Let's have a look at the most recent NFL Mock Draft, though this one is a special edition where Ian Hartitz and Matthew Freedman traded off picks in a recent episode of the Fantasy Life Show. This one was different because Ian and Freedman had the information of players recently signed in free agency, making it clear what holes teams were looking to fill through the draft. While the consensus top pick has not changed—even though one of our drafters joked about changing things up at the top—there was plenty of movement to make this an interesting look at what could happen in late April. These are highlights taken from the broadcast.

Post-Free Agency NFL Mock Draft: New Team For Jeremiyah Love

No. 1—Las Vegas Raiders

Fernando Mendoza | QB | Indiana

Ian: Well, boy, do I have a surprise for you, Freedman. Nah, I'm just playing. Let's get into it. Las Vegas Raiders. Number 1 pick. I am doing odds. Freedman is doing evens. As funny as I thought it would be to do some ridiculous trade or make the argument where you guys actually watched the first seven games of Ty Simpson. I will again get things started with the chalky pick. The Heisman Trophy winner and national champion Fernando Mendoza.

No. 2—New York Jets

Arvell Reese | LB | Ohio State

Freedman: It's a question between Arvell Reese, who's your hybrid EDGE/linebacker from Ohio State. Or if you go with David Bailey, who's more of your traditional EDGE rusher who I think has kind of like the best blend of college production and NFL upside because of how athletic he is. I'm still going with Arvell Reese, who's kind of your chalk pick. I think he makes the most sense at No. 2 because of the upside and because of sort of like hybrid duality flexibility that he gives the defense.

Premium

Go FantasyLife+

Your league is unique. Your advice should be too. Get personalized tools, rankings, and projections tailored to your fantasy football league settings.

Learn More

No. 3—Arizona Cardinals

Sonny Styles | LB | Ohio State

Ian: Let's go ahead and make it back to back. Buckeyes, Sonny Styles, obviously an off-ball linebacker getting some of the Fred Warner comp. Man, you do look at what he's even done. Rushing the pass or maybe not as often as Reese, but still very successfully. I do think he warrants being a top five pick, particularly after having a combine performance for the ages. So, Sonny Styles, the Cardinals for me.

No. 4—Tennessee Titans

David Bailey | EDGE | Texas Tech

Freedman: I'm going with David Bailey. You know, we have a defensive minded head coach and Robert Saleh. He just brought in Jermaine Johnson from the Jets via trade. The team just signed John Franklin-Myers to play in the interior of the defensive line. I think they want to continue to rebuild in the trenches and this gives them a guy who, in a class that is a little lackluster at the top has good depth, but a little lackluster at the top, a guy who I think still probably belongs in the top 5.

No. 5—New York Giants

Carnell Tate | WR | Ohio State

Ian: When I look at this team now, particularly with Wan’Dale Robinson out of the picture, that No. 2 wide receiver spot is a big-time need. And we're looking at the situation, too. We want to find out if Jaxson Dart can be your franchise quarterback. So let's get him a legit weapon and see what happens in the form of another Ohio State Buckeye. Give me Carnell Tate going No. 5 to the Giants. I know for even you've been saying that you actually thought maybe his ceiling would be the Saints at No. 8 after running a slower 40 than expected. I'll be honest. I do think, you know, maybe the gap between Tate, Makai Lemon and Jordyn Tyson, these top wide receivers, maybe a little bit smaller. I do think that they're all three in that same sort of tier at the top. But when I do look at this Giants team, obviously with No. 1 Malik Nabers, I think this is the perfect spot for Tate being that kind of overqualified NO. 2, having a No. 1 in Nabers, who, just like Jeremiah Smith, is going to be capable of pulling a lot of coverage attention his way.

No. 6 Cleveland Browns

Francis Mauigoa | T | Miami (FL)

Freedman: I'm going to go with an offensive lineman. And the big question here is between the two guys, is it Francis Mauigoa or is it Spencer Fano? I'm going with Mauigoa, who I think has more of the size to be able to play at right tackle. And if he doesn't work out, he can go into the interior as a guard.

