Hello friends, it's your buddy Lou Pickney with you here.
It's the DKDB update.
April 19th, 2026.
It's a handful of days away from night one of the 2026 NFL draft.
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Number one on that list is Jason Boris.
His mock draft will be out on Thursday.
On the day of the draft, that morning.
I anticipate having a rather lengthy live stream on Thursday for the draft.
On Twitch at least I'll have a Warsaken Blitz Classic pre-show.
And then be live.
Hopefully live on YouTube along with live on Twitch and Kick and maybe even Blaze.
We'll see how many we can get going.
I'm going to have a good time with that.
That's this upcoming Thursday with the NFL draft night one.
I get there first.
Major trade happened Saturday night in the US time.
Cincinnati sending the number 10 overall pick in this year's draft to the New York Giants in exchange for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
That's changed things a bit.
I went through and updated my mock draft.
I talked about some of my rough ideas on it in the last update.
Stayed up late, worked on it.
It's ready for this morning.
Let's let's go through this here.
I'll explain my latest thoughts, adjustments, and what we might expect to see over the next few days.
At one, Fernando Mendoza, quarterback, Indiana, the Las Vegas Raiders.
That has been expected for many months now.
It would be a massive surprise if Mendoza weren't the first overall pick.
But, the rule is that the number one pick, the team with that pick is not allowed to say who the player is going to be ahead of time.
It's not like the old days when you used to be able to negotiate with multiple prospects.
Things were different before the 2011 CBA.
Although now the way that draft picks and rookie slotting as the salaries go, it's even more difficult now for players at those non-premium positions if they're in those higher picks.
Arvell Reese, linebacker, also an edge, Ohio State.
It's been back and forth will it be Reese, will it be Texas Tech edge David Bailey?
It's not known for sure at this point.
But, the latest signs have pointed toward Reese, so I flipped my guidance back in that direction.
As his mock draft goes.
At three, went ahead and did it.
Jeremiah Love, running back, Notre Dame to the Arizona Cardinals.
Of course, plenty of people saying that Arizona's wanting to trade back from three, but not too far.
But, here they stick with the spot.
They pick up Love, and that's where the question is with the positional value.
Giving that much guaranteed money to a player that and that's all predetermined as far as the way the draft goes and that guaranteed cash.
Doesn't matter the position.
That's why I think you'll continue to see more and more quarterbacks and edge rushers and elite corners as well in those top spots just because that from a money standpoint.
You get a quarterback on a rookie contract, that's about as good as it gets.
Even a high pick as far as the the rookie deal goes.
You look at comparatively some of the other positions, it's a little different when it comes to the average guaranteed money, the average pay for a running back versus what Love would stand to get as the number three overall pick.
These are all things to consider.
So, if Love's off the board, then the Titans might be able to pick up David Bailey, edge rusher from Texas Tech.
I believe with either Daily or Bailey or Arvell Reese or there, the Titans would take one of them.
Here they get Bailey.
Although, if Bailey were to go to three at Arizona, at this point it looks rather strong that it would be Love going to the Titans.
At five, the New York Giants Sonny Styles, who would realistically seems to be the other player that the Titans would consider there at four if they can't trade back, if Reese is gone, if Bailey is gone.
Sonny Styles, it's a rarity for an off-ball linebacker to be a top five pick.
And again, positional value comes into play, but the way that many evaluators see this draft with their relatively few ultra high-end talents, Sonny Styles is one of those talents.
Linebacker that started his career in Columbus, Ohio as a safety, very versatile.
The Giants have some latitude here.
If Jeremiah Love is on the board at this spot, they can get Jeremiah Love if they want to and still get a top tier defender at 10.
But, instead in this case, they get Sonny Styles.
At six, yes, here's a switch from my most recent DKDB update.
I think Charlie Campbell was saying Walter Football, I watched one of his videos, but I think it was a tweet that he posted.
Anyway, the point is he was and okay, it's not just the Browns will take an offensive tackle if they trade back.
This if they keep the spot, they're still a plenty to take a tackle.
So, that was the indication.
I'd been thinking Carnell Tate here at six.
