Happy Holidays, NFL fans! With the Christmas season in full swing, the NFL regular season is winding down. As the playoff picture becomes clearer, so does the 2026 NFL Draft order. With more and more teams shifting their focus to the draft and hoping to find a shiny new prospect under their proverbial tree come April, it is the perfect time for a Christmas edition, two-round 2026 NFL Mock Draft.
Full two-round 2026 NFL Mock Draft with analysis for all 32 NFL teams
The top spots in the playoff seedings are up for grabs in both conferences with just two weeks left to play. The NFC West appears dominant with the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and San Francisco 49ers all vying for the NFC's top spot. The AFC East is up for grabs between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills while the West impresses in the AFC as well, with the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers rattling off long winning streaks.
While there doesn't appear to be a clear Super Bowl favorite at this point, with the playoff picture looking as intriguing as ever, NFL Draft enthusiasts are paying just as much attention to the bottom of the standings to see who will end up with the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The matchup between the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders could be incredibly decisive in determining the draft order, with the loser of this week's game sitting firmly in the driver's seat to own the top selection.
In terms of prospects, two quarterbacks appear to be rising to the top of nearly every 2026 NFL Mock Draft: Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore. With teams like the Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, and New York Jets all in the market for a new quarterback, those names should be expected to come off the board very early in April.
However, what happens if a team like the Giants, who drafted quarterback Jaxson Dart in the first round last year, lands the number one overall pick? Would they take another swing at a quarterback? Would they draft a player to bolster their defense at the top of the draft? Or would they trade the top selection to one of those quarterback-needy teams?
In this 2026 NFL Mock Draft, with the draft order based on the current standings, the Giants trade the top pick and move down the board, as a potential Super Bowl contender with the MVP favorite makes a splash to set themselves up for hopefully equal success in the future moving forward.
2026 NFL Mock Draft, No. 1-5: L.A. Rams make huge trade, use draft capital to acquire No. 1 pick
1. Los Angeles Rams (via New York Giants) - Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
With 37-year old Matthew Stafford playing at an MVP level, the Los Angeles Rams hope to bring home another Lombardi Trophy this season. They are battling with their division rivals for the top spot in the NFC, and should be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.
It isn't often that a Super Bowl contender is also in position to land a highly-touted prospect towards the top of the NFL Draft. However, after a draft-day trade in 2025 netted the Rams the first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2026, they are poised to be able to do just that.
Fernando Mendoza is a 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙎𝙀𝙉𝙎𝙐𝙎 All-American. pic.twitter.com/YIpEMr4erg
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) December 22, 2025
With Les Snead calling the shots, the Rams may not be content with the two firsts that they currently possess. If the organization sees a player such as Fernando Mendoza as the future face of the franchise, they may be aggressive and go up and get him.
That is exactly what they do in this 2026 NFL Mock Draft, emulating their trade up for Jared Goff in 2016 to snag the Heisman Trophy winner who is currently undefeated with Indiana. Mendoza has drawn comparisons to Goff from scouts in terms of his processing, accuracy, anticipation, and leadership. Drafting Mendoza this year will set the Rams up perfectly for whenever Stafford decides to hang it up, and they likely will not have a realistic opportunity to make this sort of move anytime soon.
2. Las Vegas Raiders - Dante Moore, QB, Oregon
With a loss to the Giants this week, the Las Vegas Raiders could end up in the driver's seat for the first overall pick, giving them their choice of players in the 2026 NFL Draft. After what has been a nightmare season in Vegas, the Raiders have a plethora of holes on the roster that need to be addressed. But, like many struggling teams, they will likely need to start at the quarterback position. Enter Dante Moore.
Moore is not the most experienced quarterback in the class, but he has the tools and upside to be the best. With Geno Smith under contract for another season, the Raiders could even take things slow, let Moore learn and develop behind Smith while he finishes out his contract (and while they build the rest of the roster around him) before thrusting Moore into the starting spot in 2027 and beyond.
3. Cleveland Browns - Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
This would be a nightmare scenario for the Cleveland Browns. Sure, Shedeur Sanders has shown some flashes in the opportunities that he has been given, but I don't think the organization is completely sold on the idea of him as the future of the franchise.
Following the Giants and Raiders game, if the Browns lose to the Steelers, they will likely own a top-two pick and be in position to draft one of the top quarterbacks. Sanders has the opportunity to heighten his chances of starting next season by willing his team to victory in at least one of the final two games.
This angle of the first TD from Julian Sayin to Carnell Tate 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rsGEyDdAk0
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 18, 2025
If that does happen, and the Browns miss out on the top two quarterbacks, they may look to trade down. However, they would need to find a trade partner willing to move up for someone, and I just am not sure who that target would be. In this 2026 NFL Mock Draft, Cleveland stays put at three and takes Carnell Tate, over fellow wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, a couple of Tate's Ohio State teammates (who we will talk about very shortly), and any offensive linemen.
The Browns need to reshape their offense for whoever will be under center for them moving forward. The offensive line is a glaring issue, but the value just isn't there at three. Tate's effectiveness down the field and his growth this season as a well-rounded, true WR1 prospect will help the Cleveland offense immensely, still leaving the Browns another first and an early second-round pick to address the offensive line
4. New York Jets - Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
The New York Jets are another team that would probably love to get one of the top two quarterback prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. However, in this scenario both are gone and they are left with a difficult choice of other directions to go. They could also snag a wide receiver in someone like Jordyn Tyson, but the Jets have not recorded an interception this season. Caleb Downs has been arguably the best defensive player in college football the last two seasons and should bring some immediate playmaking ability to a team and defense that desperately needs it.
5. Arizona Cardinals - Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State
With the Arizona Cardinals making it fairly clear that they will be moving on from Kyler Murray, they will also likely be in the market for a new quarterback. Noticing a trend here in the top five picks of this 2026 NFL Mock Draft? With both top prospects off the board, Arizona goes with versatile Buckeye defender Arvell Reese to bring some juice to the pass rush. Reese can line up on the edge or off the ball providing head coach, Jonathan Gannon, a Swiss Army Knife for his defense (if he is still around) and completing the run of three Ohio State Buckeyes to round out the first five picks in this 2026 NFL Mock Draft.