No. 7 — Washington Commanders

Jeremiyah Love | RB | Notre Dame

Ian: You could basically say almost no team ever really quote, unquote needs a running back unless you have like Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco as your backfield. In that case, then you actually need a running back. But I think a team that doesn't need a running back will still look at Jeremiyah Love and say the value is just too good. He's one of the three to five best players in this draft. Yeah, we kind of have to do that if we're staying true to our board. So he could fall. I just don't imagine him getting past No. 12. And I don't imagine I'm getting past No. 7 in this draft because, yes, I'm going to put him on the Washington  Commanders.

Pick 8 — New Orleans Saints

Caleb Downs | S | Ohio State

Freedman: Wide receiver also felt like a big need. And I would say it still is, but now with Carnell Tate off of the board, it feels a little bit too early for Jordyn Tyson or Makai Lemon. And so you just kind of have to think, alright, best player available. That's the way I would probably go here. I think that's Caleb Downs, probably not Rueben Bain. Rueben Bain is great and he plays the more premium position, but I still think that Caleb Downs is a top-5 player in this class. And I don't think he's going to go, let's say past No. 12. And given that the Saints, like they don't have like a really glaring, obvious need. Like on their team outside of wide receiver, it just still feels too early in a class that actually has pretty good wide receiver depth to reach at the position in the top 10. So going best player available, Caleb Downs.

Pick 9 — Kansas City Chiefs

Mansoor Delane | CB | LSU

Ian: It’s a retooling year for the Chiefs. It also is complicated by the fact that they have two first-round picks. And so, you know, you could say, all right, they need a cornerback and they need an offensive lineman or they need a cornerback in whatever position you put in there and they could address. He could slip down the board a little bit more, but this is like the range where it makes sense for him to come off the board.

No. 10 — Cincinnati Bengals

Rueben Bain Jr. | EDGE | Miami (FL)

Freedman: They need help at edge. You have Rueben Bain. I think No. 10 is like the latest he's falling unless teams just absolutely don't want anything to do with him because of the arm length, but that gets you only so far. And the Bengals are one of those organizations that I think are just a little desperate here. I think it is Reuben Bain. And I think it's pretty good value.

No. 11 — Miami Dolphins

Spencer Fano | T | Utah

Ian: I think it's a little early to go with the pass catcher when we still have some elite offensive linemen on the board. So, with that in mind, I am going to go with the Utah offensive tackle, Spencer Fano to the Dolphins. Again, it’s an offensive line that needs some help as it is. I just think it's a little bit early here to be taking one of the wide receivers or Kenyon Sadiq.

No. 12 — Dallas Cowboys

Jermod McCoy | CB | Tennessee

Freedman: I'm not going to say that I took evens in this just so I could double up on the Cowboys at 12 and 20. I wouldn’t. I wouldn't say that. It didn't cross my mind, but maybe it did. But so the Cowboys here, this is just like defense all the way. At least, at least to my eye, it is.

 So I'm going to go with Jermod McCoy here for the Cowboys. Didn't play last year. Didn't run at the combine. It's a little bit of a, I wouldn't say it's a snafu, but it's a little bit of a yellow and orange flag. You know, at his pro day, let's see him run, see him healthy. That answers all of the questions, assuming he's healthy.

No. 13—Los Angeles Rams

Jordyn Tyson | WR | Arizona State

Ian: I’m going to go a little bit down the board here. I'm sure PFF is going to like it. Jordyn Tyson, someone who I think is a top-10 talent, obviously has the injuries, which we got to worry about. But man, if you drop Tyson into that offense and now you have Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Tyson running around, that is just so many freaking problems for a defense to have to worry about.

No. 14—Baltimore Ravens

Olaivavega Ioane | G | Penn State

Freedman: So now again, it will be the Ravens on the clock instead at pick 14 … Vega is just purely a guard here. But in terms of top talent, he might be the best offensive lineman in the class. I think in terms of talent, he's a top-10 guy and getting here at number 14, I think is good value. So, building in the trenches feels like a very Ravens kind of thing to do. So going with Vega at No. 14, it’s fortifying the trenches for hopefully a bounceback year for Lamar Jackson. And it's about time the Ravens actually do add some legit resources to their offensive line.

