2026 Post-Free Agency Rookie Mock Draft
With the dust largely settled on free agency, we put together a 3-round mock draft to see how things stand less than a month before the NFL Draft.
Free agency answered a lot of questions. The NFL Draft is about to answer the rest. Before then, with depth charts reshuffled and roster needs now in sharper focus, we gathered three team members—Mike Woellert, Jeff Pomazal, and Evan—to join Adam, Bobby, and Josh for a post-free agency rookie mock draft. This is three rounds and the format is 1 QB, PPR, true position, with Big 3 scoring.
What emerged was a 1st round that feels genuinely unsettled after Jeremiyah Love at 1.01. After that, it’s a wide-open mix of wide receivers, running backs, tight ends, and the first IDP off the board sneaking in at 1.11. The consensus everyone hoped would form after the NFL Combine hasn’t quite arrived, and that makes this exercise more useful than most, because figuring out where you stand on the toss-up picks before your actual rookie draft is exactly the work that pays off in May.
Here’s how the board fell, pick by pick, and why.
Round 1
1.01: Jeremiyah Love, RB (Mike)
I guess I’ll go chalk here. Jeremiyah Love appears to be the best offensive prospect in the 2026 rookie draft and the consensus top overall pick. He’s explosive and added pass catching to his repertoire, with 55 catches over his last two seasons. He’s a big-time runner and a threat to score from anywhere.
1.02: Carnell Tate, WR (Josh)
I think this is a pick that’s going to look better as we get closer to the draft. Carnell Tate has been the most consistently mocked wide receiver inside the top 6 across the major draft sites, and the mock draft database has him going 8th overall. The knock on him is the 4.53 40 time, which was a disappointment, but watch the tape and you’ll see a guy who gets behind defenders anyway, consistently stacking corners with advanced route running rather than raw speed. Yes, he spent his entire career at Ohio State playing second fiddle to generational talents, but that context cuts both ways.
It speaks to his character and his ability to win in a complementary role, and Ohio State’s track record of developing NFL receivers is as good as anyone’s. He’s not going to be the flashiest pick, but he might be the most complete wide receiver in this class.
1.03: Makai Lemon, WR (Evan)
It’s hard to go wrong with any of the big 3 WRs. I prefer Makai Lemon over Jordyn Tyson, but the margins are incredibly slim. The obvious ceiling comparisons for Lemon are Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, two players who were initially billed as slot-only but have since developed into dominant all-around WRs.
I believe Lemon could follow in their footsteps to fantasy stardom, as he has the route-running, body control, and elite YAC ability to make any play you need. His advanced metrics profile is also incredibly strong, dominating against both man and zone coverage. This is a potential star in the making.
1.04: Jordyn Tyson, WR (Adam)
I love getting Jordyn Tyson at 1.04. The talent is undeniable—he’s a smooth route runner who reminds me of Doug Baldwin, a player I think deserves more credit than people give him. What concerns me is the injury history, and I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t. He’s dealt with a torn ACL, MCL, and PCL, a broken collarbone in 2024, and a lingering hamstring injury that kept him out of the NFL Combine and his pro day entirely. Every time he gets healthy, there’s another concern waiting. But if he can put it together, another player he’s reminiscent of is Keenan Allen: a guy who can catch a hundred balls in the NFL. That upside at 1.04 is worth the risk.
1.05: Omar Cooper Jr., WR (Jeff)
This is where the draft will begin in most leagues. The top 4 feel like the top 4 and landing spot will play a role in who is going to be selected here. Pre-draft, I am hitching my wagon to Omar Cooper Jr. He has improved every season in college and has been gaining a lot of 1st round buzz since the Combine. He will go late 1st, so landing on a team with an established quarterback could very well be in his future.
Cooper is an ideal build for the slot, and in a PPR league, that position is incredibly important. Last season at Indiana, Cooper played 324 of his 389 snaps from the slot position and posted an 87.4 PFF score, putting him easily in the top 10 in the country. His short-area quickness makes him tough to cover against man-to-man, and he has the spatial IQ to win against zone. Cooper landing in San Francisco could jump him ahead of one of the top 3 WRs in this draft, depending on their landing spot.
