2026 Mock Drafts Thread. It’s that time of year again.

BritCard

ASFN IDOL
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Posts
25,700
Reaction score
48,839
Location
UK
I have done a couple of mocks where we trade back into the early teens, draft Vega Ioane at guard (who I think fantastic) and then draft a RT at the top of the 2nd and fix our O line for years to come.

Ioane never gets past the Ravens in any mock I do.
 

Stout

A handful of fairy tales from the story bag...
Joined
Dec 30, 2002
Posts
44,440
Reaction score
33,109
Location
Pittsburgh, PA--Enemy territory!
I have done a couple of mocks where we trade back into the early teens, draft Vega Ioane at guard (who I think fantastic) and then draft a RT at the top of the 2nd and fix our O line for years to come.

Ioane never gets past the Ravens in any mock I do.
I would love for us to draft him, but I doubt we would.
 

BritCard

ASFN IDOL
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Posts
25,700
Reaction score
48,839
Location
UK
If anyone hasn't watched him Malachi Lawrence is a very interesting edge. Watch some of his highlights. Fantastic hands and one of the best sets of pass rush moves I've seen.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
 
OP
OP
Adrian

Adrian

Ronin forever
Super Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Posts
171,711
Reaction score
84,310
Location
Crowley, TX
The AZ sports fan!
@TheAZsportsfan1
·
1h
In the latest Field Yates mock draft he has the Arizona Cardinals drafting

3rd overall: Arvell Reese EDGE Ohio State

Trade up from 34 back into the 1st round trading with Buffalo (26):

Sending 33, 65 and a 2027 3rd round pick. AZ drafts QB Ty Simpson Alabama. Send it in
 

Stout

A handful of fairy tales from the story bag...
Joined
Dec 30, 2002
Posts
44,440
Reaction score
33,109
Location
Pittsburgh, PA--Enemy territory!
The AZ sports fan!
@TheAZsportsfan1
·
1h
In the latest Field Yates mock draft he has the Arizona Cardinals drafting

3rd overall: Arvell Reese EDGE Ohio State

Trade up from 34 back into the 1st round trading with Buffalo (26):

Sending 33, 65 and a 2027 3rd round pick. AZ drafts QB Ty Simpson Alabama. Send it in
Nightmare draft for me.
 

BritCard

ASFN IDOL
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Posts
25,700
Reaction score
48,839
Location
UK
The AZ sports fan!
@TheAZsportsfan1
·
1h
In the latest Field Yates mock draft he has the Arizona Cardinals drafting

3rd overall: Arvell Reese EDGE Ohio State

Trade up from 34 back into the 1st round trading with Buffalo (26):

Sending 33, 65 and a 2027 3rd round pick. AZ drafts QB Ty Simpson Alabama. Send it in

I would hate this more than I can describe.

Another positionless wonder after Reddick and Simmons and an old undersized QB with 15 college games. Ugh.
 
OP
OP
Adrian

Adrian

Ronin forever
Super Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Posts
171,711
Reaction score
84,310
Location
Crowley, TX
Square profile picture
SleeperCardinals

@SleeperAZCards
·
Mar 28
.
@MBandNFL
has OT Francis Mauigoa going to the #AZCardinals at No. 3.

"Arizona's next franchise quarterback will have a much better chance if the Cardinals build the supporting infrastructure first."
 
OP
OP
Adrian

Adrian

Ronin forever
Super Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Posts
171,711
Reaction score
84,310
Location
Crowley, TX
Square profile picture
SleeperCardinals

@SleeperAZCards
·
2h
.
@nfldraftscout
has the #AZCardinals selecting OT Francis Mauigoa in his latest mock draft.

"Mauigoa is the draft's top-ranked offensive lineman and allowed only two sacks during Miami's run to the national title game."
 

Cardiac

ASFN Icon
Joined
Jul 21, 2002
Posts
12,448
Reaction score
4,150
Square profile picture
SleeperCardinals

@SleeperAZCards
·
2h
.
@nfldraftscout
has the #AZCardinals selecting OT Francis Mauigoa in his latest mock draft.