No. 15—Tampa Bay Buccaneers

CJ Allen | LB | Georgia

Ian: Alex Anzalone, good signing and everything in the near term, but he’s still on the wrong side of 30 in his own right. At just two years, $17 million, I don't think that necessarily stops them from taking a linebacker here at pick 15. So go ahead and give me CJ Allen. Again, behind Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese, he's the consensus No. 3 off-ball linebacker on the board.

No. 16—New York Jets

Makai Lemon | WR | USC

Freedman: At No. 2, they addressed the defense, which they've just continued to attack during free agency here. But now they need to give Geno Smith another person to throw to besides Garrett Wilson.  I think he has the size to be a legit NFL wide receiver, and it's just a question of whether that offense can maximize him.

No. 17—Detroit Lions

Monroe Freeling | T | Georgia

Ian: I think I'm going to have to lock in the tackle out of Georgia. Obviously got Penei Sewell on the right side, but if they can add Freeling to the left side, I think that'd be a good first step for the Detroit Lions. This is going back and making that offensive line a strength.

No. 18—Minnesota Vikings

Dillon Thieneman | S | Oregon

Freedman: Thieneman is someone who, first at Purdue and then at Oregon, proved himself to be a true playmaker. And he's got great athleticism. He can line up deep, can line up more in the box. So I think he has that versatility. You can even line up in the slot. He has that versatility that Brian Flores really likes and the draft range makes sense here. Absolutely love this pick.

No. 19—Carolina Panthers

Kenyon Sadiq | TE | Oregon

Ian: I think Sadiq gives them someone who really can serve the purpose of providing some nice YAC skills and also stretching the seam. I should say with that 4.39 speed he adds yet another weapon to an offense. Again, the one thing more than anything the Panthers need to find out this year—yeah, winning playoff games are obviously great—but you need to know by the end of 2026 if Bryce Young is your franchise quarterback for the long term or not. I think Sadiq can help you with that.

No. 20—Dallas Cowboys

Akheem Mesidor—EDGE, Miami (FL)

Freedman: I think even though Akheem Mesidor doesn't have maybe the long-term upside of Keldrick Falk, the team can probably look at him and say pretty confidently right away, this is the caliber of player we're going to get. And so I'm going to go with Akheem Mesidor.

No. 21—Pittsburgh Steelers

Avieon Terrell — CB, Clemson

Ian:  Obviously they need a quarterback, but I'm not trying to do the Kenny Pickett/Ty Simpson pick thing at No. 21. Let's go ahead and send him into Round 2 and worry about that later … Every team I feel like is trying to find this new nickelback who can really play the run well, but also still be sticky in coverage. So why not go ahead and get some NFL bloodlines here with Avieon Terrell out of Clemson? He’s someone I've seen folks like Dane Brugler comp favorably to someone like the Honey Badger back in the day.

No. 22 — Los Angeles Chargers

Caleb Banks | DI | Florida

For years, this team has needed to get stronger in the interior of their defensive line. And you still have here, whether it's Peter Woods or whether it's Caleb Banks, you still have your choice of the first defensive tackle going off of the board. Peter Woods is the guy that I have kind of to this point locked in as the No. 1 defensive tackle, but I'm pivoting a little bit to Caleb Banks, who didn't have a fantastic final season, was injured a lot of it, but had a good combine, good size, just kind of a freak athlete. Caleb Banks, I am putting him here to the Chargers at No. 22.

No. 23—Philadelphia Eagles

Kevin “KC” Concepcion | WR | Texas A&M

Ian: KC Concepcion is just someone that when I watch, man, he can separate with the best of them. And ideally he could even give them a little bit more of a YAC juice and a YAC threat than they necessarily have in that offense right now. So, hey, if you want to just have Concepcion on A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and roll with that for a few more years, that is fine and dandy as well. A little bit of a premium pick.

No. 24—Cleveland Browns

Omar Cooper Jr. — WR, Indiana

Freedman: Yeah, 100% going wide receiver here. And I'm going with Omar Cooper, who has gotten a ton of hype in the past month. I think first round is a little bit of a reach for him. He never had the full breakout. He broke out this past season, but it wasn't that big of a breakout for a dude who's in his final college season. I felt like he was never the true number one wide receiver on that Indiana Hoosiers team. I thought that was more Elijah Sarratt. But he can play inside and outside. He's got good enough size. He's got much better athleticism than I thought he would have. And if you're looking at the Browns, they just need someone. They just need another wide receiver.

