Mock Draft Monday 10/13
Hype
Hype
- NFL Draft Board ‘26
- College Hoops Preview: Duke
- YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune is Drake’s Hype. The 5th track off his album Views.
Not much to get hyped up on in sports as a Yankees and Jets fan.
On to the ball…
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
Fernando Mendoza is from Miami, Florida. He attended Christopher Columbus High School, captaining the football team his junior and senior seasons as a 3-star recruit. His first college stop was at the University of California, Berkeley. After redshirting his freshman season in ‘22, Mendoza was honored with the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in ‘23. The redshirt freshman made 8 starts for the Golden Bears, throwing 1,708 passing yards and 14 TDs with a 63% completion percentage. He followed up with a sophomore campaign at Cal that included three ACC QB of the Week awards during the season's final month. Mendoza threw for 3,004 passing yards and 16 TDs while cutting his interceptions down from 10 to 6. Now a junior, Mendoza transferred to Indiana last offseason and has led the Hoosiers to a 6-0 start to their season. Mendoza’s 17 passing TDs thus far are the most in the Big Ten. Although not the most fleet of foot amongst his peers, Mendoza is the best pocket passer of the draft class. The 6’5” QB has ideal NFL height, and while his arm isn’t necessarily a cannon, he has great accuracy with plenty of strength to make all the throws outside the numbers. After upsetting the Ducks in Oregon, Fernando Mendoza has officially stamped himself as the possible QB1 of the ‘26 NFL Draft.
Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State
Arvell Reese is from Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Glenville High School, leading them to a state championship. As a freshman in ‘23, Reese played exclusively on special teams as a backup linebacker. During Ohio State’s National Championship season in ‘24, Reese saw an increase in snaps, playing in all 16 games while starting in 5. His sophomore year finished with 43 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, and half a sack. This season, Arvell Reese is the Buckeye’s starting weakside linebacker next to Sonny Styles. His increase in playing time has already come with a step up in production as he’s exploding into the national scene as one of the nation’s top linebackers. In 6 games so far, Reese has 38 tackles and 6 sacks. His elite athleticism and pass rush ability make him one of the best blitzing linebackers in this draft class.
Aamaris Brown, CB, UNLV
Aamaris Brown is from Tampa, Florida. He attended Armwood High School, where he picked off 11 passes and helped the football team advance to the state championship. Brown’s first college stop was at Kansas State for two seasons. From 2020 to 2021, Brown served as a backup defensive back and earned redshirt/COVID year extra eligibility. After entering the transfer portal in ‘22, Brown joined South Florida. With the Bulls, the corner earned a starting role immediately and picked off his first two career interceptions. As a redshirt junior in ‘23, Brown picked off another two passes and helped the Bulls turn around from 1-10 season to 7-5 ‘23. After an injury-plagued ‘24 season, Brown was able to redshirt once more and transferred to UNLV. Now with the Rebels, the graduate senior is in the midst of a career year with 4 INTs (including 2 Pick-6s) and 4 pass breakups. At 5’10”, Aamris Brown plays almost exclusively in the slot, an ever-important role in the NFL.
Joshua Josephs, Edge, Tennessee
Joshua Josephs is from Kennesaw, Georgia. He attended North Cobb High School, where he was considered a 4-star recruit as Josephs captained back-to-back state championships. As a freshman at Tennessee in ‘22, the defensive end came off the bench to contribute 12 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 2 pass breakups, and a sack. He continued the role as a situational pass rusher during his sophomore season in ‘23, notching 20 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 3 sacks, and 6 QB Hurries. Josephs earned a starting role and increased snaps in ‘24 as he finished with 39 tackles, 9 TFLs, 3 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles, and 1.5 sacks. While his sack production doesn’t jump out, the 6’3” edge defender had 17 QB Hurries and graded out as an elite pass rusher according to PFF College. Now a starting senior, his underlying pass rush statistics are beginning to even out as he’s already collected 4 sacks in 6 games in ‘25. Josephs has excellent quickness and a recorded wingspan of 82 inches (6’8”), traits that should fit in well with the NFL.