1.06: Mike Washington Jr., RB (Bobby)
I’ve been gravitating toward Mike Washington Jr. for a while now, and the post-Combine hype feels justified. He ran a 4.39 at the Combine, had over 2,900 total yards across five years at Buffalo, New Mexico State, and Arkansas, and that senior year at Arkansas—1,000 rushing yards, 8 touchdowns, 28 receptions—was legit production in the SEC. Brian Baldinger has been tweeting about how much he loves the way this guy runs and catches the ball. I’ve been hearing some 1st-round buzz, including a possible landing spot as late as Seattle at 32, which would change his dynasty value considerably. This might be running a little progressive at 1.06, but these are the spots where you put names on people’s radars.
1.07: Denzel Boston, WR (Mike)
Denzel Boston might be the last WR in the first tier. A downfield playmaker, he posted back-to-back seasons with 830+ yards and 9+ TDs. He had a 14.4 aDOT and can stretch the field. He’s tall with long strides and great footwork. He has good hands with single-digit drop rates over two seasons and a 63% contested catch rate. He’s a playmaker.
1.08: Kenyon Sadiq, TE (Josh)
I went with Kenyon Sadiq here because the athleticism here is genuinely freaky: a 4.39 40-yard dash at 241 pounds, a 43.5-inch vertical, and a 133-inch broad jump gives you a 9.59 RAS that rarely shows up at the position. He spent two years behind Terrance Ferguson, so the volume suppression is entirely a context issue rather than a reflection of his ability. When he finally got the TE1 role in 2025, he broke out with 51 catches, 560 yards, and 8 touchdowns, leading the nation at the position in touchdowns. There are real concerns about drops and contested catch inconsistency, but this is a 62% slot alignment rate that translates cleanly to fantasy. The consensus big board has him at 16 overall, so he should get substantial draft capital. That plus the top-tier athleticism has me willing to take a swing on Sadiq at 1.08.
1.09: K.C. Concepcion, WR (Evan)
K.C. Concepcion is my current 1.05 in this format, so getting him 4 spots later is pretty sweet. Concepcion is a versatile inside-outside WR who especially excels after the catch, but can win in a variety of ways versus both man and zone coverage. His main issue is drops, which are generally not predictive, so I’m not overly concerned. Two WRs that come to mind are Doug Baldwin and Stefon Diggs: quick, shifty technicians who had quite successful NFL careers.
1.10: Jonah Coleman, RB (Adam)
I was on the fence about breaking the seal on IDPs, so I settled on Jonah Coleman because I’m not that excited enough about any of the running backs remaining. He’s a bowling ball at 5’8” and 220 pounds with great balance, patience, and a good jump cut. He was also one of the better receiving backs in this class, putting up over 350 yards through the air last season at Washington. He won’t kill you with speed, but he’ll grind out runs and translate that into real fantasy production. He’s sitting around 92 overall on the consensus big board, so late-third NFL draft capital is realistic, and if he lands in a situation with a path to touches, this range looks like a bargain.
1.11: Sonny Styles, LB (Jeff)
I usually hate to be the first one to take an IDP in a draft, but the chance of landing a potential HOF at the end of Round 1 seems too good to pass up. Styles checks, double checks, and triple checks all the boxes of an NFL prospect and blew the doors off the Combine with his performance. There is some buzz that he goes top 5, which, in today’s NFL, where the linebacker position is apparently undervalued, screams not only to Styles’ ability but also the talent around him in this draft, making him more of a for sure thing than other possible picks at this point with the way the board has fallen. If I am picking 11th, I probably don’t need a QB, so Mendoza doesn’t really get me too excited. I thought about Stowers here, but if I can get a lockdown stud for my team for the next 8 seasons at the 11th pick, sign me up.
1.12: Eli Stowers, TE (Bobby)
I know the transition from quarterback to tight end raises eyebrows, and the blocking is far below average… but we don’t care about blocking in fantasy football. Eli Stowers is a pass-catching tight end who is still ascending, and I think after the NFL draft gives us landing spots, we’ll have a much better sense of what his ceiling looks like. He had a great Combine, and at 6’4” and 239 pounds, the body is there.