No. 25—Chicago Bears

Kayden McDonald | DI | Ohio State

Ian: You know what, Freedman? I’ve lived in Columbus, Ohio, my whole freaking life. I'm going to take another Buckeye, and I do think it makes sense. Kayden McDonald, the run stuffer, defensive interior lineman. Maybe you don't think he's first round-worthy because of the “lack of a pass rush move” bag. But I just think when you can get that defensive tackle who surprisingly was so productive last year in terms of what he was able to do at D-Tackle, that's instantly going to fortify that middle of the Bears defense.

No. 26—Buffalo Bills

Denzel Boston | WR | Washington

Freedman: I will go offense. They now have an offensive-minded head coach. Let's go with Denzel Boston. It's not a pick that I love, but it's a pick that I could see happening even though I don't think it's maybe the best pick that they could make. But I'll also say we're in that range of the draft where from, I'd say like pick 22 to pick 50, it’s fairly even in terms of the caliber of player. And so Denzel Boston as the sixth wide receiver off the board to a team that wants to maximize its offense and has one of the best quarterbacks in the league … Yeah, I can see it.

No. 27—San Francisco 49ers

Kadyn Proctor | T | Alabama

Ian: So I'll go ahead and look at the 49ers offense and the other big people need they have, which is Trent Williams guys, apparently had a stairdown to the point where we're getting reports that maybe he could actually be moving on somewhere else. So with that in mind, either way, they're going to need to get a tackle of the future with Trent being up there in age. Give me Kadyn Proctor, the Alabama tackle, who, depending on what you've been doing, the mock drafts, you might have been seeing him go far higher.

No. 28—Houston Texans

Caleb Lomu | T | Utah

Freedman: I think it's a question of whether you would want to go with Blake Miller, who I think has been fairly impressive, but maybe doesn't have quite the ceiling of someone like Caleb Lomu. But there's also the question of, in the NFL, which one of these guys is more likely to play left tackle versus right tackle? I'm going to go with Lomu.

No. 29—Kansas City Chiefs

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren | S | Toledo

Ian: The Chiefs seemingly are allergic to extending these cornerbacks and safeties that they have because DC Steve Spagnuolo just keeps on keeping on. But we are still going to get them some talent to go ahead and earn those future first-round picks in the first place. I do think of McNeil Warren as the best secondary player on the board, could it make sense for him there?

No. 30—Denver Broncos

Keldric Faulk | EDGE | Auburn

Freedman: This is one of the most complete rosters in the NFL. Yeah, it absolutely is. I would say that if one of the safeties were still here, that probably would have been my pick. I could see Anthony Hill linebacker out of Texas. It feels a little bit early. But now I'm looking at Keldric Faulk, who is just a beast of a human in terms of his athleticism and his size. The five star pedigree. You know, when I was doing early mocks a few months ago, Celtic Falk routinely was in that top-10 borderline.

No. 31—New England Patriots

Cashius Howell — EDGE, Texas A&M

Ian: Luckily for New England, Cashius Howell is still staring at us. So we got TJ Parker and Peter Woods as well. If they want to try to go interior, they did go ahead and sign Dre’Mont Jones from the Ravens, though. So I think Cashius Howell here or Keldric Faulk.

No. 32 — Seattle Seahawks

Peter Woods | DI | Clemson

Freedman: I'm tempted to go with Colton Hood, but I never imagined Peter Woods would still be available at this pick. So I'm going to go with Peter Woods, defensive player. I think he’s the best available defensive tackle here. I know that this team doesn't really obviously need an interior player with Leonard Williams, with Byron Murphy, with Jarran Reed, but I think he's just too strong of a player to pass up.

Join Our Newsletter

Trusted by 400,000+ fantasy football players. Get access to Fantasy Life's free award winning newsletter and tools, all in one step.

Email Address

Subscribe

By registering or logging in, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.