It is time to unveil another 2026 Boston Sports Journal mock draft, version 2.0. We are just a little over a week away from day one of the three-day marathon. Get your snacks and make sure the drinks are cold. Today, I'm doing two rounds (trades included) while considering free agency and both short - and long-term needs.
1. Las Vegas - Fernando Mendoza (QB, Indiana): He’s already got the playbook.
2. NY Jets - Arvell Reese (Edge, Ohio State): Call me crazy, but I don’t believe the David Bailey smoke, though I do reserve the right to change my mind.
3. Arizona - Francis Mauigoa (T, Miami): My belief is they want out of this spot, unless Reese falls to them. But I couldn’t find a good match (Dallas most often mentioned) unless the Cowboys overpay or the Cards accept less.
4. Tennessee - Jeremyiah Love (RB, Notre Dame): Adding an elite back to the backfield will make Cam Ward’s life a hell of a lot easier. And make no mistake about it, Love is a three-down stud.
5. NY Giants - Carnell Tate (WR, Ohio St): So, unless the G-Men love Freeling or Lomu, I think offensive line doesn’t make as much sense. They’ll look long and hard at Caleb Downs here, too, but positional value wins out.
6. (Trade) - KC - David Bailey (Edge, Texas Tech): Chiefs surrender #9 overall and #74 (and get #206 back) to draft the twitched-up pass rusher. They’ve needed someone with more juice opposite George Karlaftis. Bailey brings that. Cleveland is happy to add assets.
7. Washington - Sonny Styles (LB, Ohio St): You know how I feel about the player. Dan Quinn will know how to deploy him as a movable chess piece.
8. New Orleans - Rueben Bain (Edge, Miami): His arms are crocodile short, but his power is unmistakable. There was the revelation of the car crash in ‘24 that killed a passenger, but the league has known about that for a while. Could lead to a drop.
9. Cleveland (Trade with KC) - Jordyn Tyson (WR, Arizona St): Browns go back and, if this dude can stay healthy, grab the best pass catcher in the draft. And when you look at Cleveland’s depth chart for that position, you see how badly they need it.
10. Cincinnati - Mansoor Delane (CB, LSU): Shorter arms but a big brain and great instincts. Delane could be used to travel, and we know how much that aids a defense.
11. Miami - Jermod McCoy (CB, Tennessee): McCoy didn’t play last season because of injury, but his ‘24 tape is better than Delane’s ‘25 tape.
12. Dallas - Caleb Downs (S, Ohio State): Jerry would be giddy if Downs fell into their lap.
13. LA Rams - Caleb Lomu (T, Utah): Why Lomu over his teammate Fano, a better prospect? He plays left tackle, and don’t get it twisted, Lomu is an excellent mover. Just a good fit here.
14. Baltimore - Kenyon Sadiq (TE, Oregon): This popped up on my radar a couple of weeks ago, and with Isaiah Likley now with the Giants, Charlie Kolar in LA with the Chargers, and Mark Andrews closer to the end, Sadiq gives Lamar a playmaker who can eat between the hashes.
15. Tampa Bay - Akheem Mesidor (Edge, Miami): This isn’t quite 28-year-old Brandon Weeden going in round one to the Browns in 2012, but at 25, Mesidor is another outlier in a draft full of ‘em.
16. NY Jets - Mekhi Lemon (WR, USC): Initially, I had Omar Cooper here (He just visited Florham Park), but despite concerns about Lemon’s interviews (he hasn’t fared well), the talent is the talent, and he’s an excellent fit.
17. Detroit - Spencer Fano (T, Utah): With Penei Sewell going to left tackle, Fano is an immediate plug-and-play. Also toyed with the idea of Kaydn Proctor, someone I’ve been told Dan Campbell is fond of.
18. Minnesota- Dillon Thieneman (S, Oregon): I continue to be married to this player at this spot to this team.
19. Carolina - Omar Cooper (WR, Indiana): The Panthers need to do everything they can to decipher whether or not Bryce Young is the guy. Cooper helps.
