2026 NFL Mock Draft (4/6)

1.Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, quarterback (Indiana)

2.New York Jets: Arvell Reese, edge rusher/inside linebacker (Ohio State)

3.Arizona Cardinals: David Bailey, edge rusher (Texas Tech)

4.Tennessee Titans: Jeremiyah Love, running back (Notre Dame)

5.New York Giants: Sonny Styles, inside linebacker (Ohio State)

6.Cleveland Browns: Francis Mauigoa, tackle (Miami)

7.Washington Commanders: Mansoor Delane, cornerback (LSU)

8.New Orleans Saints: Carnell Tate, wide receiver (Ohio State)

9.Kansas City Chiefs: Caleb Downs, safety (Ohio State)

10.Cincinnati Bengals: Jermod McCoy, cornerback (Tennessee) 

11.Miami Dolphins: Makai Lemon, wide receiver (USC)

12.Dallas Cowboys: Ruben Bain Jr., edge rusher (Miami)

13.Los Angeles Rams: Spencer Fano, tackle (Utah)

14.Baltimore Ravens: Olavaega Ioane, guard (Penn State)

15.Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Akheem Mesidor, edge rusher (Miami)

16.New York Jets: Jordyn Tyson, wide receiver (Arizona State)

17.Detroit Lions: Monroe Freeling, tackle (Georgia)

18.Minnesota Vikings: Dillon Thieneman, safety (Oregon)

19.Carolina Panthers: Kenyon Sadiq, tight end (Oregon)

20.Dallas Cowboys: Avieon Terrell, cornerback (Clemson)

21.Pittsburgh Steelers: Ty Simpson, quarterback (Alabama)

22.Los Angeles Chargers: Keldric Faulk, edge rusher (Auburn)

23.Philadelphia Eagles: Cashius Howell, edge rusher (Texas A&M)

24.Cleveland Browns: Omar Cooper Jr., wide receiver (Indiana)

25.Chicago Bears: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, safety (Toledo)

26.Buffalo Bills: Peter Woods, defensive tackle (Clemson)

27.San Francisco 49ers: Caleb Lomu, tackle (Utah)

28.Houston Texans: Kaydon Proctor, tackle/guard (Alabama)

29.Kansas City Chiefs: Blake Miller, tackle (Clemson)

30.Miami Dolphins: Colton Hood, cornerback (Tennessee) 

31.New England Patriots: Zion Young, edge rusher (Missouri)

32.Seattle Seahawks: Chris Johnson, cornerback (San Diego State)

Movie Review: They Will Kill You

 

Frantic, playful genre mashup pic They Will Kill You-which marks the English-language debut for Russian filmmaker Kirill Sokolov-is without a doubt among the most fun movies I've seen in theaters recently. Soklov wisely keeps the energy level high and the exposition to a minimum as he depicts the twisted tale of an ex-con (Zazie Beetz) who accepts a maid job at a luxury Manhattan apartment complex in order to free her estranged sister (My'hala) from the clutches of a Satanic cult headed up by the building's enigmatic superintendent (Patricia Arquette). Beetz bring the perfect combination of rage and resilience to her ass-kicking protagonist Asia Reaves, there's a number of nutty reveals that were wisely obscured in the marketing that help give this film a uniquely goofy flavor despite how heavily homages to the works of Sam Raimi, Jackie Chan and Quentin Tarantino factor into its DNA and the action sequences have an abundance of slick camera movements, electric fight choreography and terrific practical blood/gore effects. Getting to see a true labor of love where the spirted efforts of the creatives involved are baked into every frame is what offbeat midnight movies like this are all about and I'm hopeful that They Will Kill You will go onto to become a cult favorite for decades to come. 

Grade: B+

Mamoudou Athie Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Mamoudou Athie-whose latest project "The Drama" releases in theaters tomorrow. 

Mamoudou Athie's Filmography Ranked:

10.Unicorn Store (C)

9.Black Box (C+)

8.The Front Runner (B-)

7.Patti Cake$ (B-)

6.Elemental (B-)

5.Jurassic World Dominion (B)

4.The Burial (B)

3.Underwater (B)

2.Uncorked (B+)

1.Kinds of Kindness (B+)

Top Dog: Kinds of Kindness (2024)

I'm among the small group of people that doesn't view the anthology film Kinds of Kindness as one of the lesser entries in Yorgos Lanthimos' filmography. The humor that nicely balances absurdity with some really sick dark comedy had me cackling throughout, the cast (Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Athie) does a really good job of stepping into various roles of varying sizes in each of the film's three largely standalone stories and Robbie Ryan's terrific cinematography really heightens the bizarre, surreal feeling of the situations this revolving door of characters find themselves in. 

