Joel Klatt’s 2026 NFL Mock Draft 1.0

This guy is a football nerd in the best possible sense of the word. He reminds me so much of Micah Parsons. This is the highest the Chiefs have drafted since 2017. They need to give Mahomes a little bit of a spark. This guy can do just about everything. He is an NFL All-Pro waiting in the wings. Touchdown. These fans are the best in the country. A day like today is why we love college football. Hey, welcome into the program. This is the Joel Klatt Show. I'm Joel Klatt, and this show is brought to you by Graduate by Hilton. We thank them for their support, as always. And we have got a great one for you here today. Our first mock draft is here. Post-Super Bowl, we all love the post-Super Bowl hangover, don't we? Yeah, sure we do. But why not get it started with a little mock draft? We got to get set for next season in the National Football League. Plus, we've been covering all of these guys throughout their career in college football. As you know, I've been on NFL Draft Network's draft coverage for about, what, the last six or seven years. And so I love this time of year. It's an opportunity to just look forward and present some hope to some NFL franchises. That's exactly what we're going to do here today. Hey, if you have not subscribed over on the YouTube channel, please go and do that. You can hit subscribe, hit notify. Then you'll know when all of our content drops. We're going to have a ton of content specifically for the draft and also just college football in general during the course of the offseason. So you're going to want to be here for that. And then if you have not followed us on social media, you can do that regardless of where you like the social media. And you can follow us at Joel Klatschow out there and you get all of our content in shorter form. So you'll be ready to go. Let's get into it here. Mock Draft 1.0 here for the 2026 NFL Draft. And we get started with the Raiders, the Las Vegas Raiders. And I think we all know where they're going here with this pick. Listen, the Raiders, nothing went right for them. With Pete Carroll in his first year there, he's fired after just one year. He had brought in Chip Kelly to run the offense. He was let go mid-year. This is one of the worst scoring offenses that we've seen in a long time. Certainly the worst this last year. They're going to be able to hire Clint Kubiak now from Seattle that the Super Bowl is all finished and buttoned up. And listen, they need a quarterback. Geno Smith did not work out. We know that this is Fernando Mendoza. Fernando Mendoza had a remarkable career in college football, but more specifically at Indiana last year. The Heisman Trophy winner, that epic championship game, the dive into the end zone. This guy is a phenomenal player. Got a chance to sit and talk with him a few different times during the course of the year. I was always impressed with him. I know, listen, everyone loves his post-game interviews, and rightly so. The energy, he loves his teammates, all of that. This guy is a football nerd in the best possible sense of the word. He's an excellent player. He's accurate. They utilized a lot of NFL concepts as well as college concepts with the RPO. But what I loved about Fernando Mendoza, probably more than anything else, is that when his best was needed, he was great. Every single time, whether it was on the road in big games like Oregon in that drive, Penn State in the last drive, the one that Gus and I called, Iowa coming back, even in the playoff, that national championship, when they needed to play, third down, fourth down, whether it was with his legs or accuracy on the outside, he came through always. and that's exactly what the Raiders are going to need. If they're going to build this franchise and they're going to get to the point where they want to be, they're going to need that guy at quarterback and Fernando Mendoza is him. I really love him as a player and I think he's going to succeed in the National Football League. As you know, it's always hit or miss, but remember, experience at the quarterback level or excuse me, the college level, that always pays off and he's had a ton of starts going back to his time at Cal. Now he's had a ton of huge starts going undefeated, winning the Heisman Trophy at Indiana. So I really love this pick. And as we know, this is pretty much settled. Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders at number one. Then the draft gets a bit interesting because there's not a huge depth of quarterbacks. So then you start to wonder like, well, when are the next quarterbacks going to get taken? It's probably Ty Simpson. And the Jets are sitting here at number two and they have a big quarterback need. I don't think that they're going to go with Ty Simpson, partly because this roster for the Jets, they need help everywhere. This entire roster is decimated. They traded away their stars. They got a bunch of picks. So they got two firsts in this year's draft. They've got three firsts in next year's draft. So this, I think, is where you can take best available and a real impact player, maybe the best overall player on the board. And to me, that's Arvel Reese from Ohio State. He's a versatile defender. And that's what you can use at that level. He can be on the ball, rushing the quarterback. He can be off the ball. Now, I think he's best on the ball. He's so explosive. He's flexible. He can bend. He can move. All of those things are going to pay off huge for him. He's 6'4", 243 pounds, and he moves so well. He reminds me so much of Micah Parsons, a guy that at the college level flashed some of that pass rushing, but at the NFL level probably will major in that pass rushing ability, in particular off the edge. Reese can blitz in the middle. He's a great tackler. He's very smart, and he was running an NFL defense with Matt Patricia at Ohio State. I really love that pick for the Jets. Again, they can continue to build that roster. They can fix the quarterback probably next year when there's going to be a lot more quarterbacks. It'll be a deeper quarterback draft, and they've got those three first-round picks. So here at number two, I like them going with Arville Reese. Reese is a tremendous player. Man, he's going to be a star at the NFL level. Number three with the Cardinals. New head coach, Mike LaFleur, he's coming in and got to figure out what's going on at quarterback with Kyler Murray. but really, to me, it's not necessarily just about Murray. It's also about the fact that they've got to fix the offensive line. They were in the bottom five in the league in both sacks allowed and rushing, and so now it's time to give that offensive line a big boost. For me, the best offensive lineman in the draft is Francis Maenoa from Miami, so that's my pick here. He's my top lineman. He didn't just dominate lesser opponents. He was phenomenal during the course of the playoff. Think about what that offensive line was able to do in the playoff against some of the better defenses and defensive fronts in college football, they dominated. Dominated the line of scrimmage. He only gave up one quarterback hit the entire playoff. He had 1,600 pass-blocking snaps in three years and only allowed eight quarterback hits. I think he's the guy. I think Arizona would be better if Francis Maui Noah was in front of, at least next year, I think it'll be Kyler Murray, but whoever they have at quarterback. At number four with the Titans, listen, I'm a big believer that you've got to try to give your young quarterback, in this case, Cam Ward, some help. And certainly they could use some help up front. But I also know that Robert Sala comes in as a defensive-oriented coach, and I really believe that there's a player out there that flashed in big moments, his motor is tremendous, and he's the type of guy that can be relied upon on the defensive side, in particular up front, and that's Reuben Bain from Miami. So my second hurricane in the top four, I love watching Reuben Bain. Like I said, it's not just motor. It's also talent. I know that there's going to be a lot made of his arm length. And candidly, I'm not that concerned. It's like, just watch the tape. Just watch the production. He was an absolute game wrecker the entire season. He was a game wrecker in the playoff. He is so good. And I think Tennessee with Robert Sala can come in there and really solidify an aggressive defense with Reuben Bain from Miami. Then we go to five. So the Giants are now up on the clock. And, you know, I'm looking at this and like, John Harbaugh has a specific blueprint. I really like that hire, by the way. I think that that will pay off huge. I know that they could solidify a lot of different places on their roster. However, I'm going to go vanity here because you've got a young quarterback and you can give him some help. You've got neighbors. He's coming off of that ACL. I like Jackson Dart and the way that he played, and I think he's best when he's pushing the ball down the field. There's no better deep threat. Really all-around wide receiver. He's my number one, but certainly in the 50-50 situation, in the contested catch situation, nobody was better than Carnell Tate. So Tate is my pick here at number five. Carnell Tate is so good. Now, largely overshadowed because of the other guy at Ohio State, Jeremiah Smith. But if you just watch what he was able to do this last year, he was incredible down the field. Julian Sand had two of the best wide receivers in all of college football, but Tate constantly gets himself open, creates space. He's sure with his hands. And then, like I said, in that contested catch range, when he's got to go body to body and come down with the football, he's excellent. Absolutely excellent. So I love Tate going to the Giants, and I think that that offense could be really dangerous. Again, you pair him with neighbors. Now Dart has two guys that he can rely on on