Top 5 1st round worthy prospects The Athletic has available in round 2
The Athetic beat writer mock draft is as interesting for who they will get selected as it is for who they think will not.
This time tomorrow, the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft will be underway. That means all the outlets are releasing their final mock drafts. USA Today Wire sites were among them.
One of the more notable being The Athletic's network mock draft. Network mock drafts would seem to be more useful because it isn't just one person's opinion. It puts in charge of each pick someone who is presumably more in tune with the needs, wants, and tendencies of the team they cover exclusively.
Since the Raiders top pick has been settled and unchanged throughout the offseason -- surprise! it's Fernando Mendoza -- the question then becomes who they will take with their pick at 36 overall in the second round. And part of the answer to that lies in who is still on the board.
For that reason these mock drafts can still be interesting as it doesn't just predict who will get selected, but who will NOT be selected and thus be on available on day two. Once all of their picks were made, there were a few prospects who were not selected, but who, by many evaluator's judgment are worthy of being selected in the top 32. Using Arif Hassan's Consensus Big Board, there were five players who were ranked in the top 32 who were still available for Day two.