"Mauigoa is the draft's top-ranked offensive lineman and allowed only two sacks during Miami's run to the national title game."
Don't tell Stout.
 

Denny Green Fan

Registered
Joined
Jul 14, 2005
Posts
2,471
Reaction score
848
I'm not sold on Reese either. 1 year wonder who faded towards the end of the year. Tremendous athlete, hits like truck, but there's something missing for me. Not sure what it is.
If the jets take Bailey I think we would take Bain over Reese….just a hunch….still hoping for Francis or Bailey….
 

MadCardDisease

Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 13, 2002
Posts
22,353
Reaction score
19,101
Location
Chandler, Az
Last edited:

Krangodnzr

Captain of Team Conner
Joined
Jul 21, 2002
Posts
37,465
Reaction score
36,937
Location
Charlotte, NC

I wouldn't hate this one. Although I would take Lomu over Iheanachor.

Edge - Bailey at #3

and

RT - Max Iheanachor at #26
I wouldn't. Why take a LT and move him to RT when you can draft an actual RT?

I would actually LOVE this draft. Max definitely is a gamble, but he's got really good upside and Bailey has Pro Bowl potential.
 

oaken1

Stone Cold
Banned from P+R
Joined
Mar 13, 2004
Posts
24,025
Reaction score
24,758
Location
Modesto, California

I wouldn't hate this one. Although I would take Lomu over Iheanachor.

Edge - Bailey at #3

and

RT - Max Iheanachor at #26
Nah,...Big Max is an excellent pick there...assuming Frye is not as worthless as I suspect
 

Chopper0080

2021 - Prove It
Joined
May 15, 2002
Posts
33,415
Reaction score
56,370
Location
Colorado

daves

Keepin' it real!
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2003
Posts
4,407
Reaction score
10,950
Location
Orange County, CA
After trading down, @BruceFeldmanCFB has the #AZCardinals selecting OT Monroe Freeling in the 1st round of his mock draft."With Mauigoa and Fano gone, Arizona goes with a tackle whose stock has risen throughout draft season."
Here's more from Feldman's mock in The Athletic today. I expect it to be controversial both for the Cards passing on Bailey even though he's available, and for the Cards only getting picks #12 and #92 from Dallas in exchange for #3:
This is my sixth annual NFL mock draft based on intel I’ve gathered from coaching, scouting and agent sources over the past month-plus.

My aim here with this project, as always, is to provide unique insight directly from the eyes of rival coaches who have not only studied and scouted these prospects, but also game-planned for and then faced each of them. These sources know exactly what they’re dealing with and what they’ve tried to do against these players in real-game situations, and some of them faced these prospects in multiple games.

1. Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
2. New York Jets: Arvell Reese, edge/LB, Ohio State

3. Dallas Cowboys (from Arizona)*: David Bailey, edge, Texas Tech
Projected trade: Dallas receives pick No. 3; Arizona receives picks Nos. 12 and 92

Arizona really needs O-line help, but this spot seems too high for what is available in this draft, so trading back is the Cards’ best move.

4. Tennessee Titans: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
5. New York Giants: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
6. Cleveland Browns: Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami
7. Washington Commanders: Rueben Bain Jr., DL, Miami
8. New Orleans Saints: Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
9. Kansas City Chiefs: Spencer Fano, OT, Utah
10. Cincinnati Bengals: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
11. Miami Dolphins: Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU

12. Arizona Cardinals (from Dallas): Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia

With Mauigoa and Fano gone, Arizona goes with a tackle whose stock has risen throughout draft season. Freeling, who has almost 35-inch arms and almost 11-inch hands, clocked a 4.93 40 along with a 33 1/2-inch vertical and a 9-7 broad jump at the combine — all really impressive numbers for someone listed at 6-7 and 315 pounds. He did start for only one season at Georgia, at left tackle, but he is an intriguing talent.

