Buffalo News Mock Draft I: Targeting a wide receiver with the Bills' first-round pick
With workouts underway at Lucas Oil Stadium, it’s a good time to unveil our first mock draft of the 2026 offseason. This is how Jay Skurski sees the first round of the draft playing out.
The NFL offseason calendar is a little funky.
The movers and shakers of the league gathered here over the past few days for the NFL scouting combine, giving them a chance to meet the upcoming draft’s top prospects. Of course, those draft needs will change between now and April, particularly with unrestricted free agency starting in a couple weeks.
Players lost and gained in that process will impact draft boards throughout the league, but with workouts underway at Lucas Oil Stadium, it’s a good time to unveil our first mock draft of the 2026 offseason. This is how we see the first round of the draft playing out:
1. Las Vegas Raiders. Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana. This one is the free space on the mock draft bingo card. It’s not a great year for quarterback prospects. Mendoza is far and away the best one, and the Raiders have a huge need.
2. New York Jets. Arvell Reese, Edge, Ohio State. After trading away Jermaine Jackson, the Jets have a glaring hole at edge rusher. That’s the position Reese said at the combine that he considers himself.
3. Arizona Cardinals. David Bailey, Edge, Texas Tech. The Cardinals finished with just 30 sacks last year, tied for third fewest in the league. Bailey had a huge year, with 14.5 sacks, 23 tackles for loss and 71 pressures. It’s thought to be a good year for edge rushers, and the top of this projection shows that.
4. Cincinnati Bengals (projected trade with Tennessee). Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State. Trading up into the top five for … a safety? Seems bananas, but Downs is spectacular. He has a strong case to be considered the best player in the draft, but his positional value might hurt him a bit. The Bengals desperately need to rebuild their defense, and this is a great place to start.
5. New York Giants. Spencer Fano, OT, Utah. If quarterback Jaxson Dart is going to have any chance at succeeding, he’s going to need to stay upright. Getting him some protection makes sense, even if it’s not a sexy pick.
6. Cleveland Browns. Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State. Another Ohio team stays in state as the Browns get their choice of the top receiver off the board.
7. Washington Commanders. Rueben Bain Jr., Edge, Miami (Fla.). For a team that went to the NFC championship game in the 2024 season, the Commanders have a ton of needs. Edge rusher is a premium position, though, so it makes sense to fill that one first.
Bills head coach Joe Brady, right, addresses the media with general manager Brandon Beane on Jan. 29.
Who will Beane select with Buffalo first-round pick in the NFL draft? Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
8. New Orleans Saints. Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame. Teams always talk about taking the “best player available,” so we’ll put that theory to the test here. The Saints have Alvin Kamara under contract for 2026, but it’s the final year of his deal. Love would provide a great one-two punch at running back while planning for life after Kamara in New Orleans.
9. Kansas City Chiefs. Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami (Fla.). The only bright side to bottoming out last season for the Chiefs is a top-10 pick in return, one they use to beef up the offensive line in front of Patrick Mahomes.
10. Tennessee Titans (projected trade with Cincinnati). Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State. The 6-foot-4, 243-pound Styles is a ridiculously talented athlete who would improve a Titans roster with significant holes on both sides of the ball.
11. Miami Dolphins. Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU. Speaking of teams with numerous holes, the Dolphins similarly could go in many directions here, but new coach Jeff Hafley is a former defensive backs coach who will likely get his way, especially playing in a division with Josh Allen.
12. Dallas Cowboys. Keldric Faulk, Edge, Auburn. In case you missed it last season, the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons. Faulk isn’t exactly the same type of player, but he’ll be asked to provide some of that pass-rush juice.
13. Los Angeles Rams (from Atlanta). Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee. The Rams have a lot of impending free agents in their secondary. Assuming some of them leave, McCoy can step in as a replacement.
14. Baltimore Ravens. Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State. Drafting an outside receiver would allow the Ravens to move Zay Flowers into the slot, where he’s probably best utilized. It also might make Lamar Jackson happy, too.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ahkeem Mesidor, Edge, Miami (Fla.) Noticing a trend here with edge rushers? Mesidor makes five in the first 15 picks.
