NFL mock draft 2026: 2 QBs in first-round projection as Jeremiyah Love rises

We are now less than a month out from the 2026 NFL Draft. The NFL Scouting Combine is behind us, as is the majority of free agency, and teams are hosting Top 30 visits and conducting private workouts.

Which means this is an ideal time for our latest Mock Draft.

Before we dive into the picks and some big-picture thoughts after the mock draft, a word on methodology. This is more of a “what I think will happen” mock draft than anything else, based on looking at certain trends for teams and players, as well as some conversations that have unfolded over the past few weeks. Of course, we are in prime “lying season” when it comes to the mock draft, where every conversation comes with a side order of “is this truly to be believed or are there other motivations at play here?”

Still, based on where things stand right now, this is just one way that the 2026 NFL Draft could unfold in the first round.

Jeremiyah Love cracks the top five

There are two components at work with the selection of Jeremiyah Love by the Tennessee Titans at No. 4 in this mock draft.

First, if you visit NFL Mock Draft Database right now, you will learn a ton, particularly when it comes to Love. He has enjoyed a fascinating rise in mock drafts over the past four months, moving inside the top ten right around the holidays, before jumping up from the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 9 — which was a common landing spot for him in mock drafts we have done here at SB Nation — to now landing with the Titans at No. 4.

Second, is what Tennessee has done over the course of free agency. In earlier mock drafts, pass rushers were a common position when it came to the Titans at No. 4, with Rueben Bain Jr. a frequent player mentioned in that spot. But look at what the Titans have done so far this offseason, adding a host of players to their defensive front including Jermaine Jjohnson II, John Franklin-Myers, and Solomon Thomas.

Could they still draft a pass rusher, like Bain? Perhaps, but given those additions, the door seems open to addressing the offense.

And something tells me — along with everyone else — that Brian Daboll would love to have a back like Love.

Kadyn Proctor climbs to No. 6

There are several analysts in this space that are much more plugged in than I am, and my dear friend Jeff Risdon is among those.

Which is why I perked up when he had this to write about Alabama tackle Kadyn Proctor:

In the course of talking about the offensive tackle class with both subjects (independently), I was surprised at how highly their teams valued Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor.

I’m not a big fan of Proctor; he’s my No. 71 overall player. His balance issues and strong tendency to overextend and simultaneously drop his head are very real issues for me. Even so, I still anticipated Proctor being a likely first-round pick. His athleticism at his size, as well as his good film at Alabama, is legit. I did not expect him to be a viable candidate to be the first offensive lineman off the board, however.

I might need to rethink that. Both teams view Proctor as someone they expect will be selected in the first “15 or so picks,” to quote one. The area scout revealed that his team very strongly believes that Proctor will be a top-10 pick. After noting my flabbergasted reaction, he reminded me that NFL coaches–even more than scouts and front offices–covet size. And the 6-foot-7, 352-pound Proctor certainly has that…

I keep coming back to the Browns adding an offensive lineman at No. 6, and then adding a wide receiver later in the first round. As Daniel Jeremiah noted in a recent mock draft of his own, Cleveland does need to leave the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft having addressed those two positions.

Given how close Risdon is to the Browns … it was not hard to put these two dots together.

Ty Simpson has been a hot topic in recent weeks, thanks in large part to ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky.

In prior mock drafts, I had the Los Angeles Rams addressing a Matthew Stafford successor plan by adding Simpson with the second of their two picks in the first round. But thanks to their trade with the Kansas City Chiefs, it looks as if the Rams are in more of a “win now” mode, at least when it comes to any pick inside the top 15.

That does not close the door on the Rams taking a quarterback on Day Two, perhaps LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier for example, but it probably ends that potential pairing for Simpson.

It remains an open question if Simpson will even come off the board in the first round at all. In a recent piece on ESPN three analysts — Jordan Reid, Matt Miller, and Field Yates — offered varying percentages on the odds Simpson is drafted in the first round. Yates was the highest at 90% followed by Reid at 75% (with both mentioning the Arizona Cardinals trading back into the first round) while Miller was the lowest at 25%.

Looking for a landing spot in the first round, absent a trade, Pittsburgh seems like the most-likely team.

As they wait on Aaron Rodgers.

Rams take advantage of a surprising slide

The picture has changed in recent weeks regarding Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate.

Again, looking at his profile on NFL Mock Draft Database, you see a WR that was inside the top five picks for December and January, who now sits on the cusp of the top ten.

Tate could still come off the board inside the top ten, and the Browns at No. 6 are certainly an option if Cleveland looks at WR first over OT, but some other landing spots might be more of a question mark. In this mock, it is the Los Angeles Rams who benefit, as Tate falls to them at No. 13.

And given word that the Rams have been making calls about A.J. Brown, it would see WR is absolutely on their radar right now.