DKDB NFL Draft
Updates: Sept. 2026
Written by Lou Pickney (updated 9/5/2026 11:59p EDT)
DKDB owner/operator since 2003
2027 Mock Draft Database | Best Free Simulator List
September 5, 2026
It was great seeing everyone up at Sewanee this weekend. I'll be back later this month for a men's lacrosse scrimmage.
This was my first time working an event at Juhan Gymnasium, which is named for Frank Juhan, a Sewanee grad and member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
There is something special about Sewanee. Well worth a visit if you've never been. The novelty still hasn't worn off for me and I've been going up there for years now.
When I put together the Summer 2026 DKDB wide receiver prospect preview video, you might notice that I didn't include Miami WR Malachi Toney. But that's because Toney isn't draft-eligible until 2028.
Every preseason wide receiver scout ranking I could find had Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith at number one. I wonder if it might be similar for Toney next summer. He certainly impressed people in the Hurricanes' victory at Stanford last night.
Miami has been masterful in the NIL era in ways that no one likes to talk about because it exposes the business. This is a compliment: it's impressive. They've had their act together on this since the beginning.
You don't think that Spirit in the Sky video of Darian Mensah working out with Cam Ward in Nashville last summer was a coincidence, do you?
Interesting things thus far include Tulsa's win over Oklahoma State, Oregon having to rally at home to beat Boise State, and the incredible Hail Mary TD pass for Michigan to beat Western Michigan.
This won't silence the people I've had in my ear questioning why Michigan was rated so highly to enter the season. It's not like I have a vote, or even care that much about preseason polls (many voters are easy marks for the top QB prospects), but I hear about it nonetheless.
Michigan has a very difficult schedule. The Wolverines will have their chance to prove the naysayers wrong. But today wasn't exactly a confidence booster.
LSU is walloping Clemson after a lengthy weather delay as I write this. Normaly a weather delay dampens a crowd, but we're talking about a night game in Baton Rouge.
I don't quite understand why they started the Labor Day weekend game tradition in Nashville before the forthcoming new Titans stadium with the closed roof was ready, but Ole Miss vs. Louisville tomorrow should be a good game. It will likely be miserably hot/humid, though.
September 3, 2026
Labor Day Weekend is almost here. And while the FBS college football schedule has a lot of enhancement match tier games, there are some interesting options on the docket.
• Colorado at Georgia Tech (Thursday)
• Toledo at Michigan State (Friday) - Pat Fitzgerald MSU coaching debut
• James Madison at Liberty - Billy Napier JMU coaching debut
• Tarleton State at Bowling Green - Intriguing FCS vs. FBS matchup
• Tulane at Duke
• Boston College at Cincinnati
• Baylor vs. Auburn (neutral-site game in Atlanta)
• Oklahoma State at Tulsa - Drew Mestemaker OSU debut
• Wyoming at Colorado State
• Clemson at LSU - Lane Kiffin LSU coaching debut
• UNLV at Hawaii
• UCLA at Cal
• Washington State at Washington (Sunday)
• Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Sunday in Nashville)
• Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame (Sunday in Green Bay)
• SMU at Florida State (Monday)
Miami at Stanford on Friday night will draw some curiosity viewership with the debut of transfer QB Darian Mensah for the Hurricanes, but Miami is a heavy favorite to win so I didn't include that game in the list. I'll likely end up watching that at the hotel after producing Sewanee's volleyball broadcasts during the day tomorrow.
In a related note, I've had "Southern Nights" by Glen Campbell stuck in my head after hearing it on the radio on my drive home from working Sewanee's soccer double-header on Tuesday evening. Seems fitting.
September 2, 2026
The contempt that some SEC football bigwigs are showing toward federal judges is rather telling. Read my blog from last month if you want to learn my take on this whole sordid mess with the NCAA's wronging of the Class of 2026, but you'll notice things I predicted there (like the demonization of LSU head coach Lane Kiffin) are already coming true.
We need new nomenclature for describing Division I athletes with the new five years of eligibility in a five-year window. If someone refers to a senior, I'm not sure if they mean Year 4 or Year 5.
Maybe that's the best way to handle it: just Year and Number. Don't make me use a term like super senior that I'll have to constantly resist the urge to mock.
September 1, 2026
My brand new 2027 NFL Mock Draft is now online!
The DKDB 2027 NFL Mock Draft Database is updated to reflect that and several other new mock drafts, including the latest from Sam Teets.
If you've watched my Summer 2026 NFL prospect preview video series, you know I think highly of Teets' scouting opinion.
What might be most interesting is his list of Projected Return to School Quarterbacks: CJ Carr (Notre Dame), Drake Lindsey (Minnesota), Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State), Julian Sayin (Ohio State), and LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina).
DKDB 2027 NFL Draft Prospects
DKDB 2027 NFL Mock Draft Simulator List
DKDB Update Video Archive
