NFL mock draft 2.0: Newsday's first-round predictions after the Combine and free agency

The Combine is long over and almost all of the big free agency moves have taken place. Teams are now focusing just about all of their attention on Pro Days, private workouts and the draft that is in less than a month. With all of that information and movement taken into consideration — including a few trades that shake up the bottom of the first round — it’s time for another Mock Draft to see what’s changed in terms of targets and needs since Newsday’s last look in mid-February:

1. Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana

Everything Las Vegas has done this offseason has been about setting themselves up for the quarterback they’ll take with this pick. We’re starting to hear some rumblings on analysts thinking other quarterbacks may be closer to Mendoza than previously believed, but the Heisman winner is still the top option.

Previous pick: Mendoza.

2. Jets: Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State

Aaron Glenn’s defense got a personnel makeover in free agency; Reese is the finishing touch with flexibility and playmaking instincts. He can plug a lot of holes and come at offenses from a number of positions.

Previous pick: Reese

3. Cardinals: David Bailey, Edge, Texas Tech

Arizona still needs to improve the offensive line that will now protect Jacoby Brissett, but adding someone who can produce in the pass rush along with Josh Sweat is a bit too enticing for them.

Previous pick: Spencer Fano

4. Titans: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame

Did Brian Daboll learn the lesson of what life was like without Saquon Barkley? Have the Titans as an organization learned what their existence has been like since Derrick Henry departed? The team needs a stud running back to help Cam Ward develop.

Previous pick: Carnell Tate

5. Giants: Sonny Styles, LB Ohio State

Would the Giants take Love if he was available? In this version we’ll never know. They definitely still want to improve their running back room and maybe they’ll do that by trading up into the late picks of this round for Jadarian Price, Love’s college teammate. In the meantime they’ll take the all-over-the-field linebacker here and cut him loose behind their front-line players.

Previous pick: Mansoor Delane

6. Browns: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State

Half the players taken so far have been Buckeyes but this one stays in Ohio. Downs helps the back end of a defense that had Myles Garrett up front and Carson Schwesinger in the middle.

Previous pick: Downs

7. Commanders: Rueben Bain Jr., Edge, Miami

Washington added to its pass rush in free agency with Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson but it can still use more and Bain gives them that.

Previous pick: David Bailey

8. Saints: Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State

Adding David Edwards and Travis Etienne Jr. helped the run game and Tate gives them a new passing weapon.

Previous pick: Jeremiyah Love

9. Kansas City: Francis Mauigoa, T, Miami

People will say that the NFL script-doctors are back at work helping KC by allowing them to pick the best lineman in the draft all the way down here at 9. .

Previous pick: Rueben Bain Jr.

10. Bengals: Spencer Fano, T, Utah

Keeping Joe Burrow on the field should be the only objective of the organization. Fano can step in at right tackle and slide inside to guard if needed, but he’ll definitely be one of the starting five up front.

Previous pick: Francis Mauigoa

11. Dolphins: Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU

Miami is undergoing a total overhaul and still has a lot of needs. Picking a top-tier cornerback will allow them to focus on some of those others in this and future drafts.

Previous pick: Jermond McCoy

12. Cowboys: Jermond McCoy, CB, Tennessee

He missed all of 2025 with a torn ACL and probably still could have been an improvement for that woeful Cowboys’ secondary.

Previous pick: Colton Hood

13. LA Rams (via Falcons): Makai Lemon, WR, USC

Another weapon in the passing game to play alongside Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.

Previous pick: Lemon

14. Ravens: Vega Ioane, G, Penn State

After losing Tyler Linderbaum and Patrick Ricard to free agency, Baltimore needs some beef to run up the middle. Ioane delivers that. He may wind up being the top lineman in the draft class even if he plays inside rather than on the edge.

Previous pick: Ioane

15. Buccaneers: Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami

The Bucs had 38 sacks last season and only 3.5 of those came from their edge rushers. Mesidor will fix that disparity.

Previous pick: Sonny Styles

16. Jets (via Colts): Denzel Boston, WR, Washington

They’d have to really love a quarterback — presumably Alabama’s Ty Simpson — to pick one here. But they’d also have to be convinced they couldn’t grab a better one next year with all the draft capital they’ll have at their disposal. Tricky stuff. Just take the receiver who will help whoever winds up throwing the ball down the road.

