Everyone knows Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza will be selected by the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 1 overall, but after that, chaos could ensue. There aren’t many blue-chip prospects in the premium positions (offensive tackle, quarterback, edge rushers), which makes predicting the rest of the top 10 tough. The blue-chip prospects in this class don’t carry the same positional value as the other positions mentioned (running back, linebacker, safety).

Typically, a day out from the NFL draft, the top 3 is clear. We’d know the names who’d be going, and last year we did, with Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, and Abdul Carter. For 2026, five names could go in the top 3: Mendoza, Arvell Reese, David Bailey, Francis Mauigoa, and Jeremiyah Love.

This isn’t a typical NFL draft, and that’s what makes it fun. We roughly know who the top 10 picks will be, just looking at the names, but the order they go in? No one has a clue. That’s why the first 10 picks of this draft could get fun.

How No. 2 overall shapes the third overall pick

The New York Jets’ decision on the second pick has come down to two names: Reese and Bailey. I wrote an article on why I believe Reese is the better option for what head coach Aaron Glenn wants to accomplish in his defense in 2026.

Whoever the Jets decide not to go with, the Arizona Cardinals’ phone will be ringing with teams wanting to come up for Reese or Bailey. It just depends on who and if the Cardinals would even take a trade. If Bailey were to fall, the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, and even the Tennessee Titans could be suitors. He fits exactly what each team is looking for — a productive pass rusher. Bailey has a chance to be taken by the Cardinals, as he fits the 3-4 scheme they’re looking to run. Still, it’s expected that the Cardinals want to trade out of the pick.

If Reese falls, expect teams like the New Orleans Saints, Washington Commanders, and Miami Dolphins to be interested. Haven’t seen much buzz about the Commanders or Dolphins trading up, but with Reese, he’d fit into the defenses and give a team like the Dolphins, who are rebuilding, a clear young defensive piece to build around.

Where does Jeremiyah Love fall into all of it?

Love is the No. 1 player on my board and analysts across the country. Love has all the tools you want in a back who has the potential of going top 10 or even top 5. The conversations with him are something we mentioned early, and it’s all about positional value. He’d become one of the highest-paid running backs in the league if taken in the top 10. If a team took a tackle or edge over him, they’d be saving money overall, as those positions wouldn’t come close to being paid top 10 in their respective positions.

Love can fit into any offense, but which team will take the bait? The Titans have been a favorite landing spot at No. 4 overall, but in the coming days, the Cardinals have reportedly been interested in taking Love at No. 3. If both teams pass on him, then the New York Giants at No. 5 would be a real option even with taking running back Cameron Skattebo a year ago. His floor to me is the Commanders with the seventh pick. I don’t see a world where they pass on him; the duo of Love and Jayden Daniels could be lethal.

It’s unlikely a team like the Saints or Chiefs would go up and acquire him, as both teams signed running backs in free agency in Travis Etienne and Kenneth Walker III, respectively. Both teams were linked to Love early in the process, but both went out to get a running back. It’s a tell; neither fully believed he would make it past the Commanders at No. 7, and both clearly weren’t interested in giving up capital to get Love in the top 5.

Offensive line uncertainty

The question of where the offensive linemen in this draft will go is another hard prediction. There’s talk of Mauigoa, Spencer Fano, Olaivavega Ioane, and even Kadyn Proctor going in the top 10. Cardinals, Chiefs, Giants, and the Cleveland Browns are all teams that need offensive line help. The expectation is that the offensive tackle run would happen in the 20s of this draft, but as we inch closer to the first-round kicking off, the lineman run could start in the top 10.

The Cardinals have been projected to trade down and take a lineman; the Browns reportedly want to do the same. The issue is which team is coming up? Would a team come up for a linebacker in Sonny Styles or a safety in Caleb Downs? It goes against the point of positional value, but both those players are blue-chip prospects in this class. With teams in the teens and 20s in the Baltimore Ravens, Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Los Angeles Chargers, who all need offensive line help, we may see the teams in the top 10, forgo the decision to trade out, and stick and pick to beat those teams in taking linemen.

You can start to see the absolute chaos and the unlimited ways this top 10 can play out.

New York Giants and Jordyn Tyson

The Giants traded Dexter Lawrence II to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick. This changed the outlook of the entire top 10 as the Giants now have the No. 5 and No. 10 overall picks. For months, the two names being talked about for the Giants with the fifth pick were Styles or Downs (Love if he fell to fifth overall), but now with the added draft capital, it’s all changed. With the recent workout of Tyson, he reportedly looked good. The Giants have a wide receiver need opposite Malik Nabers, and there’s a possibility the team takes him at No. 5 overall.

With the Browns, Saints, Commanders, and Chiefs all needing a receiver as well, Tyson may not make it to the 10th pick. The added capital gives the Giants the flexibility to take Tyson with the fifth pick and then select whoever falls to them at 10. Whether it be Downs, Ioane, or even Styles — general manager Joe Schoen was at Tyson’s workout a week ago, and in the past, he hasn’t been afraid to make it clear who the team is high on through the visits and workouts he attends.

The added aspect of Tyson has made this top 10 even more confusing. The one receiver mentioned in the top 10 for months was Carnell Tate, and people liked Tyson, but his health uncertainty was a reason teams were wary of him. The workout went well, and now there’s talk about him going top 5, just another wrench added to this chaotic top 10.

Will teams trade into the top 10?

We’ve covered a ton of questions about this top 10, but the last one is teams in the teens trading up. I don’t see teams picking in the 20s making the jump to move into the top 10, but I can see the Dolphins, Ravens, and Jets all making calls. The question is, for whom would they be calling? I alluded earlier that the Ravens need offensive line help, and teams like the Commanders need more draft capital in this draft. Depending on whether Styles, Downs, and Love are gone by the time the Commanders are on the clock, they could take calls and move back.

The Browns have been a team that wants to move back, but with whom? The Dolphins and Cowboys are two teams that could move into that spot. If Reese takes a magical slide to the Browns’ pick at No. 6 overall, I think the Dolphins would jump all over that. The same goes for Styles: the Cowboys need linebacker help, and a dominant one at that. Jerry Jones isn’t scared to make splash moves on draft night, and this one would be no different.

The Jets are the last team I can see moving up. They pick at No. 16 overall, and if they feel the need to go get one of the top receivers in Tyson or Tate, they can make the jump. I see the Browns, Commanders, or Chiefs as trade-down candidates. New York has to prepare the team for its eventual quarterback of the future, and it needs another receiver to fill out its offensive weaponry. The team has four picks inside the top 50 of this draft, so making a call to move up wouldn’t surprise me.

Outlook

There are about 15 different ways this top 10 could play out, and we went over a decent number of them for Thursday night. We know the names who will go in the top half of this draft; the positioning is just a mystery. I didn’t even mention names like Rueben Bain Jr. or Mansoor Delane, who are two other options in this top half of the draft. The 2026 draft has been labeled as a down draft, and while that may be true (only time will tell), the uncertainty of these prospects has made for a fun night in the NFL draft.