Draft night volatility
- Final mocks predict a volatile 2026 NFL Draft with multiple first-round trades expected on Thursday night. (nfl.com) - Daniel Jeremiah projects four first-round trades and specifically names the Eagles and Saints as movers. (nfl.com) - Analysts warn the quarterback market remains unsettled, so teams could jump around the top of Round 1. (espn.com)
Thursday night’s first round is shaping up as a trade board, not a chalk board. Daniel Jeremiah’s final mock projects four Round 1 deals before the 2026 National Football League Draft opens in Pittsburgh. (nfl.com) Jeremiah specifically mocked the Philadelphia Eagles moving from No. 32 to No. 19 and the New Orleans Saints jumping from No. 21 to No. 8. He also projected the Los Angeles Rams climbing from No. 26 to No. 18 and the Cleveland Browns moving from No. 33 to No. 31. (nfl.com) Peter Schrager wrote on ESPN on April 22 that “things are going to get wild” and called this first round “particularly wide open.” His final mock said the quarterback market is still unsettled enough that teams could move around the top of the board. (espn.com) The uncertainty starts near the top. NFL.com’s final Jeremiah mock keeps Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 to the Las Vegas Raiders, but he wrote that “there’s uncertainty once we get beyond the first overall pick this year.” (nfl.com) That matters because the draft begins Thursday, April 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern in Pittsburgh, and the first round now moves faster than it used to. NFL Football Operations says teams get eight minutes per pick in Round 1 this year, down from 10 minutes. (nfl.com; operations.nfl.com) The official first-round order gives several obvious trade spots to teams sitting near the quarterback line. The Raiders hold No. 1, followed by the Carolina Panthers at No. 2, the Tennessee Titans at No. 3, the Cleveland Browns at No. 4 and the New York Jets at No. 5. (nfl.com) Jeremiah’s mock has the Saints paying to get to No. 8 for Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and the Eagles moving up for Alabama guard Kadyn Proctor. His projected Rams trade targets Texas A&M edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr., while his Browns move back into Round 1 lands Ohio State running back Jeremiyah Love. (nfl.com) ESPN’s broader draft package on April 23 said the first round will air on ESPN, ABC and the ESPN app, with Rounds 2 and 3 on April 24 and Rounds 4 through 7 on April 25. NFL media materials list the same April 23-25 schedule for Pittsburgh. (espn.com; nfl.com) If the mocks are right, the first names may come quickly and the real drama will start after the Raiders turn in the first card. By then, the question will be which front office moves first — and how much it pays to do it. (nfl.com; espn.com)
