{"id":599656,"date":"2026-04-22T13:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/599656\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T13:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:45:07","slug":"final-2026-nfl-mock-draft-random-names-out-of-a-hat-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/599656\/","title":{"rendered":"Final 2026 NFL mock draft: Random names out of a hat edition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">It\u2019s time for one of my favorite traditions at Pride of Detroit. Going back 13 years, we\u2019ve been doing an annual mock draft that is completely randomized?<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Why? Well, initially it was done to see if Pride of Detroit founder Sean Yuille could draft better for the Lions by picking names out of a hat than Detroit\u2019s former general manager Matt Millen. I still do it today, because it\u2019s silly, fun, and just about as useful as any other mock draft out here. Plus, it gives me something else to root for on draft night: blindly getting a pick right simply by randomization.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Unfortunately, last year we struck out completely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Before we get into this year\u2019s pick. if you\u2019re interested in the results from previous years, here are backlinks all the way to the original concept:<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Here are the picks this year:<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">1. Las Vegas Raiders: DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State<br \/>2. New York Jets: OT Caleb Lomu, Utah<br \/>3. Arizona Cardinals: TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon<br \/>4. Tennessee Titans: RB Jeremiah Love, Notre Dame<br \/>5. New York Giants: G Vega Ioane, Penn State<br \/>6. Cleveland Browns: WR Makai Lemon, USC<br \/>7. Washington Commanders: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana<br \/>8. New Orleans Saints: WR Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana<br \/>9. Kansas City Chiefs: LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State<br \/>10. New York Giants: CB Avieon Terrell, Clemson<br \/>11. Miami Dolphins: DT Peter Woods, Clemson<br \/>12. Dallas Cowboys: CB Colton Hood, Tennessee<br \/>13. Los Angeles Rams: EDGE Keldric Faulk, Auburn<br \/>14. Baltimore Ravens: EDGE T.J. Parker, Clemson<br \/>15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: WR KC Concepcion, Texas A&amp;M<br \/>16. New York Jets: OT Blake Miller, Clemson<br \/>17. Detroit Lions: WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State<br \/>18. Minnesota Vikings: OT Francis Mauigoa, Miami<br \/>19. Carolina Panthers: EDGE Akheem Mesidor, Miami<br \/>20. Dallas Cowboys: OT Spencer Fano, Utah<br \/>21. Pittsburgh Steelers: EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech<br \/>22. Los Angeles Chargers: OT Monroe Freeling, Georgia<br \/>23. Philadelphia Eagles: EDGE Arvell Reese, Ohio State<br \/>24. Cleveland Browns: S Caleb Downs, Ohio State<br \/>25. Chicago Bears: OT Kadyn Proctor, Alabama<br \/>26. Buffalo Bills: WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State<br \/>27. San Francisco 49ers: CB Mansoor Delane, LSU<br \/>28. Houston Texans: CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee<br \/>29. Kansas City Chiefs: S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon<br \/>30. Miami Dolphins: WR Denzel Boston, Washington<br \/>31. New England Patriots: S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo<br \/>32. Seattle Seahawks: EDGE Rueben Bain, Miami<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Starting with the Lions\u2019 pick, there is no chance of that being right. Tate is projected by most to be the top receiver off the board, likely to go in the top 10 picks. It\u2019s an interesting thought experiment to wonder if the Lions would pick him if he\u2019s still on the board, but considering their heavy investment in their current top-three receivers, it would be a very strange pick. Unfortunately, I missed pairing the Lions with Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller by a single pick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">As for picks that have a chance of being right, Jeremiah Love to the Titans at fourth overall is looking very nice. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espnanalytics.com\/draft-sim-results?pick=4\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">He\u2019s the most commonly mocked player to the Titans in ESPN\u2019s mock draft simulator.<\/a> Pairing the Cowboys with a cornerback is on the right track, although it\u2019s unlikely to be Colton Hood, unless we\u2019re talking about their 20th overall pick. Same deal with the Bills and a wide receiver. Good positional pairing, but Jordyn Tyson is likely to be gone by Pick 26. If they swing a trade up, there\u2019s a chance of a match there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Caleb Downs goes to the Browns with the 24th pick, and while that won\u2019t happen, it\u2019s possible he still lands in Cleveland with the sixth overall pick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Another possible match is Denzel Boston to the Dolphins at 30. That\u2019s around his projected draft spot (26th on the big board) and Miami could use a receiver or two after moving on Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Which pairings do you like the best? Share your thoughts on this very important mock draft in comment section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s time for one of my favorite traditions at Pride of Detroit. Going back 13 years, we\u2019ve been&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":599657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[202539,16911,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-599656","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-detroit-lions-mock-draft","9":"tag-detroit-lions-draft","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}