the outside, and that offense all of a sudden becomes very scary. So Carnell Tate to the Giants there at five. The Browns offense needs some talent They the second scoring offense in the league They struggled to throw it They struggled to run it They bottom five in both yards per pass and yards per carry So you can probably get better with a good offensive lineman. I think that there's going to be several offensive linemen, potentially even taken in the top 10, but certainly in the top 15 and 20. And Spencer Fano from Utah fits that bill. Now, I've got Maui Noah as my top offensive lineman, but Spencer Fano is a heck of a player. He might be the top offensive lineman in the draft. He played both right tackle and left tackle in his career. So the Browns could slot him on either side. They could have an initial need at right tackle if Jack Conklin leaves in free agency. So that could be a fit for them. And again, just getting better in front of potentially Shudor Sanders, you give him some protection and maybe he can flourish a little bit and take the next step in his career. Like I said, offensive help all over the board. You can do that with solid offensive line, and Spencer Fano is my pick there at six to the Browns. Now the Commanders. Washington gave up the most yards in the league last season. Jaden Daniels hopefully will be back and healthy, and hopefully he can avoid injury. Got derailed with that elbow injury. I think that the offense is going to be better just because of that and the health. So now you look up and you're like, okay, we can solidify that defense which was very poor. I like Mansour Delane from LSU. He's my top corner. The commanders can grab the top corner right here at seven. And like I said, their pass defense was nowhere near what it needed to be. Delane's my top corner, and this is a perfect spot right there at Washington. So I've got Mansour Delane from LSU going to the commanders at seven. At eight, the Saints check in. This is an interesting pick because the Saints look to, I think, build around potentially Tyler Shuck. he started the second half of the season. I thought he showed some flashes. Considering Jeremiah Love here, but I opted to go with Makai Lemon. Makai Lemon from USC is an outstanding receiver, and on some people's board, he might even be wide receiver number one. I went with Tate because of his downfield ability, but when you look at Lemon, the way that he operates in space, in particular over the middle of the field, he's got exceptional feel for the game that showed up on tape time and time again in that USC offense. And with their air raid principles, one of the foundational rules that they use for a wide receiver is that you've got to attack the grass. And so it's not always the rigidity of a route structure as much as it is the feel of space, the feel of zone coverage, the feel of man coverage and leverage. And he does that very well. Lemon is going to be a problem in this lot. So I like the Saints going with Makai Lemon from USC right there at number eight to New Orleans. All right, number nine. Like I said, I considered Love at some other picks here, and now I'm sitting there and I was able to meet Jeremiah Love at the Doak Walker Award. This guy is phenomenal, and he said at that award show that I was hosting with Jenny Taft, he wants to be in the Hall of Fame, and I look at the Chiefs here at nine. This is the highest the Chiefs have drafted since trading up to take Patrick Mahomes back in 2017. And I think about what their offense could be with a back that has the ability of love as a ball carrier and a pass catcher. Both Kareem Hunt and Isaiah Pacheco are free agents this offseason. They need to give Mahomes a little bit of a spark. Why not take Jeremiah Love here? I really love this idea of giving Mahomes his Jameer Gibbs or Christian McCaffrey, a guy that can control the run game, but also be a real threat out of the backfield as a pass catcher. Love is electric. Now, I mean, you look at some of the big runs that he had for Notre Dame. When he gets a space, man, it's gone. And so he gives them some speed and then you get creativity with Andy Reid. And I really love Jeremiah Love to the Chiefs, no pun intended. Now we go to Cincinnati at 10. So Cincinnati would be ecstatic if things played out this way. because they could get some help on the defensive side. At number 10, if they looked up and saw David Bailey from Texas Tech, I think that they would jump at that pick. It looks like Trey Hendrickson, his contract saga, is finally coming to an end this offseason. Not able to agree on a long-term free agent deal. So there's a big hole to fill there. And I really love David Bailey. He was terrific at Texas Tech. The Bengals were one of the worst defenses in the league this past season. this starts the process of fixing that. Now, I think a lot of people would look at offensive line, and I totally understand that. I really do. And if they went