I miss NFL draft days being on the weekend.
Hunkering down on a Saturday with your boys, Xbox 360s lying all around, playing Halo 3 and watching the first few rounds for hours on end. But I’ll admit, making the first round a prime-time Thursday night spectacle has made it feel special. It’s the first true feeling of “hey, football isn’t that far off.” We don’t have to guess who’s drafting their QB of the future. Which running back will have to watch over their shoulder all training camp? The best part of it all? It’s incredibly unpredictable. So, I decided to try to predict it. Well, kind of. Here I share with you my 10 Bold Predictions for the 2026 NFL Draft. Not so bold as to be unrealistic. Not so paint-by-numbers that you can find the same list on 10 other sites. But a semi-realistic, slightly butterfly-effect-ish way the draft could theoretically work out, loosely tying together like a beautifully written wrestling storyline 20 years in the making that shoves Pat McAfee in unnecessarily. If I’m right on anything? I knew it all along. If I get none? Well, it was bold predictions, right?
1. Dallas trades up to draft Jeremiyah Love.
It’s been too long since we’ve seen this type of chaotic Cowboys move, and I feel it in my bones “Jerruh” has heard one too many “since the Cowboys have made the Super Bowl” joke. Jones doesn’t like it when division rivals are grabbing the headlines. The Giants’ trade of Dexter Lawrence to land the #10 overall pick has the G-Men the talk of the town. The A.J. Brown Saga in Philly has the Dirty Birds plastered on every TV screen. The Commanders’ new/old uniforms have people feeling all hot and bothered (or is that just me). Yes, they just signed Javonte Williams to a three-year deal. But it’s only a reasonable $8 Millon average annual value and has two voidable years with a modest cap hit. Nothing that would prevent them from adding a game-breaker like Love. The Notre Dame alum has been rumored just about everywhere, but recent rumors have the Cardinals hot on his heels. The Cowboys trade up to #2 to get ahead of potential destinations: Arizona, Tennessee, and the New York Giants. Their trade partner?
2. The Jets trade back multiple times.
The Jets have one of the worst rosters on paper in the entire league. In this scenario, they finally do the right thing, trading back TWICE. First with Dallas, and then find a trade partner willing to give up a 2027 first, a 2026 second, and a couple of mid-to-late rounders. The Jets take their next heir apparent in Alabama’s Ty Simpson at 16, and pair him with his college receiver, Germie Bernard, with the 34th overall pick. Such a Jets move.
3. Quoth the Raven: Kenyon Sadiq.
The Giants take the first receiver off the board in Carnell Tate at 5, giving the tight-end-needy Commanders, Saints, and Chiefs an easy excuse to pivot to the uber-talented tight end, Kenyon Sadiq. Was adding the Oregon-esque wings to their updated uniforms a bit of foreshadowing for Baltimore? The Ravens lost Isaiah Likely, have an aging Mark Andrews, and have serious concerns that the Chiefs want Sadiq with Travis Kelce likely retiring after this season. They make the move all the way up to seven, leapfrogging the Saints and the heavily rumored Sadiq landing spot, Kansas City.
4. The Rams make Lemon-ade from Chiefs’ lemons.
With the top tight end off the board and a couple of receiver-needy teams up next, the Rams’ hands are forced to make a trade with New Orleans to prevent losing out on their next superstar receiver, Makai Lemon. Los Angeles gets ahead of the Chiefs and lands Lemon, argued by some (me, I’m some) as the top receiver in this class, with a skillset that McVay can knit into this offense cozier than a sweater.
5. Cincinnati trades back into the first round.
With the tea leaves reading this is a make-or-break year for Joe Burrow and his willingness to stick around in Cincinnati, the Bengals made a bold move in trading the 10th overall pick for Giants DT Dexter Lawrence. They make another bold move here back into the first round, but this time to get Joe Brrr another rrreceiver. (That was bad, I know). I’m not calling a specific player and/or trade partner here. Just that Cincy catches a falling player high on their draft board, trading a future first and them some while trying to prove to Burrow they’re all in.
6. The record for receivers drafted in the first two rounds is broken.
The depth of receiver draft in this class and the plethora of teams in need of pass catchers is the perfect storm to break the 2020 record of 13 receivers taken in the first two rounds. Honestly, I think it could push into the high teens.
7. Chiefs get their next-gen Travis Kelce.
By the time the Chiefs’ second of two first-round picks comes up, the top of their receiver big board is decimated. But don’t fret, Chiefs Kingdom. Kansas City gets its Travis Kelce replacement at the end of the first round in the sure-handed tight end out of Vanderbilt, Eli Stowers.
8. Seattle double-dips in the running back pool.
A healthy dose of reality hits when the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks head to the podium just four times in the 2026 draft. With Kenneth Walker III now in Kansas City and Zach Charbonnet set to miss significant time with a torn ACL suffered in January, the Seahawks use 50% of their picks on running backs. Seattle closes out the first round with the chalk pick of Jadarian Price, and give him a running mate who can help carry the load while Charbs recovers with in-state product, Washington’s Jonah Coleman.
9. Texans two-step to another dynamic RB duo.
After Seattle snags Price at the end of the first, the Texans trade up to the 34th pick in a swap with Arizona to get ahead of the Titans and take combine riser Mike Washington Jr. out of Arkansas. The explosive back matches perfectly with the punch-packed David Montgomery, forming “Sonic and Knuckles South”. Sorry, Woody Marks stans.
10. The Giants draft two receivers in the first four rounds, and one of them is named Chris.
Whether it’s Tate, Tyson, or someone else, I’m convinced the Giants take a wide receiver at five. With the uncertain recovery of Malik Nabers and the departure of Wan’Dale Robinson, the Giants lack serious depth at receiver (although I like the Darnell Mooney signing). The Giants have oodles of draft capital, and use some of that mid-round ramen on another receiver capable of contributing this year. Two potential picks if they’re still around in the fourth are Chris Bell from Louisville or Chris Brazzell out of Tennessee.
BONUS:
Fernando Mendoza is going first. (Hey, let me make sure I just get one right, okay?)
Photo by AP Photo/Alonzo Adams | Adapted by Parker McDonald (@CarbonFoxGFX on Twitter/X)