The NFL Draft has been my favorite offseason event since I was a little kid, and still is. It’s fascinating to see how the players we follow for years in college football get evaluated and then watch where they end up in the NFL. So even though there was no intrigue about who the first pick in this year’s draft was going to be, the 2026 NFL Draft was still an interesting three-day roller coaster. Here are my biggest takeaways.
1. A lot to feel good about in Cleveland
Life has been rough for Cleveland Browns fans for what feels like the last four or five decades, but I really liked the team’s draft. The Browns got a very polished, smooth, athletic offensive tackle in Spencer Fano with the No. 9 pick, and they took arguably the most dynamic wideout in the draft at No. 24 in KC Concepcion. He’s a walking highlight reel who also will give the return game a jolt. It’ll be fun to see how Todd Monken uses him in his offense.
Getting Washington’s rangy Denzel Boston at No. 39 also was nice. He’s a big target with speed. A bonus: His former coaches think he can be a Pro Bowl gunner on special teams. They got a good value in Alabama center Parker Brailsford in the fifth round. He’s strong and very quick but a little undersized. Taking QB Taylen Green, a spectacular athlete, in the sixth round, is a good bet. He may never start an NFL game at quarterback, but with his size and athleticism at almost 6-foot-6, 230 with 4.36 speed and a 43 1/2-inch vertical, Green could eventually become a big weapon as a receiver. My favorite pick of their draft was landing Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at No. 58.
“He could be really special, and the other thing about him is he can take the ball away,” an NFL DB coach told me earlier this month. “He’s got long arms. He knows when to punch it; he has the range in the deep part of the field. His instincts are good. He’s a smooth mover. He’s a solid tackler. You don’t see him in one-on-one coverage much, but with his size and length, I think he could cover tight ends fine.”
2. The Raiders’ Day 3 gamble
While all eyes will be on the Raiders’ first pick, Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, I’m almost as curious to keep an eye on their first pick at the top of the draft’s third day: Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy. The 6-0 3/4, 192-pound McCoy, who ran a 4.4 40 and broad jumped 10-7 at his pro day, had four INTs as a sophomore in 2024 but missed all of last season with a knee injury. Concerns about his knee are why he didn’t go in the first round.
“From what I’ve been hearing, the knee doesn’t sound good,” an NFL DB coach told me last week. “I’ve got a hard time in two phases. One: It sounds like the knee is worse than what people thought, and two, if it isn’t as bad as what people think, then he probably didn’t come back as soon as he could’ve. But from a traits standpoint, he’s what you’re hunting. He should be the top guy off the ’24 tape. He’s long, has ball skills, he plays with vision, he reacts and responds well with what he sees, he has good top-end speed, and it’s not just long speed. He has quickness and really good change-of-direction ability. He’s like a fish in water. He’s such a fluid mover.”
This is a gamble whose potential payoff is too rich not to roll the dice. Getting McCoy in addition to one of my favorite players in this draft, Arizona DB Treydan Stukes in the second round, is great value.
3. The Giants’ first-round luck
Arvell Reese falling to the Giants at No. 5 was very fortunate for new coach John Harbaugh. If I were a Giants fan, I’d be over the moon about that development. Reese is a special talent who could be a Pro Bowler as an off-ball linebacker or an edge rusher. He goes to a team that should terrorize opposing QBs on third downs with Brian Burns, last year’s first-rounder Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux, a 2022 first-rounder. That is a lot of juice.
Reese is still very raw as a rusher, but he’s such an explosive and violent player, and should be a great chess piece for this defense. I also liked the G-men snagging BYU’s speedy linebacker Jack Kelly with the 193rd pick.
4. Late-round love
I loved the Dillon Thieneman pick for the Bears at No. 25. I was very surprised he didn’t go earlier.
“I would take Thieneman over Downs,” an NFL DB coach told me this month. “Thieneman is one of the more versatile safeties I’ve seen come out in the last few years. I feel good about him in the deep part of the field, about him in and around the box and about him in coverage, especially from a safeties standpoint. I loved the movement skills from him at the combine. He looked really fluid and loose. There’s a lot to like with him.”
Chicago also made a wise pick getting Georgia Tech DT Jordan van den Berg, a native of South Africa, at No. 213 in the sixth round. He’s 6-3, 310, ran a 4.9 40 with a blazing 1.61 10-yard split. He also had a 4.19 shuttle time and a 36-inch vertical.
5. The Buccaneers’ great gets
The Bucs also had one of the better drafts. First-round edge Rueben Bain was arguably the most dominant defensive player in college football last year. He fell to the middle of the first round because his arms are an inch shorter than most teams are comfortable with at that position. Missouri LB Josiah Trotter in the second round should pile up tackles for Tampa. Third-rounder Ted Hurst from Georgia State is the steal of this class for a team that needs a young playmaker outside.
