- Sonny Styles joins the top five: An otherworldly combine showing vaults the Ohio State linebacker closer to his Ohio State counterpart, Arvell Reese, and into the top five of this mock draft, where the Titans scoop him up to fill a need.
- Monroe Freeling’s big combine will pay dividends: The Georgia product might be the biggest riser of any player due to his combine performance. He lands with the Browns at No. 6 in this mock after measuring in at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds and then running a 4.93-second 40-yard dash with a 9-foot-7 broad jump.
The first mock draft after the NFL Scouting Combine is probably the biggest shake-up in the pre-draft rankings every year due to athletic testing as well as confirmed medicals and measurements. Here’s a look at some new first-round projections following a busy week in Indianapolis.
1. Las Vegas Raiders: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Mendoza didn’t participate in combine drills, but he did weigh in at 236 pounds, which is a great number for him. That puts the Matt Ryan comparisons firmly into the equation — build, arm strength and how he plays the game.
2. New York Jets: EDGE Arvell Reese, Ohio State
Reese announced that he wanted to be viewed as an edge rusher at the combine, which, in my opinion, clouds his projection, given his lower pass-rush win rate in college. But he tested like an elite athlete, notching a 4.46-second 40-yard dash. After the Jets traded Jermaine Johnson Jr. for T’Vondre Sweat, they now have a much bigger need at stand-up pass rusher.
3. Arizona Cardinals: T Francis Mauigoa, Miami (FL)
Mauigoa measures in at the combine with 18th-percentile arms and a 26th-percentile wingspan when compared to NFL offensive tackles. That’s not ideal, but it also wasn’t a surprise.
The Cardinals need offensive line help more than anything else. If you think Mauigoa is a starting-caliber player and a two-contract guy (which I do), he’s worthy of this spot. He’s very solid in run blocking and pass protection, having earned 75.0-plus PFF grades in both this past season.
4. Tennessee Titans: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
What more can be said about Sonny Styles? He brings elite size at 6-foot-5 and over 240 pounds, and he put on one of the best, if not the best, linebacker performances in combine history, which included a 4.46-second 40-yard dash and a 43.5-inch vertical. The Titans are reportedly in on the Tremaine Edmunds market via trade, and if that’s the case, I think they’ll be interested in Styles early if they don’t make that trade.
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5. New York Giants: WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State
Tate had an opportunity to grab the WR1 title by the horns since both Jordyn Tyson and Makai Lemon did not do any athletic testing at the combine, but he came up short with a 4.53-second 40-yard dash. That doesn’t hurt his stock, in my opinion, but it keeps him in the conversation with the other three. Still, his range likely starts here at No. 5 to give Jaxson Dart two legitimate deep-threat receivers in 2026.
6. Cleveland Browns: T Monroe Freeling, Georgia
Freeling might be the biggest riser of any player due to his combine performance. He measured in at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds and then ran a 4.93-second 40-yard dash with a 9-foot-7 broad jump. He also looked very explosive in the on-field drills. Get ready for all the top-15 talk for a big man who has that much athletic potential.
7. Washington Commanders: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami (FL)
Bain measured in with short arms (sub-31 inches), but we already knew that would happen. That doesn’t change his tape or the fact that he is one of the top three-down defensive linemen in the class. He would immediately be the biggest difference maker on the Commanders’ defensive line after racking up the most pressures (83) in college football this past season.
8. New Orleans Saints: RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
Love didn’t need to do much at the combine; he was already widely known as the top running back in this class, and a top-10 prospect overall. But his 4.36-second 40-yard dash was certainly fun to see. The Saints need that kind of explosiveness out of the backfield, as it was completely absent for them last year.
9. Kansas City Chiefs: DI Caleb Banks, Florida
Banks has been one of the most consistent risers throughout the draft process, mainly due to being a “faller” during the season since he was limited by a foot injury. At the Senior Bowl and now at the combine, he displayed impressive athletic ability with massive size. He’s in the top-15 conversations as the top defensive tackle in the class. He could be very hard to stop next to Chris Jones.
10. Cincinnati Bengals: S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
Downs didn’t test at the combine, choosing to stand on an extremely impressive collection of game tape over the past three seasons. It didn’t help answer the questions about his overall athleticism, but it’s also not enough for him to drop further than No. 10 to a team that could use some of his second-level and versatile safety playmaking ability.
