The NFL Draft Smokescreen Game is Peak Right Now, and These Two Stories Will Define Thursday Night

Welcome to draft week, where every rumor is a test, every mock is a guess, and nobody really knows what's happening until the clock hits zero. We're 72 hours out from the 2026 NFL Draft, and the storylines are flying faster than takes on Twitter. Time to separate what's real from what's just noise.

Is Tennessee Actually Taking a Running Back at No. 4?

Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame's star back, is Daniel Jeremiah's No. 2 overall player and locked in for a top ten landing spot. The latest intel? He's looking like a lock for the Titans at No. 4. The last four NFL.com mock drafts have Love going there, and NFL IQ data backs it up as Tennessee's most likely move. Way more likely than the Commanders or Saints.

But here's the thing: does it actually make sense? The Titans have six wins over the past two seasons combined. That's brutal. And we barely know what GM Mike Borgonzi does yet, since this is just his second draft in charge. What we do know is telling. Last year he took a skill-position player with four of his first six picks. During his 16 years with the Chiefs, the highest Kansas City went on a running back was 32nd overall. They found Isiah Pacheco in the seventh round and Kareem Hunt in the third. That track record matters.

The flip side: Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, and Bijan Robinson all went early in the first round and became All-Pros. But none of them made the postseason often on their rookie deals. If pass-rushers Arvell Reese and David Bailey are gone when Tennessee picks, don't be shocked if Borgonzi pivots to Sonny Styles, the Ohio State linebacker who's been compared to Fred Warner. Styles fits new HC Robert Saleh's scheme, and Borgonzi mentioned him in a recent presser. That's not accident.

Are the Cowboys Actually Trading Up for a Linebacker?

Dallas owns picks 12 and 20. Jerry Jones said early April the team would "absolutely" entertain moving around. Then Sonny Styles heat started building. Mel Kiper has them jumping to No. 6 overall to get him. Dan Parr's mock has them going even higher, to No. 4. It would make some sense after trading Micah Parsons last August, especially with Quinnen Williams on defense.

Except here's the problem: the Cowboys don't trade. Not really. Over the last 15 years, they've moved up eight times and down six times in the draft, total. In the first round over the last 12 drafts, they've traded their pick twice, and moved down both times (2024 and 2021). The last time Dallas traded up in the first round was 2012 for CB Morris Claiborne at No. 6. That's 14 years ago. The precedent just isn't there.

The draft hits Thursday night on NFL Network and NFL+. Buckle up.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.