Mel KiperFeb 18, 2026
Kiper's first mock draft has Fernando Mendoza going No. 1 overall to the Raiders, Arvell Reese second to the Jets, a third pick to Arizona, Carnell Tate fifth to the Giants, Jeremiah Love ninth to Kansas City, Caleb Downs 10th to Cincinnati, Sonny Styles to Dallas, and Ty Simpson at 16 to the Jets. They also say Dante Moore will be in the No. 1 pick conversation with Arch Manning next year.
Said on air, transcribed by us · The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)Hear the original
What Mel Kiper said
So Jeremiah Love is gonna be in that top nine somewhere.
- Where it was said
- The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)
- The episode
- Hour 2: ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr, plus Power Ranking the NFL’s New Head Coach Hires
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidFeb 18
- GradedOct 1
Box score, round by round
HitCloseMissWaitingHow the mock scored
11 checkable claims — 11 mock draft picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 17 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
9 of 11 have settled so far, averaging 90 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
Mock against the draft
The mock as a whole
The skill comes from how well the whole mock ordered the draft, so it is not any one pick’s score minus 50.
Every pick’s score
Draft board
HitCloseMissWaitingRound 1 · picks 1–326 hits · 2 close callsShow ▸Hide ▾
| Pick | Team | Player | Pos | Went | Verdict | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LV | Fernando Mendoza | quarterback | 1 | 100 | |
| 2 | NYJ | Arvell Reese | 5 | 88 | ||
| 3 | ARI | Francis Mauigoa | 10 | 74 | ||
| 5 | NYG | Carnell Tate | wide receiver | 4 | 96 | |
| 9 | KC | Jeremiyah Love | running back | 3 | 77 | |
| 10 | CIN | Caleb Downs | safety | 11 | 96 | |
| 16 | NYJ | Ty Simpson | quarterback | 13 | 88 | |
| 20 | DAL | Akheem Mesidor | 22 | 92 |
Picks 0–01 hit · 2 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
| Pick | Team | Player | Pos | Went | Verdict | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | — | Jeremiyah Love | running back | 3 | 100 | |
| 0 | DAL | Sonny Styles | — | — | ||
| 0 | — | Matt Moore | quarterback | — | — |
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Chris Clark · Trade and Signing Calls · Nikko Remigio · Miss 0
Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return.Sam Monson · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Monson picked every Week 10 game, taking the Giants, Lions, Packers, Panthers, Colts, Texans, Bills, Chiefs, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams, Cowboys, Bengals and Ravens, and also suggested the Chargers' only likely wins the rest of the way come against the Jets and Dolphins.Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Miss 36
Prisco picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 23-14 on Thursday night and the Lions to beat the Patriots 30-24 in Munich.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 20-14 on Thursday night and takes the Packers over the Vikings 17-14 in a low-scoring Week 10 game.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders at home on Thursday night, projecting a 20-14 final score.Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Miss 36
Prisco picked the Giants to beat the Commanders at home in the Thursday night Week 10 game, 23-14, citing New York's dominant front seven containing Jayden Daniels.
More mock draft picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Chris Simms · Mock Draft Picks · Malachi Corley · Miss 11
Simms named the Bears the NFL's best overall offense and best rushing offense, the Bengals the best passing offense, Seattle the best total defense, Minnesota the best pass defense and Tampa Bay the best run defense; they also called Tristan Wirfs the league's best offensive lineman, projected Miami's Malachi Toney as a top-15 pick, and predicted a 30-14 Jaguars win in Baltimore.Philip Hughes · Mock Draft Picks · Kyle Kennard · Miss 34
Evaluating edge rusher Kyle Kennard ahead of the draft, the account projected them as a Day 2 selection.Blaine Grisak · Mock Draft Picks · Brian Thomas Jr. · Hit 84
Grisak argues the Rams should not trade a second-round pick for Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr., calling it too great a risk and too high a cost. In an embedded tweet of their own from the 2024 pre-draft period, they suggested the Rams could select Thomas at pick No. 19.Charlie Campbell · Mock Draft Picks · Xavier Williams · Miss 0
Campbell's draft stock report projects Indiana WR Charlie Becker as a top-10 pick in 2027, Mississippi State CB Kelley Jones as a first-rounder, Tennessee DT Xavier Gilliam as a top-15 pick, and Texas OT Trevor Goosby as a top-10 pick, while suggesting Arch Manning could still be a first-rounder if they declare.