Tonight, the 2026 NFL Draft lurches into motion in the city that gave us Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Sudden Death, which is a masterpiece of American cinema.
No matter what happens over the next three days on the banks of the Allegheny, Ohio, and Monongahela, we will be spared from hearing the words “mock draft” until maybe late Sunday night when a deranged person fires off their 2027 mock draft. Related, in a proper society, this person would be thrown in prison.
Per the usual draft schedule, the first round will be tonight, Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday evening, and Rounds 4-7 will run the length of Saturday. You know those draft war rooms smell crazy by noon-ish on Saturday.
Unlike the 2025 draft, which had 8 Ole Miss players drafted, this year’s version will not feature as many, which is kinda wild considering Ole Miss was a few plays away from the national title game. It’s also unlikely any Ole Miss players will be drafted on Thursday, but several names should be called Friday and Saturday.
So let’s take a quick look at those names, plus those who will get free agent opportunities.
Depending on your mock draft dealer, Stribling could go anywhere from late Round 2 to Round 3-ish. You may recall the large, speedy wide receiver had a great combine in addition to closing the last 5 games of the 2025 season (2 regular/3 playoff) with 25 receptions for 420 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Speaking of, remember when Georgia thought they were going to come back and win the Sugar Bowl?
Our super-sized adult son is expected to go in the Rounds 2-4 range, depending on how things play out into Saturday. My advice to the team that drafts him is make sure you have enough depth so you don’t have to play him a quarter of a million snaps.
That’s not a knock against Harris, as no one his size is built to play that many plays, but it’s more of a reminder that he was forced to play a quarter of a million plays against Miami, which was wildly unfair to him.
Ole Miss’ 2025 starting left tackle and tight end, respectively, are likely Saturday names, though it’s possible they find themselves in an NFL camp via the undrafted free agent process. But as the old saying goes, IT ONLY TAKES ONE TEAM, BOB.
Of the two, Pounds is more likely to be drafted. He can play both tackle spots, and large left tackles who are good in pass protection are valuable.
In fact, someone should write a book about that. Maybe call it The Blinder Side. Or Blind Spot. Or Blind Left.
Just workshopping a few names. We can circle back to this.
If Williams gets drafted, it’s most likely going to be in Rounds 6-7 (SIX SEVEN, HOW DO YOU DO, FELLOW KIDS). I lean toward him not being drafted but, again, IT JUST TAKES ONE, BOB.
These guys will be featured in the flurry of tweets following the end of the draft. Their chances of even making a practice squad will be slim, but as the philosopher Lloyd Christmas once said, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.”
There is a timeline where a team drafts Wallace, Williams, or Gushiken late, though that would be a surprise. Gushiken may seem like an odd inclusion, but he had an absurd Ole Miss pro day, which created INTRIGUE in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE.
Good luck to those drafted and undrafted. We will be rooting for you and hope to see you on a roster (53-man or practice squad) in the fall.