11. Miami Dolphins: EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech
New Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley emphasized wanting to get better in the trenches, an important goal after the team traded Jaelen Phillips at the trade deadline and released Bradley Chubb. They have Chop Robinson, but still need more pass-rush potential. Bailey’s 4.50-second 40-yard dash at 251 pounds is enough to make him one of the more coveted pass rushers — and he could go even higher than this.
He finished 2025 as the highest-graded edge defender in college football (93.3) and with the top pass-rush win rate (38.6%) in the Power Four.
12. Dallas Cowboys: S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon
There was pre-combine talk of what Thieneman was capable of athletically, and he proved it all correct in Indianapolis. A 4.35-second 40-yard dash with a 41-inch vertical jump at 6 feet and 201 pounds verified the athletic ability of a player who shows incredible range in both coverage and run defense.
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13. Los Angeles Rams (via Falcons): CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
The Rams have big-time secondary needs heading into free agency. If Delane makes it to them here at No. 13, it’s hard to think he won’t be their guy. He has so much inside-out versatility as a man-coverage defender. There was no athletic testing for him at the combine, but that shouldn’t matter much.
14. Baltimore Ravens: OL Spencer Fano, Utah
Fano’s stock has been all over the place. I’ve seen mocks where he goes No. 3 over to the Cardinals, and I’ve seen mocks where he lasts all the way to No. 32 to the Seahawks.
Measured against offensive tackles, his 32 1/8-inch arm length ranks in the 3rd percentile and his 80 1/4-inch wingspan places in the 19th percentile. Still, he was so easy on the eyes during drills. He could start at guard or center (which could be very key for the Ravens), and I still believe he has some tackle flexibility.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: EDGE Akheem Mesidor, Miami (FL)
The Buccaneers could target a linebacker here, as they have a big need at that spot. But with so many linebackers testing well in Indianapolis, I wonder if they feel like they can wait and hit another one of their top needs: pass rusher.
Mesidor didn’t participate in any of the combine testing, which was mostly expected after Miami’s long season. He was one of the best pass rushers in all of college football this season, logging an elite 92.5 PFF pass-rush grade (sixth best among draft-eligible edge defenders), and would immediately be Tampa Bay’s best edge rusher.
16. New York Jets (via Colts): WR Makai Lemon, USC
Lemon didn’t go through any athletic testing, but he looked good during the on-field portion of the combine. He’s in the conversation to be the top receiver in this draft, with some of the best hands and route running to be found. That could still mean anything in terms of his draft range. He would be an excellent complement to Garrett Wilson.
17. Detroit Lions: EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M
Howell had a bit of an up-and-down week at the combine. His arm length was verified as one of the shortest of any edge rusher since 1999. He then placed in the 40th percentile in the broad and vertical jumps and the 80th percentile in the 40-yard dash and the 10-yard split before tweaking his hamstring during on-field drills.
Regardless, Howell was one of the top pass rushers in college football over the past three seasons, bringing a tenacious and relentless rush style, and would pair nicely with Aidan Hutchinson.
18. Minnesota Vikings: CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
I love McCoy’s 2024 tape, and he earned an elite 89.6 PFF coverage grade for his efforts as just a true sophomore. But he is 13 months removed from a torn ACL and still didn’t work out at the combine. That doesn’t exactly help when it comes to answering questions about his health.
He also measured in a bit smaller than expected, at 6-foot-1 and 188 pounds with 31 1/4-inch arms. All of that to say, he’s an elite cover cornerback and worthy of a first-round pick if healthy.
19. Carolina Panthers: LB CJ Allen, Georgia
Allen had a quiet combine, as he did not test while a lot of other linebackers were making headlines, but he remains one of the more promising three-down linebackers in the class. He possesses mid-first-round talent and could be the green-dot middle linebacker for the Panthers in year one.
20. Dallas Cowboys (via Packers): CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson
Terrell weighed in at 5-foot-11 and 186 pounds with 31-inch arms. That was big for him, even if he didn’t do all the athletic tests. He is one of the more tenacious cornerbacks in the class from a coverage and run-game standpoint, and he would be a very good addition to Dallas’ secondary.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: QB Ty Simpson, Alabama
Simpson went through the on-field throwing sessions, despite not doing athletic testing, and I was impressed. It’s not the biggest part of a quarterback’s evaluation, but for him to be in a new setting with new receivers and look as accurate as he did — specifically when throwing the deep ball — was fun to watch. I think he’s in the mid-to-late first-round range.