But, it appears the Browns are hoping to trade back a few spots.
And if not, they'll sit tight and work from Charlie was Spencer Fano and Caden Proctor, offensive tackle from Alabama.
Proctor could go to the Browns at six.
That is a possibility.
Physical tools.
At seven, the Washington Commanders get Carnell Tate, wide receiver, Ohio State.
So, if the Browns really do plan to go offensive tackle, that is a plus for the Commanders if they're in fact interested in Tate or one of the other top wide receivers here at seven.
They're not expected to be in the market for an offensive tackle, so that works out pretty well.
At eight, New Orleans Saints I'm taking Jordan Addison, wide receiver, Arizona State.
Question will be Jordan Addison, would it be Makai Lemon?
Would be an edge rusher like Ruben Bain Jr.?
I got them taking Addison.
Playmaking ability when he's healthy.
A special player.
At nine, Kansas City Chiefs, Kenyon Sedik, tight end from Oregon.
The Chiefs have a pair of first round picks.
One late in the first round as well.
Expected to be quite a bit of talent at corner available late in that first round.
There are certain indications that as much as you might think, well, the Chiefs at nine, they need a corner, Mansour Delane, corner from LSU, or any other corner for that matter, potentially in play, but certain indications made me think that's not going to happen.
Obviously, that's not a lock.
There always be surprises and there's smoke screens and all of it.
Get the feeling that Kenyon Sedik is a distinct possibility for the Chiefs.
The obvious potential with Travis Kelsey at the twilight of his career and the work some two wide receiver formations.
Sedik running that sub-4.4 second 40-yard dash at the combine.
And knows that 240 lbs.
Really impressive.
Tremendous athlete.
At 10, the New York Giants pick they acquired from Cincinnati on Saturday in the Dexter Lawrence trade.
The Giants get LSU corner Mansour Delane.
Had a great 2025 transferring in from Virginia Tech.
Corner is a need for the Giants.
I think that's a strong possibility if DeLane's on the board.
At 11, I'm in all offense.
But here Caleb Downs, in fact, slides out of the top 10.
Remember, this has not happened, a safety going in the top 10, a pure safety, in the top 10 of the NFL draft in 10 years.
So, here with Spencer Rattler off the board, Miami, which I think might consider offensive tackle, but here with Caleb Downs available, the Dolphins are rebuilding.
Player like Downs with that remarkable quickness with his read-react, that's not just his physical quickness, but mentally.
His ability to diagnose a play, like in Tecmo Super Bowl for the NES, the original Nintendo, when you'd pick your opponent's play and the defense would just collapse on them, that kind of reaction time.
There's very something special Caleb Downs.
And the only reason for him, aside from whatever potential physical concerns there may be, if there's anything, sometimes there are things with those those physical exams, going through testing, that teams might know about that the general public might not as well.
But with Downs, I don't think that's going to be an issue.
I think it's just the fact that he's played safety, and safety is not deemed a premium position the way the NFL is now with the passing game.
Although Downs can certainly be helpful in the secondary.
It's a unique talent.
At 12, the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys not trading up.
Again, it's it would be tricky for the Cowboys.
I know there was talk before they were talking to teams about potentially trading up.
But it's tough because all indications are that the Cowboys don't want to trade the 12 and the 20 and move up for one pick.
But here the Cowboys sit still.
Ruben Bain Jr., one of the top edge rushers of the draft out of Miami, goes to the Cowboys at 12.
At 13, Makai Lemon, wide receiver, USC, the Trojans.
He's to stay in SoCal, LA Rams take him.
It's tough to get a read on the Rams, but you look at team needs, off-season incidents, Lemon is very reliable as a receiver.
Reportedly had one drop all of last season, over the last 3 years, only three drops total.
Very sure-handed, similar to Cornell Tate in that respect.
Probably would work best out of the slot.
We'll see if Lemonis is going to the Rams there at 13.
At 14, Baltimore Ravens, Francis Mauigoa, offensive tackle, Miami.
So, a bit of a slide here for Mauigoa, but the thought with Mauigoa to the Cardinals at number three, which is what I had had for a while, I was with the idea that the Cardinals would trade back.