offensive line, I would understand that in front of Joe Burrow because they need to protect him better, obviously. He's their franchise, and you want to keep him in Cincinnati, and you could keep him there if you started protecting him better. But you could also solidify that defense and become a defense that then maybe Joe Burrow doesn't have to be Superman all the time. So David Bailey from Texas Tech to Cincinnati at 10. Then it brings up the Dolphins. They're the 11th pick. Dolphins have a new head coach, Jeff Halfley. Good luck to Jeff Halfley. Jeff is a friend of mine. He was a defense coordinator at Ohio State in, what was that, 2019, his first year at Ohio State. And I tell you, that was a great defense. And we had so many great conversations just about the philosophy of football, the philosophy of defense. I can't wait for this opportunity for him. I think he's going to do a terrific job. Last year, Miami allowed a completion percentage of 72%. That's the third worst ever. McCoy's injury is, or Jermaud McCoy is my pick here. So Jermaud McCoy, he had an injury. I think he would have been the first quarter taken if he wouldn't have torn up his ACL. It was 13 months ago, last January. He's going to be healthy. When he's on the field, he's outstanding. And one thing I know about Jeff Halfley, in particular that year in 2019, He looked at his defense. He had three really good corners at Ohio State and built a defense around great cover corners. So he, I think, would really appreciate having a guy like McCoy. So I like Jermod McCoy here to the Dolphins. Again, that 72% has got to get better. They've got to improve in their past defense. Then a pick that everybody always looks at, the Dallas Cowboys. They were a disaster on defense. if only they could have had like the best defender in the league they could like rush the passer i mean you know those guys don't come along all that often and they let them walk right out the door they gave up the most points in the league they've got to get better on that side okay caleb downs in my estimation is the safest pick in the draft he is an nfl all pro waiting in the wings. He is the smartest defender that I've ever covered in college football. This guy can do just about everything. We called him the Swiss Army Knife. They built the defense around him. He is incredible in the middle of the field. He can blitz and rush the passer. He's excellent in the run fit. He covers well in the slot. He understands leverage. And like I said, he cares deeply about the way he plays, not only, but also the schematics around him. He understands those schematics. He's fast to the football, recognizes everything very quick. He's the best and most cerebral defensive player in college football that I've ever covered. And I think Dallas takes Caleb Downs right here. I think it would be their best pick in a long, long time. It would be the first safety taken in the top 15 since Kyle Hamilton. But this is justified. In fact, I think Downs should get selected higher than this, but the positional aspect of the value probably lands him here around 12 to the Dallas Cowboys. All right, now 13. This one is the Rams from Atlanta. Rams acquired this pick last year when Atlanta wanted to get back into the first round, and they got James Pierce, if you remember that. They may be tempted to go after another weapon on offense. if Makai Lemon were available here like that would be a no-brainer I don't think he's going to be available I think he has too much value but a guy that occupies the middle of the field for for a quarterback like Stafford would be like insane I don't think he's going to be available so I think any hopes of of taking advantage of the championship window that they have with Matt Stafford is to reinforce the offensive line and keep him healthy. That's always going to be the biggest issue with the Rams because Stafford has, you know, gotten the injury bug at times, at times. Now, he's also incredibly tough, and he plays through that. But when he is healthy and 100%, man, I don't know if there's anybody better in the National Football League right now other than maybe Mahomes. I like them going offensive line. From Penn State, Vanya Yoenia. I love this guy. I covered him quite a bit. Hard to pronounce his name, but you know what it is. He has not allowed a sack in the last two years. I think he's one of the best, if not the best, interior linemen in the draft. And so for me, the Rams protecting Stafford, this is kind of a no-brainer for me. Yoenia can come in and start right away, and they become a better team right away. That leaves Baltimore at 14. Jesse Minter gets the job. Again I got to know him when he was the coordinator of that Michigan team that won the national championship Then he went with Jim Harbaugh to the Chargers and did a really nice job over the last couple of years In fact in his first year calling the defense for the Chargers I believe they were number one