20. Dallas - Keldric Faulk (DL, LSU): A lot of buzz about how much the league likes this player. Wouldn’t be shocked if he ended up in the top-15. For now? A nice movable defensive lineman for the Cowboys' revamped defense.
21. Pittsburgh - Olaivavega Ioane (G, Penn St): The Steelers immediately get better with Ioane. Sure, he’s just a guard with no positional flex, but he’s a better prospect than, say, Tyler Booker is, and Booker went 12th last year.
22. LA Chargers - T.J. Parker (Edge, Clemson): Jesse Minter may no longer be the DC, but Parker fits the style of edge rusher the Chargers want. That dude has some heavy hands (Roberto Duran-esque).
23. Philadelphia - Max Iheanachor (T, Arizona State): Max to the Moon.
24. Cleveland - Monroe Freeling (T, Georgia): One of the more polarizing prospects (left him out of my 1st rounder last week), but the good tape is so good that enough teams in the league will overlook the bad tape, which is very bad, and think they have a building block. They might be right.
25. Chicago - Kaydn Proctor (T, Alabama): Another polarizing guy. He weighed 400-plus pounds before Bama’s camp last season and played himself into shape. Considering what was at stake - he was a top 10 player in summer scouting - that worries me. But the talent is undeniable.
26. Buffalo - Kayden McDonald (DT, Ohio St): New defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard needs a big body in the middle of his defense. McDonald will make the Bills more difficult to run against.
27. (Trade) Patriots - Blake Miller (T, Clemson): Pats surrender 31, 125, and 198 for SF’s 1st rounder, #27 overall. A small move that’s not overly costly (Pats still have another 4th and three more 6ths) and get an ironman right tackle who gives them great insurance for aging Morgan Moses.
28. (Trade) Arizona - Ty Simpson (QB, Alabama): Arizona surrenders #34 and #104 for Texans’ first rounder, #28 overall. I just find it hard to believe someone doesn’t come up and take a kick at the QB can, especially with the ability to control a 5th year contractually. Simpson can spin it, and he is the son of a coach.
29. KC - Denzel Boston (WR, Washington): This is fortuitous for the Chiefs because there are some who believe Boston is the best pass catcher in the draft. Also gives them an element of size they don’t have.
30. Miami - KC Concepcion (WR, Texas A&M): Not sure how he and the Miami nightlife will mix, but as far as separators go, he’s the best in the class.
31. (Trade) San Francisco - Keylan Rutledge (G, Georgia Tech): The 49ers would love one of the tackles here, and could have stuck and picked Miller. But getting another 4th and still getting one of the top linemen in the class works too.
32. Seattle - Zion Young (Edge, Missouri): Another unrelenting edge rusher to fit into Mike Macdonald’s scheme. Smh.
2ND ROUND
33. NY Jets - Colton Hood (CB, Tennessee): Good player. Could sneak into round one.
34. Houston - Chase Bisontis (G, Texas A&M): I don’t love him, but there are teams that do. Got his lunch eaten against Miami.
35. Tennessee - Malachi Lawrence (Edge, UCF): Saleh has a way with front 7 players.
36. Las Vegas - Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (S, Toledo): A playmaking safety for a Raiders defense that doesn’t have many playmakers.
37. (Trade) - Pittsburgh, Jadarian Price (RB, Notre Dame): Surrenders 53, 85, and 216 to the NYG to tab the 2nd best running back in the class. Steelers know they need to be better between the tackles, and Price (paired with Ioane in round one), sets them on that path.
38. Houston - Cashius Howell (Edge, Texas A&M): Howell as the third pass rusher alongside Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter? Holy chaos.
39. Cleveland - Emmanuel Pregnon (G, Oregon): Browns signed a bunch of offensive linemen, but that doesn’t mean any of them are, you know, good. Pregnon is well-coached (btw, visited with the Pats)
40. KC - Brandon Cisse (CB, South Carolina): Still raw, but with all the skills to be a long-time starter. Just give him to Steve Spagnuolo and watch him blossom.