But if not, Mauigoa slides a bit.
The Ravens get an excellent lineman there at 14.
15, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
I would have did it.
C.J.
Allen, linebacker from Georgia.
I know that was something Charlie Campbell of Walter Football had.
He was talking that up quite a bit.
And I've gone back and forth on that because there's certain indications on Allen like, "Ooh, he doesn't look like a first-round talent according to these certain evaluators that tend to be pretty spot-on with stuff." But you look at an individual team need, the Buccaneers, I would say more than most are known to be wanting to trade back, at least that's my understanding of it.
The way some teams may only see there being 10, 11, 12 players that fit that ultra high-end or elite level as far as their evaluations.
Different players that have different or different teams that have different players on that list.
If the right player's there for the right team, the Bucs could be in a good spot to trade back.
But if to that though, isn't there?
At 16, Kamal McCoy, corner from Tennessee.
There have been some rumblings about the Jets maybe wanting to trade up here from 16.
McCoy suffered a torn ACL in one of his knees in January of last year.
Had a great 2024 season for the Vols.
The Jets didn't have a single interception last season.
In 17 games, the Jets had zero interceptions, which is tough to fathom, but it's true.
They don't have to force the issue here with the corner.
They don't have to force anything.
The Jets have three first-round picks in next year's draft, which is expected to be very strong at quarterback.
They don't force it at any position, really.
But here at 16, McCoy, if he's available, be a nice pick up for the Jets.
17, Detroit Lions, Caeden Proctor, offensive tackle, Alabama.
A lot of people talking about Proctor being of interest to Detroit at 17.
But as noted with Cleveland at six, he could be gone early.
See what happens with Proctor.
If he's there for Detroit, I think he'd be a really good fit for Detroit.
I'm not rooting against him going to Cleveland.
He'd make more money as the number six overall pick.
I just think Proctor in that system with the Lions, I think coach Campbell could get the best out of him.
Proctor 6'7, weighs north of 350 lb, and yet so athletic that if need be, he could play guard at the NFL level.
Very rare trait.
That's what sells him to go with the size, that pairing.
At 18, sticking with Dylan Feamster, safety from Oregon, to Minnesota.
And you look to the past, they okay, well, last year South Carolina safety, Nick Emmanwori, ran a 4.38 40-yard dash, looked pretty strong.
He was going to be a first-round pick, slid to day two.
Seattle traded up in the second round with Tennessee.
The Seahawks drafted Emmanwori, played an important role in that run all the way to the Super Bowl victory, but particularly the NFC Championship game.
That's where I really saw them okay.
Seattle made the right move there, didn't they?
And that's not necessarily what you would think of as being too relevant, other than the fact that the NFL is a copycat league.
Team that just won the Super Bowl trading up, showing value in a speedy, highly regarded safety, makes it an easier sell here in the first round.
With Harrison Smith out, Dylan Feamster in, a good fit as far as player ranking on many evaluator boards and team need here with Minnesota at 18.
19, back-to-back safeties.
Look at this, three safeties off the board in the first 19.
But it's Emmanuel Forbes, safety safety from Toledo going to the Carolina Panthers.
That big wide wingspan, 6'3 and 1/2 height.
Really be helpful against the run.
And most players with his size lack the speed that you need to play safety in the NFL.
You got to be fast.
Forbes is fast.
Okay, I'm going there at to Carolina at 19.
At 20, Dallas, A.J.
Terrell, corner from Clemson.
It's funny because in the last update when I was going through preliminary thoughts that ah, Terrell may fall, he may slide, but when I went back through, Terrell looked back to the Cowboys.
Okay, well, we'll stick with it for now.
Cowboys need a corner.
They filled their edge rusher need up at 12 if they get Ruben Bain Jr., what I've got projected here.
And at 20, whether it's a safety or corner, linebacker, or another position, Dallas has some latitude.
21, Pittsburgh Steelers, Omar Cooper Jr., wide receiver, Indiana Hoosiers.
I know some are higher on Denzel Boston.
I think you look at the Steelers, and Steelers fans still hoping that Aaron Rodgers will come back for one more season.
