NFL Mock Draft 2026 with player comparisons: Projecting the best NFL comps for first-round picks
Here's looking at the latest first-round projections for the 2026 NFL Draft through the lens of scouting in relation to past and present NFL players.
NFL Mock Draft 2026 with player comparisons: Projecting the best NFL comps for first-round picks originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . NFL comparisons come with any pre-draft evaluation of prospects.
The 2026 class is no exception, regardless of position. Likening players entering the league to players already in the league gives a better understanding of what kind of talent a team will get — great, good, bad or somewhere in between. From floor to ceiling, here's looking at Sporting News' first-round projections based on NFL veterans past and present: MORE 2026 NFL DRAFT: Complete 7-round mock draft Trade predictions for the first round Where will each quarterback go in 2026 draft?
NFL Mock Draft 2026 1. Las Vegas Raiders Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (6-5, 236 pounds) Mendoza is right up there with the best pocket passing prospects in the past 20 drafts, including first-rounders Matt Ryan , Joe Burrow and Jared Goff , and later-round sleepers Brock Purdy and Kirk Cousins , the latter now serving as Mendoza's ideal veteran backup and initial competition. 2.
New York Jets David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech (6-4, 251 pounds) The Jets should have taken notice that Will Anderson Jr. just got a massive extension and that's the kind of dominant all-around potential Bailey has. He can also be as effective in coverage as Rams recent first-rounder Jared Verse and has some of that Brian Burns -like athleticism, too.
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