in the league. He returns to Baltimore where he got his start as a young assistant before he went to Michigan with Jim Harbaugh. The principles of that defense, and I talked at length with him, it starts with hard edges, and that's what the Ravens have been about for a long time, and they've got a big need at edge. They were in the bottom five in the NFL in sacks. You do not play solid NFL football without getting to the quarterback. And this defense is about affecting the quarterback, impacting the quarterback. And I think they can do that with Cassius Howell from Texas A&M. To me, Howell was one of the better pass rushers in the country. I thought he was tremendous, and this would be a real good fit in Baltimore. Again, so much of this is fit. Howell had 11 and a half sacks in 13 games for A&M. He's one of the best in the country. And so I think Minter will jump at that chance and get Cassius Howell to solidify the edges. At 15, the Buccaneers are on the clock. Okay, Levante David is 36 and a free agent. He spent his entire 14-year career in Tampa. I think they need to replace him. To me, the best inside linebacker in the draft is Sonny Stiles from Ohio State. He's a do-it-all linebacker. He began his career and started for a year at Ohio State as a safety. But he's so big and physical that they moved him into linebacker, and he became one of the better linebackers in all of college football. 6'5", 243 pounds. Same measurements as Arvel Reese. He's got three years of starting experience. The last two, like I mentioned, at linebacker. I thought he was the best linebacker in the country. He only missed two tackles all year. He was a monster in that Indiana game, even though they lost that game, 12 tackles. Despite playing four years of college football, here's the thing that's great for the NFL and in particular for Tampa Bay. He's still only 21 and he won't turn 22 until November. He reclassified out of high school. So he's a younger guy with a ton of experience. That makes a lot of sense. That's a great fit. Bucks go sunny styles from Ohio State. Jets back on the clock. Their second pick here in the first round. This one's from the Colts. They acquired this pick in the Sauce Gardner trade. They also get Indy's first-round pick next year. They've got so much draft capital right now. Again, two firsts this year and then three next year. I don't think it makes a lot of sense for the Jets to take a swing on a wide receiver here. Nobody even knows who is going to be their quarterback. Keep building the roster. Why not keep building the roster? Again, quarterback you can address next year with all those picks. Maybe they target a guy in next year's draft. I don't know. like, you know, Arch, Dante Moore, Lenore Seller, CJ Carr, Julian Sayan, all these guys will potentially be coming out. First team to go a whole season without an interception on defense since they started tracking that in the 1930s. I mean, not one. Why not go past defense here? You get Arvel Reese up there, the second pick in the draft. Here at 16, you can get Colton Hood from Tennessee. Really good corner. Colton Hood is a really good player, folks. I like him a lot. I think that the Jets could use more roster help, in particular on that defensive side, So look for Colton Hood right there to the Jets. 17, the Detroit Lions. Part of the devastating combo on the edge with Reuben Bain last year was a guy, Akeem Mesidor. And I look at Detroit, and you compare Mesidor with Aiden Hutchinson, draws a lot of double teams on that side. The Lions, you know, they had Muhammad opposite Hutch this last season. He had a breakout year with 11 sacks, but he's 30 years old and a free agent. the Lions could opt to potentially not overpay, get youthful, and go with Akeem Mesidor. Mesidor is a huge player. He's 280 pounds. I think the thing that you would nitpick about Mesidor is that he's older. It's like the exact opposite of Sonny Styles. So he's 25 by the time he's going to be drafted in April. But if you watched Miami during the course of the playoff, man, that pass rush featuring Mesidor and Bain was phenomenal. So I like Mesidor, his size, opposite Hutch, and that defense becomes even better in Detroit. At 18, the Vikings are on the clock. Weird spot right here because they just fired their GM last week. Harrison Smith, just turned 37, is likely to retire, which means they have a hole at safety. I like them going safety here. Emmanuel McNeil Warren from Toledo is a guy that is a small school guy, probably the best small school guy that we have in college football. In the MAAC, he was a playmaker in the secondary. Nine forced fumbles, five interceptions in his career. He can follow in the footsteps of a former teammate, Quinion Mitchell. The Eagles took in the first round, now as a Super Bowl champ and the first team all pro in just two seasons in the league. He can strengthen a Vikings defense that was top 10 last year and continue to get better on that side. Then maybe there's not as much pressure on J.J. McCarthy, even though he clearly needs to improve, there's no doubt, moving forward next year. So Emmanuel McNeil-Warren from Toledo there at 18. At 19, the Panthers are on the clock. They took a nice step forward this past year. They won the NFC South, albeit with an 8-9 record, but listen, that is what it is. They lost their starting left tackle, Iquanu, to a ruptured patellar tendon in the playoff loss to the Rams, and he will likely miss the entirety of next season. So how about Caden Proctor, the offensive tackle from Alabama. Proctor is massive. 