2026 Mock Draft Thread

manxman2601 said:

Good players, but opponent QBs will have all day to pass.

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1. Not with Williams and Banks inside
2. Definitely not if you include a Barmore for Kaycon Thibodeaux trade

mayoclinic said:

1. Not with Williams and Banks inside
2. Definitely not if you include a Barmore for Kaycon Thibodeaux trade

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I respectfully disagree,

mayoclinic said:

In that draft, if we could swing a Barmore for Thibodeaux trade, the projected roster would look like:

Offense (24):

QB(2): Drake Maye, Tommy DeVito
RB(3): TreVeyon Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson, Lan Larison
FB(1): Reggie Gilliam
WR(6): Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, Kyle Williams, Mac Hollins, DeZhaun Stribling, Cyrus Allen/Efton Chism/Pop Douglas
TE(3): Hunter Henry, Eli Stowers, KJ Britt
OT(4): Will Campbell, Morgan Moses, Max Iheanachor, Marcus Bryant (possible Thayer Munford re-signing)
IOL(5): Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu, Ben Brown, Micah Morris

Defense (25):

DL(5): Milton Williams, Caleb Banks, Cory Durden, Josh Farmer, Leonard Taylor/DeMonte Capehart/Eric Gregory
EDGE(5): Kayvon Thibodeaux, Harold Landry, Dre'Mont Jones, Elijah Ponder, Bradyn Swinson/Mason Reiger
LB(5): Robert Spillane, Kyle Louis, Christian Ellis, Chad Muma/Jesse Lukuta/Marte Mapu
S(4): Craig Woodson, Kevin Byard, VJ Payne, Dell Pettus/Mike Brown
CB(6): Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones, Ephesians Prysock, Charles Woods, Marcellus Dial/Kobe Minor

Special Teams (4):

K: Andy Borregales
P: Bryce Baringer
LS: Julian Ashby
Specialist: Brendan Schooler

I would agree that would be a pretty deep and complete roster. Most immediate needs would be met. 2027 could see an EDGE, X WR, S, TE and RG.

There would be too many WRs. It might make sense in that scenario to see about trading Boutte and/or Douglas, possibly even trading along with a 2027 draft pick for an X receiver.

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I don't see the Barmore/Thibs trade happening due Barmore getting 10M GTD on the 13th of March. I am honestly not sure how I feel about Thibs

Did one on PFSN only went 5 rounds
Small trade down in the first

34.
Max IheanachorOT Arizona State

63.
Anthony Hill Jr.LB Texas
95.
Dani Dennis-SuttonEDGE Penn State
125.
Bud ClarkS TCU
131.
Malachi FieldsWR Notre Dame
143.
Zane DurantDT Penn State

SteveKiner said:

Did one on PFSN only went 5 rounds
Small trade down in the first

34.
Max IheanachorOT Arizona State

63.
Anthony Hill Jr.LB Texas
95.
Dani Dennis-SuttonEDGE Penn State
125.
Bud ClarkS TCU
131.
Malachi FieldsWR Notre Dame
143.
Zane DurantDT Penn State

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I feel like Fields would be a very good power slot

mayoclinic said:

In that draft, if we could swing a Barmore for Thibodeaux trade, the projected roster would look like:

Offense (24):

QB(2): Drake Maye, Tommy DeVito
RB(3): TreVeyon Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson, Lan Larison
FB(1): Reggie Gilliam
WR(6): Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, Kyle Williams, Mac Hollins, DeZhaun Stribling, Cyrus Allen/Efton Chism/Pop Douglas
TE(3): Hunter Henry, Eli Stowers, KJ Britt
OT(4): Will Campbell, Morgan Moses, Max Iheanachor, Marcus Bryant (possible Thayer Munford re-signing)
IOL(5): Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu, Ben Brown, Micah Morris

Defense (25):

DL(5): Milton Williams, Caleb Banks, Cory Durden, Josh Farmer, Leonard Taylor/DeMonte Capehart/Eric Gregory
EDGE(5): Kayvon Thibodeaux, Harold Landry, Dre'Mont Jones, Elijah Ponder, Bradyn Swinson/Mason Reiger
LB(5): Robert Spillane, Kyle Louis, Christian Ellis, Chad Muma/Jesse Lukuta/Marte Mapu
S(4): Craig Woodson, Kevin Byard, VJ Payne, Dell Pettus/Mike Brown
CB(6): Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones, Ephesians Prysock, Charles Woods, Marcellus Dial/Kobe Minor

Special Teams (4):

K: Andy Borregales
P: Bryce Baringer
LS: Julian Ashby
Specialist: Brendan Schooler

I would agree that would be a pretty deep and complete roster. Most immediate needs would be met. 2027 could see an EDGE, X WR, S, TE and RG.