In a PPR league, you want pass catchers, especially at TE. There’s also a path here where Stowers migrates into more of a slot-hybrid role at the next level. He may rise quite a bit once teams start signaling how they intend to use him.
Round 2
2.01: Jake Golday, LB (Mike)
If you’re picking first in a dynasty, you probably need a bit of everything. After the 1st round, however, the top-end offense talent is diminished. For me, the 2nd round begins the “get your guys” portion of the rookie draft. If I am looking at it as get your guy, I’m going to take Jake Golday. I’ve got Rodriguez and Styles ranked higher, but there’s not a big gap between them. Golday had a big Combine, has a history of production, and if he’s drafted in that perfect landing spot, his IDP upside is huge. I’ve seen him mocked to the Colts in a few drafts. Golday fits the mold of the modern off-ball LB with his size, athleticism, and traits.
2.02: Jadarian Price (Josh)
Jadarian Price was the No. 2 back behind Jeremiyah Love on a national championship team, but he actually outpaced Love in yards per carry in 2024, and in 2025, he averaged 6 yards per carry with 11 touchdowns on just 113 carries. ESPN ranked him 2nd in this class in yards after contact at 4.13. The receiving profile is the legitimate question mark, with just 15 career receptions compared to Love’s 63, and that ceiling of a true three-down role probably isn’t there yet. But with the Seahawks losing both of their top running backs this offseason, the consensus big board already has him most commonly mocked to Seattle at the end of the 1st round. If that draft capital materializes, I don’t expect this pick to stay in the early 2nd for long.
2.03: Elijah Sarratt (Evan)
Elijah Sarratt is a big, physical X receiver who can be a quarterback’s best friend at the NFL level. He has great hands (10 inches) and excels in terms of late separation at the catch point. Sarratt also has the highest First Downs Per Route of any WR in the class, demonstrating his reliability in the short-to-intermediate area of the field. His playstyle is very similar to Jauan Jennings. Sarratt may not have the highest upside, but he will have a productive career as a WR2.
2.04: Arvell Reese (Adam)
Don’t back me into a corner and tell me I have to draft Arvell Reese, because I’ll do it every time. I passed in the late 1st and he was still sitting here at 2.04, which feels like the right range for what we know right now. The buzz is building that teams intend to line him up at edge rusher rather than linebacker, and at 21 years old with elite athleticism, the projection window is wide open. He reminds me of a souped-up Dallas Turner, and we saw what that kind of profile looks like when it works. The landing spot will drive everything here. Landing in Tennessee with Robert Saleh would be ideal: a stable coaching situation and a real path to snaps. Wherever he ends up, though, the upside here is the highest of any IDP in this class.
2.05: Fernando Mendoza (Jeff)
I’m going to end the slide for the one and only QB in this year’s draft class. Fernando Mendoza is hyper accurate and has some underrated rushing upside as he put up almost 300 yards and 6 TDs last season, and he has the frame that can hold up to it. Hopefully, the Raiders can get him a big-time WR to pair with Brock Bowers, and allow Mendoza to have a productive season as a bye week QB in his rookie season.
2.06: Kaytron Allen (Bobby)
I like Kaytron Allen over his running mate, Nicholas Singleton, in rookie drafts. That senior year at Penn State was legitimate: 1,300 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on a good team, year in and year out. He catches the ball too, with 70 receptions and 4 touchdowns over 4 seasons. His running style is physical and decisive, and I think he profiles as a guy who can develop into a real NFL starter. At 2.06, I’m not planting any flags. I just like Allen, and I think he’ll show up as a value once the draft capital locks in and we see who’s willing to invest in him on Day 2 or 3.
2.07: Jacob Rodriguez (Mike)
I’ll take my LB1 of the class here at 2.07. Jacob Rodriguez is one of the best run defenders and coverage LBs of the class. I’ve seen him going on Day 2, and he’s even been mocked in the 1st, so I’m hoping for solid draft capital.
2.08: Nicholas Singleton, RB (Josh)
Nicholas Singleton is Penn State’s all-time touchdown leader, a five-star recruit, and his kick return resume is elite: a class-high 1,138 career return yards, which tells you something about how this guy plays in space. The receiving profile is a real asset too, with a 102-987-9 career receiving line over 53 games (a legitimate sample).
