There is no position in the NFL draft that garners attention like the quarterback. Even though this is considered a pretty meager overall quarterback class, there is always intrigue about who will land where.

So, we’re going to conduct a quarterback mock draft through the seven-round process. Here we go:

1 overall: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana, Las Vegas Raiders

Slam dunk. The Raiders badly need a franchise quarterback. Mendoza is the quarterback at the position worthy of a top pick. It’s done.

34: Ty Simpson, Alabama, Arizona Cardinals

There’s a long wait from the Mendoza pick. Many think Simpson will go in the first round, but we see him dropping because there’s just too many questions about him. This 1s a value pick for the Cardinals. If he hits great. If not, it is back at it next year with a much better quarterback class.

87: Garrett Nussmeier, LSU, Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins have four picks in the third round and Nussmeier is a perfect fit here. A lot of scouts think he has a chance to develop into a starter. Nussmeier looks like a Shanahan coaching tree prototype and that’s exactly the roots of Miami offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. There’s no risk for Miami here.

99: Carson Beck, Miami, Pittsburgh Steelers

Beck is a hit-or-miss player, but he’s worth a shot at the end of Day Two. It’s the perfect time for the Steelers to use a comp pick on him. They like Will Howard, but there’s no reason not to add another young quarterback to a franchise that badly needs to find a long-term answer.

Fourth-round quarterbacks

103: Drew Allar, Penn State, New York Jets

Kind of love this one. Allar has prototypical NFL quarterback size. He is coming off an injury. He is a lottery ticket. There is no risk for the Jets. They didn’t have to reach for Simpson in the first round and they don’t need to play Allar right away. And if he doesn’t pan out, the Jets have three first-round picks in the quarterback-rich 2027 draft.

107: Cole Payton, North Dakota State, Cleveland Browns

Another year, another drafted QB for the Brownies. Why not? They don’t have any answers and the small-school Payton has some skills. Don’t rush him to the field and it may pay off.

109: Taylen Green, Arkansas, Kansas City CHuiefs

Green is an athletic freak and lit up the NFL combine. He is a developmental quarterback and this is a good place for him to develop. if the Chiefs can flip him in a couple of years for a high-round pick, this would be a good move.

141: Luke Altmyer, Illinois, Houston Texans

The Texans could groom a young quarterback and many scouts think Altmyer could stick around the NFL for quite a while.

152: Cade Klubnik, Clemson, Dallas Cowboys

Some teams really like him and others are worried about him. Seems like a perfect Jerry Jones pick to develop behind Dak Prescott, who will be 33. It’s a late-round flier on a guy with some talent.

197: Behren Morton, Texas Tech, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles like their quarterbacks and Morton worth be worth getting at this point.

Seventh-round quarterbacks

220: Sawyer Robertson, Baylor, Buffalo Bills

Robertson has some skills that with coaching can develop. Joe Brady gets a toy and Josh Allen gets a youngster to mentor.

229. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pavia and Baker Mayfield: Tell me you don’t love it.

The weeks leading up to the NFL Draft are all about smoke and mirrors, but one player has absolutely caught fire in the lead up to the first round. Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion has moved from the late-first round pick, potentially even waiting until day two to hear his name, to now having a very real potential he could be taken as high as No. 11 — maybe even sneaking into the Top 10. ESPN has noted that Concepcion is one of the draft’s biggest risers right now.

There’s one very real reason this is happening: Everyone is starting to realize who KC Concepcion is, and how good he could be in the NFL.

If you simply pull up Concepcion’s season stats there’s not much to write home about. He finished with 61 catches on the season in 2025, putting up 919 yards (37th in CFB), and finishing with nine touchdowns. In a world where top receivers routinely put up more than 1,000 yards on the outside to be top picks, it’s considerably more difficult to justify a predominant slot receiver with these numbers alone.

The big thing about Concepcion’s play exists outside the numbers, with the considerable number of plays which were left on the field in 2025. The Aggies had below-average QB play last year, with sophomore Marcel Reed being a good talent, but one that operates entirely opposed to what makes Concepcion a good player. Reed’s ability to extend plays and throw off platform is great for leveraging positive plays in broken coverage situations, but poor when it comes to precision throws out of the playbook.

