2026 NFL Mock Draft: Fernando Mendoza Is The Early 1.01 with Dante Moore Returning to School

All that remains of the College Football Playoff is the National Championship between Indiana and Miami.

Meanwhile, Oregon QB Dante Moore has stated his intention to return to college for another season, and in the NFL we've advanced to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

All of that means one thing: I'm updating my mock draft.

I'm not one to brag, but …

I was No. 1 in big board accuracy and No. 3 in mock accuracy for last year's draft. I'm the No. 1 mocker overall since 2020.

The 2026 NFL draft order is set for the top 24 picks.

For the remaining 8, I'm using a combination of postseason seeding, consensus odds to win the Super Bowl, and my own personal postseason projections.

Every week this postseason, you can access my team projections in our Fantasy Life Game Models (accessible with a FantasyLife+ subscription). Use the promo code FREEDMAN for 20% off the FantasyLife+ package. For all of our draft coverage, check out our Fantasy Life NFL Draft Hub.

Matthew Freedman's 2026 NFL Mock Draft

Pick	Team	Player	School	Position
1	LV	Fernando Mendoza	Indiana	QB
2	NYJA	Arvell Reese	Ohio State	EDGE
3	ARI	Rueben Bain	Miami	EDGE
4	TEN	David Bailey	Texas Tech	EDGE
5	NYG	Carnell Tate	Ohio State	WR
6	CLEA	Spencer Fano	Utah	OT
7	WAS	Keldric Faulk	Auburn	EDGE
8	NO	Jordyn Tyson	Arizona State	WR
9	KC	Jeremiyah Love	Notre Dame	RB
10	CIN	Caleb Downs	Ohio State	S
11	MIA	Mansoor Delane	LSU	CB
12	DALA	Sonny Styles	Ohio State	LB
13	LARA	Jermod McCoy	Tennessee	CB
14	BAL	Peter Woods	Clemson	DT
15	TB	CJ Allen	Georgia	LB
16	NYJB	Ty Simpson	Alabama	QB
17	DET	Francis Mauigoa	Miami	OT
18	MIN	Avieon Terrell	Clemson	CB
19	CAR	Kenyon Sadiq	Oregon	TE
20	DALB	Brandon Cisse	South Carolina	CB
21	PIT	Makai Lemon	USC	WR
22	LAC	Olaivavega Ioane	Penn State	G
23	PHI	Cashius Howell	Texas A&M	EDGE
24	CLEB	Denzel Boston	Washington	WR
25	CHI	Kayden McDonald	Ohio State	DT
26	BUF	Kevin Concepcion	Texas A&M	WR
27	SF	Kadyn Proctor	Alabama	OT
28	HOU	Caleb Banks	Florida	DT
29	LARB	Caleb Lomu	Utah	OT
30	NE	T.J. Parker	Clemson	EDGE
31	DEN	A'Mauri Washington	Oregon	DT
32	SEA	Colton Hood	Tennessee	CB

Methodology For My 2026 NFL Mock Draft

Here's an outline of my mock process.

Identify the 32 players most likely to go in Round 1.
Order players correctly within their position groups.
Match teams with positions of need.
Attempt to mock players within their likely draft ranges.

No trades: I don't like stacking randomness on top of chaos. Sure, a mock without projected trades isn't realistic … but it might be more accurate.

"Must Include" Prospects in Round 1 of the NFL Mock Draft

So much will change over the next few weeks (and months), but right now, here are the 25 players I feel I must include in current mock iterations.

I think they all have a 75% chance (or better) to go in Round 1 (unless something drastically changes between now and the draft).

QB: Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), Ty Simpson (Alabama)
RB: Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame)
WR: Carnell Tate (Ohio State), Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State), Denzel Boston (Washington), Makai Lemon (USC)
TE: Kenyon Sadiq (Oregon)
OT: Spencer Fano (Utah), Francis Mauigoa (Miami), Kadyn Proctor (Alabama), Caleb Lomu (Utah)
OG: Olaivavega Ioane (Penn State)
EDGE: Arvell Reese (Ohio State), Rueben Bain (Miami), David Bailey (Texas Tech), Keldric Faulk (Auburn)
DT: Peter Woods (Clemson), Kayden McDonald (Ohio State)
LB: Sonny Styles (Ohio State), CJ Allen (Georgia)
CB: Mansoor Delane (LSU), Jermod McCoy (Tennessee), Avieon Terrell (Clemson)
S: Caleb Downs (Ohio State)

If not for his recent season-ending ACL tear, I also would've included WR Chris Bell (Louisville) on this list, but now—like CBs Benjamin Morrison and Shavon Revel last year—he will probably fall to Day 2 due to injury.

