Rapoport's Full Draft Breakdown

Ian Rapoport came into the studio wearing an ESPN badge for the first time, the post-merger reality, and spent the full interview walking Rich through the state of the 2026 NFL Draft, the biggest possible trade scenarios, and a rapid-fire round of Who Starts Week One.

The opening bit is a lived-in joke. Rapoport is addicted to his phone. Jerry had to tell him to put it away for the interview. His wife, Rapoport claims, doesn't even hear his ringer at night, which he considers the best possible professional asset during free agency.

The meat of the conversation is the draft. Rapoport says this year's story isn't the quarterbacks. Fernando Mendoza going first overall is baked in. The real story is where the big trade lands. David Bailey and Arvell Reese are the two top edge rushers, and Rapoport expects one of them at No. 2. The Cowboys, sitting with two first-rounders, are his pick for the obvious trade-up team, a generational edge like Reese, compared to Micah Parsons, would be worth the swing.

Rich walks him through Daniel Jeremiah's mock from the previous night: Bailey to the Jets at 2, Maason Smith to Arizona at 3, Reese dropping to Tennessee at 4, Sunny Styles to the Giants at 5, Fautanu to the Browns at 6, and then a trade, Washington sending the No. 7 pick to the Jets for New York's 16th plus a second and a fourth, all so the Jets can grab Carnell Tate and pair him with Garrett Wilson. Rapoport compares it to the Sammy Watkins trade. The Jets, he notes, intentionally took Dallas's 2027 first in the Quinnen Williams trade, which tells you exactly how they're thinking about next year's quarterback class.

Tai Simpson is the other major subplot. Rapoport's guess is Simpson sneaks into the back end of Round 1, a Jackson Dart-style late-first rise. The Cardinals at 34 are the obvious floor. If Cleveland at 24 moves on him, someone will have to trade up to beat them to it.

On possible trades outside the draft: Dexter Lawrence more likely gets paid than moved, Jonathan Greenard could get a raise, and Max Crosby is effectively staying in Las Vegas. Rapoport reported during Super Bowl week that Crosby had a meniscus repair, not a trim. If anything happened, it wouldn't be until August, and nobody's betting their house on Crosby's knee.

On Who Starts Week One, Rapoport goes with Kirk Cousins in Vegas, Deshaun Watson in Cleveland, and Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, all with guesses, not reports, and all with the honest caveats. Mahomes will be on the field if humanly possible, but the Chiefs signed Kenneth Walker for a reason.

Rich closes by inviting Rapoport to host his next show from the Kentucky Derby. Rapoport has the suit picked out. His wife already has the hat.