You're going to give him a rookie receiver.
Give him somebody with great hands who is exceptionally talented at route running, which is what Cooper is.
Rodgers can He's been doing this so long, he can evaluate a defense very quickly.
If you've got a sure-handed receiver that's going to be in the spot where he's supposed to be, and you're having to throw the ball under duress, that's a lot to ask for a rookie, but I like that particular pairing because of that.
22 Speaking of pairings I like, this came back around.
Olumuyiwa Odumosu offensive tackle, Penn State to the Chargers.
Chargers could go defensive tackle.
Lots of D-line, O-line.
I I think Olumuyiwa would be a great fit with the Chargers.
This particularly in this range, I think there are some teams that okay we're not sure how many high-end offensive linemen are going to make it to say round three.
Around two for that matter.
You want to get I mean it feels like a fit that would be good on paper, probably good in practice as well.
Coach Harbaugh, welcome in.
Olumuyiwa at 22.
At 23, Monroe Freeling offensive tackle, Georgia to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The more I think about this one, the more I like the pairing.
Freeling has great athleticism.
He performed very well at the combine.
Solid performer University of Georgia but still seems somewhat as a project developmental to a degree.
The Eagles don't have a pressing need right now at offensive tackle.
But they need to get ready for it for 2027.
And you think about all of that and the fact that Freeling could still be able to contribute right now as he develops and learns.
I think it makes a lot of sense if he's there for Philadelphia at 23.
At 24, Cleveland where I've got Cleveland going offensive line at number six with Spencer Brown at offensive tackle.
Here 24, wide receiver and here's Denzel Boston.
I thought he was the most glaring omission for my last mock.
And that was in part because of some evaluators that saw Boston outside of that top tier receivers.
And you're going to have that with receivers where you're going to have opinions that will vary considerably.
You have that a lot of positions, but receivers tends to be more than most.
At least in my experience through the years.
Of course, a lot of different receivers have different skill sets.
Small slot receiver that can catch anything that's ultra tough.
You have a 6'5 burner that can go deep.
And well, Boston more of the latter.
6'4 a great size.
Here I've got him going at number 24 to the Browns.
25, Keanu Benton defensive tackle, Ohio State Benton is really good against the run.
And while this is a definitely a passing offense and passing defense focused NFL Benton also has the potential to be disruptive against the pass.
That interior pressure, those tackles for loss.
But Chicago had a lot of trouble stopping the run last season.
And while I think a safety like Emmanuel Forbes could be a great fit for the Bears here Forbes is gone.
Already been drafted.
So instead the Bears take a defensive tackle.
It's possible that Benton could be the only defensive tackle drafted on night one.
Maybe Peter Woods goes on night one, maybe.
26, Buffalo Bills, Adetomiwa Adebawore edge, Miami Adebawore turned 25 years old earlier this month which is old for an NFL draft prospect, especially an edge rusher.
But Adebawore had a great 2025 season with the Miami Hurricanes, that great one-two combo off the edge opposite Rueben Bain Jr.
The Bills definitely under pressure to win right now, right away.
And when you compare Adebawore with other edge prospects I think he would fit best with a team that has a serious chance, one of those teams with like a top quarterback.
So he could go with up at 14 to the Ravens.
I wouldn't count that out either.
But a team that's all right, we've got to get this going right now.
We've got this window with a an ace quarterback.
I think it makes sense if he's there at 26 for Buffalo.
27, this is a bit of a slide.
Derick Hall edge from Auburn to the San Francisco 49ers I know that some have said offensive line for the 49ers.
I don't get the impression that's not going to be the move here.
Wide receiver doesn't look quite as pressing as it did before.
Being an edge rusher like Hall who's got great size solid performer at Auburn a bit of a slide here, but you're going to have that inevitably in drafts.
The Niners get a bit of a slide here with Hall.
If that happened, I think the Niners would get some nice night one grades.
I personally am not one to give out grades to draft picks.
That's not my thing.
But it is interesting to see what other people do as far as grades go.
At 28, Houston Texans, Keanu Benton offensive tackle, Utah played a variety positions young player had two years of eligibility remaining, but decided to enter the NFL.
