NFL Mock Draft 2026: Cade Klubnik No. 1, with an asterisk

The seasons hasn’t begun yet, and still we can give a 2026 NFL Mock Draft the ol’ college try. The big story in the 2026 class is quarterbacks, with there already projected to be five first rounders at QB available. This will more than likely change, and of course some players will rise while others fall, but this is based on the best information we have so far.

Before you come at me over the draft order, please know this comes from NFL Mock Draft Database at the time of writing. As does the consensus big board, which pools mock drafts from dozens of sources to assemble an average estimate of draft position for each player.

The biggest wild card of the 2026 class is Texas QB Arch Manning. Nephew of Peyton and Eli, Arch was one of the most highly-touted quarterbacks of all time out of high school. However, Texas’ turnaround led to him being locked on the depth chart behind Quinn Ewers, with Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian being worried about messing with a good thing.

There is a chance Arch could be the No. 1 pick, but it would take a record-breaking year to cement him as the top pick. Even if Manning has a fantastic first year as a starter it will worry some teams enough to push him down the board slightly. There’s also the chance (as grandfather Archie hinted) than Manning will not enter the 2026 draft in an effort to improve his stock.

I think Klubnik is a fantastic quarterback and will be a very good pro, but I can’t shake this feeling that the Saints will be very tempted by Garrett Nussmeier if the LSU quarterback has a solid rookie season. Not only is he already a likely Top 10 pick, but his father, Doug Nussmeier is the offensive coordinator in New Orleans.

The Saints are an organization who love their roots, and there’s a lot to like about Nussmeier at QB. It makes me wonder if they won’t make the nepo hire, not strictly because of nepotism — but because they know exactly what they’re getting in the LSU quarterback. He’s a prototypical pocket passer without much that’s difficult to project his transition to the NFL, even if that means lacking some upside.

Whenever you’re writing a mock it’s best to try and approach each pick independently without trying to guess ahead too much or manufacture a home for a player. In this case I have Clemson DT Peter Woods going to Cleveland with the No. 9 pick.

I don’t care that this organization took Mason Graham last year, because Graham and Woods are extremely different defensive tackles. Woods is a an incredible space eater on the DL, and a plus-level run stopper. There’s a very real chance that a line with Myles Garrett, Mason Graham, and Peter Woods could become one of the most terrifying units of the modern era.

It was very tempting to force quarterback either at No. 2 or here, but I have a feeling they’re going to roll with what they have — at least for one more year. Fixing the trenches is always a smart move, and the Browns are a smart franchise when they don’t have to be beholden to their owner.

The highest a safety has ever been drafted is a two-way tie at No. 5 overall between Sean Taylor and Eric Berry. If anyone has a chance to break that ceiling it’s Ohio State’s Caleb Downs.

It’s rare to approach a college football season and already see a prospect who is functionally perfect. Sure, there are rough edges to round out with every player as they enter from college, but Downs is such a polished, completely, NFL-ready safety that he feels like one of those guys who is going to be a lock for All-Pro for a decade without too much thought.

The Browns at No. 2 (or wherever they end up) was a spot I really thought about having Downs go, and that could absolutely happen. Yes, he’s that dang good.