2026 NFL Draft-1st Round Reaction
I have some thoughts about how the first round of the draft went; I thought I’d share them. I mentioned it many times last night to many people, it felt like this draft was drunk. It was just stumbling around and incoherently mumbling from pick three on.
The first two picks were pretty clear. QB Fernando Mendoza and Edge David Bailey made perfect sense for the Raiders and Jets, well done.
In the last week there were reports of the Arizona Cardinals looking at taking RB Jeremiyah Love, an understandable rumor if you’re trying to drum up interest for someone to trade up. Instead, a bad organization made a bad move and actually took Love. Jeremiyah Love is arguably the best player in the draft but now he’s going to go to waist on a team that doesn’t have QB, has a suspect offensive line, and has Tyler Allgier, James Connor, Trey Benson and Bam Knight already on the roster. Bad organizations stay bad because they do things like this. This seems like an ownership decision hoping to sell tickets with a big-name college player they can put on posters, that’s not how you win in the NFL.
The Titans pulled the next stunner by taking WR Carnell Tate fourth overall. I like Tate as a player; I just don’t see him as a guy you take this high in the draft. He’ll be a good pro, I’m just not sure he’ll ever reach the level you want from a guy you take this high at WR.
The Giants weren’t expecting LB Arvell Reese to fall to five, but they couldn’t pass him up, he’s way too good. They don’t really need him with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Keyvon Thibodeaux already on the defense but Reese was too much value. This probably means Thibodeaux is on the trading block, someone from New England should give the Giants a call.
The Chiefs were the team to make the move up with the trade from nine to six with the Browns (the Browns are collecting draft picks like Pokémon cards). They didn’t move up for an edge rusher, they took CB Mansoor Delane. Delane is a perfect scheme fit for Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, and they certainly had a hole to fill. So much for them counting on mid-round CBs to fill the need, they got aggressive, it’s a good move.
Dan Quinn thanks the football gods for dropping a football god right in his lap. Sonny Styles is an athletic freak who actually plays with the type of LB instincts you want. They desperately needed a guy to take over the defense from Bobby Wagner and Styles is a great player to do that.
The Saints stood pat at number eight and took a shot at greatness. WR Jordyn Tyson has some big injury concerns to overcome but he’s a truly impressive talent. If he’s healthy, he and Chris Olave are going to be a problem.
The Browns traded down to nine and took Spencer Fano. I have questions about this pick. They need a LT and Fano hasn’t played LT for a couple of years and only played it one year at Utah. He doesn’t have ideal length and he’s a very slight player. I’m not saying he can’t do it but it’s a question.
The Giants used the tenth pick to take OL Francis Mauigoa, he’s going to start at RG until they need him at RT, solid choice.
The Cowboys moved up one spot to make sure no one gave Miami a better deal so they could secure S Caleb Downs. Downs is a game changer for that defense. Great move.
The Dolphins move down one spot and take OT Kadyn Proctor, yikes. Proctor’s former coach Nick Saban said it best, he’s not a self-starter. He’s likely moving positions as the team has Patrick Paul at LT. Do they move Proctor to RG, the obvious hole on the line, or to RT to replace Austin Jackson. Either one puts Proctor under some pressure to adapt, I’m not sure that’s going to be a good thing for him. This feels like the moment in the Marvel Universe where Dr. Strange tells Tony Stark there’s a 1 in 14 million chance of it working.
I said this draft was drunk and the Rams were doing Jagerbombs all night. They took QB Ty Simpson to be Matthew Stafford’s heir apparent. Go watch the Rams post draft presser, Sean McVay looked very unhappy. When I say “they” took Ty Simpson, seems like GM Les Snead was “they” in this situation. A team that was very close going to the Super Bowl who doesn’t usually pick this high taking a backup QB (maybe 3rd string if he can’t beat out Stetson Bennett), strange choice. McVay could turn Simpson into an NFL QB but if he’s not on board with the pick, that’s tough for Simpson.
We got a couple of no brainer picks. The Ravens took OG Vega Ioane, of course they did. Then the Bucs rejoiced because they desperately need pass rush help and Rueben Bain Jr. fell all the way to 15. He may not be an obvious fit in the scheme, but Todd Bowles better figure out how to use him, he might just save his job.
The Jets took TE Kenyon Sadiq, I should have seen that coming. New OC Declan Doyle wants to run two-TE sets, now he can. The Lions are moving Penei Sewell to LT and so they took the RT equivalent of Taylor Decker, Blake Miller. Steady, experienced, and thoroughly unspectacular, good choice.
The Vikings are shooting for the moon with DT Caleb Banks. From a talent standpoint he’s a top ten player in this draft. He also happens to be 6’6 330 lbs. and has multiple broken bones in his left foot. If he’s healthy, he has All-Pro potential, there’s just as good of a chance he plays 15 games in the next three years, and they are declining his fifth-year option and drafting another DT.
The Panthers are thinking long-term, not a bad idea. Their starting LT from last season tore his patellar tendon and might not play this season, which is his last on his contract. They signed Rasheed Walker to be the stopgap, but his is a one-year deal. LT Monroe Freeling would be best served if he doesn’t have to play right away. Freeling sits for a year and then in 2027, he’s the starting LT.
The Eagles traded with the Cowboys to move up and snake the Pittsburgh Steelers and drafted Makai Lemon while the Steelers were on the phone with him. He’s headed to Philly to be part of the revamped WR corps that is assuredly losing AJ Brown on June 1.