There would be too many WRs. It might make sense in that scenario to see about trading Boutte and/or Douglas, possibly even trading along with a 2027 draft pick for an X receiver.

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I think you forgot our new TE Hill.

40yrpatsfan said:

I think you forgot our new TE Hill.

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No he didn't. He just converted our new LB to the blocking TE*. Chess not chequers!

* I have confused those two too.

Nailed me. Thx for the correction.

The non-AJ Brown mock

I'm just trying something a little different, mainly in the first 3 rounds.

31. Malachi Lawrence, UCF, EDGE

I do love a 10 yard split as a predictor for pass rush success. Mesidor and Parker are still my 1-2 for this picks but Lawrence and Jacas are getting closer and Lawrence's 10 yard split wins it.

As things stand, I do think EDGE is locked in as our first pick.

63. Max Klare, TE, Ohio State

I've come to him late but I was impressed by his athleticism on tape. I think he's a genuine future TE 1 for this roster. Stukes would still be my pick here, but Klare is now my no 2 for pick 63.

95. Bryce Lance, WR, N Dakota State

If AJ isn't happening, Lance is the Alec Pierce WR in this draft for me. He could stand to add a little more bulk though. As a point of interest, his 10 yard split was faster than that of any CB at the combine.

121. Jude Bowry, OT, Boston College

The swing tackle pick. He needs development but he has the athletic and character ceilings to be a long-term contributor.

131. Charles Demmings, CB, Stephen F Austin

Having lost Alex Austin in FA, we do need a backup CB and someone who can develop into a future starter to replace Carlton Davis. Demmings has had an outstanding pre draft process and I'm all in. The Washington pair of Prysock and Davis would also be in the running.

171. VJ Payne, Safety, Kansas State

A safety three year one who can cover TEs and future Safety 2.

191. Trey Moore, LB/EDGE, Texas

We haven't really replaced Tavai and also could do with an additional EDGE. Moore fits both roles. He and Jaishawn Barham make a lot of sense for that role.

198. Keagen Trost, RG/RT, Missouri

Best blocker in CFB. He doesn't have ideal length to play RT but is good insurance for Bowry there but ideally, I see him as Onwenu's future replacement.

202. Justin Jefferson, LB, Alabama

The admittedly undersized Jack Gibbens replacement.

212. Kaleb Proctor, DT, SE Louisiana

i'm cheating here because he's listed at 124 on the consensus big board but I don't think he goes that high. The Patriots have shown interest in day 3 athletic penetrating 3-techs and I really liked Proctor's tape. Navy's Landon robinson also works but being sub 6' concerns me as an outlier.

247. Haynes King, QB, Georgia Tech

I've been on him for a long time so it pleased me to see the Pats show interest at his pro day. There aren't many prospects more Vrabel-esque in this draft and he has the profile that Josh McDaniels has shown himself to be intrigued by (see Tim Tebow). Dobbs released, Tommy Cutlets to QB2, King to QB3.

mayoclinic said:

Got the following mock on PFSN, no trades:

1(31). Max Iheanachor, RT, Arizona St.
2(63). Caleb Banks, DL, Florida. BPA.
3(95). Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt. BPA.
4(125). Kyle Louis, LB/S, Pittsburgh. BPA.
4(131). VJ Payne, S, Kansas St.
5(171). Ephesians Prysock, CB, Washington.
6(191). Cyrus Allen, WR, Cincinnati.
6(198). DeZhaun Stribling, WR, Ole Miss.
6(202). Mason Reiger, EDGE, Wisconsin.
6(212). Damonte Capehart, DL, Clemson.
7(247). Micah Morris, IOL, Georgia.

Notes:

1. At 63, Treydan Stukes and Dani Dennis-Sutton were both gone, but Caleb Banks slipped due to his foot injury. BPA, and too talented to pass up.

2. Eli Stowers BPA at 95, would offer more to the passing game than any available WR.

3. Kyle Louis BPA at 125 and addresses huge LB need.

4. I had the choice between VJ Payne and Zakee Wheatley at 131, loved both.

5. At 171, missed out on Jalen Farmer, Keagan Trost, Keyron Crawford, Jaishawn Barham, Romello Height, Sam Roush and Jeff Caldwell.