That matters a huge deal when it comes to KC Concepcion.

When we look at the 2026 NFL Draft receiver class there’s a common thread that runs through Carnell Tate, Makai Lemon, and Jordyn Tyson as the top prospects: They all have extremely good ball skills and an ability to make catches in traffic. These are undeniably great traits to have, but all are lacking what Concepcion brings to the table when it comes to separation and quick-twitch speed.

This is Concepcion’s unicorn trait, and why we’re seeing him fly up the board.

What makes this so fascinating is that Concepcion is unlikely to be a team’s No. 1 receiver like the aforementioned prospects, but the issue is that Tate, Lemon, and Tyson aren’t really convincing No. 1s. All three have some risk associated with them. While Concepcion doesn’t map as well onto the No. 1 receiver role, he looks like a home-run No. 2 option in the NFL.

This means that teams who already have a solid foundational No. 1 receiver are beginning to realize that pairing a ball-skill pass catcher on the outside with Concepcion’s separation in the slot or slacks could completely open up an offense. There is a very real chance that the Texas A&M rookie could evolve into the ultimate 2nd read in the NFL because of his ability to shake DBs at the snap, with a QB seeing their primary covered, and then quickly pivoting into Concepcion as a second option.

That is a vastly underrated quality he brings to the table, and a huge reason why film is leading to him flying up the boards.

How high could Concepcion go and who makes sense?

We’re really zeroing in on teams with established top receivers who need more weapons on offense. The Miami Dolphins already have a private meeting set up with Concepcion, which is an extremely weird fit after trading away Jaylen Waddle. With Waddle it would have made a lot of sense, but now I think No. 11 would carry weird expectations and fail to work.

The Washington Commanders at No. 7 is the highest possible spot I see Concepcion going. In this role he would be a fantastic progression option after Terry McLaurin and give Jayden Daniels a much-needed weapon. It’s more likely that Washington looks at a defensive player, but if they go offense then he makes a ton of sense for them.

After that theres a feeding frenzy as we hit the teens. The Rams (No. 13) make a ton of sense, the Jets (No. 16) would be a good fit with Garrett Wilson, the Panthers (N0. 19) could also go receiver for a third year in a row as they try to give Bryce Young the best chance to prove his ability.

In short, any hope of getting Concepcion in the late 20s is out the window at this point. Teams are seeing the value in his ability to separate at the snap, and diving deeper into this class is revealing that he possesses skills nobody else really does. In a draft class full of question marks Concepcion isn’t ideal as a No. 1 receiver, but he is the perfect second option. That will cause him to get taken much higher than a lot of people expect.

The final score was 38-14.

Penn State had just lost their fifth game of the 2025 college football season on the road to Ohio State, their fifth Big Ten loss in a row. Head coach James Franklin had already been dismissed, and the heckling fans at The Horseshoe were serenading the visitors with chants of “0-and-5” as the players made their way to the locker room.

That’s when this happened:

It is just one moment in time, but it speaks volumes about Penn State draft prospect Olaivavega Ioane.

And the player he will be at the next level.

Between the lines, there is a lot to love about Ioane’s game, and several traits you can point to when making the case he will be the first interior offensive lineman taken in the 2026 NFL Draft, and perhaps stands out as the best offensive line prospect overall. Lance Zierlein at NFL.com called him a “[p]rototypical guard for physical run schemes with thick limbs, a broad frame and plus core strength.” Bleacher Report’s Brandon Thorn, one of the preeminent experts on offensive line play, wrote that “his patience, balance and power profile project to an early NFL starter who can control the pocket inside and become a tone-setter in a downhill or balanced run scheme.” At The Ringer, Todd McShay declared that Ioane “is the best offensive line prospect in this class, and he is arguably the best guard prospect since 2018 sixth pick Quenton Nelson. He’s a top 10 player overall, but positional value could cause him to fall into the teens.”

