ESPN’s Field Yates includes 10 SEC stars going in Round 1 of 2026 NFL Draft
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh is now officially less than a month away. The first round will take place on Thursday, April 23, and should feature plenty of SEC talent.
While the SEC likely won’t dominate the top of Round 1 like it has in years past, the latter half of the first 32 picks are potentially going to be chock full of former SEC standouts.
On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Field Yates released his latest NFL Mock Draft, including picks from Round 1 and Round 2. He had 10 SEC stars going in Round 1, led by LSU’s Mansoor Delane. Check out the SEC players Yates expects to go in the first round below:
- No. 10 — Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU — Cincinnati Bengals
- No. 12 — Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee — Dallas Cowboys
- No. 13 — Monroe Freeling, OL, Georgia — LA Rams
- No. 17 — Kadyn Proctor, OL, Alabama — Detroit Lions
- No. 20 — R Mason Thomas, Edge, Oklahoma — Dallas Cowboys
- No. 25 — Zion Young, DL, Mizzou — Chicago Bears
- No. 26 — Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama — Arizona Cardinals
- No. 27 — Keldric Faulk, Edge, Auburn — San Francisco 49ers
- No. 29 — Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M — Kansas City Chiefs
- No. 30 — KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M — Miami Dolphins
Yates also has 12 SEC guys going in Round 2 of the draft. Check out his full 2-round projections here.
Who will be taken in the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft? Here’s what Kalshi has to say:
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Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