Logan Jones, C, Iowa
Logan Jones is from Council Bluffs, Iowa. At Lewis Central High School, Jones played on both sides of the line of scrimmage, finishing with 8.5 sacks as a defensive lineman as a senior. He chose to play for his home state at the University of Iowa and originally got his first collegiate snaps as a defensive tackle. After redshirting in 2020 and missing most of the 2021 season, Jones was awarded Iowa’s Next Man In as he switched from defensive tackle to the team’s starting center. In his second season at center, Jones was named 3rd Team All-Big Ten by his conference’s coaches, while his teammates voted him the Hayden Fry “Extra Heartbeat” Award. A permanent team captain and All-American honorable mention in ‘24, Logan Jones didn’t allow a single sack and was only penalized twice all season. So far this season as a graduate senior, Jones has graded out by PFF College as one of the best blocking centers in CFB.
This week’s player profiles are on the projected starting 5 of the Duke Blue Devils. For previous weeks…
Florida Gators, Houston Cougars, Purdue Boilermakers, UConn Huskies, BYU Cougars, St. John’s, Louisville Cardinals, Michigan Wolverines, Arkansas Razorbacks, Kentucky Wildcats, and Texas Red Raiders.
Patrick Ngongba II, C, Duke
Patrick Ngongba II is from Manassas, Virginia. His parents, Patrick and Tajama, were basketball players at George Washington. His mother became the all-time leading scorer in program history before playing two seasons in the WNBA. Patrick Ngongba was a 5-star recruit out of St. Paul VI Catholic High School and participated in Team USA Basketball before joining Duke last season. As a freshman in ‘24-’25, Ngongba served as Khaman Maluach’s backup center. In 30 games off the bench, Ngongba averaged 3.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and half a block per game. His season may have gotten off to a slow start due to injury, but by the end of the year, the backup big man was an excellent rim defender, alley oop finisher, and rebounder during the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Ngongba will return as Duke’s leading big man this upcoming season.
Cameron Boozer, PF, Duke
Cameron Boozer is from Miami, Florida. He is the son of Carlos Boozer, the retired 13-year NBA veteran who played for Coach K at Duke in the early 2000s. Cam Boozer has a chance at becoming an even better player than his 1-time All-Star father. A 5-star recruit, Boozer is considered one of the top freshmen of this recruiting class. He was awarded the Florida Mr. Basketball 3 times in high school and won the Gatorade National Player of the Year at the ESPYs. The 6’9” power forward also won two MVP awards for Team USA at the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup. Like his dad, Boozer has power forward size, but has another level of guard skills, which weren’t as common in Carlos Boozer’s big man era. Cam Boozer will likely be a one-and-done NBA lottery pick. We’ll see if he can bring home a National Championship like Carlos Boozer did at Duke in ‘01.
Cayden Boozer, PG, Duke
Cayden Boozer is from Miami, Florida. He is Cameron Boozer's slightly younger twin brother and Carlos Boozer's son. A 5-star recruit, ESPN ranked Cayden Boozer as the 16th-best freshman of the class. He helped Cameron and Christopher Columbus High School win 4 straight state championships. His game-winning buzzer beater (GIF’d above) also sent Columbus HS to the Chipotle National Championship Game, which they won last year. Boozer will compete with junior PG Caleb Foster for the team’s starting role, however, I think by March, I’d expect him to be the more impactful player.
Nikolas Khamenia, SG, Duke
Nikolas Khamenia is from Los Angeles, California. He played high school hoops at Harvard-Westlake, leading them to two straight state titles. A McDonald’s All-American, Khamenia is considered a 5-star recruit, and ESPN ranked him the 15th best freshman of his class. His trophy case back home has 3 gold medals from representing Team USA at the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup, 3x3 U18 World Cup in Hungary, and 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup. At 6’8”, Khamenia can chip in on rebounding, while displaying good guard skills and a great jump shot.
Dame Sarr, SF, Duke