Those opinions are shared by the greater scouting community. When we asked NFL fans about the players they loved in the 2026 NFL Draft class, Ioane was one of the more common responses:

Let’s dive into some of those traits, starting with that clip of Ioane in motion.

Yes, this is certainly fun to see, and a demonstration of his power on the field, but he will not always be put in motion when he gets to the NFL.

Which is why moments like this are critical for his evaluation:

This is a short-yardage play against Nebraska on the goal line, and Ioane is tasked with handling the defensive tackle across from his left guard alignment in a one-on-one situation. Penn State is running right behind Ioane on this gap design, and the left guard bullies his assignment away from the play, and into the turf.

Here is another key interior block on a power design, coming on the inside against Michigan State:

Take this play against Ohio State, where he gets to the nose tackle right after the snap and controls him right at the point of attack:

Some of his best work in the run game comes with him on the move as a puller, as he is on this play against Northwestern. Watch him dip around the right edge, identify the crashing downhill threat, and rock that defender back off the line to spring a big run:

Plays like these also help Ioane address the athleticism question, which is perhaps the one area of debate in his draft profile. But when you see him on the move like he is here against Nebraska, getting into space and taking on a safety downfield, you start to see that part of his game come to life:

And that athleticism does help him on zone-blocking assignments. While he might be best suited — or ideally suited — for a gap-heavy offense, there are flashes of Ioane standing out on both inside zone and outside zone run plays. And part of Ioane’s evaluation should note that Penn State ran more gap/power designs, so there are not as many examples of him executing zone blocks

But there are examples, such as this 53-yard run where Ioane climbs to the second level and cuts off the angle from the Rutgers linebacker:

Or on this snap against UCLA, where he has to execute a “reach” block on a defensive tackle to his outside. Watch as Ioane’s footwork gives him the angle, and from there he seals off the defender to create a rushing lane:

Of course, life for a lineman in the NFL means lots of pass-blocking snaps. Ioane’s footwork and ability to anchor stand out here as well. On this play against Rutgers, watch as he mirrors an inside move from his defender, sliding his feet before anchoring on a third-down play:

Here is that ability to anchor again, on a snap against the national champions:

Finally, here is a great example of Ioane working until late in the play, anchoring and re-anchoring on this pass against Oregon:

These are the traits, and the examples, that have so many in the scouting community high on the Penn State interior offensive lineman.

But as you all know, there is more to the draft evaluation than some clips pulled from watching games.

There is the player himself.

That brings us back to where we began, and a 38-14 loss to Ohio State midway through the college football season. It was a dark moment in a season filled with them for Penn State, and the jeers that rained down on Ioane and his teammates were sadly the norm for the Nittany Lions a year ago.

Even in that moment, Ioane found a way to help a teammate.

“Simple as one of my teammates, just a different version,” Ioane said after the Ohio State game. “A lot of people, who are outside the building, don’t know that we don’t run without them guys like that. We can’t practice without them. We can’t go to games without them. Just as simple as helping out our teammate.”

The moment went viral, as you can tell, with more than 100K likes on X alone. But when asked more about that moment, Ioane deflected the credit elsewhere.

“My mom was a little emotional about it, but very proud. So was my dad,” Ioane said. “They never thought their son would go viral for something like that, but a pretty cool moment for my parents to see. A little bit of the outcome that was their hard work.”

He also returned to the idea of helping others, especially in difficult times.

“It’s a big part of us moving forward,” Ioane said. “Like I said, we don’t move without them, so same thing as them, they can’t move without us. We got to be all in it together as a family. That’s what we are, because you got to keep going together.”

And it is this component of his evaluation that might just stand out above all.

Because when you get right down to it, the job of an offensive lineman is to help. To help secure rushing lanes for your running backs, to help keep you quarterback clean in the pocket. To get tough, get dirty, and find a way to get the job done.

Even in the darkest moments.

Ioane’s play on the field is what will make him a first-round pick.

But it is what he showed in that moment at Ohio State that will make him something even better in the NFL.