"Want to Include" Prospects for Round 1 of the NFL Mock Draft

After the aforementioned players, here are the remaining guys I considered for inclusion.

WR: Kevin "KC" Concepcion (Texas A&M)
EDGE: Cashius Howell (Texas A&M), T.J. Parker (Clemson)
DT: Caleb Banks (Florida), A'Mauri Washington (Oregon)
CB: Brandon Cisse (South Carolina), Colton Hood (Tennessee)

Borderline Prospects for Round 1 of the NFL Mock Draft

Here are six more prospects I considered including in my mock, but who (for now) I think belong in Round 2.

OT: Gennings Dunker (Iowa)
OG: Emmanuel Pregnon (Oregon)
EDGE: R. Mason Thomas (Oklahoma), Zion Young (MissourI), LT Overton (Alabama), Damon Wilson (Missouri)

Analysis Of The 2026 NFL Mock Draft

As we get closer to the draft, I'll provide pick-by-pick analysis in my mocks. For now, here are some general thoughts.

Quarterbacks

This is not the class that was promised, especially now that Moore is out. In my way-too-early May 2025 edition, I had five QBs.

Arch Manning (Texas): Staying in school one more year.
LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina): Is returning to school.
Drew Allar (Penn State): A season-ending ankle injury has impacted his draft stock.
Garrett Nussmeier (LSU): Benched midseason after struggling with an abdominal injury.
Cade Klubnik (Clemson): Regressed in final season (8.4 AY/A as junior, 7.6 as senior).

Let this list be a reminder that no one knows anything. Literally not one of these guys is in my updated mock.

Also, I've dropped from five QBs in Round 1 to three QBs … and I'm honestly skeptical that those three deserve to go that early.

Based just on vibes, this class feels a little bit like the 2022 cohort (Kenny Pickett, Desmond Ridder, Malik Willis). All three of them had Round 1 hype, but only one ultimately got that investment.

When we get to May and look back, I won't be surprised if we see just one QB in Round 1: Fernando Mendoza. (At least that's my early read right now.)

Check out my Mendoza scouting report.

With the exception of 2024 (I'm looking at you, Michael Penix and Bo Nix), QBs almost always go later than we expect.

Wide Receivers

This is a decent year for the position, but athletic testing will determine a lot. If a number of WRs tear up the combine, we could see six WRs go in Round 1, maybe more.

But if this class has modest pre-draft workouts, the number of WRs in the top 32 could drop to just two.

Defensive Front Seven

This feels like the strength of the class.

With Moore returning to school, I have EDGE/LB Arvell Reese going No. 2 overall, and after him I have another three EDGEs going in the top eight.

And the list of guys I considered but opted not to include is stacked at EDGE.

This might just be a defensive year.

The No. 1 Pick in Dynasty Rookie Drafts

In superflex leagues, positional scarcity will push QBs up the board, but in non-SF formats, the No. 1 pick in dynasty rookie drafts is Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame).

He's just 20 years old, he won the 2025 Doak Walker Award as the top RB in college football, and over the past two seasons, he put up 3,014 yards and 40 TDs from scrimmage in 28 games.

With a three-down skill set and workhorse frame (6-0, 214 lbs.), Love could be one of the NFL's top backs as a rookie.

If he lands in a functional offense—unlike Ashton Jeanty this past year—he could reasonably draw Round 1 investment in fantasy drafts for season-long, best ball, and Guillotine Leagues™.

Four Teams Control the Draft

Attention always goes to the team with the No. 1 overall pick—and the Raiders are certainly intriguing—but I tend to think the franchises with multiple selections in Round 1 usually control the draft.

This year, we have four such teams: The Jets, Browns, Cowboys, and Rams.

Each of these teams has key questions entering the postseason:

Jets: Is there a QB who deserves to go at No. 2? (Answer: No.) If they think this is a class with only one viable QB, will they attempt to package their two picks to move up one spot?
Browns: Do they believe that QB Shedeur Sanders is the guy? And if not, will there be anyone they like available at No. 6? (Answer: Probably not.)
Cowboys: They need help all over the defense. Do they invest both Round 1 picks in that side of the ball?
Rams: Is now the time to find QB Matthew Stafford's eventual successor? Or do they look to fortify an already strong roster with OT and CB reinforcements?