NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah held his annual pre-NFL Scouting Combine conference call with members of the media on Thursday, answering questions for two hours. Here are seven takeaways from the event.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: NFL Network and NFL+ will have live coverage of the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine beginning Feb. 26.
1) Potential QB trade targets for the Jets. With mock drafters far and wide projecting the Raiders to select Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza first overall, the intrigue in this year's draft starts with the Jets, who hold the second pick.
While the team clearly has a massive need at QB, Jeremiah said he doesn't see another passer in the draft worthy of a selection at No. 2, and he's not so sure taking one with any of their next three picks (Nos. 16, 33 and 44) would make sense for the franchise, either.
Instead, Jeremiah said the Jets should be kicking the tires on a couple veteran backups to gauge their availability on the trade market: the Eagles' Tanner McKee and the Texans' Davis Mills.
"Those are a couple guys I'd be curious about taking a flyer on for a year if you can trade a mid-round pick," he said. "I don't think I would lean in the direction of the draft for their quarterback this year. I think they will be all in for that next year."
The best route for the Jets to take in the draft this year might be to build in the trenches and collect as much capital as possible for next year along the way.
"If you go into next year with a bunch of picks, and your offensive and defensive lines are in good shape, and you can find your quarterback of the future at that point in time, I think that's the right way to go," he said. "Who knows, maybe you hit the lottery on one of these younger veterans you could try to get."
2) Draft prospect with the most to gain. If the Jets do take Jeremiah's suggested route, they would be passing on Alabama's Ty Simpson. He's the consensus QB2 in the class after leading the Tide to the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff in his lone season as a starter.
Jeremiah sees the redshirt junior as the prospect with the most at stake between now and draft day. He's ranked Simpson the No. 40 player available, but Jeremiah said he's not ruling out a much earlier slotting for the Bama QB, who saw his play tail off while he battled injuries down the stretch last season.
"I wouldn't be stunned if he ended up going in the first round because there are enough teams in need at the position," Jeremiah said.
Simpson, the son of a college head coach, is expected to fare well in interviews with teams leading up to the draft, per Jeremiah, but QB-needy squads like the Jets, Cardinals, Browns, Dolphins and Steelers have a big question to examine between now and the start of Round 1 on April 23: Did injuries cause Simpson's struggles or did he get exposed late last season?
3) WR fits for Bills. The Bills' quest to find another playmaking wide receiver for Josh Allen continues this offseason, and Jeremiah identified some potential fits for Buffalo if the team once again chooses to wait on addressing that need until after Round 1.
"They have to find a bigger body," he said. "They need a ball-winner, whether in free agency or the draft."
One player, in particular, could be a great value when the Bills pick 60th overall in Round 2.
"(Louisville WR) Chris Bell, you might get a discount on," Jeremiah said. "He's coming off an ACL surgery, but he's a really good player. Strong and powerful. Can go get it down the field, physical at the top of routes. Does not go down easy after the catch. You might catch a value potentially there at that point in time."
In Round 3, with the 91st overall pick, Jeremiah mentioned Baylor's Josh Cameron, Georgia State's Ted Hurst, Indiana's Elijah Sarratt and Texas Tech's Reggie Virgil as potential Bills targets.
4) Bears' win-win situation. Coming off an exhilarating run last season, there's a lot of excitement about what's next for the Bears, including what they might do with their first pick, 25th overall, this year.
It's hard to predict who will be available so late in Round 1, but the good news is Jeremiah believes they are set up for success no matter how things shake out in the first 24 picks.
"They're in a good spot," he said. "There are some years where you look at your needs and where you're picking and you go 'Oh, crap, we better move one way or another.' I think they can just sit right where they are and see how it falls."
For now, two of Chicago's biggest needs are edge rusher and offensive tackle. Jeremiah said he expects a top edge rusher -- whether it's Keldric Faulk, Cashius Howell, Akheem Mesidor, T.J. Parker, R Mason Thomas or Zion Young -- to be available for them.
As for offensive tackles, Jeremiah foresees Monroe Freeling, Max Iheanachor, Caleb Lomu, Blake Miller and/or Kadyn Proctor still being on the board at No. 25.
5) Sneaky RB1 option for Broncos. Running back is among the Broncos' needs, with J.K. Dobbins' contract expiring and RJ Harvey coming off an up-and-down rookie season.
While the draft's top RB, Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love, is expected to be long gone by the time Denver is on the clock with the 30th overall pick, Jeremiah said he'd be keeping an eye on another Fighting Irish back in this year's draft, Jadarian Price. Jeremiah said he would not be surprised to see Price jump into the back end of the first-round discussion as the evaluation process unfolds in the weeks ahead.
"I think he can be a No. 1 back," he said. "If he was playing anywhere else, he would have been. He just happened to be playing with Jeremiyah Love. ... He's someone that I think has a chance to be a three-down, complete back, which would be a great pairing with RJ Harvey for that group."
6) Best bang for Patriots' buck. As the Super Bowl result made clear, the Patriots should be adding more help for Drake Maye this offseason, whether it's on the offensive line or at wide receiver.
But Jeremiah has New England addressing its need for an edge rusher in his most recent mock draft, with Missouri's Zion Young joining Mike Vrabel's defense at No. 31.
Jeremiah said there's no doubt weapons need to be added for Maye, but given the players that could be available to the Patriots late in Round 1, the best value might be on defense.
"When you look at the roster construction of the teams in the Super Bowl and the best defenses, a lot of those defensive linemen are high tickets in the draft," he said. "I think you can find some wideouts on Day 2, even beyond Day 2, in a draft like this one."
7) Stock set to surge? Dillon Thieneman rates as Jeremiah's No. 25 prospect as of this writing, and this might be the time to buy stock in him. The analyst suggested the narrative around the Oregon safety is about to take a sharp turn coming out of the combine in Indianapolis next week.
"You're going to start to see the buzz on him really build once we get to Indy," he said. "He's going to run a heck of a lot faster than people think. He's going to jump out of the gym. He is super, super explosive."
Stay tuned -- defensive backs will take the field at the combine on Friday, Feb. 27.