Bottom Feeder: Unicorn Store (2019)

In the pantheon of directorial debuts from actors, Brie Larson's Unicorn Store isn't high on either end of the list. This fantasy dramedy about a struggling artist (Larson) who gets reinvigorated when she receives a letter from a mystical salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) inviting her to the titular store is competent enough to not be a slog to sit through but not compelling enough to leave a lasting impression. There are worst sins to commit as a filmmaker than making something that induces a shoulder shrug when it's over, so Larson can at least take a bit of solace in that.

Most Underrated: Uncorked (2020)

Being released in the opening days of the COVID lockdown on Netflix gave Uncorked the disservice of being buried harder than damn near any other movie released this decade. Anybody that is looking for a well-written, character-driven drama should definitely give this movie about a young man (Athie) who leaves his family's successful barbeque restaurant in Memphis to pursue his dream of becoming a sommelier a shot. 

Most Overrated: Elemental (2023)

While Elemental is a sweet movie with beautiful animation, the unfocused nature of the plot prevents it from fully coming together as both a romcom and tale about the many unspoken sacrifices immigrants make in order to try and provide their children with a better life in a new country. 

2026 NFL Draft: Top 25 Prospects Available

My annual exercise of getting to know the prospects gearing up to enter the NFL this year is currently in full swing as the start of the draft is now just over 3 weeks away. There's a bit of a Groundhog Day feeling to this class as many of the same problems that plagued the 2025 Draft have once again materialized this year as the quarterback pool is once again frighteningly shallow, almost none of the top tackle prospects are projected to be able to play on the left side of the line in the NFL and there's plenty of question marks surrounding just how high the ceilings are for the bulk of the players that are projected to go in the top 50. The good news is that there's some solid depth at multiple key positions (wide receiver, cornerback, edge rusher) and a fair amount of potential immediate high impact players sitting at the top of the board. Here are my picks for the top 25 prospects in this year's draft class that I've gotten the chance to evaluate thus far.

Still Need to Evaluate: Ty Simpson, Emmanuel Pregnon, R Mason Thomas, Chris Johnson, Germie Bernard, Caleb Lomu, Brandon Cisse, Chase Bisontis, Gabe Jacas, Anthony Hill Jr., A.J. Haulcy, Chris Bell, Max Iheannachor, Keith Abney II, Malachi Lawrence, Keionte Scott, Skyler Bell, Lee Hunter, Treydan Stukes, Gennings Dunker, Garrett Nussmeier, Jake Golday, Chris Brazzell II, Caleb Tiernan, Joshua Josephs, Elijah Sarratt, Josiah Trotter, Carson Beck, Connor Lew, Derrick Moore, Davison Igbinosun, Mike Washington Jr., Dani Dennis-Sutton, Keylan Rutledge, Chandler Rivers, Antonio Williams, Kamari Ramsey, Bryce Lance, Gracen Halton, Drew Allar, Sam Hecht, Zachariah Branch, Deion Burks, Romello Height, Malik Muhammad, Domonique Orange, Jake Slaughter, Keyron Crawford, Devin Moore, Jonah Coleman, Kyle Louis, Max Klare, Genesis Smith, Darrell Jackson Jr., Daylen Everette, Jalen Farmer, Sam Roush, Malachi Fields, Rayshaun Benny, LT Overton, Ted Hurst, Logan Jones, Jaishawn Barham, Zakee Wheatley, Deontae Lawson

1.Jeremiyah Love, running back (Notre Dame)

2.Caleb Downs, safety (Ohio State)

3.Fernando Mendoza, quarterback (Indiana)

4.David Bailey, edge rusher (Texas Tech)

5.Mansoor Delane, cornerback (LSU)

6.Carnell Tate, wide receiver (Ohio State)

7.Rueben Bain Jr., edge rusher (Miami)

8.Makai Lemon, wide receiver (USC)

9.Dillon Thieneman, safety (Oregon)

10.Arvell Reese, edge rusher/inside linebacker (Ohio State)

11.Kenyon Sadiq, tight end (Oregon)

12.Olaivavega Ioane, guard (Penn State)

13.Francis Mauigoa, tackle (Miami)

14.Jordyn Tyson, wide receiver (Arizona State)

15.Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, safety (Toledo)