The Steelers had to quickly pivot off Lemon and for some reason they didn’t just pivot to KC Concepcion, instead they took RT Max Iheanachor. Iheanachor is pretty raw, but LT Broderick Jones has been a disappointment and has a neck injury. Iheanachor isn’t playing LT, but Troy Fautanu played LT in college and he can slide over to the left side and Iheanachor can play the right side.
The Chargers stayed put and took Edge Ahkeem Mesidor. They need an edge rusher and Mesidor will hit the ground running. He’s already 25 but they are ready to win now.
The Cowboys moved down and still got the edge rusher they like, Malachi Lawrence from UCF. He’s unpolished and for now, probably just a designated pass rusher, but that works for this team, they have starters, Rashan Gary and Sam Williams can play the early downs.
The Browns took WR KC Concepcion. He’s immediately the best WR on the roster and he’ll be really happy in 2027 when they finally get a QB. 2026 is not going to be great, although they could target him 150 times this season.
The Bears are the luckiest team at the end of this round. Not only did their division rival Vikings take a DT with a bad foot but they passed on a really good safety. What did the Bears need? A really good safety. They let all their safeties go and the only guy they brought in was Coby Bryant. Dillon Thieneman is a playmaker in the secondary. Also, some good edge rushers fell to round two, they can still make a move there.
When I said the draft was drunk the last ten picks were like everyone at the end of the night at the bar looking for someone to go home with. Of the last 10 picks, 8 of them were traded, some of them multiple times. Everybody was dancing with everybody and just grabbed someone when the music stopped. There were six picks in a row traded, 25-31, including the Bills and 49ers both trading down multiple times and out of round one completely.
The Texans took OG/C Keylan Rutledge, he either beats out Jake Andrews at center or he’s Wyatt Teller’s eventual replacement at LG.
The Dolphins moved up to get CB Chris Johnson. He’s a Jeff Hafley kind of guy and only the second CB taken in the draft, there’s going to be a run on CB in round two.
The Patriots moved up to take OT Caleb Lomu. He was the last of the top OT prospects and Patriots needed some help. They have 35-year-old Morgan Moses at RT and when Will Campbell went down last season, they didn’t have much behind him. Lomu gives them depth and he will eventually be the RT, it might even happen this season.
The Chiefs taking DT Peter Woods is pretty amazing. Woods is a smaller, attacking DT who will give them someone other than Chris Jones to rush from the inside. They signed Khyiris Tonga to be the big run-stuffer in the middle, Woods is the penetrating DT next to him.
The Jets jumped back into the round to grab WR Omar Cooper Jr. That gives them three first-round picks. Cooper is a really good player who will make life easier for Geno Smith. I’m obviously not a Jets fan but I will feel bad if the Jets curse ruins the careers of David Bailey, Kenyon Sadiq, and Omar Cooper Jr., I like those players.
The Titans decided to do the same and jumped back in to get DE Keldric Faulk. Of course they did, Robert Saleh had to get his defensive end. Faulk is an excellent run defender and is a very nice complement opposite Jermaine Johnson.
The one team that desperately wanted to trade out of round one was the Seahawks but after so many trades, there was no one left to go home with at the end of the night. They took RB Jadarian Price. He fills a huge hole where Kenneth Walker III used to be but this feels too high for Price. He’s never been a lead back; he was Jeremiyah Love’s backup at Notre Dame. When you’ve just won the Super Bowl, you get a pass, but this could be much like the Chiefs taking Clyde Edwards-Helaire a few years ago. That wasn’t a good pick.
Round 2 Thoughts
There are some very good players still on the board. CB Jermod McCoy has fallen and it’s all because of his knee injury. Apparently running his blazing 40 at his workout didn’t answer questions and teams are scared of his injury. If he can overcome it, he’s going to be the steal of this draft.
There’s going to be a run on CBs at some point. McCoy, Avieon Terrell, Colton Hood, and Brandon Cisse were all guys with round one potential at one point.
The defensive tackle and edge rush group is still quite deep. DTs Kayden McDonal and Christen Miller should go pretty quickly. TJ Parker, Zion Young, Cashius Howell, and Gabe Jacas are still left at edge.
S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren fell to round two as I thought he might. He had a good year and he’s a good prospect, but he’s got some flaws. He’s going to be a good pick for someone, but they need to use him right.
The OT class got picked pretty clean so if you want an offensive lineman you’ll have to settle for a guard. There are good guards left, Chase Bisontis, Gennings Dunker, and Emmanuel Pregnon are all immediate starters for a team in need.
The LB group is also deep since only Sonny Styles went as an off-ball LB in round one. CJ Allen, Jacob Rodriguez, Anthony Hill Jr., Jake Golday, and Josiah Trotter could all be second round picks.
The last guy I can’t believe fell to round two is WR Denzel Boston. He’s a potential WR1 and he’s going to go very early.
The top of the second round got shuffled a bit with San Francisco ending up with the first pick of round two (33) and the Bills with the third pick (35). That means two playoff teams from last season who want to compete are looking for the best value here. If San Francisco doesn’t want Denzel Boston, they should be shopping this pick to the highest bidder.
Let’s see if the drunken party that was last night’s round one has a hangover in round two or if the party continues. Day two is always my favorite, enjoy the ride.
The Hott Read 