1.RAIDERS _ QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana; Vincent Bonsignore, Las Vegas Review-Journal
No coach yet, but his first pick seems clear.
2.JETS _ LB Arvell Reese, Ohio State; Rich Cimini, ESPN.com
What don’t they need? At this point, Cimini, a Jets’ chronicler in the last four decades, goes with the best player on the board not named Mendoza.
3.CARDINALS _ DT Peter Woods, Clemson; Darren Urban, azcardinals.com
No coach yet. And it looks like no quarterback worthy of the pick. Last month here at Paycor Stadium in the Arizona regime’s next-to-last game, the Bengals eased to 429 yards in basically three quarters with quarterback Joe Burrow throwing for 305 against the 29th-ranked defense. If a worthy offensive tackle emerges, that’s a possibility, too.
4.TITANS _ DE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami; Paul Kuharsky, paulkuharsky.com
No coach yet, but any rookie head man would love to start with the best edger on the board.
5.GIANTS _ WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State; Tom Rock, Newsday
New Giants head coach John Harbaugh (now that’s weird to write) doesn’t have to do what he had to do in his first draft with the 2008 Ravens and take Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco. It’s also his first draft out of the Ozzie Newsome-Eric DeCosta cocoon that stresses best player and not position. But then, he never had a top-five pick in Baltimore, and with Wan’Dale Robinson a free agent and Malik Nabers coming back from a late October ACL surgery, wide receiver seems to be an early need.
6.BROWNS _T Francis Mauigoa, Miami; Tony Grossi, ESPN Cleveland
Don’t short-change Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate at this spot.
7.COMMANDERS _DE David Bailey, Texas Tech; John Keim, ESPN.com
Looks like a defensive pick here. Bailey or Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. Bailey comes into the draft as the FBS sack-leader in 2025 and is a fit here because Washington’s two edgers are coming off injuries.
8.SAINTS _ RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame; Jeff Duncan, New Orleans Times-Picayune.
A versatile piece for Saints head coach Kellen Moore’s offense.
9.CHIEFS _ S Caleb Downs, Ohio State; Dane Brugler, The Athletic
At this point, we left the phones and scoured the net for some Mocks just to see if there’s any way we could get Downs to the Bengals. Early on, the estimable Brugler seems to be in the majority that Downs won’t get past the Chiefs. He says there’s an argument that he’s the best safety prospect since these Chiefs took Eric Berry with the fifth pick in 2010.