This article was written and published prior to the NFL Draft on April 23. 

The NFL Draft is one of the most anticipated events in the entire offseason due to the plethora of players, head coaches, and even the NFL commissioner showing up. Being selected in the Top 10 of the NFL Draft is viewed as a prestigious opportunity by the upcoming draftees. It shows that teams think you are the best of the best or the top of your class. Of course, it also means the team you’re going to might not be the greatest. 

Picks in the draft are given out based on your team’s position or ranking at the end of the entire season, so there are definitely ups and downs to where a team finishes record wise and ranking wise. 

Now, let’s begin. 

Pick One 

The Las Vegas Raiders, who had a season so abysmal that their head coach was fired after one season, hold the first pick. Unfortunately, I won’t be doing player predictions after pick 10 since it makes it almost impossible to predict. However, from picks one to ten, I will be adding a player prediction with those as well.

The Raiders finished the season last year with a record of three wins and fourteen losses. That’s pretty bad. With the first pick, my assumption is that the Raiders pick up Heisman (a National Championship-winning quarterback) Fernando Mendoza from Indiana. The Raiders just signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, and he most likely is not starting for them so it would only make sense if he had more of a mentor role for the young star.

Pick Two 

Pick number two is held by the New York Jets, who also finished with three wins and fourteen losses, but due to tiebreakers, they retained the second overall pick. Which is still incredible, don’t get it twisted, but unfortunate that it isn’t the number one. Funny enough, the draft is the only place where winning a tie-breaker is a loss. For the Jets, I think they take edge rusher David Bailey from Texas Tech. The Jets did not have a good number of sacks last year, only putting up 26 total, which ranked 31st in the league. To put that into perspective, their ENTIRE team had only three more sacks than Brown’s edge rusher, Myles Garrett, who just broke the sack record. So, picking up a solid edge rusher would help them out a lot.

Pick Three 

At pick number three, you have the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals ALSO went 3-14, but due to tiebreakers, ended up with the third pick. Seems like a trend is happening. The Cardinals ended their season on a losing streak of nine games. That is awful for the fan and team morale. Ignoring that for a second, I think they take linebacker and edge rusher Arvell Reese from Ohio State. The Cardinals, on average, gave up 28.7 points a game, which ranked them 28th in the league. Finding an elite edge rusher who can also play linebacker would definitely solve some of those defensive problems.

Pick Four 

The number four pick is in the custody of the Tennessee Titans. AND AGAIN, their record was 3-14, but due to EVEN MORE TIEBREAKERS, they got the fourth pick. Head coach of the Titans, Robert Saleh, has always been known to grab a bunch of edge rushers. Some of these include star Nick Bosa, DeForest Buckner, Will McDonald IV, and others. But I think here they take elite running back from Notre Dame, Jeremiyah Love. He is just too good to pass by. Last season alone, he ran for 1,372 yards and 18 carries while splitting carries with other running back Jadarian Price. Having stats like Love did while splitting carries will definitely help get you drafted early on, especially in a day and age where running backs aren’t nearly as valued as they used to be.

Pick Five 

Pick number five is currently in the hands of the New York Giants, after the team went 4-13 last year. The Giants had a lot of hype going into next season due to their draft extravaganzas the year prior. However, that faded away incredibly quickly. There were definitely some standout players, though, like rookies Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo, linebacker Brian Burns, and others. With the fifth pick, however, I believe the Giants draft Caleb Downs, who was a safety for Ohio State. The secondary last year was a huge problem for the Giants, and I think he could really help the team out in a part of the defense where New York is severely lacking.

Pick Six 

The Cleveland Browns currently have the number six overall pick. With this pick I see them selecting either Sonny Styles from Ohio State or Spencer Fano from The University of Utah. Styles, a strong and speedy linebacker, has shown similarity to Fred Warner on the 49ers. Warner is a team captain for the 49ers and is one of the best, if not the best, middle linebackers in the league. Styles definitely has that potential to take charge of a team and make his impact known. Styles had 77 tackles last season and would fit a defensive gap the Browns have very well. Fano, on the other hand, can play tackle or guard on the offensive line and offers versatility to a Cleveland offensive line that did not perform very well. So either of these picks would be beneficial to Cleveland.

Pick Seven 

At pick number seven, the Washington Commanders are in control. I think that whoever does not get picked at the six spot will end up getting picked here. While the Commanders did struggle last year, their problems with their offensive line starting to age and a defense that was good but not great could get solved here. Whether it be Styles or Fano, the Commanders need something to jump start their season after their not-so-great 2025.

Pick Eight 

Pick number eight is owned by the New Orleans Saints, and I think they select Rueben Bain Jr., an edge rusher from Miami. New Orleans let go of multiple defensive stars like Demario Davis, Alontae Taylor, and Cameron Jordan (who is still a free agent but most likely will end up on another team). Bain would be a perfect fit to replace Jordan’s spot. He ended the season with 9.5 sacks, so he seems to be somewhat strong and dominant.

Pick Nine 

The number nine pick is held by the Kansas City Chiefs. This is honestly shocking to me since they have been on such a run the past couple of years. With the injuries of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, their seasonskind of went down the drain. With this pick, I see them taking wide receiver Jordyn Tyson from Arizona State. Tyson is an explosive receiver who shows out more than any other in this draft class. Mahomes needs an offensive piece that can make big plays, especially since he is coming off an ACL injury. Their offense has also shifted severely from the Tyreek Hill era where Hill scored 67 total touchdowns.

Pick Ten 

The final top ten pick is held by the New York Giants again. The Giants definitely have the pieces to become a top caliber team, they’re just really young. So why not go younger? With the number ten pick I see the Giants drafting Francis Mauigoa, an offensive tackle from Miami. The Giants had a good offensive line last season but with veterans like Jon Runyan and Greg Van Roten getting closer to retirement, some depth in the offensive line would definitely help protect a young quarterback like Jaxson Dart.

This year’s draft features some exciting playmakers and athletes who can change a team’s entire season. Some of my picks may be right, some of them may not be wrong, but that’s the fun of a mock draft. You get to take charge almost as if you were a head coach, even though you most likely are not, and make these challenging decisions. It makes you realize the pressure head coaches go through since they draft for real, not just online. I believe my picks are pretty reliable but I could be wrong. Then again, it isn’t up to me.