Lou Pickney's Latest Insight
September 19, 2025
My latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft is online.
Most of the names will be familiar to those who have been paying attention, particularly at quarterback. Even with Arch Manning excluded from consideration for 2026, the latest projection has six quarterbacks going in the Top 23.
Despite that, it was somewhat surprising to have Fernando Mendoza drop from round one considering his 9 TDs/0 interception start at Indiana. But that's a reflection of how highly some of the top draft-eligible quarterbacks are viewed. It's a competitive field.
Carson Beck is having a great start to 2025 at Miami, which is establishing itself as a finishing school for exceptional NFL quarterback prospects.
Look at the genuine emotion from Beck after Miami beat Notre Dame on August 31. You can't tell me Beck would've been better off holding a clipboard in the NFL right now.
Players with growing first-round buzz include Miami DT David Blay Jr., Ohio State TE Max Klare, Auburn OG Connor Lew, and Texas OT Trevor Goosby.
Offensive tackle is an interesting position to gauge right now. Many evaluators have Utah OT Spencer Fano as the top offensive lineman at this point. There have been some who favored Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor, though there's been a bit of a fade as of late on that.
Miami OT Francis Mauigoa, Utah OT Caleb Lomu, Oregon OT Isaiah World, Penn State OT Drew Shelton, Auburn OT Xavier Chaplin, and Florida OT Austin Barber are all in contention to go in round one.
Remember that we're still very early in the process. There are often breakouts, like last year with Missouri OT Armand Membou who ended up going to the New York Jets at #7 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
2027 NFL Draft Prospects
AFC East: Buffalo Bills | New England Patriots |
New York Jets | Miami Dolphins
AFC North:
Baltimore Ravens | Cincinnati Bengals | Cleveland Browns | Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South:
Houston Texans | Indianapolis Colts |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
Tennessee Titans
AFC West:
Denver Broncos |
Kansas City Chiefs | Las Vegas Raiders | Los Angeles Chargers
NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys |
New York Giants |
Philadelphia Eagles |
Washington Commanders
NFC North:
Chicago Bears |
Detroit Lions |
Green Bay Packers |
Minnesota Vikings
NFC South:
Atlanta Falcons |
Carolina Panthers |
New Orleans Saints |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West:
Arizona Cardinals |
Los Angeles Rams |
San Francisco 49ers |
Seattle Seahawks