The concerns are real, though: he broke his foot at the Senior Bowl, didn’t participate in the NFL Combine, and his stats regressed from 1,099 yards and 6.4 yards per carry in 2024 to 549 yards and 4.5 yards per carry in 2025. His missed tackles forced per rush ranks in the 20th percentile of FBS backs, so the elusiveness isn’t going to wow you. He also spent all four years sharing the backfield with Allen, which suppressed his touch count throughout. Bobby got Allen at 2.06, and these two guys running together made both of them hard to evaluate, but I like the upside here at this price.
2.09: Rueben Bain Jr. (Evan)
I think Rueben Bain Jr. could easily end up as the best EDGE from this class, but he will be discounted in every draft because of the arm length concerns. While valid, I’m not too worried about his length, due to his well-rounded skillset and impact. Throughout Miami’s run to the national championship, Bain was consistently dominant against some of the best tackles in the country. From an advanced metrics perspective, he’s one of the best EDGEs in the class in terms of both pass rush and run defense, which I believe gives him a higher floor than guys like Bailey or Reese.
2.10: Caleb Downs (Adam)
I’m blocking out all the noise on Caleb Downs: the degenerative knee concerns, the Combine opt-out, the Thieneman buzz, and just betting on a football player. He’s proven to be a good tackler, proven to be good in coverage, proven to be the kind of versatile safety who can align anywhere you need him. The Antoine Winfield Jr. comp I’ve heard floating around is exactly the profile I’m buying. Yeah, he might be drifting down the real draft board in a direction that pushes him to the mid-2nd in rookie drafts, but I’m happy to scoop up the value at this point if that happens.
2.11: Chris Bell (Jeff)
I’ll take a shot at a top WR in this class at a discount price due to injury. Chris Bell is everything you want in a WR: high-level, ascending production and a large athletic frame. He was a 1st-rounder for sure this season before the injury, but maybe he still finds a way to hear his name called on Thursday night of the draft.
2.12: Emmett Johnson (Bobby)
My strategy: collect all the running backs like Pokémon and wait for one of them to hit, because when they do, it’s glorious. Emmett Johnson is a dart throw, pure and simple, but at 2.12, that’s what you’re supposed to be throwing. Four seasons at Nebraska, 1,451 rushing yards as a senior, 12 touchdowns, and he catches the ball at a real clip—39 receptions his junior year, 46 his senior year, 702 receiving yards over his career. Not all of them pan out, but you need running backs in this game, and if you draft four or five of these guys at this range, you’re going to get at least one hit.
Round 3
3.01: Germie Bernard, WR (Mike)
Germie Bernard is a dependable receiver with good hands. He’s versatile and can play multiple alignments with steady production increases over each season.
3.02: David Bailey, EDGE (Josh)
I held off on David Bailey through the first two rounds, and I think that was the right call. Getting him at 3.02 feels like genuine value. The testing numbers are outrageous, and his first-step explosion is arguably the best in this entire class. He posted 13.5 sacks and a 23.4% pressure rate against Big 12 competition. Jason King comped him to Vic Beasley, which captures both the ceiling and the risk: elite explosion and pass-rush production, but the kind of player who has to develop to sustain that production at the next level. Run defense is the clear weakness, so I’m not planning to plug him into my lineup Week 1. But as a best ball dart or a dynasty stash in Year 1 while he develops, the athletic profile is too good to pass on here.
3.03: Zachariah Branch, WR (Evan)
I’m not the biggest believer in Zachariah Branch, but this is good value for a WR who likely goes in Round 2 of the NFL draft. Branch is a small, explosive athlete who is difficult to bring down in the open field. His per-route metrics stack up nicely with any WR in the class. However, in order to deliver for us in fantasy, Branch will need to develop as more of a real WR and land with a team that plans to feature his skillset. He has “gadget player” written all over him, but he also possesses the talent to turn into a star.
3.04: Dillon Thieneman, S (Adam)
Dillon Thieneman is one of the best tacklers in this class at any position, and what I love about his profile is the trajectory: he played less and less free safety as his college career went on, transitioning into more slot and box work, which is exactly the role that translates to fantasy production at the next level. He’s versatile enough to align deep, in the box, or over the slot, and I expect him to settle into that 60-70% sweet spot range in terms of snap rate close to the line of scrimmage. The 9.71 RAS is elite. Getting him at 3.04 in a class this thin on offense feels like a steal.
