{"id":848549,"date":"2026-04-02T03:49:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T03:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/848549\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T03:49:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T03:49:22","slug":"2026-nfl-mock-draft-goes-off-script-as-commanders-bengals-steelers-move-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/848549\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NFL Mock Draft goes off script as Commanders, Bengals, Steelers move up"},"content":{"rendered":"

No. 6: Cleveland Browns \u2013 Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State\"Ohio<\/p>\n

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate | Grace Smith\/IndyStar \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Keep the Ohio State prospects coming! The Buckeyes will almost certainly lead the country in first-round selections this year, and could absolutely dominate the Top 10. Cleveland is still in the process of figuring out their quarterback situation, and elects to upgrade their wide receiver corps with their first pick. Tate has a legitimate argument for WR1 and has the tools to be an electrifying weapon for whoever takes the reins as the Browns’ next signal caller.<\/p>\n

No. 7: Tennessee Titans via Washington Commanders \u2013 Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame\"Notre<\/p>\n

Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love | Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

A savvy move trading out of the Top 5 by the Tennessee front office pays off, as potentially their No. 1 option at 4th overall is still on the board at No. 7. Love, like Ashton Jeanty just a year ago, is the premier back available by a wide margin. He’s much more valuable than the average running back in today’s NFL and is a piece that could take both Cam Ward’s game and the entire offense to the next level.<\/p>\n

No. 8: Cincinnati Bengals via New Orleans Saints \u2013 David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Tech’s David Bailey | Nathan Giese\/Avalanche-Journal \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

A second Top 10 trade, Bailey is as productive a pass rusher as they come. The long-awaited departure of star EDGE Trey Hendrickson this offseason has left the Bengals with a sizeable hole on their defensive line. Here they leap ahead of Kansas City to secure Bailey’s services, with the hope that he can be a foundational player on their defense, a unit that has been one of the most consistently underperforming groups in the league in recent years.<\/p>\n

No. 9: Kansas City Chiefs \u2013 Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU\"LSU<\/p>\n

LSU defensive back Mansoor Delane | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Kansas City lost its two starting boundary cornerbacks in Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie in the last month, with the former signing with the Rams in free agency and the latter being traded to the same destination. Delane can enter the secondary and be a CB1 from the jump, and his recent pro day proved that the athletic aspect of his game is just as elite as his film. <\/p>\n

No. 10: New Orleans Saints via Cincinnati Bengals \u2013 Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee\"Tennessee<\/p>\n

Tennessee defensive back Jermod McCoy | Caitie McMekin\/News Sentinel \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Trading back with Cincinnati in this scenario costs New Orleans its pick of the litter for cornerbacks, but they stay the course and add McCoy to round out the Top 10. Injuries kept him off the field for all of 2025 and the NFL Combine, but his 2024 production and recent pro day showcase form a tantalizing prospect profile<\/a>. The SEC defender, if healthy, would fight for the Saints’ top cornerback slot on the depth chart as a rookie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No. 6: Cleveland Browns \u2013 Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Carnell Tate |…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":848550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2053],"tags":[228,227,256,2296,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-848549","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-bengals","8":"tag-bengals","9":"tag-cincinnati","10":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","11":"tag-cincinnatibengals","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116333078873876096","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}