Albert Breer’s 2026 Mock Draft!!

All right.

Welcome in to the Brew Report for April the 23rd.

It is draft day.

Happy draft day to everyone.

I have loved draft weekends since I was a little kid.

I can still remember in the 80s and 90s, waking up on that Saturday morning and devouring Will McDonagh, the legendary Will McDonagh's mock draft in the Boston Globe.

He had a lot, he'd get a lot of them right.

I've got my own mock draft that's now up on SI.

com, my one and only mock draft for 2026.

You can have that, that's the product of weeks and weeks of calls and trying to figure out who's going where and which players are rising and which players are falling, and which players everyone has wrong.

And so there's a lot of information in there beyond just the predictions of who's gonna go where.

I would encourage you to check that out and don't just look at the names connected to the players, but also take a look at the Descriptions of what each team is thinking, what each team is doing, cause that's where the real information is.

And we're gonna try to give you some of that real information now.

Instead of doing 3 topics this morning, I'm gonna take you through the top 10.

What I know, where I think these things are going, and what to look for on Thursday night.

So, first overall pick, Fernando Mendoza to the Las Vegas Raiders.

I don't want to just brush over this one.

Obviously, it's a very significant move for that franchise.

Clay Kubiaks in his first year, the general manager, John *** in year 2.

This has not been a coronation.

The, the Raiders have really dug in on the process.

The process of evaluating the quarterbacks over the last 7 months or so.

We saw a lot of these guys live in the fall.

Some of the guys they evaluated like Brendan Soresby at Cincinnati, he's now at Texas Tech, Dante Moore at Oregon went back to school, and that was a huge part of how they were able to thin the herd and get to a point where they were comfortable with Fernando Mendoza.

Mendoza really has been the guy for them.

Since the national championship game, since Dante Moore made his decision, and Mendoza has just continually checked boxes off .

He's done the 3 Zooms with the coaching staff, they've started the install.

He's done his 30 visit.

He had his pro day, there was a massive Raider contingent there.

He will be a Raider shortly after 8 o'clock Eastern.

At number 2, the New York Jets.

I still believe that they will take Texas Tech edge rusher, David Bailey.

And I think as much as anything, this is about providing hope.

And that's, there's an ownership element to that for sure.

But I think for Aaron Glenn, And Darren Mougie, they need to give their players something that they can wrap their heads around.

And the reality is in any NFL locker room, players don't care about your three-year plan.

They wanna see how you're gonna help them win in the here and the now, and I think David Bailey is the best player equipped to do that of the players available to the Jets with Mendoza off the board.

And so I think this does come down to David Bailey versus Ohio State's Arvel Reese.

In the end, I think Bailey's readiness and his translation um to the NFL.

are what breaks the tie.

It might take a little longer with Arvel Reese to figure out what he's gonna be, where he's gonna line up, all that different stuff in the NFL with Bailey.

I think 32 teams would have the same vision for him.

He's a very straightforward prospect.

I think he projects to be a Nick Bonito type of edge rusher in the pros, which is a really good player.

He's Get a little bit better against the run, but he's a good building block for Darren Mougie and that staff to start with, and a good player for Aaron Glenn to put on the roster as they try to provide hope.

And it's important that they do that because they're building a program.

And remember, if you go back to Aaron Glenn's history and what they were able to accomplish in Detroit, while the first two years weren't outstanding, They finished both those years strong, and there was that hope.

And so, you know, the 3 and 3-13 and 1 season, the first year in Detroit for Dan Campbell and his staff, Aaron Glenn was on that staff.

They, um, they started 0-10 and 1, they finished the season 3 and 3, gave the players that hope.

And then you look at um the 2nd year, of course, they started 1 and 6, finished, 9 and 8.

So providing that kind of hope, a very important thing.

All right, so then at 3, and I think this is where the draft really starts, the Arizona Cardinals, I believe will continue to seek a trade down.

Now, whether or not they're able to get that accomplished, I don't know, but they have been trying to make that happen.

Absent a trade down, if they'd wind up sticking at 3.

Then my guess would be the pick will be Jeremiah Love over Arvel Reese, over Sonny Stiles, over an offensive lineman.

I actually think that the argument in the room right now would probably be Love versus an offensive lineman, a right tackle like Francis Mauinoa.