16.Spencer Fano, tackle (Utah)

17.Kayden McDonald, defensive tackle (Ohio State)

18.Cashius Howell, edge rusher (Texas A&M)

19.Avieon Terrell, cornerback (Clemson)

20.Omar Cooper Jr., wide receiver (Indiana)

21.Akheem Mesidor, edge rusher (Miami)

22.Jacob Rodriguez, inside linebacker (Texas Tech)

23.D'Angelo Ponds, cornerback (Indiana)

24.KC Concepcion, wide receiver (Texas A&M)

25.Monroe Freeling, tackle (Georgia)

2026 NFL Mock Draft (3/30)

1.Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, quarterback (Indiana)

2.New York Jets: Arvell Reese, edge rusher/inside linebacker (Ohio State)

3.Arizona Cardinals: David Bailey, edge rusher (Texas Tech)

4.Tennessee Titans: Jeremiyah Love, running back (Notre Dame)

5.New York Giants: Sonny Styles, inside linebacker (Ohio State)

6.Cleveland Browns: Francis Mauigoa, tackle (Miami)

7.Washington Commanders: Mansoor Delane, cornerback (LSU)

8.New Orleans Saints: Carnell Tate, wide receiver (Ohio State)

9.Kansas City Chiefs: Spencer Fano, tackle (Utah)

10.Cincinnati Bengals: Caleb Downs, safety (Ohio State)

11.Miami Dolphins: Makai Lemon, wide receiver (USC)

12.Dallas Cowboys: Ruben Bain Jr., edge rusher (Miami)

13.Los Angeles Rams: Jordyn Tyson, wide receiver (Arizona State)

14.Baltimore Ravens: Olavaega Ioane, guard (Penn State) 

15.Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Kenyon Sadiq, tight end (Oregon)

16.New York Jets: Omar Cooper Jr., wide receiver (Indiana)

17.Detroit Lions: Jermod McCoy, cornerback (Tennessee) 

18.Minnesota Vikings: Dillon Thieneman, safety (Oregon)

19.Carolina Panthers: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, safety (Toledo)

20.Dallas Cowboys: Avieon Terrell, cornerback (Clemson)

21.Pittsburgh Steelers: Ty Simpson, quarterback (Alabama)

22.Los Angeles Chargers: Akheem Mesidor, edge rusher (Miami)

23.Philadelphia Eagles: Kaydon Proctor, tackle/guard (Alabama)

24.Cleveland Browns: Denzel Boston, wide receiver (Washington)

25.Chicago Bears: Peter Woods, defensive tackle (Clemson)

26.Buffalo Bills: Caleb Banks, defensive tackle (Florida)

27.San Francisco 49ers: Monroe Freeling, tackle (Georgia)

28.Houston Texans: Blake Miller, tackle (Clemson)

29.Kansas City Chiefs: Colton Hood, cornerback (Tennessee) 

30.Miami Dolphins: Cashius Howell, edge rusher (Texas A&M)

31.New England Patriots: Keldric Faulk, edge rusher (Auburn)

32.Seattle Seahawks: Chris Johnson, cornerback (San Diego State)

2026 NFL Free Agency Recap: Winners and Losers, Best/Worst Deals and Best Players Still Available

Biggest Winners: Los Angeles Rams

The Rams are coming off a season where they reached the NFC Championship Game and had just one real weakness on their whole roster at cornerback and they were somehow able to land both Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson?!? The other 31 teams in the league should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen. McDuffie has already established himself as one of the most well-rounded top corners in football and he's not even in his late 20's yet (he turns 26 in September) while Watson is one of the most reliable #2 outside corners in the league when he's healthy. On top of their talent, these guys have the added bonus of established camaraderie as they played together with the Chiefs over the past 4 seasons and were the biggest reason their consistently strong corner group could afford to let guys like Charvarius Ward and L'Jarius Sneed walk. 

Beyond these headline-grabbing additions, the Rams were relatively quiet but efficient with their moves. Extending Kamren Curl made a ton of sense as he's really helped stabilized their safety group over the past 2 seasons with his savvy play, bringing Tyler Higbee back ensures they retain the depth and dynamism that makes their TE room so dangerous and Grant Stuard is an established special teams piece that should help lead the needed overhaul in that group that really hurt them with their poor, undisciplined play at times last season. There's presumably a domino or two left to fall as their receiver room took a hit with the departure of vertical threat Tutu Atwell and Jimmy Garoppolo-whose served as Matthew Stafford's backup for the past 2 seasons-remaining unsigned (it's hard to believe that Sean McVay is going to entrust someone as green as Stetson Bennett to backup Stafford as he enters his age 38 season), so there's a chance that this offseason gets even rosier for this longtime NFC powerhouse. 