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22. Los Angeles Chargers: G Vega Ioane, Penn State
Steady and solid — that’s been Ioane’s stock throughout this pre-draft process. At 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, he jumped 31.5 inches in the vertical and 8-foot-8 in the broad. His range remains the middle to late first round, and with plenty of teams needing immediate starting talent on the interior, he’s likely to go sooner rather than later.
23. Philadelphia Eagles: T Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
Proctor showed up to the combine at 352 pounds — a boon for his stock. If he is going to stick at tackle, I would keep having him drop weight, closer to 340 pounds, but the Eagles could use him as an immediate starter at guard and then potentially kick him to offensive tackle when Lane Johnson retires.
Proctor’s tape in the back half of the 2025 season showed a lot of improvement in consistency and control, leading to a career-best 86.1 PFF overall grade and only six quarterback knockdowns allowed on more than 600 pass-blocking snaps.
24. Cleveland Browns (via Jaguars): WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
This would be a potential home-run pairing for the Browns — Monroe Freeling in the top 10 and Tyson here at No. 24. Freeling needs some development and Tyson needs to stay healthy (he didn’t participate in athletic testing or on-field drills at the combine due to a hamstring injury), but the two could be defining players of Cleveland’s offense moving forward.
25. Chicago Bears: DI Kayden McDonald, Ohio State
Although the Bears could be looking at an edge rusher or a safety here, given the way this board fell, I like an interior defensive lineman, since they need to be much stronger against the run in 2026.
McDonald recorded a 91.2 PFF run-defense grade in 2025, though he did not test at the combine. His on-field performance didn’t show a ton of pass-rush movement potential, but that’s not why a team will be drafting him.
26. Buffalo Bills: LB Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech
At this point, why not? Why can’t Jacob Rodriguez be a first-round pick? He produced elite PFF grades in run defense and coverage this past season. He was a turnover machine throughout his college career (six interceptions and 13 forced fumbles). Sure, he’s a little undersized for the position, but he tested very well in explosiveness and agility at the combine.
The only thing really holding him back was questions about athleticism, and he answered those at the combine by testing nearly identically to Luke Kuechly.
So, I ask again, why not? Because I’m running out of reasons to say why Rodriguez wouldn’t be a three-down difference-maker.
27. San Francisco 49ers: TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
Sadiq was as advertised as a crazy athlete, and then he showed as much by running a 4.39-second 40-yard dash and jumping 43.5 inches in the vertical at 241 pounds. He also threw up 26 repetitions on the bench press. He is one of the most athletically gifted players in the class, regardless of position, and could be a true chess piece in Kyle Shanahan’s offense with George Kittle — and even without him.
28. Houston Texans: T Blake Fisher, Clemson
I think Miller has the makings of a starting NFL offensive tackle. He’s 6-foot-7 and 317 pounds with 34 1/4-inch arms and also ran a 5.04-second 40-yard dash with a 32-inch vertical and a 9-foot-5 broad. He looked very controlled in the on-field drills, which checks out on his tape. He could be a day-one starter in Houston, thanks to his 54 starts at the college level.
29. Los Angeles Rams: WR Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana
Cooper made himself some money at the combine. He was already seen as a player with a very high floor, namely the ability to play all three receiver spots with reliable hands and good contested-catch ability. But after running a 4.42-second 40-yard dash and jumping 37 inches in the vertical, he checks the athletic boxes for a higher ceiling, too. He could be the Rams’ succession plan for Davante Adams.
30. Denver Broncos: TE Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt
As crazy as Kenyon Sadiq’s combine performance was, Stowers’ was even better in some ways. He jumped an astounding 45.5 inches in the vertical with an 11-foot-3 broad, both better than Sadiq’s numbers.
He won’t bring much in the blocking game, but as a true big receiver with a ton of athletic versatility, he would be a perfect fit in Denver.
31. New England Patriots: EDGE Zion Young, Missouri
Young had a quiet week in Indianapolis after opting not to go through any of the athletic testing, but we won’t forget his performance in Mobile at the Senior Bowl, where he was one of the most dominant players. He is strong as an ox in run defense and took his pass rushing to new heights this season with a pass-rush win rate above 17.0%.
32. Seattle Seahawks: WR Denzel Boston, Washington
It was unfortunate that Boston didn’t participate in the athletic testing at the combine, because I think he has some surprising movement skills for his size. However, he is still a very smooth yet strong receiver in this class and could be an ideal long-term pairing with Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He separated at a 77th-percentile rate and earned an 86th-percentile PFF receiving grade this past season.
