One team that is at a crossroads in the 2026 NFL Draft is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs need help in the defensive front seven at linebacker and edge rusher. Sources with Tampa Bay say addressing the defense is most likely the direction they go in the first round, but of course, that depends on who falls to them at pick 15. Sources say Tampa Bay is high on Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor and Georgia linebacker C.J. Allen. Those two are the top candidates for the Buccaneers. They also have some love for Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell. Auburn defensive end Keldric Faulk is another candidate, but some sources with the team liked him, while others were not big fans of Faulk. Tampa Bay loves Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, but the medical report will likely lead to the Bucs passing on McCoy. It sounds like Mesidor was the favorite, but the Buccaneers have been very good at hiding their true intentions, so you can’t rule out a dark horse player being a shocking pick to Tampa Bay.

The New Orleans Saints have been a mysterious team picking in the top 10 with the eighth-overall pick. There are a lot of directions the Saints could go, including a defensive end like Miami’s Rueben Bain, a wide receiver like Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, and a defensive back like LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane or Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. General manager Mickey Loomis has never traded down in the first round, but you never say never. In speaking with sources, the Saints are doing some extra late work on potential players that would be trade-down candidates. Auburn’s Keldric Faulk is one of those players, along with some other defensive backs like Delane, Hood, and Johnson. A team might want to move to pick 8 to get in front of Kansas City at 9. The Saints might make history under Loomis and actually move down. Everything is on the table for New Orleans.

Sources with a few teams say the medical concerns with McCoy are getting him dropped off some boards, even though his 2024 tape was the best tape of any cornerback prospect. Some teams feel he might need another surgery. Thus, McCoy is very fluid to go in the first round or slip to day two. Sources from a few teams thought McCoy’s teammate Colton Hood would be the second cornerback drafted. Sources at other teams thought San Diego State’s Chris Johnson could be the second cornerback selected. Given the demand for cornerbacks in the NFL, sources felt that Hood and Johnson could crack the top 20 picks. They felt either one or both could come off the board in the 11-20 range.

In speaking with a team source, they said they were talking about clients with one of the top agents in the NFL, and this agent said he had spoken with 31 teams about their first-round pick. This is how the agent predicted the top 10 would go. One, the Raiders take Fernando Mendoza. He thought the Jets were taking David Bailey with the second pick. He thought Arizona was taking Jeremiyah Love with the third pick. The Titans would take Arvell Reese at 4. Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson would be the fifth-overall pick to the Giants. At 6, they thought the Cleveland Browns would take Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa. They thought Washington would take Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles at 7. With the eighth pick, they thought the Saints were going with Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate, but also said Miami defensive end Rueben Bain and LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane were in the running for New Orleans. They thought the Chiefs would take Bain or Tate at 9, and at 10, they thought the Giants would take Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. It will be interesting to see how their projections pan out. I have a lot of similar picks but differ at a few spots in my latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft.

Yesterday in the Hot Press, we reported how Washington wanted to trade down in the first round, and LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane was a potential target. If the franchise formerly known as the Redskins is forced to stick-and-pick, Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles is a top candidate. Wide receiver is a huge need on the Washington roster, but in speaking with sources, it sounds like they are not in love with any of the top receiver prospects, including Styles’ teammate Carnell Tate. General manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn may decide to get Jayden Daniels a weapon, but it does not sound like Washington is in love with Tate at pick seven.

Team sources around the league were surprised that the New York Giants were able to get a top-10 pick for nose tackle Dexter Lawrence. It sounds like staff with the Giants were surprised as well. Around the league, many thought the Giants might get a late first-round pick and a day-two pick this year or next for a trade similar to what the Jets got for Quinnen Williams. However, those offers were blown away when Cincinnati offered a top-10 pick. New York gets to add a long-term starter and saves a lot of money on a contract extension. In my latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft, I have the Giants addressing a different weakness on defense that has plagued New York.

One of the more intriguing prospects to follow in the 2026 NFL Draft is Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy. Sources from multiple teams say that McCoy’s 2024 tape is by far the best tape of any of the cornerback prospects. However, he missed all of the 2025 season with a knee injury. While he ran a fast 40 time in pre-draft workouts, McCoy is still being eased back into practice-caliber workouts and is not doing lateral cutting. Some sources said their team flunked McCoy medically because of the knee. Other teams said he was cleared medically and is alive on their board.

With that discrepancy, sources from a few teams think McCoy will slide to the second round like Michigan cornerback Will Johnson did last year. They say that McCoy’s knee situation is even worse than Johnson’s was a year ago. McCoy will enter next fall having gone almost two years without playing football. Sources from other teams say McCoy is so talented and the tape is so good, they think he could still go in the first round. In my latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft, I have McCoy going to a team that needs a No. 1 corner and one that was mentioned yesterday as having interest in him. It will be fascinating to see when and where McCoy comes off the board.

The week before the draft, part of a letter sent by Texas A&M wide receiver K.C. Concepcion was leaked to the public. While Concepcion spoke passionately about rewarding the team that drafted him, there is some other context that could be going under the radar. Sources at multiple teams said there are character concerns with Concepcion, so perhaps that letter was sent out to teams to help address those concerns. Concepcion took a lot of top-30 visits as teams brought him into their facility to interview him. Concepcion is considered to be a pick in the back half of the first round, and if he slides to the second round, it will be from the character concerns.