Honorable Mentions: Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers

Biggest Losers: Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins were one of only two teams in the league to fire their head coach and general manager this offseason. When new brass takes over a team, the expectation is that they will offer up some clear vision to retool or, in the case of the Dolphins, rebuild the operation after a period of underwhelming performances. We're barely even 2 months into the Jon-Eric Sullivan/Jeff Hafley administration in South Beach and they've already managed to mystify the football world with how they're approaching roster-building. Everybody knew that there was going to be some cap difficulties here after they released Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb, but the baffling string of moves they've made following these cuts can't be attributed to a huge dead cap number limiting who they could sign.

When top free agent quarterback Malik Willis elected to sign here, there was some notable confusion as their roster situation wasn't as favorable as some of the other places he could've went to that presumably would've given him the opportunity to start (Vikings, Steelers, Cardinals). Early last week, Willis' decision to sign in Miami became even more confusing when they shockingly dealt Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos. They have since publicly come out and said that their star running back De'Von Achane is not available in trade, but can you really take them at their word when they just dealt away the only other young star player they had on their roster?

Waddle's shocking exit has lowered Willis' already pretty long odds of becoming a viable start with the Dolphins. Their receiver room is now headed up by Malik Washington-who posted a whopping 317 YDS on 46 receptions last season and a pair of free agent pickups (Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell) who have exclusively been 3rd, 4th or 5th options throughout their careers, their already questionable offensive line added yet another shaky piece with the signing of Jamaree Salyer-who has been a key cog in the woeful play of the Chargers o-line over the past 4 seasons and is expected to start at right guard- and merely looking at defensive depth chart-especially in the secondary-could be enough to make someone nauseous. They're going to have to have themselves one hell of a draft for me to stop thinking that they're a completely aloof organization that is barreling towards another prolonged stint at the bottom of the league hierarchy.  

Dishonorable Mentions: Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons

Best Individual Signing: Devin Lloyd to the Panthers (3 years/$45 mil/$25 mil guaranteed)

Despite ultimately finishing 8-9, the Panthers showed enough promise during Dave Canales' 2nd year on the job to start making some major investments in the roster. Lloyd in particular is the kind of player that could change the entire complexion of their defense-which was largely average on the whole but had some flashes of excellence during 2025. He's one of the few inside linebackers in the league that truly makes a huge impact against the run and in coverage and Ejiro Evero is the kind of creative defensive coordinator that could really unleash his full potential as a dynamic, electrifying weapon as he's set to enter his prime. 

Honorable Mentions: Jamel Dean to the Steelers (3 years/$36.75 mil/$12 mil guaranteed), Kenneth Walker III to the Chiefs (3 years/$43.05 mil/$28.7 mil guaranteed), Jaylinn Hawkins to the Ravens (2 years/$10 mil/$5 mil guaranteed)

Worst Individual Signing: Mike Evans to the 49ers (3 years/$42.4 mil/$16.3 mil guaranteed) 

After George Kittle's Achillies exploded in the second quarter of the 49ers Wild Card victory over the Eagles in January, a conspiracy started going around online that the electromagnetic fields emanating from an electrical substation that is located near their practice facility in Santa Clara was responsible for the notoriously high injury rates the team has dealt with in recent years. Whatever the cause may be, this team has been the face of the chronically injured ever since Kyle Shanahan took over as head coach back in 2017 and this admittedly hilarious conspiracy theory is only to going further popularize this sentiment. 

With this mind, signing Mike Evans to a multi-year deal is a completely fucking insane move. Evans has a lengthy history of soft tissue injuries, missed over half of the 2025 campaign with a broken clavicle and is about to turn 33 years old. He might not even make out of camp with all of his limbs intact! Admittedly, the guarantees are small enough for the 49ers to come out of this deal relatively unscathed if Evans ends up in a full body cast before season's end but still, trusting an aging star player with real injury concerns to anchor a receiving corps that has serious problems with fielding healthy bodies in back-to-back seasons is the kind of loopy dice-roll this organization can't really afford to make as their championship window continues to shrink with each passing day. 