6'7", 366 pounds. He was a five-star out of high school, starred from day one in Tuscaloosa, and now he can protect former Bama quarterback Bryce Young. So look for Caden Proctor there. I like that the Panthers would look towards the offensive line. Like I said, it's a pretty deep offensive line draft, in particular up top here in the first round. So look for them to solidify that offensive line. Cowboys from Green Bay. here at 20. So their second pick of the first round, Micah Parsons trade here. So this is that draft. In my mock, they've already taken Caleb Downs in the back end, and now they can infuse some talent on the defensive line. And let's face it, Micah left a sizable hole in terms of just pass rushing. And I like Keldrick Falk from Auburn a lot. He's a huge player, 6'6", 285. He can help in multiple spots. He's versatile. He's explosive. He can get the job done. And again, they've got to fill that pass rushing hole that was left by the exit of Micah Parsons. And now you get Keldrick Falk from Auburn. You get Caleb Downs. Now you're starting to turn your defense around. And the Cowboys could certainly use that help on that side of the ball. So the Cowboys' first two picks in this first round are the safety and then Keldrick Falk. Why am I just blanking on Caleb Downs? There it is, Caleb Downs. A lot of picks, a lot of names, folks. 21, the Steelers. Last year, we wondered if they would pick a QB early on, and they didn't. They did take Will Howard in the sixth round. I'm wondering what their evaluation of Will Howard would be. This, to me, I know this, it's not an organization that you would think would be jump at a quarterback, but right here, we haven't even had a second quarterback taken. and I really like Ty Simpson from Alabama. I'm higher on Simpson than most. You could make an argument that someone's going to trade up before 21 and get Ty Simpson. This guy makes all the throws. I know he's not a huge player. Like, he's not big from a stature standpoint. But if you turn on the tape and you watch some of the throws he makes, they are NFL throws. Anticipatory throws. He throws with great leverage on the outside. He's accurate. Now, I know Indiana got after them, but I like Simpson a lot. He was phenomenal for big stretches and was really the reason why they were able to go down there and beat Georgia, even though they didn't play well offensively down the stretch. Mike McCarthy comes in. We don't know yet about Aaron Rodgers, what he will do if he's going to come back or not. Either way, I think Simpson could be the future for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I like that pick right there at 21. on. 22, the Chargers. So Jesse Mentor leaves. He goes to Baltimore, but Harbaugh kept it in the family for his replacement. So their new defensive coordinator is Chris O'Leary. His first coaching job was at GA at Georgia State under then defensive coordinator Jesse Mentor. So this is all in the family schematically. They're going to be doing the same type of things. To me, I look at this and again, I look at Lee Hunter, defensive tackle. You've got to be big up front. So they talk about in that scheme and this defense, build a run wall, create hard edges, and then get guys that are hybrid that can run and cover on the back end. Lee Hunter fits that bill. He's very good in the interior. Big winner at the Senior Bowl last week after being an All-American. He's 6'4", 330 pounds. That's exactly what the Chargers would be looking at. I think he would It helped them in the interior of their defense. And again, schematic fit, philosophical fit, all of that. I like Lee Hunter right there to the Chargers. At 23, the Eagles. Dallas Goddard is a free agent. And in the red zone, the Eagles had 17 red zone passing touchdowns. Goddard had 10 of them. I'm a huge proponent of having a great tight end in the red zone. The best tight end in this draft, if you're worried about Goddard and his future, is Kenyon Sadiq from Oregon I like that pick I like that pick Even with some of the targets that they got on the outside again 17 red zone passing touchdowns 10 of those go to the tight end and you can get cheaper and maybe even more athletic with Kenyon Sadiq. This guy is outstanding. He can be paired with Grant Calcaterra, but he's also a free agent. Sadiq is a great pass-catching tight