NFL Draft 2026: Start time, final mocks, predictions, bets

Welcome to the NFL DRAFT edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

It’s finally here! The 91st annual National Football League Player Selection Meeting is upon us. Sure, most people call it the NFL Draft, but I’m a purist, so I’m going to call it by its formal name. Actually, being a purist isn’t all its cracked up to be, so I’m just going to call it the NFL Draft like a normal person. 

With the draft just hours away, we’re going all draft in the newsletter: We’ve got Ryan Wilson’s final mock draft, we’ve got some bold predictions and we’re going to give you some best bets. Yes, you can bet on the draft. 

If you’re wondering when the draft actually starts tonight, we have you covered with the full details here (The short explanation: It kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network). 

If you won’t be around a TV tonight, you can keep track of every pick that’s being made by using our CBS Sports Draft tracker. It will show you the team that’s on the clock plus what position needs that team currently has, and it also has a list of the best available players that updates each time someone gets drafted. 

If you want to check out all the draft coverage we’ve produced this offseason at CBS Sports, feel free to click here. We’ve also got Jonathan Jones’ final insider notebook with the latest news rumors about the draft, which you can see here. 

Finally, If you’re hosting a draft party, remember that you must serve pierogies as a nod to the fact that the draft is in Pittsburgh. 

As always, here’s your reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. Let’s get to the fun.

1. Mike Vrabel to enter counseling: Three things to know

Mike Vrabel won’t be at the Patriots’ facility for the final day of the NFL Draft. The Patriots head coach told ESPN on Wednesday night that he’ll be entering counseling this weekend, and because of that, he’ll be sitting out Day 3 of the draft, which consists of Rounds 4 through 7. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

• Vrabel explains why he’s entering counseling. “I promised my family, this organization and this team that I was going to give them the best version of me that I can possibly give them. In order to do so, I have committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend,” Vrabel said Wednesday night. “This is something that I have given a lot of thought to and is something I would advise a player to do if I was counseling them.”
• Vrabel will be away for the brunt of the Patriots’ draft. The Patriots have 11 picks this year and EIGHT of those picks will be coming on Saturday during the final four rounds of the draft. Although Vrabel won’t be at the team facility, he did tell ESPN that he will “still be in contact” with the team on Saturday. With Vrabel out, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf and vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden will be leading the draft on Saturday. 
• Russini fallout continues for Vrabel. The Patriots coach has slowly changed his tune over the past few weeks about the situation with Dianna Russini. On April 7, the New York Post’s Page six published pictures of Vrabel with the former NFL reporter. The photos showed Vrabel hugging and holding hands with Russini, who covered the league for The Athletic before resigning on April 14. At the time, Vrabel said the photos showed a “completely innocent interaction” and that any suggestion of illicit behavior was “laughable.” Vrabel changed his tune on April 21 when he held a surprise press conference where he admitted that he had recently had some “difficult conversations” with his family and the team. 

If you want more details on Vrabel’s situation, we’ve got the full story here.

2. Ryan Wilson’s final mock draft: Sonny Styles falls to 10th overall, two receivers go in top 8

Ryan Wilson has done so many mock drafts this offseason that I’ve completely lost count of how many he’s done. If he told me the number was 279, I would believe him. I mean, I’m 90% sure Wilson hasn’t seen his family in three months and if anyone from his family is reading, I just want you to know that he’s OK and he’ll be home on Sunday when the draft is over. 

Anyway, Wilson just completed his final 2026 mock draft and we’re going to reveal the top half of it right now. Let’s check out the top-15 picks: 

1. Raiders: QB Fernando Mendoza (Indiana)
2. Jets: EDGE David Bailey (Texas Tech) 
3. Cardinals: RB Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame) 
4. Titans: EDGE Arvell Reese (Ohio State)
5. Giants: WR Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State)
6. Browns: OL Spencer Fano (Utah) 
7. Commanders: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami)
8. Saints: WR Carnell Tate (Ohio State)
9. Chiefs: OT Francis Mauigoa (Miami) 
10. Giants (via Bengals): LB Sonny Styles (Ohio State) 
11. Dolphins: CB Mansoor Delane (LSU) 
12. Cowboys: S Caleb Downs (Ohio State) 
13. Rams (via Falcons): WR Makai Lemon (USC)
14. Ravens: IOL Olaivavega Ioane (Penn State)
15. Buccaneers: EDGE Akheem Mesidor (Miami)

If you want to see how the rest of the first round plays out and, trust me, you do, then you’re going to want to click here. If you feel like Ryan Wilson hates your favorite team and you’d rather read someone else’s mock draft, then you can click here to check out Pete Prisco’s final mock. We also have Mike Renner’s final mock draft, and you can see that here. 

For full draft coverage over the next three days, be sure to listen to Wilson on “With the First Pick,” our year-round NFL Draft podcast here at CBS Sports. 

3. Bold predictions for the NFL Draft: Jets make two top-10 picks, Chiefs make trade into top 5

After Fernando Mendoza gets taken with the first overall pick, no one really seems to know what’s going to happen in this draft. Personally, I am fully expecting the draft to go off the rails tonight. With that in mind, I decided to come up with several bold predictions for the draft. 

Let’s the check out a few of them: 

1. Jets make two top-10 picks. The Jets have four of the first 44 picks, so they certainly have the ammo to make a big trade and that’s exactly what I have them doing. With this prediction, I have them trading up from 16th overall to seventh overall in a deal with the Commanders. The Jets then land Jordyn Tyson to go along with David Bailey at second overall. 

