Rhett Lewis published his first 2026 NFL mock draft on NFL.com, and he put Fernando Mendoza at Pick 1.1 and QB1 to the Raiders. The mock, posted with the 2026 NFL Draft still months away, runs through Round 1 and includes a few notable swings, from the Jets taking an edge rusher named Reese to the Cowboys landing McCoy after a strong pro day at the end of March.
Lewis wrapped the piece with a warning that mock drafts can induce stress, anxiety and oftentimes feelings of anger toward the author, then added a simple instruction: Enjoy. That is the tone of the exercise, but the projections carry more weight because the draft is scheduled for April 23-25 and NFL Network and NFL+ will have live coverage across those three days.
Lewis also said he is pleased to project a Hoosier at the top of the draft for the first time in program history, a nod to Indiana and Mendoza’s rise in his board. In the same mock, the Cardinals were said to be weighing Jeremiah Love or Francis Mauigoa before selecting Bailey, while the Titans were projected to pass on Love if he was still there and instead give Cam Ward an offensive weapon.
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The rest of the first round follows a similar logic. Lewis projected the Browns to take Mauigoa as the draft’s best offensive lineman, the Saints to add Bain for another edge presence, the Chiefs to grab the best corner in the class after trading Trent McDuffie to the Rams in March, the Bengals to address the secondary with Downs, and the Dolphins to select Lemon at No. 11 overall.
The mock also reflects the shape of each team’s recent decisions. Arizona finished 2025 with just 30 sacks, which is part of the case for adding pass rush help, while McCoy missed all of last season after tearing his ACL in January 2025 before returning for a pro day that Lewis said he aced in front of NFL personnel. None of it is real draft order yet, but it is the first public map of how one league insider sees the nfl draft 2026 taking form, and it already gives fans a starting point for the arguments that will follow all spring.