Um, I think Love winds up winning out because the coaching staff there loves Jeremiah Love, um, and the owner, I think, likes the idea of Jeremiah Love and what he can do for them from a business standpoint.

And he gives them the chance to be competitive in year one of Michael Fleur's new program.

And so, my sense is that it would be Jeremiah Love with the 3rd overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals, if they're not able to trade down.

And there have been teams like the Chiefs and the Eagles and the Rams and the Cowboys, sniffing around on a trade up.

The Eagles wouldn't trade all the way up here, but those are the teams that have talked about trading up.

Um, the, the, the, the, the target for teams trading up, I think would probably be Arvel Reese, but where we're looking right now and, and how it's looking right now, if they did wind up sticking, I think it would be Jeremiah Love right there at 3.

And number 4, the Titans are another team that is aggressively looking to move down.

Um, whether or not they're able to pull it off, could, could be related to whatever happens with the Cardinals at #3.

If they get stuck, if Jeremiah Love is off the board, I believe the pick would be Arvel Reese.

I think Sonny Styles is very much in the conversation too, but Arvel Reese is somebody who can change Robert Salah's defense.

And Robert Salah, if you look at the background, same as Dan Quinn, Dan Quinn got his hands on Micah Parsons in Dallas in 2021, and Micah Parsons changed Dan Quinn's defense because of all the different things he could do with Micah Parsons.

And I think Arvel Reese could have a similar impact on Robert Salah's defense in Tennessee, so he'd be the pick for me there.

At number 5, the New York Giants, I think Sonny Stiles would be a consideration here, but from what I've heard over the last couple of weeks, they really want to help.

Jackson Dart.

And I think that means alignment is possible here, but a receiver may be more likely.

They've done a ton of work on Carnell Tate, they've done a ton of work on Jordan Tyson.

They went to Arizona State's pro day last week, um, or the, the, the one-day pro day, the, the, the one-off pro day that Jordan Tyson did, they were at the previous pro day as well.

They had Jordan Tyson in for a 30 visit.

They also were at Carnell Tate's pro day.

John Harbaugh was actually at that one at Ohio State.

They had Carnell Tate to New York for a 30 visit.

If I had to break the tie between the two, and I think they like both players.

I think Tate is a better program fit for John Harbaugh.

He's a better blocker, he's tougher, he's more durable, and I think those qualities are what are gonna endear him to John Harbaugh.

There's also the fact that he's probably a little bit more of a compliment to Malik Neighbors.

Jordan Tyson can be a little redundant with what Malik Malik Neighbors brings to the table.

And so having neighbors and Tate would really fit.

Um, doesn't mean I think Tyson's ruled out, but I just would lean Tate here cause I think Tate's a better program fit for John Harbaugh.

And number 6, the Cleveland Browns, I think this is either a receiver or an offensive lineman.

I think there's a possibility they, in this scenario, they take Tyson and then come back with an offensive lineman, maybe trade up for a Cadden Proctor or or or Monroe Freling later in the 1st round.

But what I have them doing is taking the Utah tackle, Spencer Fo at 6, safe pick.

Medically, he's good.

Character, he's good.

He can play all 5 positions on the offensive line.

I think he's a good piece when you're rebuilding your offensive line and obviously, that's what they're doing with Wyatt Teller and Joel Batonio out the door.

So, Spencerfano at 6 and then you can come back with somebody like Casey Concepcion at 24.

At 7, the Washington Commanders.

I think this could be the floor for Jeremiah Love.

I think if Love were to slide through because of certain trades, whatever happened up above the, the, the commanders, I would say that Jeremiah Love would probably be the pick, but he's long gone in this scenario, and so I'd give them Sonny Stiles, the linebacker from Ohio State.

Um, this is a perfect replacement for Bobby Wagner, somebody who can be the green dot for Dan Quinn long term, and somebody who not only gives Dan Quinn the length and speed and ability to just cover ground, um, that, that he covets in linebackers, but also for Deonta Jones, the new defensive coordinator who's coming from Brian Flores's scheme in Minnesota.

Styles brings some versatility, and that's gonna be something that can create some cool things that they'll be able to do with Styles because of what type of athlete he is.

So, I'd give Stiles to the commanders.

I would not rule out a receiver here.

