Fantasy Football Today - FINAL 2026 NFL Mock Draft: Dave Richard Predicts All 32 First-Round Picks | FFT Express (04/23 Fantasy Football Podcast)
Episode Date: April 23, 2026Join our NFL Draft Contest! tinyurl.com/draftfft Dave Richard reveals his FINAL 2026 NFL Mock Draft, predicting all 32 first-round picks, including multiple trades and surprises. He breaks down where... the key fantasy skill players land and what it means for dynasty and rookie drafts. Want to join our Podcast League? Enter our NFL Draft Challenge here: 👉 tinyurl.com/draftfft Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments and subscribe for more FFT Express episodes! Fantasy Football Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday Shop our store: shop.cbssports.com/fantasy SUBSCRIBE to FFT Dynasty on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-today-dynasty/id1696679179 FOLLOW FFT Dynasty on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aHlmMJw1m8FareKybdNfG?si=8487e2f9611b4438&nd=1 SUBSCRIBE to FFT DFS on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-today-dfs/id1579415837 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Last mock, best mock.
Let's talk mock draft for the 2026 draft and what it'll mean for your fantasy drafts.
And how many times will I say draft right now on FFT Express?
Hey, oh, it's Dave, and I put together my last mock draft.
Also happens to be my first mock draft.
And we are in the season of mocking and you can do the exact same thing.
We're holding a contest.
Go to tiny URL.com slash draft FFT.
T, you're going to pick the first 10 players that you think will be in the 2026 draft.
If you're right, you're going to be in the podcast league.
Not if you get all 10 right.
There's a tiebreaker in there too.
But whoever gets the most right and gets the tiebreaker, assuming that a tiebreaker is needed,
yeah, you're in the podcast league.
You're playing against me, Jamie, Heath, Dan, Adam, other people, you get it.
It's a lot of fun.
Again, tiny URL.com slash draft FFT entries have to be in by the
start of the draft on Thursday.
So if you're watching this after the draft on Thursday for comedic value,
sorry, you cannot be a part of the FFT draft contest.
Let's take a look at my mock draft.
Number one, a shocker.
Fernando Mendoza, quarterback from Indiana, cut and dried.
I don't think he's going to matter much for 2026 fantasy.
I do think he will help the pass catchers there in the second half of the year.
Really more of a long-term play with him.
He'll be the long-term starter for Las Vegas.
I think he'll be a solid quarterback, not necessarily somebody that you have to go and get with the 101 in a 2QB rookie only draft.
I would still go Jeremiah Love.
And I might go some other wide receivers too based on where they go.
Number two, Arvel Reese to the Jets.
Number three, Jeremiah Love to the Cardinals.
Yeah, I think they pull the trigger.
I think they do it.
I think they're tired of having mediocre defensive players on their team.
This is the best player in the draft.
Michael Flore now, the head coach there, let him use Jeremiah Love.
And honestly, having James Connor, Tyler, Algeo, Tray Benson there,
those guys might matter a little bit in 2026.
They should not matter much in 2027.
Jeremiah, I love not the best landing spot for him for fantasy,
but the right landing spot for the Cardinals, he would go third.
Number four, David Bailey to the Titans.
Number five, sunny styles to the Giants.
Number six, a trade, and it's Rubin Bain going to the New Orleans,
Saints the Browns trading down.
Number seven, the commanders, Caleb Downs.
Eight, the Browns, remember, they traded with the Saints.
I just said it five seconds ago.
Caden Proctor, the offensive tackle, first tackle off the board, he goes to the Cleveland Browns.
Number nine, the chiefs take Spencer Fenno.
Number 10, the Giants take Jordan Tyson.
And I feel like this one's kind of written on the wall a little bit.
We saw the Giants link to Tyson.
It makes a lot of sense for them to want to get another explosive receiver to go with Malik
neighbors, even though we know Malik neighbors, not necessarily 100% to start the season.
So it makes sense from a short-term point of view.
It also makes sense from a long-term point of view
because having both neighbors and Tyson on the field with Jackson Dart,
man, those two should be able to put up a lot of numbers.
Hort a ton of targets there for them as well.
And I think that might even open things up for the Giants' run game.
So it could end up being a good thing for Cam Scadaboo.
I'm liking Jordan Tyson as a mid-round pick if he goes to the New York football giants.
Of course, that's contingent on elite neighbors.
Tyson could be drafted much higher if neighbors is not ready for the start of the season.
Back to my mock.
Number 11, the dolphins take Mansour Delane from LSU.
Number 12, Keldrick Falka surprise defensive tackle goes to the Dallas Cowboys.
Number 13, another surprise.
Kenyon Sadiq goes to the Rams.
The Rams stay put.
They don't move up.
They don't move down.
And everybody's talking about Mackay Lemon being the guy that the Rams take.
And I get it.
He's somebody that can win in the middle of the field, good long-term solutions.
know wide receiver. Think about Sadiq. And go back. If you haven't done it yet, go watch his
clips wherever you can. They're on YouTube. They're wherever. He's not really a tight end. He's more
of a receiver. And he can do a lot of the same things that Mackay Lemon can do, maybe not quite as
much downfield, but certainly in the short and intermediate areas, man, I think he'd be a matchup
nightmare for defenses that play against the Rams. And that would be a long-term nightmare that they
would have. So Kenyon Sadeek would be a top 10 fantasy tight end if he goes to the Rams. And just like
love with the Cardinals, all those other tight ends that the Rams have, I don't think they'll
even be on the team other than Terrence Ferguson in 2027. Some of them might not be on the team
in 2026 if they take Sadiq at 13th overall. Okay, back to the mock. Vega, Joanna. I should
know how to pronounce his name, but it's the guard from Penn State. He's going to the Ravens
at 14. Number 15. Francis Maui Noah from the Miami Hurricanes gets traded to the Lions. The
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Carnell Tate to the New York Jets.
