions will differ.
Cleveland, plenty of word that they want to trade back, go for an offensive lineman, offensive tackle in particular.
Spencer Fano, and Ro Freeling, those are names that have been mentioned.
And yet there's also been this other push saying if Cleveland keeps the pick, if they don't trade back, Carnel Tate, wide receiver Ohio State, if he's there.
There have been some whispers that Tate could be a top five pick, but here he's on the board for Cleveland at six.
And this scenario to me makes sense potentially if Jeremiah Love does in fact slide.
And here's where it gets interesting with this draft because some people see Jeremiah Love as the number one overall prospect.
And there have been certain hints dropped in This gets really vague and you have to take these things with a grain of salt this time of year.
But certain suggestions that positional value won't be necessarily as much of an impediment whether it's Jeremiah Love, Caleb Downs, Sunny Styles, et cetera.
See if that holds true.
With the Saints maybe wanting to try to trade up.
Would they take Carnel Tate if he's there?
Is Makai Lemon really who they go for?
I think here's one I will probably end up trading trading changing out.
Get the impression the Chiefs aren't going to go for Mansour Delaine at number nine.
No.
Perhaps that won't be the case.
Maybe I got faked out.
Read a whole lot today.
Went through a parchment.
Watched a lot of different videos.
A lot of information out there right now.
So, I felt a little bit of a fade as far as Kansas City with Delaine or any corner for that matter at nine.
Now, whether that means Reuben Bain Jr., hard to say.
Cincinnati at 10, Caleb Downs.
Some people think Downs will be gone before this spot.
You figure with the Commanders they're at seven with the Commanders cuz there's been conflicting information as well there on whether they would go for Caleb Downs at seven.
What would they do?
I mean, if Love, that would be a slide the way some people see it.
I don't think the Commanders would be trading up necessarily.
I think the question for whoever's going to be going for Jeremiah Love with a top 10 pick, you're drafting a player like that because he can do unique things as a receiver out of the backfield.
I mean, he's very different in some ways from Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit.
Love would be a lot more suitable as a run blocker and a pass blocker for that matter.
I see what you mean, a run blocker.
No, would he?
He could do it if they needed him to.
The point is this, that Love's a versatile player out of the backfield.
And the way the modern NFL the game is tilted more and more in favor of passing attacks, days of three running backs going in the top five like we had in 2005, those days are gone.
So, whether it's the Commanders going with Love or maybe they go with one of those elite defenders out of Ohio State, quite a few.
We'll see.
Miami at 11, that might be the more likely destination for Mansour Delaine, corner from LSU, as opposed to Jermaine McCoy.
But again, a lot of talk that the Dolphins might be going offensive tackle here.
Spencer Fano if he's on the board.
Strong possibility.
Dallas, I mean, it's the worst kept secret in football of the Cowboys wanting to trade up.
But as I outlined earlier, it's difficult because the Cowboys I get the strong impression they don't want to give up the 12 and the 20 just to move up.
You've got teams that may not see a particularly strong value beyond a certain spot in that first round.
Even the point where pick number 12 might not be enticing enough.
A lot of talk that the Cowboys would like to get Caleb Downs, safety from Ohio State.
A lot of talk that Reuben Bain Jr.
from Miami would target as well.
LA Rams at 13, it's hard to get a read on the Rams.
They intentionally are very secretive about certain things.
You never know what the Rams might do.
Jordan Addison is one of the more divisive prospects as far as the way some people Nearly everybody sees him as a first round pick.
But the questions like do you see the number 16 spot as a ceiling or is this floor?
Some people seem to see it one way or the other.
So it's interesting.
There's some teams that are clearly not sold on Addison.
There are other teams that clearly think quite highly of him.
What that means as far as making the pick on draft night, we'll see.
Kanyon Ransome tight end from Oregon.
Possible surprise here for the Rams.
Ravens at 14.
A lot of talk that Ransome could go to the Ravens here at 14.
Vance is a great offensive guard, but I don't think that's the lock that it might have appeared to be.
Buccaneers I've read a lot of mock drafts in the last day or two.
One that had the Buccaneers moving back 20 or 21 and then getting Faulk at that point.
Some might see that as a better value.
I think there's some risk to trading back if you want an edge rusher.
We'll see if C.J.
Allen ends up being a first round pick.
Linebacker out of Georgia.
But again, if there are teams that see it where there's only 10, 11, 12 players in elite level in this draft it makes it difficult to sell trading back from the number 15 spot.
We'll see what plays out.
Jets at 16.
There's Ransome going to the Jets.
Biggest indication I've had in the last couple days about the Jets aside from it being either Bailey or Wilson at number two is that they're unli- they're not likely to take a quarterback uh at two or at 16 or maybe even at 33.
