AI Mock Drafts Agree on Raiders’ No. 1 Pick, Diverge Everywhere Else

Overview

• Newsrooms rolled out AI-first mock drafts before the 2026 NFL Draft, including Yahoo Sports’ Gemini-driven final mock and USA TODAY’s head-to-head between reporter Chris Bumbaca and Microsoft Copilot.
• Across five major chatbots, the only shared call was quarterback Fernando Mendoza to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 1.
• Beyond the top pick, outputs split widely and sometimes broke basic rules, with ChatGPT in one roundup selecting players who had not declared or who already play in the NFL and some models even re-drafting the same player twice.
• Method choices steered results, as outlets banned trades to keep prompts simple and many AI picks were generated before late roster moves and the Bengals–Giants swap at No. 10, which undercut predictive value.
• The roundups still echoed scouting signals, clustering on premium positions like tackle and edge and flagging several Ohio State prospects, while USA TODAY revived its AI-vs-expert scoring debate to gauge whether chatbots can credibly forecast the first round.