I think it's the safe pick for the Jets.
We know they're looking for another wide receiver.
I think Tate is safe for them, obviously.
And I think he can be a great number two wide receiver, kind of co-wide receivers with Gare Wilson.
open up Garrett Wilson to work all the way across the formation.
I really look at Tate as more of just a perimeter type of wide receiver.
And eventually the Jets will get a good quarterback.
And Tate will benefit as will Garrett Wilson.
I think if Tate goes there, that would knock down Garrett Wilson in fantasy a little bit,
probably more like a very low-end number two wide receiver.
And Tate wouldn't be a popular pick in 2026, but I think in time he'd be an okay pick,
maybe a mid-rounder in 2027, still would be a first-round pick in Dynasty drafts.
To the mock we go.
Akeem Mesidor to the bucks.
Everybody's mocking it.
So am I.
18.
The Vikings take Caden McDonald,
defensive tackle from Ohio State.
They've got some big guys to replace.
He will do that.
Number 19,
Mackay Lemon to the Panthers.
And this is where I thought Kenyon Sadiq would go.
And it just,
as I got thinking about Lemon not going to the Rams and Sadiq going there,
I thought, well, Lemon could just do what the,
what the Panthers might have asked Sadiq to do and be that short and intermediate
weapon, work out of the slot.
He can work wide too.
And just be a total different.
type of wide receiver than Teddo Roa McMillan.
And I think Bryce Young would really benefit from it.
And I think Lemon would benefit too.
I think there would be some games in 2026 where Lemon would be the lead wide receiver
for that team.
I'd be interested in him.
If he's a Panther as a mid-round pick, definitely would take him over Carnell
Tate and maybe even over Jordan Tyson.
That would obviously hinge on whether or not Malik Neighbors is ready to go for the
Giants.
And what else the Giants do on offense?
To the mock draft, we go.
Number 20, Dylan Thinemann going to the Cowboys.
21, Steelers, draft tackle Monroe Freeling.
22, the Chargers get Peter Woods from Clemson.
23, the Eagles, Blake Miller, offensive tackle from Clemson.
A lot of linemen going in this draft.
I think we're going to see that on Thursday for sure in round one.
But here's a wide receiver going to the Browns at 24.
Omar Cooper.
And I thought about Casey Concepcion, and I just wondered, okay, I wondered if Concepcion was too big of a risk for the
Browns because they need somebody who's healthy and can contribute now.
And I think that Cooper is probably better for that.
Remember, Concepcion had a knee surgery, put him on the shelf in March.
He should be good to go, but I think it would be a risk for the Browns to take him at this
point.
Cooper's a really good wide receiver.
I think he's versatile.
He's got great hands.
That's an issue with Concepcion.
But I do think that Cooper could be the leading target getter for the Browns if he were
to go there with the 24th pick in the NFL draft.
T.J. Parker goes 25th to the Bears.
Concepcion, we just got done talking about him.
He goes to the bills at 26.
Might be my favorite pick of all the wide receivers in my mock draft because it's Buffalo,
because it's Josh Allen, and because I don't think he would be blocked that much by
Shakir, Kincaid, and even DJ Moore.
And I think in time, he would be if he's healthy and if he's right and if he adapts to the NFL game,
like we all kind of think he can, he could end up being the number one wide receiver in
Buffalo. Definitely in consideration if he goes to the bills as a top four pick in rookie only
drafts. And that might include Superflex. Depends on what you need in quarterback land.
And obviously, when it comes to redraft leagues, Concepcion probably would be at the top of
the heap. Not many other skill position players left in my mock draft. I've got the Niners
taking McNeil Warren at safety at 27. The Texans taking Chase Bessontas at Guard, 28. 29. Chiefs,
Chris Johnson. Not that Chris Johnson.
old heads out there. Chris Johnson, the cornerback from San Diego State.
And then I've got three trades to end round one. And the first one, the Cardinals getting
Ty Simpson, making the trade with the Dolphins, dolphins, kind of blocking the Jets from getting
Ty Simpson and making the deal with the Cardinals instead. And Simpson may be a good option for
them, maybe not, but he wouldn't be the starter to begin the year. I think it would definitely
make him intriguing in Superflex leagues, rookie only drafts, late round picking the Superflex leagues.
first round pick and rookie only drafts obviously closer to the beginning of round one rather than the end of round one.
Maybe not quite a round one pick in one QB rookie only drafts.
But I think he wouldn't be bad for them.
Perset would just be the starter for the year.
And if Peret turns into a pumpkin, that's when Simpson would come in and Gardner-Minshoe would probably not come in.
31 is a trade as well.
The Giants jump back into round one, another first round pick and another Arizona state pick.
It's a hamachor.
the tackle from Arizona State going to the Giants.
And then last but not least, Denzel Boston.
Doesn't go to Seattle.
That's a trade.
It's the Raiders that get Denzel Boston,
add another big-bodied wide receiver,
kind of in that Oduenzze, Mike Evans,
Michael Pittman type of mold.
Let him work on the sidelines and catch passes
from Fernando Mendoza for the rest of his life.
That's the mock, 32 picks,
some good ones for fantasy.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on them.
Pop them in the comments or find me on Twitter at Dave Richard.
Wait, it's called X now.
Find me on X now at Dave Richard.
And no matter what, enjoy the draft.
And don't forget to sign up for our mock draft challenge.
Winters in the podcast league.
That link one more time, tiny URL.com slash draft.