Kansas City suddenly has options in Round 1 ... which may no longer be an option for Alabama QB Ty Simpson
The NFL is just days removed from its annual scouting combine − and is still a week away from the official start of free agency − and the landscape is already shifting significantly.
USA TODAY Sports confirmed the Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to deal All-Pro CB Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a package of draft picks, including the 29th overall this year. The deal immediately bolsters an LA secondary set to lose CBs Cobie Durant, Roger McCreary and Ahkello Witherspoon in free agency while giving K.C. valuable draft capital and cap space given McDuffie is owed $13.6 million (the fifth-year option of his rookie deal) in 2026 and will need a lucrative extension, too, if the Rams plan to keep him off the free agent market in 2027.
As for the draft? The blockbuster will likely create a ripple effect throughout Round 1 of the draft given the Chiefs' added firepower and the Rams' relinquishment of their own. Here's an updated version of our post-combine mock draft:
1. Las Vegas Raiders – QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
He didn’t work out in Indy. Didn’t have to. When you’re 6-foot-5, 236 pounds, paced FBS with 41 TD passes, process like a microchip and just led your school to a magical national championship? Heck, there's virtually nothing Mendoza can do at this point to help his football résumé – though interactions with reporters and his fellow combine attendees continued to burnish his reputation as an outstanding person and teammate. (And good news − now he doesn't have to contend with McDuffie twice a year!) The Jets are basically on the clock.
2. New York Jets – OLB/DE David Bailey, Texas Tech
The Stanford grad came into his own with the Big 12 champion Red Raiders in 2025, tying for first in the FBS with 14½ sacks while leading the field with a 20.2% pressure percentage and mixing in 19½ tackles for losses. Bailey is scheme diverse, which could also be a boon for a team switching to a three-man front and one that just offloaded DE Jermaine Johnson II, who was optimal for Tennessee's 4-3 defense.
3. Arizona Cardinals – OLB/DE Arvell Reese, Ohio State
Arizona is the proverbial team that could be at least a year away from being a year away − and maybe two years away from being a year away after QB Kyler Murray confirmed March 3 that the team will release him. But if there was a quarterback worthy of the No. 3 overall pick ... then the Jets would have taken him at No. 2. And that means Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort, who traded out of the opportunity to take future All-Pro DE Will Anderson Jr. in 2023, probably needs to be in the business of accumulating blue-chip players – and Reese projects as one. The Micah Parsons comparisons are obviously premature, but Reese, who turns 21 in August, has plenty of time to develop into a full-time pass rusher and maybe justify the comp one day. And getting to the quarterback is especially important in the NFC West, where the Cards are looking way up at their competition right now.
4. Tennessee Titans – RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
What’s the best way to advance the development of QB Cam Ward, last year’s No. 1 overall pick? How about giving him a player perhaps adjacent to Saquon Barkley or Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs in terms of game-breaking ability and versatility? Love is an every-down back, one who’s averaged 6.9 yards per carry and caught 55 passes over the past two seasons. The Titans could keep his usage in check as a rookie with RB Tony Pollard under contract for one more season. But pairing Love and Ward could potentially create an offense primed to surge ticket sales when the Titans move into their new stadium in 2027.
5. New York Giants – LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State
Arguably the star of this year’s combine given the freakish traits (4.46 40-yard dash, 43½-inch vertical leap) he put on display Thursday, the 6-foot-5, 244-pound converted safety could immediately take over the middle of a front-loaded defense – and new Giants coach John Harbaugh is certainly accustomed to having an athletic and cerebral monster orchestrating that side of the ball.
6. Cleveland Browns – OL Francis Mauigoa, Miami (Fla.)
A three-year starter for the Hurricanes at right tackle, the 6-foot-6, 329-pound mauler could be the perfect foundation for a team that needs to rebuild its offensive line – which is the primary offseason priority, whether or not GM Andrew Berry and first-year coach Todd Monken revisit the quarterback position. Monken indicated at the combine that improved blocking was paramount in Cleveland, and the team's pending acquisition of Tytus Howard − he's played every O-line position but center in the NFL − doesn't preclude taking Mauigoa.
7. Washington Commanders – S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
Is he the best defender in this draft? Arguably. Can he play exceptionally in the slot, box or center field? Yep. And Washington could need a leader who can make plays behind the line given the potential departure of LB Bobby Wagner, who will be 36 next season, in free agency.
8. New Orleans Saints – WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State
The latest ready-made wideout product emerging from the Buckeyes' pipeline, he and fellow Ohio Stater Chris Olave would give second-year QB Tyler Shough quite a tandem – and Olave needs the help given Rashid Shaheed was New Orleans’ second-most productive wideout in 2025 … despite getting traded halfway through the season.
