{"id":619552,"date":"2026-04-21T20:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/619552\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T20:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:28:12","slug":"the-final-mock-draft-2026-nfl-draft-top-player-team-fits-caleb-downs-joins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/619552\/","title":{"rendered":"The FINAL Mock Draft: 2026 NFL Draft top player-team fits + Caleb Downs joins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nate Tice, Charles McDonald & Matt Harmon join forces for their final first-round 2026 NFL mock draft. First, the guys kick things off with their reactions to the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> trading the tenth overall pick to acquire DT Dexter Lawrence<\/a> from the New York Giants<\/a> as they debate if Cincy really overpaid. Next, the three hosts alternate picks to complete a final full first-round mock draft, as they determine their favorite player-team fits, like RB Jeremiyah Love to the Washington Commanders<\/a>, S Caleb Downs<\/a> to the New York Giants, EDGE Arvell Reese to the New York Jets<\/a>, EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. to the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> and many more.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Also on this packed draft week episode, Nate & Matt break down NFL IQ\u2019s 4 most glaring team needs in the NFC ahead of the draft, featuring the Minnesota Vikings<\/a>, Chicago Bears<\/a>, Detroit Lions<\/a> and Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>. Plus, Ohio State superstar safety Caleb Downs joins Nate days before draft night to break down his college game and how he\u2019s preparing for the next level.<\/p>\n

(4:10) – Bengals trade for DT Dexter Lawrence<\/p>\n

(14:10) – The FINAL Mock Draft: #1-16<\/p>\n

(1:02:11) – NFL IQ Insights: most glaring NFC team needs<\/p>\n

(1:11:00) – The FINAL Mock Draft: #17-32<\/p>\n

(1:49:30) – Final recap & final draft bold predictions<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

(1:54:50) – Caleb Downs joins the show<\/p>\n

\"WESTWEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 08: Caleb Downs #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on prior to the game against the Purdue Boilermakers<\/a> at Ross-Ade Stadium on November 08, 2025 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline\/Getty Images) (Photo by Justin Casterline\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udda5\ufe0f Watch this full episode on YouTube<\/p>\n

Check out all episodes of Football 301 with Nate Tice<\/a> and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https:\/\/apple.co\/3zEuTQj<\/a> or at yahoosports.tv<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nate Tice, Charles McDonald & Matt Harmon join forces for their final first-round 2026 NFL mock draft. First,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619553,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[94509,49,115070,48,1735,1740,3163,13096,1727,204384,1726,148577,25171,1728,1723,514,17987,23264,82,1733,1758],"class_list":{"0":"post-619552","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-arvell-reese","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-caleb-downs","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-chicago-bears","13":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","14":"tag-detroit-lions","15":"tag-dexter-lawrence","16":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","17":"tag-matt-harmon","18":"tag-minnesota-vikings","19":"tag-mock-draft","20":"tag-nate-tice","21":"tag-new-york-giants","22":"tag-new-york-jets","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-purdue-boilermakers","25":"tag-rueben-bain-jr","26":"tag-sports","27":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","28":"tag-washington-commanders"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}