The 2025 NFL regular season has come to an end, with 14 teams gearing up for the playoffs. While some squads are focused on a potential Super Bowl run, others look to turn their luck around in 2026. The best way to fix holes on the roster is through the NFL Draft. Teams can find elite talent without allocating chunks of their salary cap to them. The first 18 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft have been solidified. How will the teams with the first nine picks address needs on their roster in this end-of-season 2026 NFL mock draft?<\/p>\n
The Raiders are looking to reset following a disappointing 2025 campaign. Pete Carroll<\/a> got fired after just one season in Las Vegas. The Raiders need a franchise signal-caller if they want to return to relevance. Fernando Mendoza has the frame, arm strength, and accuracy needed to change the Raiders’ trajectory.<\/p>\n New York has been searching for the right quarterback for decades, with little success. The Jets take another swing at a top quarterback prospect by selecting Dante Moore. Moore is an exceptional talent who generates elite velocity on his throws and can scramble when plays break down.<\/p>\n While the Cardinals could go quarterback here, with Mendoza and Moore off the board, they opt to address other needs on the roster. Jonah Williams and Kelvin Beachum are set to hit free agency<\/a>, and Arizona could use an upgrade at right tackle. Spencer Fano is an elite run blocker who also displays good pass-protection technique.\u00a0 The Cardinals fortify their tackles with Fano lining up opposite of Paris Johnson Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n Tennessee can go several directions with the fourth pick. The Titans chose to address the middle of their defense with Arvell Reese. Reese is arguably the best prospect in this class and has tremendous physical tools. He is excellent against the run and has shown immense upside as a pass rusher.<\/p>\n The Giants have heavily invested in their offense over the past couple of drafts. New York needs more at wide receiver beyond Malik Nabers<\/a>, and grabs Jordyn Tyson with the fifth pick. Tyson is a smooth route runner who is incredibly dangerous after the catch. He checks all the boxes of an NFL wideout, but his injury history<\/a> may raise some concern.<\/p>\n Cleveland boasted a strong defense in 2025, but its offense was woeful. The Browns improve their wide receiver room by taking in-state prospect Carnell Tate. Tate has reliable hands and shows a high football IQ when finding the soft spots in zone coverage. While Cleveland’s future at quarterback is uncertain, whoever is starting under center in 2026 will have a new weapon to work with.<\/p>\n The Commanders haven’t been able to stop the run over the past couple of years and need a ton of help on defense. Bain is an explosive athlete who will help fix Washington’s run defense and bolster its pass rush. His combination of speed and power makes him one of the top prospects in this class.<\/p>\n Cameron Jordan is nearing the end of his legendary career in New Orleans, so the Saints have a void to fill with their pass rush. David Bailey is arguably the best pure pass rusher in this class, with 19.5 sacks<\/a> this season. He has proven production and the bend and closing speed necessary to get after quarterbacks at the next level.<\/p>\n No one could have imagined the Chiefs would be picking this high before the season. After missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014, Kansas City finds itself in unfamiliar territory. While the Chiefs could take a pass rusher here, they instead go with an elite running back prospect in Jeremiyah Love. Love boasts elite acceleration and great power, which will give Kansas City a much-needed boost to its running game.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 2025 NFL regular season has come to an end, with 14 teams gearing up for the playoffs. While some squads are focused on a potential Super Bowl run, others look to turn their luck around in 2026. The best way to fix holes on the roster is through the NFL Draft. Teams can find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5581,"featured_media":260634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,33761],"tags":[33842,33894,33772,32929,33710,33664,33991,33743,33873],"class_list":["post-261793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-mock-drafts","tag-arvell-reese","tag-carnell-tate","tag-dante-moore","tag-david-bailey","tag-fernando-mendoza","tag-jeremiyah-love","tag-jordyn-tyson","tag-rueben-bain-jr","tag-spencer-fano"],"modified_by":"Sue Levine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261793"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261835,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261793\/revisions\/261835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. New York Jets<\/a>– Dante Moore, QB, Oregon<\/h3>\n
3. Arizona Cardinals<\/a>– Spencer Fano, OT, Utah<\/h3>\n
4. Tennessee Titans<\/a>– Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State<\/h3>\n
5. New York Giants- Jordyn Tyson<\/a>, WR, Arizona State<\/h3>\n
6. Cleveland Browns<\/a>– Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State<\/h3>\n
7. Washington Commanders<\/a>– Rueben Bain Jr., DE, Miami<\/h3>\n
8. New Orleans Saints- David Bailey<\/a>, DE, Texas Tech<\/h3>\n
9. Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>– Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame<\/h3>\n
<\/h3>\n