end, but he will also work hard in the run game, and that fits the bill for Philly because now you can get somebody in the run game that's going to be a war daddy up front and help Saquon in the run game and Jalion Hurts in the run game, but also give Hurts a target, in particular in the red zone, that is an athletic mismatch against safeties and linebackers. I love that pick. Kenyon Sadiq from Oregon to Philly at 23. At 24, here's the Browns. On the clock with their second pick of the first round, the Browns need some more firepower on offense. I already had them grabbing Spencer Fano at tackle early in this first round. And then there's this like really great reunion of sorts that could potentially happen. Okay, I'm going to give them Jordan Tyson, the wide receiver from Arizona State. But here's what's so fascinating. You got Shudor Sanders there in Cleveland. Jordan Tyson started his career at Colorado. Now he had a pretty decent freshman year and then Deion Sanders gets the job and it just wasn't a fit. And so he ended up transferring to Arizona State. He had some injuries that first year, and then he became just an incredible player at Arizona State. He went to Deion this last fall after their matchup with Colorado to apologize about the way things went. He said, hey, like, I wasn't ready. I wasn't mature enough when you came in, and it didn't work out. But, hey, I just wanted to apologize for the way everything went. This shows maturity, all of that. Now he can reunite with the Sanders family. Maybe you bury the hatchet. You give Shudor a really good target on the outside. I think that would be a cool story. So for me, if for nothing else, then an amazing story. Jordan Tyson to the Browns there at 24. I really like that one right there. And then the Bears are picking here at 25. So the Bears have gone heavy on skill position over the last couple of drafts, and it paid off. Listen, what a great year that they had with Kalem Williams in the first year under their new coach, Ben Johnson. They went Roma Dunze and Colston Loveland in the last couple of drafts. They also drafted Luther Burden in the second round. I look at this and I'm like, okay, well, what do they need? They need help on the defensive side. You can't rely on all the turnovers they had and created on the defensive side. You've got to get better against the run. They allowed five yards per carry last year on the defensive side. That was 29th in the NFL, and you can get better in the interior. I like Caden McDonald from Ohio State. He was terrific on the interior for Ohio State, dominant in the middle of their line of scrimmage, allowed them to play all that odd defense, which means he was lined up as a zero technique right over the center. And again, he was a dominant force. He plays with great effort. He is strong, plays with solid leverage. And now the Bears can solidify what was a weakness after a year in which they had a tremendous year and went to the playoffs. Again, I think the offense is going to be just fine. Why not solidify what was clearly a weakness so McDonald can do that there for the Bears in the interior of their defensive line. At 26, Bills. They need to improve their run defense. They need to find more playmakers on the outside on offense, and I think that they need help at wide receiver. Josh Allen needs some help. In the press conference, the owner, Terry Pagula, basically blamed Sean McDermott for the Keon Coleman draft, which was pretty wild. He was their first-round pick two years ago. I don't think Coleman's going to be a bill for much longer, not after the owner like publicly criticizes that pick. So I think they're going to need some help on the outside. How about Denzel Boston from Washington? This guy is a tremendous player. Now they went under the radar. Washington did for large stretches of last season, but I'm just telling you, I studied a lot of tape before that Michigan game. When they played Michigan, I was so impressed with Denzel Boston, good body control, solid athleticism. And again, you give Josh Allen a really good target on the outside and you can get younger, you can get better and solidify that offense a little bit. Josh Allen can't do this alone, folks. He needs some help and he can get that help with Denzel Boston from Washington. That brings up the 49ers at 27. Life after Trent Williams is coming sooner rather than later. And he said he's coming back next year, but he's going to be 38. I think that you need some depth. You always wonder about injuries creeping up. Obviously, they dealt with a ton of injuries on that team during the course of last season. They can get their successor right here, Caleb Lomu from Washington, second tackle out of Utah, or excuse me, from Utah, not Washington. Caleb Lomu from Utah, second tackle from Utah going in the first round. He played left tackle at Utah, and I think that would be a solid pick for San Francisco, again, solidifying that offensive line and