9. Kansas City Chiefs – CB Mansoor Delane, LSU
Almost certainly the premier corner available this year, the 6-foot, 187-pound All-America approximates McDuffie's size and has lockdown ability that should eventually allow coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to deploy him in multiple schemes and against just about any kind of receiver imaginable. McDuffie was known for his ability to man the slot, an area where Delane was rarely used at Virginia Tech and LSU − but even McDuffie mostly lined up wide the past two seasons.
10. Cincinnati Bengals – DE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami (Fla.)
Much has been made about his short arms, but they didn’t stop him from being extremely productive – often against NFL-caliber offensive tackles – for the ‘Canes. Bain bulled his way to 9½ sacks and 15½ TFLs last season and was a menace during the College Football Playoff. Cincinnati could certainly use pass rush help, especially with DE Trey Hendrickson now officially liberated and able to depart during free agency.
11. Miami Dolphins – OT Spencer Fano, Utah
A rebuilding team could go in any number of directions, and free agency will certainly further shape rookie GM Jon-Eric Sullivan’s roster-altering strategy. But the offensive line is always a logical place to start, particularly given the issues this one has had in recent years. Fano played both tackle spots for the Utes but almost exclusively on the right side the past two years. He'd probably be a significant upgrade over Fins RT Austin Jackson, who's only under contract for one more year anyway, though Fano is willing to play guard (or center) if needed.
12. Dallas Cowboys – CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
A torn ACL cost him the entire 2025 season, but McCoy was practicing by the end of it and will be 20 months removed from the injury by the time Week 1 rolls around. DaRon Bland is the only proven corner on what will be a reimagined Dallas D in 2026, and McCoy would be a welcome addition – especially given how the board falls in this scenario.
13. Los Angeles Rams (from Atlanta Falcons) – WR Denzel Boston, Washington
Obviously zero need now to reach for a corner here with McDuffie inbound. LA had the league’s No. 1 passing game in 2025 – in large part due to Puka Nacua’s heroics. But Davante Adams, 33, was the only other productive wideout and battled injuries late in the season and is only under contract for one more year. Boston (6-4, 212) is the kind of supersized red-zone target (20 TD catches since 2024) and boundary receiver who could provide an easy transition from Adams while perfectly complementing Nacua.
14. Baltimore Ravens – DL Caleb Banks, Florida
Injuries decimated this team’s line in 2025, and the future of Pro Bowler Nnamdi Madubuike very much remains in doubt after he suffered a neck injury early last season. Banks (6-6, 327), who missed much of last fall with a broken foot, is monstrously huge and talented with freaky movement skills but also a bit raw. But he is the kind of player who could help new head coach Jesse Minter re-establish Baltimore’s historical defensive dominance.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
The first tight end in combine history to record a sub-4.4 40, Sadiq, who also had a 43½-inch vert, certainly made some money over the past few days. He’d not only give QB Baker Mayfield another downfield weapon, this offense might need a partial reload with WR Mike Evans and TE Cade Otton currently unsigned for 2026.
16. Jets (from Indianapolis Colts) – WR Makai Lemon, USC
With the pick obtained in last year’s trade of CB Sauce Gardner, New York must continue to build out an infrastructure and talent base with which to surround its next potential franchise quarterback – who probably won’t arrive before 2027. The Jets got very little production from the wideout position in 2025 for a variety of reasons, including Garrett Wilson missing 10 games. Lemon, a run-after-catch dynamo who typically works out of the slot, has been widely compared to fellow Trojan Amon-Ra St. Brown, whom the Jets’ Aaron Glenn coached alongside in Detroit.
17. Detroit Lions – OT Monroe Freeling, Georgia
LT Taylor Decker plans to return for his 11th season in Motown, but it’s time to lay the groundwork for a succession plan. Freeling, who’s 21, may be the best pure left tackle prospect in this draft, and his potential was evident in Sunday’s drills. But with only 16 college starts, replacing retired Dan Skipper as the swing tackle while apprenticing behind Decker would make sense. And, don’t forget, the Lions plucked starting RG Tate Ratledge out of Athens a year ago.
18. Minnesota Vikings – S Dillon Thieneman, Oregon
Similar situation in the Twin Cities, where mainstay S Harrison Smith, 37, may or may not return for a 15th NFL campaign. But even if Smith comes back, pairing him with Thieneman in the short term would make sense before ultimately turning control of the defense over to the Ducks All-American. One of the combine's standouts, Thieneman is a rangy player who can be weaponized all over the field.