6. At 191, narrowly missed out on Eli Heidenreich, so grabbed Cyrus Allen for quick slot receiver.

7. At 191, narrowly missed out on Adam Randall.

8. Mason Reiger and Damonte Capehart both athletic development guys.

9. Would have been happy with Micah Morris 100 picks earlier.

10. Obviously the big miss here was an EDGE rusher, but the way this mock fell I felt the values elsewhere were too good to pass up. I would offer to trade Christian Barmore to the Giants for Kayvon Thibodeaux. Barmore is expendable, and Caleb Banks and Damonte Capeheart offer a ton of interior athleticism.

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Got the following variant:

1(31). Max Iheanachor, RT, Arizona St.
2(63). Caleb Banks, DL, Florida. BPA.
3(95). Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn St.
4(125). Devin Moore, CB, Florida
4(131). Kyle Louis, LB/S, Pittsburgh. BPA.
5(171). VJ Payne, S, Kansas St.
5(175). Keagen Trost, OL, Missouri.
6(191). Cyrus Allen, WR, Cincinnati.
6(198). Eli Heidenreich, WR, Navy.
7(226). Damonte Capehart, DL, Clemson.
7(247). J. Michael Sturdivant, WR, Florida

Notes:

1. Main miss in this mock was TE and WR. Narrowly missed on Sam Roush.

2. Had the choice of Devin Moore or CJ Demmings at 125.

3. Traded 202 and 212 to move up to snag Keagen Trost.

4. Traded our 2027 6th (we have an extra from NO) to get back into the 7th for Damonte Capehart.

mayoclinic said:

2. Had the choice of Devin Moore or CJ Demmings at 125.

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Dream choice.

2 round mock from Kyle Crabbs:


He has the Pats taking Blake Miller at 31 and Romello Height at 63.

Like it, but Max Iheanachor (48) and DDS would be my dream draft. Also, Treydan Stukes is still available.

Happy with this, although I'm not a fan of Freeling. Still couldn't not pick him when he dropped to me. Got 3 of my binkies in Golday, Taafe and Tucker.

Another PFSN
7 rounds this time
Mostly let the board fall to me, but I wanted a NT so I moved from 191 to 181 to get "the Godfather"

31.
Blake Miller OT Clemson
63.
Caleb Banks DT Florida
95.
Gabe Jacas EDGE Illinois
125.
Jalon Kilgore S South Carolina
131.
Malachi Fields WR Notre Dame
171.
Tanner Koziol TE Houston
181.
Dontay Corleone DT Cincinnati

198.
Jeff Caldwell WR Cincinnati
202.
Jakobe Thomas S Miami (FL)
212.
Drew Allar QB Penn State

Traded Away
Pick 191
Pick 247

Username said:

Happy with this, although I'm not a fan of Freeling. Still couldn't not pick him when he dropped to me. Got 3 of my binkies in Golday, Taafe and Tucker.

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Monroe Freeling, Jake Golday, and Ted Hurst, in one draft! My hero!

Joel Klatt's new mock is my worst nightmare:


He has the Pats taking Cashius Howell at 31. Ugh.

My top 5 EDGE rushers are off the board by 23. 8 OL are off the board by 28.

Caleb Banks is still on the board, I would be all over him at 31 unless the medicals are disastrous. Otherwise I trade back.

In Mike Renner's new mock, 8 OL go in the first 23 picks:


Caleb Banks again available.

Mel Kiper's version:


2 Caleb's available at 31 - Banks and Lomu - plus that Mesidor guy.

mayoclinic said:

Mel Kiper's version:

2026 NFL mock draft: Mel Kiper's pick predictions for Round 1

Team needs have shifted in free agency, so how will top prospects come off the board in Round 1? Mel Kiper Jr. projects the NFL draft's first 32 picks.

www.espn.com

2 Caleb's available at 31 - Banks and Lomu - plus that Mesidor guy.

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Kiper always plays to the older crowd

USA Today 2 round draft:


The Pats take Kadyn Proctor at 31 and Eli Stowers at 63.

My re-draft:

31. Max Iheanachor (58).

63. I love the Stowers pick. But I love Treydan Stukes and Ted Hurst even more, and both are available.