Remember, they've got three first round picks in next year's draft which has the potential to be historically deep if things play out as expected.
The Jets are going to have some options next year.
We'll see if Ransome could be off the board up at number nine to Kansas City.
Hayden Hurst, Detroit Lions.
How about poorly kept secrets?
You know, that this is just a well-placed leak.
That was intentional.
Uh but I mean it makes it's not exactly a surprise that Detroit would like somebody with unique physical gifts like Hurst has.
The man is 6'7" weighs north of 350 lb and has still I really think strongly in the right organization he could thrive and be a tremendous pro.
But Detroit's really as high on Hurst as has been indicated I think that's going to work out well for Hurst versus somebody that just isn't as strongly driven to bring him in.
I think the system where he's going to be like set up to win, set to succeed.
Those physical skills and Detroit's got a needed offensive tackle.
Hurst could be really good if things work out.
That's what I've got at 17.
I I still stick with that.
Speaking of things to stick with, Jalen Wydermyer, safety, Oregon to the Vikings at 18.
I think that's the most likely scenario at this point.
Spencer Brown to the Panthers at 19.
That feels like a bit low for Brown.
Panthers have a few different options here.
They don't have to force an offensive tackle.
Kelvin Joseph.
I'm going to talk about the corners up here in just a few moments.
It's interesting with Joseph.
20 might be a bit high looking at the way things are kind of shaking out now.
Remember, the NFL is going to a 17 game schedule and it's I've been saying this for a while.
It's only a matter of time till they get to 18 regular season games.
I don't like it at all.
They should have stuck at 16 in my opinion, but it's a business and teams have to act accordingly.
So do these play- that's the only thing with Jordan Addison, any player with injury questions would be able to handle the rigors of 18 gamers, at least the way it is now at 17 game NFL regular season.
All those playoff games.
Steelers, Omar Cooper Jr.
I think the biggest omission from this mock, this is from a few days ago.
Biggest omission is Washington wide receiver Denzel Mims.
I had felt a bit of a fade on Mims and okay, well maybe he won't be a first rounder.
Then I thought, okay, there's some pushback.
You get the impression and you get this a lot with wide receivers where some teams feel a lot stronger than others on a given prospect.
Cooper's such a great route runner.
Steelers have some options there at 21.
I'd It would be a surprise to me if Ty Simpson went there.
I don't I think if Simpson goes in round one it's going to be to Arizona like I've got laid out a little further down here.
Cade McNamara to the Chargers, maybe.
If Vance is still on the board, offensive guard, I think that'd be a easy fit.
But that's a big if.
At this point McNamara looks like the most likely of all the defensive tackles to be taken in round one.
These things are not a given though.
Blake Freeland.
Again, a lot of offensive linemen get talked in this late first round range.
But again, this is not something the Eagles have to force, but you're looking at best available players, about potential need positions, you think about what teams historically do.
Eagles have a few options.
And of course, you know, a player like Kanyon Ransome slides, that certainly changes the equation.
But here I've got Freeland.
The Eagles going O-line.
Speaking of O-line, Monroe Freeling to the Browns.
Another poorly kept secret that the Browns think highly of Freeling.
Question whether they use the number six pick, do they trade back a few spots, maybe get Spencer Brown, maybe get Freeling.
Here they get to stick at 24 pick they got from the Jaguars in the middle of last year's draft.
That's the strong expectation with Cleveland that they'll fill the wide receiver need and offensive line need in this first round.
Bears at 25.
I ended up with Emmanuel Forbes.
I really could see three safeties taken in the first round.
Forbes, he's got that wide wingspan.
Kind of size that typically you don't have the matching speed where it works at the NFL level, but Forbes does.
6'3" and 1/2 safety that can help stop the run as well.
Bears could use some help with that.
Mazi Smith still looks like Mazi Smith is going to be a first round pick even as a 25 year old edge rusher.
Bills are looking to win now.
The 49ers in this scenario, I think it would be more likely they would take Denzel Mims.
But I don't know if Mims would even make it this far.
Clark Phillips is a name that's been linked to the 9ers for a while back.
Haven't felt as much I mean again, late first round, it's the further you get from that top of the draft, the less attached you need to get to any player or team at a given spot.
Cuz things can change and they will.
And a lot of these trades that'll happen I see some impact here at the late part of the first round.
Houston Texans Caleb Williams He's young.
He's got the versatility.
I think he'd be a good fit for the Texans.
Kash Daniel, question mark.
Who is short arms that historically have not fared well for edge rushers.
A lot of success stories for edge rushers with arm length shorter than 31 inches.
You look at Daniel's production last season for the Aggies.
Elite pass rushers are going to get attention.