Dishonorable Mentions: Wan'Dale Robinson to the Titans (4 years/$70 mil/$38 mil guaranteed), Quay Walker to the Raiders (3 years/$40.5 mil/$28 mil guaranteed), Zion Johnson to the Browns (3 years/$49.5 mil/$32.39 mil guaranteed) 

Best Player Still Available: Jauan Jennings, wide receiver (2025 team: San Francisco 49ers)

Jennings is a tough, physical outside receiver whose ability to make contested catches and get in the endzone has endeared him to every quarterback he played with during his 6 seasons with the 49ers. While the potential that all of the bumps and bruises he suffered in San Francisco catching up with him as he heads into his age 29 season will almost certainly lower the term of whatever contract he ultimately signs, his special, unteachable skills would make him a valuable addition to any contending team's receiving room.

Honorable Mentions: D.J. Reader, Stefon Diggs, Kevin Zeitler 

Samara Weaving Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Samara Weaving-whose latest project "Ready or Not 2: Here I Come" is now playing in theaters. 

Samara Weaving's Filmography Ranked:

16.Monster Trucks (D)

15.Chevalier (C)

14.Last Moment of Clarity (C)

13.Borderline (C)

12.Snake Eyes (B-)

11.Eenie Meanie (B-)

10.Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (B-)

9.Mayhem (B)

8.The Babysitter: Killer Queen (B)

7.Azrael (B)

6.Bill & Ted Face the Music (B)

5.The Babysitter (B)

4.Guns Akimbo (B+)

3.Scream VI (B+)

2.Ready or Not (B+)

1.Babylon (B+)

Top Dog: Babylon (2022)

Damien Chazelle has been on quite the roller coaster since Babylon was released. His blockbuster ode to Hollywood's drastic transition from the debauchery of the silent movie era to the early days of the "talkies" where the whole industry suddenly got more buttoned up  received mixed reviews and ate shit at the box office to the point where he had to wait over 3 years to get his next movie-a considerably lower key prison drama starring Cillian Murphy, Daniel Craig and Michelle William that just started shooting last week-off the ground, but quickly found a passionate cult following that views it as a misunderstood masterpiece. While I'm not quite willing to label it a masterpiece myself, I do believe that Babylon is an excellent movie that is better than the vast majority of prestige flicks that have been released so far this decade. Chazelle's blistering epic doesn't even think about coming up for air during its 3-hour runtime as it really revels in how unforgiving and dysfunctional the industry can be and how none of the madness that occurs behind the scenes matters when audiences see the beauty that was birthed from this off-camera chaos on screen. It's a really exhilarating, fascinating piece of work and definitely my favorite thing Chazelle has done since Whiplash. 

Bottom Feeder: Monster Trucks (2017)

The only inspired thing about Monster Trucks is that it's not a movie about the preferred vehicle of county fair main attractions all across the United States, but instead monsters that live inside of trucks. Everything else about it is incredibly dull and based on how poorly it performed throughout its initial theatrical/VOD life cycle 9 years ago, I don't think its intended audience of young kids liked it very much either.  

Most Underrated: Guns Akimbo (2020)

All of the common criticisms of Guns Akimbo are hard to argue with. It's a juvenile movie with video game-esque action and obnoxious characters that almost exclusively talk like Reddit posters circa 2018. Personally, I found all of these things to be absolutely perfect for the aesthetic that writer/director Jason Lei Howden was going for here. It would've been weird if a movie about an internet troll (Daniel Radcliffe) who gets forced to participate in an illegal online deathmatch game called Skizm after the founder of the game (Ned Dennehy) tracks his IP address following a shit-talking session gone wrong, goes to his apartment and glues a pair of pistols to his hands after knocking him out didn't great pride in being deeply immature. It's really the only movie I've seen recently that recreates the vulgar breed of manic action filmmaking that Neveldine/Taylor were delivering in the late 2000's and the cast-which also includes Weaving as Skizm's most lethal player Nix and Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Radcliffe's ex-girlfriend Nova who gets dragged into this messy situation-do an excellent job of operating on the trashy wavelength of a bygone era that makes up whatever percentage of the film's DNA that isn't pure Mountain Dew Code Red. 

Most Overrated: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) 

I'm still stunned by the great Martin McDonagh's choice to largely sideline his signature sharp darkly comedic writing here in favor of bland melodrama that is often shockingly on-the-nose and manipulative. Strong performances from Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Weaving-who is easily the comedic highlight of the film as the ditzy, much younger girlfriend of McDormand's ex-husband (John Hawkes) prevent Three Billboards from completely falling apart, but it's still a baffling, frequently maddening film that falls well below the high quality standard McDonagh has established with his other work.