the future of that offensive line. So Caleb Lomu from Utah to the 49ers. Brings up 28, the Texans. Houston's defense is elite. They need to keep building on the offensive side of the ball, keep helping Stroud. The O-line was better this past season from a disaster in 24, but they can continue to improve up front. They took Ursary out of Minnesota in the second round last year, and he slotted into left tackle. Blake Miller, the tackle from Clemson, is a really good player. I know that Clemson disappointed from a team perspective, but there's a few players that are going to get in here at the end of the first round that are really solid guys. And Blake Miller is one of those. Started all 54 games in his four-year career for Dabo. He played over 3,700 snaps. So he's a reliable guy and you can give Stroud a little bit of help up front. Goes to 29. Rams, second pick of their first round. Rams have a few corners that are set to be free agents this offseason. So why not bring in an All-American corner. And here's another Clemson guy, Avion Terrell. Again, Clemson disappointed. That doesn't mean that some of their top end guys aren't still elite guys. And Terrell is still one of those guys and the Rams can get better. And in particular, in a position where there's some murkiness as far as the future with all of these free agents on the outside, Terrell fits that bold. He would be my best corner available in this scenario. So Terrell to the Rams with their second pick in the first round. That brings up Denver at 30. So I think the Denver Broncos could use some reinforcements at linebacker. Alex Singleton and Justin Sternod are free agents. Last year's free agent signing, Dre Greenlaw, wasn't able to stay healthy. They only guaranteed last season's portion of his money. And so I look at a guy like C.J. Allen from Georgia. I think that could fit with Denver. It's a position of need. He's obviously a tremendous player, All-American, Buckus finalist. He started 29 games over three years at Georgia. Really good player. And what we know from Georgia defenders is that they're going to come in and succeed in the National Football League, and Denver could use that on that side of the ball. Now, maybe they go offensive here and try to give Knicks a little bit of help. But after going to the AFC Championship game, they can further solidify that defense, which was very good. but then there were more moments when they didn't play as well. So again, position of need, C.J. Allen to the Broncos. All right, after the Seahawks win in the Super Bowl, the Patriots will get the 31st pick. The Patriots could use some more firepower at wide receiver, but they also need help on the edge. I like that. You look at Vrabel and what this team could do. T.J. Parker from Clemson. I told you there'd be a little bit of a run on Clemson, guys. This is my third Clemson player in the last four picks. I had Blake Miller from the offensive line going to the Texans. I had Avery on Terrell to the Rams. And now TJ Parker on the edge going to the New England Patriots. Again, Vrabel, Edge, all of those things. Parker was considered a candidate to be a top 10 pick coming into the season. I mean, he disappointed a little bit. Maybe that's why Clemson didn't quite live up to the expectations of some of us who said they were going to win the national championship. Just five sacks after 11 as a sophomore. I think this could be an upside pick. slides to the back end of the first round. Patriots take him there at 31. And then your Super Bowl champions, the Seahawks, their starting corners, Kobe Bryant and Josh Jobe, are both set to be free agents. Wollin is also in the secondary, likely going to lose at least one of two of those three guys. I like them going secondary. Brandon Cisse from South Carolina, really good player, an explosive athlete who Mike McDonald can refine. And again, that defense was in some ways historically good. Now they come off a Super Bowl championship. They've got to solidify the outside with some of that contract instability with those guys out there. And Cissé can do that. So Cissé is your last pick of the first round. He goes to the Seahawks. And that is mock draft number one here at the Joel Class Show. Listen, thank you for watching as always. Remember, we're going to continue to have great draft content during the course of this offseason. We will continue to have great college football content during the course of this offseason. So you're going to want to make sure that you subscribe to that YouTube channel. Hit the notification button so you know when all of our content drops. And then, of course, follow us on social media, at Joel Class Show. We'll be back with more content next Monday. Until then, enjoy the week, everybody. First week without football, man. This is kind of a bummer, but enjoy the Mach 1.0. We'll be out with more of these during the course of the draft process. Enjoy your week, everybody. Thanks for watching.