Previous pick: Boston

17. Lions: Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia

Taylor Decker needs to be replaced and Freeling will get first crack at doing that.

Previous pick: Cashius Howell

18. Vikings: Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee

Minnesota did add James Pierre in free agency but can still stand an upgrade at cornerback. His athleticism showcased at the Combine and his ability to cover on the back end of all those Brian Flores blitzes will make him a good fit.

Previous pick: Peter Woods

19. Panthers: Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon

Carolina hasn’t had a game-changing tight end since the days of Greg Olsen. Sadiq’s numbers at the Combine showed that he has the makings to be a real special talent and a mismatch, helping Bryce Young continue his upward trajectory.

Previous pick: Sadiq

20. Cowboys (via Packers): Keldrick Faulk, Edge, Auburn

The best run-stuffing edge-setter among all the pass rushers, Faulk will be another piece added to Dallas’ quest to build the best front wall in the league.

Previous pick: Akheem Mesider

21. Steelers: Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State

Pittsburgh needs a versatile receiver who has the toughness to play inside or outside for Mike McCarthy’s offense run by, well, whoever the quarterback winds up being and whenever he makes up his mind.

Previous pick: Tyson

22. Chargers: Peter Woods, DT, Clemson

A big-time interior disruptor who can play with recently re-signed Teair Tart and give the Chargers a thick front to stop the running games of Denver and Kansas City in the division (not to mention go against Linderbaum in Las Vegas).

Previous pick: Keldrick Faulk

23. Eagles: Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama

At some point Philly needs to find a guy to replace Lane Johnson and they’re the kind of team that would rather already have him on the roster that have to go searching for him. In the meantime Proctor can be a swingman or even play inside.

Previous pick: Avieon Terrell

24, Browns (via Jaguars): Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah

Having taken a top talent on defense earlier in the first round, Cleveland now gets around to addressing a huge need on the offensive side. They added Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins in free agency to shore up the middle and Lomu gives them a potential franchise tackle on the outside. 

Previous pick: Kadyn Proctor

25. Bears: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo

Losing Jaquan Brisker to the Steelers will feel a lot less like a loss once McNeil-Warren gets on the field. Chicago made a big splash in free agency by getting safety Coby Bryant from the Seahawks, but McNeil-Warren plays a different kind of game and the two should pair up nicely.

Previous pick: McNeil-Warren

26. Bills: KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M

Buffalo traded for DJ Moore but it still needs more players to help Josh Allen get to his first Super Bowl.  When the owner starts griping about the position, it’s a good idea to pick a receiver  and Concepcion will be a good fit for a team that hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since 2023.

Previous pick: Concepcion

27. 49ers: Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M

They did a great job addressing receiver in free agency with Mike Evans and Christian Kirk, but they still have a defense that had the fewest sacks in the league in 2025. San Francisco posted just 20 of them last season; Howell had 11.5.

Previous pick: R Mason Thomas

28. Texans: Blake Miller, OT, Clemson

One of these years the Texans won’t have to address the offensive line in the draft. Miller is a mauler who needs some refinement in his technique but he gives them a pretty good chance of achieving that goal.

Previous pick: Monroe Freeling

29. Kansas City (via Rams): Brandon Cisse, CB. South Carolina

After seeing both Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson leave for the Rams via trade and free agency, Steve Spagnuolo needs a new press cornerback. Kansas City can use this pick that it got in return for McDuffie to land at least one such player.

Previous pick: Cisse 

30. Dolphins (via Broncos): Omar Cooper Jr., WR, Indiana

Tyreek Hill was released and Jaylen Waddle went to Denver so Miami needs a top target for new quarterback Malik Willis. Cooper helped make Fernando Mendoza a star at Indiana (he was on the receiving end of that Heisman Moment in the back of the end zone against Penn State) and he should be able to help this offense too.

Previous pick: CJ Allen 

31. Patriots: Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State

New England lost K’Lavon Chaisson in free agency to the Commanders, so it needs to restock the defensive line. McDonald isn’t much of a pass-rusher but he takes up space and will help bolster the run defense that Kenneth Walker III shredded up in the Super Bowl.

Previous pick: Caleb Lomu

32. Seahawks: Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon

Mike Macdonald did pretty well for himself after leaving the Ravens but now he can get the kind of versatile chess piece he had in Kyle Hamilton when he was still in Baltimore.

Previous pick: Thieneman