2. Chiefs trade into top five.  In this prediction, the Chiefs end up making a trade with the Cardinals to move up to third overall. The Chiefs, who need to make sure they get some pass-rushing help in this draft, use their new pick to take either David Bailey or Arvell Reese. With the Jets expected to take one of those two players at second overall, the Chiefs grab the guy that falls to them at third. 

3. Rams make bold trade up to sixth overall. The Rams tried to make a trade for A.J. Brown this offseason, but that didn’t work out. There’s a good chance that Les Snead will still be looking to get a receiver, which is why I have the Rams trading up to sixth overall in a deal with the Browns. 

I’ve got a few more bold predictions and you can check out my full list here.

4. Five win-win draft trades that could actually happen 

If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to happen in the NFL Draft this year, it’s the fact that there will be plenty of trades. With that in mind, Zach Pereles decided to try and predict five trades that could possibly happen during the first round tonight. 

Let’s check out two of this deals: 

Cowboys make deal with the Browns

• Cowboys get: No. 6 pick, No. 39 pick, No. 149 pick
• Browns get: No. 12 pick, No. 20 pick, 2027 second-round pick

Pereles’ breakdown: Dallas moves up to get a star defender and moves ahead of not only the division-rival Commanders (who could also be looking at defense) but also the Saints and Chiefs, who could have their eyes set on defenders as well. In this exercise, the Cowboys land linebacker Sonny Styles to boost a severely lacking group, and doing so ahead of Washington is an extra boost.

Dolphins make trade with Ravens

• Ravens get: No. 11 pick, No. 151 pick
• Dolphins get: No. 14 pick, No. 80 pick

Pereles’ breakdown: The Ravens always have a ton of draft picks thanks to their savvy offseason moves, and this year is no different: Baltimore has four fifth-round picks as well as two seventh-round selections. Here, the Ravens make a small move up to land Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq.

As I mentioned, Pereles came up with five trades that could go down tonight and we’ve got them all here. 

5. Best bets for the NFL Draft: How you can win money watching the draft tonight

The only thing more exciting than watching the NFL Draft is making money while watching the NFL Draft, and you can actually do that this year if you live in a state that allows you to gamble on draft props. If you don’t live in a state that allows you to gamble on draft props, you have until 8 p.m. ET to get to one.

Jordan Dajani has several bets that he likes and we’re going to check out three of them: 

• Colton Hood second cornerback selected: +175. Former Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood is listed at -380 to be a first-round pick. The Colorado transfer was named Second Team All-SEC after his one season with the Vols, and was actually the only SEC player to record four tackles for loss and eight passes defensed. … I bet Hood to be the second cornerback drafted after LSU’s Mansoor Delane. One thing helping Hood is that Jermod McCoy’s stock appears to be sinking. While he’s arguably the best cornerback in this class, he didn’t play a single snap last year due to a torn ACL.
• Jordyn Tyson draft position Over 8.5: QB (+160). I understand Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson has been a late riser in this process, and maybe the top wideout in this class if it weren’t for injuries. But those injury concerns are real. During his time at Colorado in 2022, Tyson tore his ACL, MCL and PCL. He broke his collarbone in 2024, and then had hamstring issues this year throughout the draft process. 
• Seahawks first position drafted: Running back (+330). The Seahawks allowed Kenneth Walker III to walk in free agency, and replaced him with just Emanuel Wilson. Zach Charbonnet is recovering from a torn ACL, then George Holani and Kenny McIntosh are the only other backs on roster. I’m picturing the Seahawks drafting Jadarian Price out of Notre Dame in the second round. Or maybe at No. 32 overall, who knows.

If you want to check out Jordan’s full list of best bets, you can do that here. 

6. Extra points: Cowboys already done negotiating with George Pickens

It’s been a busy past few days in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything, I put together a quick roundup for you.

• George Pickens to play on the franchise tag. The Cowboys have until July 15 to get a long-term deal done with George Pickens, but it sounds like the negotiation is already over. On Wednesday, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team has no plans to give Pickens an extension this year, “We’ve made a decision that we’re going to have George play under the franchise tag, which won’t be a first for us. So there won’t be negotiations on a long-term deal,” Jones said. It was an interesting press conference for the Cowboys — Bill Clinton was even there — and if you want all the details of everything that went down, we’ve got that here. 
• All charges could be dropped against Atlanta’s James Pearce. The 2025 first-round pick had been facing three felony charges, but those could soon be dropped. The pass rusher will have all of his charges dropped if he completes a program that’s being offered to him by the state of Florida, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones has confirmed. Pearce could still be suspended by the NFL, but this would get him out of legal trouble following his March arrest. 
• Steelers would like a Super Bowl in Pittsburgh. It will probably never happen, but Steelers owner Art Rooney would like to see a Super Bowl played in Pittsburgh. The problem is that the Steelers would likely need to play in a dome to get a Super Bowl and Rooney doesn’t ever plan on building one.  “Football is an outdoor sport as far as I’m concerned, and I think most Pittsburghers would agree,” the owner said, via PFT. Basically, Rooney wants a Super Bowl, but he’s not going to jump through any hoops to get one. 
• One NFL Draft prospect is getting free ketchup for life. This might be my favorite giveaway of all time. The Heinz company will be giving free ketchup for life to the 57th overall pick. The Bears currently have the 57th pick, so as of right now, they control who will be getting the free ketchup.
• Illinois makes last ditch effort to keep the Bears. With the Bears looking at a possible move to Indiana, the state of Illinois is now doing its best to keep the team near Chicago. The state’s House of Representatives has passed a bill that would give the Bears some property tax relief if they decide to build in Arlington Heights. The Illinois Senate now has to approve the bill, and if that happens, Arlington Heights will likely be back in play for a new Bears stadium. The Illinois suburb sits just 30 miles away from Solider Field.