41. Cincinnati - Christen Miller (DT, Georgia): Bengals should keep drafting defense until they get it right.
42. (Trade) Jacksonville - CJ Allen (LB, Georgia): Surrenders 56, 88, and 245 to New Orleans to grab Allen to quarterback their defense. Not the dynamic athlete Devin Lloyd is, but a pretty good fallback with Lloyd in Carolina now.
43. Miami- Avieon Terrell (CB, Clemson): Good player. Smaller and not a testing freak, but the tape is solid.
44. NYJ - Chris Johnson (CB, San Diego St): Jets double dip at corner. Johnson is a technician and can play inside and out.
45. Baltimore - Gabe Jacas (Edge, Illinois): Violent player, and with the size and length that fits a Jesse Minter defense.
46. TB - Jacob Rodriguez (LB, Texas Tech): Misses too many tackles, but athletic and would help fill the void created by Lavonte David’s retirement.
47. Indianapolis - Peter Woods (DT, Clemson): You could tell me he’s in the first round and I wouldn’t blink. This is probably a little late for him, even with the meh tape from ‘25.
48. (Trade) Detroit - R. Mason Thomas, (Edge, Oklahoma): Deals 50 and 181 for 48 to the Falcons. Falcons need picks after emptying the cupboard for James Pearce, who might not play this year (legal issues). Thomas gives the Lions someone opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Trust me, they need it.
49. Minnesota - Caleb Banks (DT, Florida): Foot problems knock him down the board, but he can be a planet-type player with his freak athleticism and size. Not a great tackler, oddly.
50. Atlanta - Germie Bernard (WR, Alabama): Not the most talented receiver left on the board, but a smart, security blanket for whichever left-hander starts at QB.
51. Carolina - Dani Dennis-Sutton (Edge, Penn St): I wouldn’t, but he’s got the athletic profile teams crave.
52. GB - Gennings Dunker (G/T, Iowa): Most certainly will end up at guard, but has that flex for a team that likes that.
53. NYG - Lee Hunter (DT, Texas Tech): A disappointing combine, but a run-stuffing force for a Giants team dealing with a trade request from Dexter Lawrence.
54. Philadelphia - Chris Brazzell (WR, Tennessee): The Eagles have already greased the skids for an AJ Brown trade, signing Hollywood Brown and trading for Dontayvion Wicks from Green Bay. This would be the final nail in that coffin.
55. LA Chargers - Eli Stowers (TE, Vanderbilt): More of a Mike McDaniel tight end than the Chargers currently have on their roster.
56. NO - Treydan Stukes (DB, Arizona St): The league loves this player. Safety with nickel possibilities as well.
57. Chicago - Gracen Halton (DT, Oklahoma): When watching R. Mason Thomas, you can’t help but notice Halton. Little undersized, but so is Grady Jarrett, who he’d take reps from.
58. SF - Keionte Scott (DB, Miami): Had an incredible season for the Hurricanes, takes the ball away, and is tougher than a callous on a working man’s hand.
59. Houston - Anthony Hill (LB, Texas A&M): The Texans don’t have their two starters under contract after the year. Hill, playing behind that DL, could blossom.
60. (Trade ) NE - Keyron Crawford (Edge, Auburn): Swap 63 and 202 for 60 (Chicago). Generated pressure on 17.8% of his snaps last season, 4th best in the SEC. There are no testing numbers for him, but he’s twitchy and pretty refined as a pass-rusher. Almost 6’5” and 252 pounds. This is early for Crawford, based on consensus, but he’s also someone the Pats have visited with and someone whose tape shows a damn good football brain.
61. LA Rams - D’Angelo Ponds (CB, Indiana): Classic win for the Rams here. Ponds is small, but can play. They’ll figure it out.
62. Denver - Caleb Tiernan (T, Northwestern): Left tackle in waiting for the Broncos.
63. Chicago - AJ Haulcy (S, LSU): If Haulcy doesn’t get picked at the end of round two, I protect. Seriously. Also, the Bears need another safety.
64. Seattle - Josiah Trotter (LB, Missouri): I love this pick for the Seahawks as much as I loved the one at the end of the first. They double down on how they won a Super Bowl.