Julian Sayin clearly played his way into a first round pick. I have him slotted in #3 overall to the New York Jets. The question around Sayin will remain his arm and whether or not he has much of an NFL ceiling. But he’s one of the best QBs in the entire country.

The major thing I noticed with EA is they had Dylan Stewart falling to the second round. He’s somebody that could easily be a the top EDGE in the class.

Other highlights from EA’s first round include 5 quarterbacks, none named Arch Manning or LaNorris Sellers. It’s always hilarious to see who the game has going first round at this point in the season. John Mateer was in last year’s EA mock draft as well. I don’t think he’ll be a first round pick but crazier things have happened.

I agree with EA on quite a few of these guys. I believe these 10 players will be taken in the first round:

QB Dante Moore, Oregon — I think Moore would have easily pushed Ty Simpson for QB2 in the 2026 NFL Draft. He has a chance to be the #1 overall pick, but he’ll need to show improved composure in pivotal games.

WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State — Not much to say here. He’s probably the best collegiate WR prospect since Julio Jones. He should be a top 5 pick.

QB Darian Mensah, Miami — This is admittedly a projection, but Miami’s schedule is a damn cake walk. He will get meaningful games with at least 3 skill position players with clear NFL talent. The ceiling is the roof.

EDGE Colin Simmons, Texas — Simmons boasts one of the country’s best true pass rush win rate (20.5%) which is well above average. He’s a lightning rod off the ball and causes havoc for opposing QBs.

OT Jordan Seaton, LSU — This tackle class is fairly weak from what I’ve seen. Multiple talented college OTs in this mock will likely play inside in the NFL. Seaton is not one of those guys. He’s a true Left Tackle with the size and athleticism to be a dominant lineman.

CB Leonard Moore, Notre Dame — This is one of my favorite players in the class. I genuinely think he could have been a top 10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He’s my early favorite for top corner in the class.

RB Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss — Lacy is kind of a beast, yet somehow still underrated. He’s an explosive playmaker, ranking 5th in the country with 38 runs of 10+ yards. He tied with Jeremiyah Love in 15+ yard carries if that gives you a good idea of his talent level.

DT A’Mauri Washington, Oregon — Washington was a player I hoped came out last season and I’m excited to see his continued growth. He’s athletic as hell and fun to watch in the middle. The NFL is begging for DTs that can get after the QB and he does a great job of exactly that.

OG/OT Cayden Green, Missouri — I said this in the Draft Professors group chat today, but Green just feels like a guy who makes his way into the last 5-6 picks of the first round. He’s played tackle but projects as a guard in the NFL.

DT David Stone, Oklahoma — Stone leads a very good Oklahoma defense. If the Sooners go 13-0 as they did in EA College Football 27, I imagine Stone becomes a household name. Will that happen? Idk about that but I think Stone is an absolute beast and will hear his name called early in the draft.

I think the league (NFL) could fall in love with LSU’s 6’7 Tight End Trey’Dez Green and Rutgers’ 6’6 Wide Receiver KJ Duff. Those are two players that I’m excited to watch develop this season.

Below are the highlights from the season I simulated. John Mateer won the Heisman Trophy and led the Oklahoma Sooners to a 13-0 record, an SEC Championship and the #1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff.

First things first, if you’re reading this on web and you aren’t subscribed, you will not get access to the gambling content coming next week and every week of the NFL and college football regular season. It’s 100% free, so please considering subscribing: footballwithchaw.com/subscribe.

What I will do for you right now is take a quick trip down memory lane and look at the lore of my gambling. Gambling I do for pure sport; I’m not in the business of making or losing money. I have to show you that I’m actually pretty decent at this. I watch a shit ton of football.

I’ve been tracking my picks on my notes app and this site for the past 3 seasons. My buddy had an NFL SuperContest picks thing at work that I joined years ago. I think I put in $300 and walked away with $1300 and ultimate bragging rights. So when the work SuperContest died, I decided to pick it back up on my own in 2023. Between the 2023 and 2024 seasons I went 261-227-15 (53.5%) overall. That’s every pick I’ve ever made, not JUST the SuperContest, which I traditionally do much better at.

The SuperContest is legit 5 picks every week. 90 total picks over the course of an 18-week season. The winner of the actual SuperContest in Vegas ($1,000 entry I believe) went 61-28-1 (68.8%) last season. An incredible performance.

Last season, I went 53-36-1 (60.0%) in the SuperContest, 8 picks away from the top. Not terrible but I can do better. And like I said these picks are going to remain completely free to anyone who subs. I appreciate all the support for real, writing about this is so fun for me.

“It is known,” say the Dothraki. The Insider Trading Act has passed and Nancy Pelosi is on suic*de watch. But don’t worry I’m tying this to football. Let’s focus on suspended scouting director of the Arizona Cardinals, Ryan Gold.

He sounds like a Love Island participant and makes this week’s gossip session because he was accused by the National Football League of tipping draft picks and gambling.

His lawyer then said no actually his wife was the one making $10 weekly bets with a group of high school friends on parlays. Parlays are combining multiple individual bets into one bet for a chance at a higher payout. This is extremely important because if a team-affiliated scout had inside information and was looking to make an easy profit… ooooooohhh that’s a lot spicier.

^{Editor’s note: you should never ever bet parlays}

This is a classic he said she said. Tale as old as time. His lawyer continues to claim he was not involved in the betting. He also doubled down and said that Gold couldn't have divulged draft information because he didn't know ahead of time who the Cardinals were picking.

Who from the Cardinals front office is going to come forward and confirm or deny that last claim?

How pissed to you think Ryan Gold is at his wife? What do you think they’re having for dinner tonight as they talk about their next steps? I’d love to be a fly on the wall for a front row seat to this saga. You know it’s juicy when the lawyers get involved, I’ll keep you posted!