16. New York Jets (from Indianapolis). Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama. There is no better way to give hope to a disillusioned fan base than by drafting a quarterback, so that’s what the Jets do here with the extra first-round pick they got from trading cornerback Sauce Gardner.
17. Detroit Lions. Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M. The Lions have been searching for a running mate for Aidan Hutchinson at edge rusher for a while now. Howell could be the answer.
18. Minnesota Vikings. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo. At some point, Harrison Smith is going to retire. The Vikings need to start planning for that moment.
19. Carolina Panthers. Olaivavega Loane, OL, Penn State. “Vega,” as he goes by, didn’t allow a single quarterback hit in 2025. The Panthers could use a center, but even if they don’t project Loane there, he would upgrade the entire offensive line.
20. Dallas Cowboys (from Green Bay). Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson. The Cowboys’ defense was truly putrid last season, and they moved on from Trevon Diggs late in the year. So cornerback is a big need.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers. Makai Lemon, WR, Southern Cal. All bets are off right now for the Steelers until Aaron Rodgers’ future is sorted out at quarterback. Imagine that? Rodgers holding a team hostage in the offseason. What a shocker! For now, we’ll say Rodgers returns and the Steelers give him another weapon.
22. Los Angeles Chargers. Calel Lomu, OT, Utah. The more pressing need for the Chargers is on the interior of the offensive line, but draft good players and figure it out. Perhaps Lomu can shift inside to start his career.
23. Philadelphia Eagles. Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon. Dallas Goedert is an impending free agent for the Eagles. If he returns, this pick might change, but if he departs, Sadiq makes a lot of sense for a quarterback (Jalen Hurts) who frequently looks for his tight end.
24. Cleveland Browns (from Jacksonville). Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia. The Browns’ entire starting offensive line from 2025 is not under contract for next season, which is hard to believe. Several replacements will be necessary.
25. Chicago Bears. Peter Woods, DT, Clemson. Edge rusher is probably the bigger need, but the thinking here is a defensive tackle could help the edge group by occupying blockers.
Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion runs for a touchdown during a game against LSU last season in Baton Rouge, La.
Gerald Herbert, Associated Press
26. Buffalo Bills. KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M. At 5-foot-11, Concepcion might appear to be a slot receiver, which isn’t the Bills’ biggest need with Khalil Shakir under contract. Concepcion, however, played 65% of this snaps during his only season at A&M on the outside, finishing with 61 receptions for 919 yards and nine touchdowns. He also rushed for 75 yards and another touchdown while averaging 18.2 yards per punt return and two punt return touchdowns. He’s got elite separation skills, something the Bills’ receiver room lacked a year ago. In this scenario, the Bills choose to address their need at receiver first, with the thinking being that they'll be able to take advantage of the depth at edge rusher on Day 2 of the draft.
27. San Francisco 49ers. Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama. Proctor is massive, at 6-7, 366 pounds. This would be a great situation for him, because he’d get to learn behind an all-time great, 49ers left tackle Trent Williams, who has just one year left on his deal.
28. Houston Texans. Max Iheanachor, OT, Arizona State. The Texans had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL last season. There is starting to be at least some doubt about quarterback C.J. Stroud's long-term future in Houston, so the Texans should do everything possible to support him this offseason.
29. Los Angeles Rams. Denzel Boston, WR, Washington. A trio of Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Boston at wide receiver would be quite something.
30. Denver Broncos. CJ Allen, LB, Alabama. The Broncos have two of their five leading tacklers from last season – Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad – as pending unrestricted free agents, so there could be a need there in the front seven.
31. New England Patriots. Blake Miller, OT, Clemson. Anyone who watched the Super Bowl knows the Patriots struggled to protect quarterback Drake Maye in that game.
32. Seattle Seahawks. Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee. The Seahawks also have several impending free agents in their secondary. It’ll be a challenge to retain them all. Hood could be an immediate replacement for at least one of them.