3.05: CJ Allen, LB (Jeff)
Stop me if you heard this one: here’s a Georgia linebacker who is a solid NFL prospect. CJ Allen is an imposing presence as a defender (6’1,” 235 lbs) who was built to play linebacker on Sundays. He is an incredibly smart player who wore the dot on defense, and more than likely will be quickly doing that too on the NFL team that drafts him. I have yet to see him not be taken in the 1st round mocks that I have seen, and getting him in the 3rd round of our rookie draft is grand larceny. He should have been selected a whole round sooner, in my opinion, as he is my LB2 in this draft behind Styles, and the gap is not this massive.
3.06: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S (Bobby)
I like Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, and I’ve liked the way he plays throughout this process. He’s a big, physical safety out of Toledo (6’3”, 9.13 RAS) who played more and more in the slot and box as his college career progressed, which tells you something about how NFL teams will want to use him. Over 200 tackles at Toledo, a couple of interceptions, dependable production. He’s the third safety off the board in what is a genuinely loaded safety class, so at 3.06, getting a guy with 1st-round NFL draft capital who’s going to produce at the next level is a pick I’m willing to make.
3.07: Ja’Kobi Lane, WR (Mike)
Ja’Kobi Lane had a solid Combine with a 4.47 40 and 40” vertical, showing off his hands in the gauntlet. He can make spectacular catches and the simple ones with a wide catch radius. He’s big in the redzone and boxes his opponents out like a power forward. He creates separation, runs clean routes, and more importantly, doesn’t drop passes. Lane had 8 total dropped passes over three seasons with the Trojans.
3.08: Chris Brazzell II, WR (Josh)
Chris Brazzell II is a dart throw, but I’m one I’m fine to make at this point. The size-speed combination is intriguing: 6’4”, 198 pounds, 4.37 40-yard dash, and an 80-inch wingspan. The production finally showed up in 2025 with 62 catches for 1,017 yards and 9 touchdowns, earning him first-team All-SEC honors. The concerns are real: Tennessee skill players carry an inherent uncertainty because their offense is so unlike anything being run at the NFL level, his career-worst 3.6 yards after the catch is the lowest in this wide receiver class, and there were also some effort questions earlier in his college career. At 3.08, I’m betting that the size, the speed, and the breakout year are enough to get Brazzell drafted in a spot where he can develop.
3.09: Skyler Bell, WR (Evan)
My preferred WR dart throw is Skyler Bell out of UConn. Usually, I would be taking a running back in this range, but this year’s RB darts will be entirely dependent on draft capital and landing spot. Bell had an excellent 2025 season, ranking 1st in the class in both Targets Per Route and Yards Per Route, albeit as a 5th-year player against weaker competition. He also has speed and explosiveness on his side, with a 97th percentile RAS.
3:10: Bryce Lance, WR (Adam)
Trey Lance’s brother has an impressive profile: 6’3,” 204 pounds, 9.98 RAS, 4.34 40, 41.5-inch vertical. He put up 51 catches for 1,079 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2025 at North Dakota State, which has become a legitimate pipeline for NFL talent at this point. The Christian Watson shades are real: same school, same position, same kind of elite size-speed profile. At 3.10, I’m not expecting a plug-and-play starter. I’m buying into the athleticism and the upside, and trusting that if he lands with a team that develops him properly, this is a field-stretching receiver with upside.
3.11: Adam Randall, RB (Jeff)
Adam Randall is a great dart throw RB at the 3.11. He’s got good size at 6’2” and 235 pounds, and just came off a terrific pro day where he ran a 4.50 40-yard dash.
3:12: Michael Trigg, TE (Bobby)
Michael Trigg put up 50 catches for 694 yards and 6 touchdowns at Baylor last season after a 33-395-3 line as a junior, which shows growth. We’re now firmly in dart-throw territory, and tight end darts at the end of Round 3 are worth taking in this class. If the landing spot is right, Trigg has a chance to sneak up on some people.
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