Another talented wide receiver that could slide because of character concerns is Tennessee’s Chris Brazzell. Sources say they like Brazzell’s skill set, and he flashed at times with the Volunteers, but teams that are strict on character will probably pass on Brazzell.

Louisville’s Chris Bell could have been a first- or second-round pick if it weren’t for a knee injury that happened late last season. Sources say they have some concerns about Bell learning their playbook, and coming off the knee injury, they think the earliest he will come off the board is the third round. They think that Bell is going to need a redshirt season, and drafting him would essentially be stashing him for 2027.

Team sources say the 2026 NFL Draft is really feeling the ramifications of NIL payments to college football players. Many in the league have said this is a weak draft, and the NIL money to get players to go back to school has been a big factor in reducing the talent pool. Some scouts said that there are some schools that are paying a player who might have a fifth-round grade estimation the same amount of money as a fifth-round pick’s signing bonus to go back to school. The player makes a similar amount of money but then gets the opportunity to improve their draft stock for next year.

One national scout said that Miami defensive end Akheem Mesidor is a good example. If he had entered the 2025 NFL Draft, he probably would have been a fourth-round pick based on his play, age, and injury history. The age and injury history are still hurting Mesidor now, but after a strong season with good tape, he probably will be a late first- or second-round pick.

There have been a lot of rumors in the media and with team people about the Dallas Cowboys trading up in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Sources at teams picking high in the first round have said they believe that if the Cowboys did trade up in the first round, it would be for Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles. There are teams that want to trade down, like the Arizona (3), Cleveland (6), and Washington (7). However, the Cowboys do not have a second-round pick from the Quinnen Williams trade, and sources say that Dallas does not want to part ways with pick 20. That is one of the selections they received from the Packers for Micah Parsons. With not having a second and wanting to hold onto pick 20, Dallas would have to get creative to move up.

Sources said the Cowboys might be able to do a smaller trade-up if Styles slides. They said a potential partner would be Kansas City at pick 9. The Chiefs could drop to 12 and get the Cowboys’ third-round pick. Sources say Kansas City’s potential pick candidates would be Miami defensive end Rueben Bain and Alabama left tackle Kadyn Proctor. Kansas City also could do something unexpected at 12, as they could also consider Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate, LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane, or Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq. It sounds like Bain is their top target, but trading down to 12 could cost them Bain, as Miami could decide to keep him playing football in South Florida. From speaking with league sources, the Cowboys and Chiefs could be trade partners, but it will depend on how the draft unfolds.

As I posted on X over the weekend, Washington would love to trade down in the first round. The franchise formerly known as the Redskins is without a second-round pick due to the Laremy Tunsil trade. Sources say Washington is absolutely in love with Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, but they do not think he will get there. Sources say if Washington were able to move down, a potential target would be LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane. Cornerback is a big weakness on the team, and Washington likes Delane. If they are forced to stick-and-pick, it sounds like Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles could be the selection, with Delane and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs also getting consideration. While Washington wants to move down, it is always easier said than done, and they need a partner to help make it happen.

Another post I had on X over the weekend was that the Cleveland Browns would love to move down from the sixth pick. Sources say the Browns would like to move down and take an offensive tackle. In a trade down and if they are forced to stay at six, their top targets are Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano and Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor. Both players could finish off their revamped offensive line with a long-term starter at left tackle.

Multiple team sources have been raving about Proctor over the final days before the draft. Sources at four different teams said he looked elite at the Alabama pro day. For a lot of the lead-up to the draft, Proctor has been considered to be selected after Fano and Miami’s Francis Mauigoa. The media also put the hypemachine into overdrive on Georgia tackle Monroe Freeling. However, multiple team sources think Proctor could be the second tackle off the board.

“Proctor has better tape than Tristan Wirfs did coming out of Iowa,” said an NFC director of player personnel. “Don’t get me wrong, Proctor has his warts, and you’ve got to see them crystal clear as a three-year starter in the SEC. But Proctor is a freak. He is always going to be heavy; he is just a massive human being. Proctor has the highest ceiling of any of the top three [Spencer Fano, Francisc Mauigoa, Proctor]. Proctor has a high ceiling. He could be comparable to Wirfs, who is probably the best left tackle in the league. [Proctor] also has a floor of being a dirty starter like Kolton Miller. Proctor is a very unique human being.”

For a long time, I have had Proctor projected to go to the Detroit Lions at pick 17 in my 2026 NFL Mock Draft. Other media have made that connection as well. The 17th pick seems like the lowest that Proctor could slide. “Brad Holmes would love it if everybody were a bunch of dummies and let Proctor fall to them,” said the assistant general manager. However, sources say there is a real chance that Proctor is gone before the Lions. The Browns, Chiefs, Dolphins, Rams, and Ravens are all candidates to take Proctor in front of Detroit.

If the Lions miss out on Proctor, I think the top candidates to go to the Lions are Auburn defensive end Keldric Faulk, Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling, and Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy. Faulk is a perfect culture and scheme fit while filling a need. Freeling is also a great culture fit while filling the biggest need on the roster. Cornerback has been a weakness for the Lions for years, and a healthy McCoy could give them a legit No. 1 cover corner. Thus, the Lions have a lot of options at 17 even if they miss out on Proctor.