2026 NFL Mock Draft: Will Fernando Mendoza Be Lone QB Selected In First Round?

The NFL has long been a copycat league, so expect other teams to replicate the strategies and personnel that powered the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks to Super Bowl LX. One of the most obvious commonalities between this year’s Super Bowl participants was the quality of their respective secondaries. 

The 2026 NFL Draft is not as top-heavy as last year, but I like the talent and depth of its defensive backs with seven projected in this updated first-round mock draft, my first since the order and eligible player pool have been finalized.

Incoming head coach Klint Kubiak was surely lured to Las Vegas by the opportunity to land the consensus top quarterback of this class. Unlike recent No. 1 overall selections, Mendoza does not necessarily have to start immediately. The Raiders, of course, still have veteran Geno Smith, who, like Mendoza, is a clean schematic fit in Kubiak’s offense. Smith’s presence should allow Kubiak and the Raiders the increasingly rare opportunity to truly prepare Mendoza for the NFL, rather than rush him onto the field. The Heisman Trophy winner and national champion has the prototypical build, all the intangibles and enough physical traits to ultimately become a star in the NFL. 

Any chance that the Raiders would move out of the first pick or take anyone other than Mendoza seemingly ended once Kubiak agreed to become head coach. While perhaps disappointing for Jets fans, it does provide general manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn with plenty of notice that their best chance at finding realistic competition for Justin Fields is probably through free agency or trading for a veteran. Mougey has made bold trades before, of course, peddling the Jets’ most impactful defenders — Sauce Gardner and