There's that projected trade.
It's funny.
I had this and independently I think Kipper had it.
Couple other major mocks had it.
Right after I did.
So okay.
I'm thinking this and they independently came up with their stuff as well.
All right.
It doesn't mean it's going to happen.
But Miami is in a spot a lot of teams would be looking to trade back.
I don't know how close Arizona would want to cut it if you're trying to get that fifth year option which is part of the appeal of trading up into that late first round.
So we'll see if that happens if they in in fact move up to get Ty Simpson.
A lot of talk the Cardinals are interested in Simpson.
They might have to trade up to the late part of the first round if they want to get him.
Zion Johnson still looking like a first rounder.
A lot of edge rushers getting a look.
The Seahawks, Kyler Murray.
We'll talk corners here in a second.
A lot of talk that some of these late spots might go to offensive linemen.
I talked about that in the last DKDB update.
You got to watch those late risers especially interior offensive lineman.
And some of those guys will be day two picks, but inevitably one or two will sneak into that first round.
Part of the challenge trying to figure out who's going to go where.
Let's talk about the cornerbacks.
Mekhi Garner Delane, LSU transfer from Virginia Tech.
Had a great season with the Tigers last year even though it was a down year for LSU overall.
And so while I felt a bit of a pushback, maybe pushback, a bit of a fade as far as Kansas City with Delane at nine.
Doesn't mean it won't happen.
That's just what I've interpreted.
Okay, well, if that's not as likely then you don't think it's going to take too long for somebody to go for Delane.
Miami at 11, well, offensive tackle is a need.
If Delane is there for a while now I've had what appear to be indications of interest for Miami toward Delane.
Now, that could be just my interpretation of what certain reporters have said.
I've picked up on.
Then you've got Jermod McCoy.
Corner from Tennessee had that great 2024 season for the Vols.
Suffered a torn ACL in one of his knees in January of last year.
Had a great showing at Tennessee's pro day in Knoxville.
Whatever questions there are about medical he looked the part at that workout.
Now, maybe he'll slide.
Sometimes that happens on draft night, but the expectation is he'll go in the first half of the first round.
I think beyond that nice value pick up wherever gets him.
Again, unless there are things in those medical files that teams know about those teams they they put a lot of effort into that research.
They're very thorough.
They're privy to stuff I don't know.
But those in the know still seem to think McCoy going top half of the first round, certainly in the first round uh appears likely.
Mentioned before, Avionte Turrell.
See, he has the size to handle the rigors of the NFL schedule.
If so he had a strong season last year for Clemson in a season that overall Clemson's defense really underperformed.
For reasons that I still don't quite understand.
Be that as it may, it didn't hinder Turrell.
And if you think he can physically hold up, he should be able to play the part well as far as that corner role.
Look at Chris Johnson.
Corner from San Diego State.
Notice him showing up more and more in those late first rounds of mock drafts from people that seem to know things.
I tend to know things.
I've had Chris Johnson in my mock at times during this process.
Perhaps he'll be an early day two selection, but there's a lot of talk.
Or as Kool-Aid Hood I've got him in my first round as I just revealed there.
My most recent mock draft.
At this point Hood looks to be tracking late first.
And sometimes those late first players do slide to day two.
It was a tough role for Hood transferring in from Colorado and having to replace Jermod McCoy after his injury the top corner for the Vols.
But Hood had a very good 2025 season.
He's got a pretty good shot at being a round one pick.
Like her late in that first round if you guys go on night one.
Brandon Sessay.
Corner from South Carolina.
Worth mentioning because some of these corners in this group have I would suggest Sessay is more likely to go on day two.
But there are some whispers that teams late in that first round might be interested.
And a lot of talk with quarterbacks and offensive lineman as those names that are rising late in this process late in the first round.
Uh two others to note that may not be first rounders, but these things have always surprising people.
Keionte Scott.
Corner from University of Miami.
The U.
There's not going to be necessarily all these corners going on night one of the draft.
That would be quite a surprise, but particularly we get away from those top couple of spots I think there might be more variance in this mix than some realize.
Scott, of course, played at Auburn and before that Snow College.
One more that is I would say he's not likely to be a night one pick, but one of the more interesting prospects, DeAngelo Pounds.
Indiana national champion Indiana Hoosiers.
I mean, people are going to hold his height against him just because of those matchup difficulties.
You think about somebody like Enzo Boston at 6'4".
But Pounds had a great season for the Hoosiers.
And wherever he ends up, he'll probably be able to be a day two pick.
Way it looks now.
Wherever he ends up, it'll be interesting to see.
The right spot right system to make use of his skill set.
You don't get that many corners at 5'9" getting serious talk, but a lot of evaluators are very high on Pounds.