That's one thing I think's really On their radar and I think there's definitely a possibility that, uh, that it's a receiver here, but I'm going with Sonny Stiles.

At number 9 or at number 8, the New Orleans Saints, I think this is a receiver, a corner, or an edge.

Ruben Bain isn't quite a fit for Brandon Staley's defense as I see it.

And I think if, if Carnell Tate were somehow to fall here, Tate would be the pick.

Tate's gone in this scenario.

And again, the, the, the edge rushers at the top of the draft, Reese, Bailey, they're long gone as well.

And so I think this is gonna come down to receiver and corner.

Mansour Delaine from LSU, Jordan Tyson from, from, from, from Arizona State.

I think both those guys with possibilities.

I'm going with Mansour Delaine as a player who can come.

Come in and replace Lonte Taylor in the secondary, uh, a great fit for what Brandon Staley tries to do defensively.

Mansour Delaine staying in Louisiana with the 8th overall pick to the Saints.

And then at 9, with Kansas City, again , a rare opportunity.

If they do move up, I would think it would be for either Reese or Edge or, or, or, or one of the receivers.

Um, but sticking here and in this scenario, one of the receivers falls right in their lap, and Jordan Tyson is really like a lot of what Brett Veach covets and skilled players and that he's a big guy that moves like a little guy.

The comp I've heard for him is Jordan Jefferson with maybe a little less run after catchability, uh, but he's somebody who can come in and grow into a number one weapon.

I do think the Chiefs are gonna take almost like a Baltimore Ravens approach to the 9th pick.

That'll, that means they'll have a handful of players that they're very comfortable with taking.

I think Delane would be on that list.

I think Fanno would be on that list.

Uh, you know, I think Tyson and Tate would be on that list.

Um, I think Ruben Bain would be on that list.

I think Siddiq is.

Part of the conversation, but maybe that would be more of a trade-down scenario.

But the way this is playing out, I think Tyson is the pick and I think Tyson is a really good pick.

Finally, at 10, I would not rule out the Penn State guard, Vega Ione here.

I think it's certainly somebody who fits what John Harbaugh wants to do, fits Greg Roman's run game.

But I'm going with the battleship commander here in Caleb Downs, and I think it's interesting when you look at John Harbaugh's history, what he's valued on defense, and I think they would like to add to a defense that's losing Dexter Lawrence.

Defensively, John Harbaugh changed what the Ravens did when he went to his 2nd decade as Ravens head coach and promoted Wink Martindale to defensive coordinator, and Jesse Minter and Mike McDonald were in that room for the reimagining of the Ravens defense.

And what they wanted to do is they wanted to play defense the way that teams.

Offense and dictate terms.

And how they were gonna do that, they were gonna give the players the power and they were gonna empower their heady safety, Eric Weddle, to make adjustments right up until the expiration of the play clock, the same way a quarterback can.

And it worked incredibly well.

That defense has been duplicated across the sport.

That responsibility that Eric Weddle held was eventually passed down to Kyle Hamilton, and Caleb Downs is a perfect fit to do that.

In fact, I've heard people compare.

Downs to Weddle, and calling him a twitchier version of Eric Weddle.

And so I think Downs can be a ten-year player for him.

His dad played for the Giants, Gary Downs was a running back for the team back in the 90s, and he's somebody who I think can unlock the defense that John Harbaugh and Denard Wilson are gonna be looking to put in.

So that's 1 through 10.

Appreciate you guys following along.

All the way through draft season.

I love this time of year.

I can't wait to see what happens tonight.

You can see the rest of my, the rest of my mock draft if you want to get more in-depth on 1 through 10, if you want to see what I had going on from 11 to 32, that's all there on the MMQB.

com.

We will have a live stream coming tonight.

So be sure to tune in.

We will be ahead of the actual draft or we'll be following the actual draft.

We'll be ahead of the TV show.

We'll be coming with the picks as they happen, with analysis as they happen, with, you know, my relationships leveraged where I'm gonna be able to kind of take you inside the thinking of some of the teams with some of those picks as they happen.

So be sure to tune in for that.

We'll have that up on YouTube and all the other platforms.

And then we'll be wrapping all of this up on Friday, have more content for you over the weekend.

Can't wait to give you guys full coverage of everything that happens in the next 3 days.

We will see you for the live stream tonight.