ESPN Predicts Major Trade In Mid-Season NFL Mock Draft

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Dec 10, 2025 12:01 PM ET

Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season saw a pretty noteworthy shakeup in the NFL draft order. Wins by the hapless Tennessee Titans, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints completely rearranged the top-10 of the order.

As it stands, the New York Giants now hold the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft while the Las Vegas Raiders move to No. 2 after their seventh straight loss. The Titans, who have held the top draft pick for over a month, move down to No. 3 while the Cleveland Browns (who they beat) rise to No. 4. The New Orleans Saints round out the top-five.

That shakeup of the draft order has caused ESPN and other outlets to rearrange their own midseason mock drafts for the 2026 NFL Draft. In a feature for ESPN this morning, NFL analyst Field Yates predicted a major trade at the top.

Yates has the Giants pulling off a blockbuster trade with their cross-town rivals the New York Jets - receiving two first-round picks and a Day 2 pick - that would put the Jets at No. 1 and the Giants at No. 7.

Here is the top-10 of Yates' new mock draft (the rest of the list can be found here):

QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana - NY Jets (via trade w/ Giants)
QB Dante Moore, Oregon - Las Vegas Raiders
LB/EDGE Arvell Reese, Ohio St - Tennessee Titans
WR Carnell Tate, Ohio St - Cleveland Browns
OT Francis Mauigoa, Miami - New Orleans Saints
EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech - Washington Commanders
WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona St - NY Giants (via trade w/ Jets)
OT Spencer Fano, Utah - Arizona Cardinals
DB Caleb Downs, Ohio St - Los Angeles Rams
EDGE Reuben Bain Jr., Miami - Cincinnati Bengals

Sep 6, 2025; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) throws a pass during the second half against the Kennesaw State Owls at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images© Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

The Mendoza Effect

Fernando Mendoza has been the biggest story of college football this year. His leadership for Indiana allowed the team to upset the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes and deliver the Hoosiers their first Big Ten title since 1967. He will be in New York this weekend for the Heisman Trophy ceremony, where he is the prohibitive favorite to win it.

Mendoza also has Indiana positioned as one of the national title favorites. Following their upset win over Ohio State to win the Big Ten, they were named the No. 1 team in the country and will have the top seed in the College Football Playoff. The more he wins, the more likely it is that he'll be the first QB off the board no matter how he performs in the pre-draft process.

Even so, Mendoza and the other top QB prospects are still not universally seen as an elite NFL quarterback the way others like Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams or even Cam Ward have been. There are far more questions than answers.

We all know that the Jets are best-positioned to get literally any player they want thanks to the multiple high draft picks they collected in trades at the NFL trade deadline. The bigger question is whether they're willing to mortgage their future to move up for someone like Mendoza or Moore.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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