“He looks like a giant tight end with the way he can move and bend,” said an SEC D-line coach. “He’s a very impressive big athlete. He’s still pretty raw and gets off-balance and isn’t great with his hands — at least he wasn’t when we played him — but all the tools seem to be there. He needs to keep getting stronger.”
 

BritCard

ASFN IDOL
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Posts
25,700
Reaction score
48,839
Location
UK

Krangodnzr

Captain of Team Conner
Joined
Jul 21, 2002
Posts
37,465
Reaction score
36,937
Location
Charlotte, NC
Here is a mock I executed earlier and it's kind of a realistic one:

1- Las Vegas Raiders select Fernando Mendoza.
2 - New York Jets select David Bailey
3 - Tennessee Titans select Arvel Reese

When Reese dropped to #3, I got a flurry of offers from quite a few teams, but I went with the Titans offer of #4 and #35 for #3 and #65 because I felt like I was going to get one of the players I liked at #4 regardless of what the Titans were going to do and getting the move up from #65 to #35 was a huge deal because I could hedge my bets and trade up into the first round if I really wanted to.


4 - Arizona Cardinals select Jermiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame. That's right @Stout and @Solar7, under this scenario, I'm absolutely going to take Love here because I know I've got a good shot at getting a starting RT in round two. I disagree that Mauigoa isn't the top guy, he absolutely is, but if I can get the next tier guy and Love, I'd definitel make that move

34- Arizona Cardinals select Max Iheanachor, RT, Arizona State. Big Max is very new to football, but very quickly became a standout so he has some ceiling that we haven't quite seen. He's a big guy who moves very well and is also a fairly sound technician which likely means he's very coachable. I think he probably doesn't start right away, but we should see him slide into the starting lineup early next season.

35- Arizona Cardinals select Lee Hunter, DL, Texas Tech. While Hunter is a NT, he's a people mover and should immediately fill a rotational role with Roy Lopez who basically got a rotational DL contract. Hunter is extremely strong and makes plays in both the run and pass games. He could become a key building block for the DL for years to come.

104- Arizona Cardinals select Brian Parker II, OL, Duke. I know @MadCardDisease also selected him in his mock, and I've had my eye on Parker. Parker is an OT with good movement skills and is an extremely intelligent player. I'm looking at him as a future center since Froholdt is getting a bit older and his play declined last year, but you could also look at Parker to start at guard as well. He offer positional flexibility and he's a solid bet to become at least an average starting OL.

143- Arizona Cardinals select Kaleb Elarms-Orr, LB, TCU. The Cardinals absolutely need to find an off the ball LB, and I considered actually using #35 on a linebacker, but I value DL more so I waited. Elarms-Orr would be a great get at this point because he was very productive at both Cal and TCU, has good sideline to sideline range and is great in coverage. He should also be a plus special teamer.

183- Arizona Cardinals select Carson Beck, QB, Miami. At this point, Carson Beck is an extremely good value and it's hard to pass up. One of the big downsides to drafting a QB is that only one QB plays, and they don't contribute on special teams, so essentially QBs should either go early (they are playing) or late (backup). Beck obviously is well known and has an extensive resume. He's fallen apart in some big games, but does have some tools.

217- Arizona Cardinals select Vinny Anthony II, WR, Wisconsin. In round 7, teams are typically looking to draft special teams players, and that is exactly what I'm looking for with Vinny Anthony. Good special teams player and known to be a good blocker which is a requirement for WRs in the Shanahan/McVay offense.

Overall I was disappointed that I didn't come away with an Edge, but the issue I ran into was that after round two there just wasn't an Edge I liked enough to take. This is one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of taking Love is that you may miss out on higher value positions like Edge.

But Love and Big Max should bolster the offense, and Hunter should play quite a few snaps immediately on defense. Elarms-Orr has a shot to become a starting ILB down the road and Brian Parker could be the center of the future.
 

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
1,347,310
Posts
6,564,205
Members
6,432
Latest member
CardinalBlood
Top