The 2026 NFL Draft, held in Pittsburgh at Acrisure Stadium from April 23 through April 25, gave fans 257 picks and 41 trades across three days. Some franchises walked out of those three days looking like they had cracked the code on roster building, while others left fans scratching their heads. Here's a deep dive into the teams and players who came out smelling like roses, plus the ones who probably want a mulligan.
Las Vegas Raiders land their franchise face
The Raiders earned the No. 1 overall pick by finishing 2025 with the league's worst record, and they cashed in by taking Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The 2025 Heisman Trophy winner also collected the Walter Camp Award, the Davey O'Brien Award and the Maxwell Award after leading Indiana to a 16-0 season and a national title. He led the FBS with 41 touchdown passes and finished third nationally with a 72% completion rate. Mendoza joins Joe Burrow and Cam Newton as the only players in the common draft era to win the Heisman, a national championship, and go No. 1 the following spring. He becomes the Raiders' fifth Heisman winner ever, joining Marcus Allen (10th overall, 1983), Bo Jackson (seventh round, 1987), Tim Brown (sixth overall, 1988), and Charles Woodson (fourth overall, 1998). GM John Spytek paired him with veteran Kirk Cousins, and minority owner Tom Brady now has a clean slate to mold a successor.
Dallas Cowboys rebuild the secondary
Jerry Jones came out a clear winner. Dallas allowed the most points in the league and finished 30th in yards allowed in 2025, so the front office pulled off a buzzer-beating trade with Miami, sending picks Nos. 12, 177 and 180 to move up one spot to No. 11 and grab Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. It's the first time Dallas has used a first-round pick on a safety since Roy Williams in 2002. Downs pairs with Jalen Thompson, who's averaging $11 million per season, plus P.J. Locke and Malik Hooker. The Cowboys then traded back from No. 20 to No. 23 with the Eagles to take UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence, finishing with seven picks (five on defense), including linebacker Jaishawn Barham, tackle Drew Shelton, corner Devin Moore, Alabama edge LT Overton, and ECU's Anthony Smith.
New York Jets bring in a culture shift
Head coach Aaron Glenn and GM Robert Saleh deliberately stocked the roster with College Football Playoff veterans. The Jets used pick No. 2 on Texas Tech edge David Bailey (6-foot-4, 241 pounds, 4.46 speed), then took Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq at No. 16 and Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. at No. 30 in the same first round. Indiana corner D'Angelo Ponds followed at No. 50. Three first-rounders for the second straight year without trading anything away is the kind of capital management that quickly turns rebuilds around.
Arizona Cardinals roll the dice on a running back
Arizona stunned the room at No. 3 by taking Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, the first back drafted in the top five since Saquon Barkley in 2018. The Cardinals later doubled at quarterback by grabbing Miami's Carson Beck at the top of Round 3 as a hedge for Jacoby Brissett. Two Notre Dame backs went in Round 1, with Jadarian Price closing the night to Seattle at No. 32 after gaining 1,420 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns over two seasons as Love's complement.
Cleveland Browns lock down the trenches
Holding two first-rounders thanks to last year's Travis Hunter trade with Jacksonville, Cleveland dropped from No. 6 to No. 9 in a swap with Kansas City and still landed Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano. At No. 24, the Browns added Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion. Nine offensive linemen came off the board in Round 1, more than a quarter of all selections, tying the modern record set in 2024, 2022 and 2013. Mel Kiper Jr. handed Cleveland an A.
Philadelphia Eagles flip a wideout heist
Howie Roseman moved up three spots from No. 23 to No. 20 to snatch USC's Makai Lemon, reportedly while Lemon was on the phone with the Steelers. The pick lines up beautifully with Adam Schefter's report that A.J. Brown will likely be traded after June 1, splitting $43 million in dead cap money. Five receivers (Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson, Lemon, KC Concepcion, Omar Cooper Jr.) cashed the under on the 5.5 Round 1 receivers prop, and promotions like the BetMGM bonus code drew plenty of action all weekend. Philly also added Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers at No. 54.
Atlanta Falcons hamstrung by 2025 trade
The Falcons paid the bill on the James Pearce Jr. trade-up from last year. New GM Ian Cunningham, coach Kevin Stefanski and president Matt Ryan walked in with just five picks and nothing until No. 48. They still managed to add Clemson corner Avieon Terrell, brother of incumbent A.J. Terrell Jr., plus Georgia receiver Zachariah Branch (4.35 40-yard dash) in Round 3. Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter, Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II, Texas A&M CB Will Lee III, and Kansas State C Sam Hecht filled out the class.
Pittsburgh Steelers swing big and miss
The host city's team had a brutal weekend. After Mike Tomlin stepped down following a 30-6 wild-card loss to Houston, Pittsburgh wanted Makai Lemon but got jumped by Philly. They settled for Arizona State tackle Max Iheanachor at No. 21, traded from No. 53 to No. 47 for Alabama receiver Germie Bernard, and used a Round 3 pick on Penn State quarterback Drew Allar as Aaron Rodgers continues to dawdle. LSU's Garrett Nussmeier landed at No. 249 via trade with Kansas City.
Los Angeles Rams shake the league with a QB reach
Les Snead's pick of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at No. 13 was the gutsiest call of the draft. Simpson was widely projected as a second-rounder, and the Seahawks held a third-round grade on him. The Rams, coming off an NFC Championship loss to Seattle with reigning MVP Matthew Stafford still under center at 38, passed on Lemon, Concepcion and Cooper Jr. Snead reportedly told Simpson back in December that his floor was the first round. Miami offered $5 million, then $6.5 million in NIL money for him to return; Simpson is 6-foot-1, under 200 pounds, dealt with elbow bursitis, gastritis, a lower back issue, and a cracked rib in 2025, and only started 15 college games. Mel Kiper Jr. called the Rams' class "very questionable."
Tennessee Titans shock the world early
New head coach Robert Saleh torched mock drafts at No. 4 by taking Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate over edge rusher Arvell Reese (who went to the Giants at No. 5) and linebacker Sonny Styles (No. 7 to Washington). Tate projected as Ohio State's WR2 but now needs to be Tennessee's WR1 on a roster without much around him. The Titans then traded back into Round 1 at No. 31 for Auburn edge rusher Keldric Faulk despite modest college sack production.
Miami Dolphins back their new regime
Miami collected two fifth-rounders from Dallas in the Downs trade, then locked in Alabama tackle Kadyn Proctor (6-foot-7, 352 pounds) at No. 12 to protect new QB Malik Willis. The Dolphins closed Round 1 by picking San Diego State corner Chris Johnson at No. 27, and added Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez at No. 43.
The big-picture takeaways from Pittsburgh
Quarterbacks went No. 1 for the fourth straight year, yet only two QBs went in Round 1 with Drew Allar sliding to Round 3. Eight trades happened on Day 1 alone. No running back went in Round 2 for the first time in over 20 years. Buffalo's Red Murdock earned Mr. Irrelevant honors at No. 259 to Denver. The Saints drafted Trey Lance's brother Bryce. The Browns added another quarterback in Taylen Green. And the Raiders ended Tennessee corner Jermod McCoy's slide in Round 4. Three days, 257 names, 32 philosophies on display.