If he doesn't go on night one, he'll be an early day two pick in all likelihood.
But I think Benton's got a pretty good chance of being taken on night one.
Filling a need for Houston at 28.
29, Kansas City Chiefs Kayshon Boutte where I've got Kansas City in this new mock at number nine overall selecting Oregon tight end, Kenyon Sadiq.
Get Sadiq at nine, you come back here at 29.
Corner obviously a need for the Chiefs, but there will be talent at corner available later in the draft.
Hall 10 and a half sacks last season for Texas A&M.
Arm length is a concern.
Talked about this several times, but this is and it it will be an issue for some teams.
Cuz if you look historically, there's not a strong track record for success for edge rushers with arm length shorter than 31 inches.
People talk about that with Rueben Bain Jr.
Hall's arms are a measured a half inch shorter than Bain's.
And yet you look what Hall did last season at Texas A&M.
All those sacks playing against top notch competition.
Here I've got him filling a need spot certainly for the Chiefs as far as being an edge rusher.
Hall at 29 at 30.
Sticking with the projected trade I've had from before.
Again, it was interesting I had this in a couple of other I don't want to say off the top of my head cuz I don't remember who had it offhand.
There are a couple of prominent mock drafts that also had this exact projection.
I don't have any sort of inside information that it will be the Dolphins.
I don't like doing projected trades.
But in this case, I think it's important because I think Kyler the Cardinals are going to be inclined to trade up.
This may be a lot lower than Boutte could be gone before here.
I should say that as well.
Heard some late whispers like and who knows what's hype and what's what's just people talking this time of year, but I heard some people saying, you know, this it's not like it's just going to be Arizona or nobody for Boutte.
But in this case, Boutte still on the board at 30.
Arizona trades up.
They get Alabama quarterback, Bryce Young.
Young's 23 years old.
He grew up in the business.
His father coach at University of Tennessee Martin over in Martin, Tennessee.
He's coached football there for years.
So Young has been around this.
He understands that this is a business.
And yet from an experience standpoint as a starter relatively low number at Alabama.
He had one year of eligibility remaining.
But clearly it was indicated to Bryce Young from somebody that he was expected to be a first round pick.
This is not a strong year overall for quarterback prospects.
And with next year appearing to be a strong class, at least potentially.
We're talking about supply and demand as far as the NFL goes.
So we'll see if it ends up happening, but again, I've heard and this isn't just conjecture and not just the fact that Kyler Murray's gone for Arizona.
There's talk from people I trust that yeah Cardinals would like to get Young.
We'll see how daring they are as far as trading back up into that first round.
31, Zion Young edge, Missouri to the New England Patriots Offensive line could be a consideration as well.
Got Young to the Patriots at 31 and then 32.
Carlton Hood, corner, Tennessee.
The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
If they don't address corner here, I expect Seattle sometime relatively early in the draft to go after a corner.
We'll see how it plays out for Seattle and the rest of the teams.
Coming up this Thursday.
So again, be sure if you haven't already, bookmark the DKDB.
My expert curated 2026 NFL mock draft database.
The best of the best in here.
A lot of updates coming up over the next few days.
Again, be sure to make plans to join me, at least check in.
This Thursday, I'll have a live stream.
When worlds collide.
Live stream on Twitch for the first time in a few months.
Live stream on YouTube.
Mock Draft NFL channel.
I have these DKDB updates.
Pick and Blades.
I do a four different streams going.
Got high-speed internet.
It should in theory be able to handle it.
I'll have to test it out earlier in the day.
I'll probably have some sort of live stream just to test it out.
Have a reaction to Jason Brough's mock draft once it comes out on Thursday.
Jason just puts out one per year.
As I've noted, there are only two people with a higher score than I have in the Huddle Report, which measures mock draft accuracy over the past 5 years.
Jason Brough and Brendan Donahue.
Those two are among many names here in the DKDB.
There's Brendan.
I anticipate a lot of Monday morning mock drafts coming up.
This is going to be one I'll be keeping an eye on.
I'll likely I stay up overnight US time and then certainly the Monday.