“I love Ted Hurst,” an NFL receiver coach told me of the 6-3-plus 206-pounder with 4.42 speed and an 11-3 broad jump. “I would say he’s the biggest sleeper in the draft, but he blew up like a month ago.”
Tampa also got Miami nickel Keionte Scott in the fourth round. His age was an issue — he’s almost 25 — and his gambling play style also probably scared some teams, but the guy is a playmaker, especially close to the ball. At 5-11, 191, he ran a 4.33 at Miami’s pro day after making a ton of huge plays last season. He was also the subject of my favorite quote in this year’s draft confidential piece:
“He could grade out as the lowest defensive back for a game and end up winning Defensive Player of the Week for the NFL,” an NFL DB coach said. “He is the kind of guy who guesses his way into two picks and returns one to the house, but also gets scorched for the rest of the game. He is a feast-or-famine type player. He’s a really good zone nickel and blitzes like a demon. He reminds me of Mike Hilton if Mike Hilton couldn’t play any man coverage early in his career.”
6. The Eagles get the biggest Freak
The Eagles selected the most interesting man in the entire draft when they used the No. 251 pick on Uar Bernard from Nigeria. He’s the biggest Freak in the draft, but he’s never played a down of football. At 6-4 1/2, 306 pounds, Bernard is ridiculously chiseled for a defensive tackle prospect. Earlier this month at the NFL’s HBCU showcase, he vertical jumped 39 inches and broad jumped 10-10 — a whopping 14 inches more than any other defensive tackle did at this year’s combine. He also ran a 4.63 40.
“Hands down, he is the most explosive athlete I’ve ever seen in my life,” Jordan Luallen, a guy who has trained many elite athletes for the NFL Draft, told me.
In the two months Luallen trained Bernard, his broad jump improved by 18 inches, his vertical went up 7 inches and he gained 11 pounds. Bernard is also extremely raw. As impressive as he is running the 40 and soaring in the air, he doesn’t move like a smooth athlete, and learning the nuances of playing high-level football in the trenches is going to take years.
Like Eagles star O-lineman Jordan Mailata, Bernard is a product of the NFL’s International Pathway Program. Another Freaky athlete from the IPP program is Kenyan rugby player Joshua Weru, who Eagles GM Howie Roseman also added after the draft. Weru, at 6-4, 244, ran a 4.45 40 with a 41-inch vertical and an 11-2 broad jump.
7. The Dolphins were shrewd
Jeff Hafley’s regime at Miami got off to a good start, and the Dolphins made some very shrewd defensive picks. I love the addition of Pitt LB Kyle Louis, who Miami ended up plucking at No. 138. He’s a great coverage linebacker who can make plays all over the field. That followed taking Texas Tech star LB Jacob Rodriguez in the second round. Both guys are super instinctive and have a knack for being around the ball.
Landing former Louisville star Chris Bell in the third round at N0. 94 was a steal. He could be a special weapon at 6-2, 220-plus with home run speed. He tore his ACL late in the 2025 season.
“If he was 100 percent healthy, he probably would’ve shown just a little something, combine, pro day, where it might’ve put you over the top—like hey, this guy might be a first-rounder, an NFL WR coach said. “He’s really physical and has impressive run after the catch. He needs to develop his routes. Guys who are really good with the ball in their hands are usually small. He’s not. He’s 220-plus and he’s fast. I think he’s a legit 4.4 guy. Just watch that Miami game. He caught two shallow crosses and went around the friggin’ corner and they didn’t touch him. And they got friggin’ dudes on that defense, he ran all the way around the backside, and they didn’t even put a finger on him.”
8. Late-round love
Late-round RB who at some point in the next two or three years will be a terrific all-around weapon? Vikings sixth-rounder Demond Claiborne from Wake Forest. He’s not big, but he’s a 4.37 40-guy who is going to be very productive in Kevin O’Connell’s offense running and catching the ball.
9. Which of the Jaguars’ TEs will blossom?
The Jags took two tight ends in the draft for Trevor Lawrence. It’s the second one I think will be the steal. Rangy Tanner Koziol from Houston, 164th overall, was picked after the Jags got Texas A&M’s Nate Boerkircher in the second round. The hunch is that you’ll hear a lot about him down the road after you hear that your kid picked Koziol on his fantasy team and he starts racking up points.
10. Mostly good for the Steelers
I was very surprised to see the Steelers pick Penn State’s Drew Allar as high as they did with the No. 76 pick. He definitely has the tools that catch your eye, but as one NFL personnel director told us: “He has a ton of real traits, but he’s just not a killer. I actually think he’s a really good processor, but I think it’s performance anxiety. It’s like in basketball: He’s the guy in the layup line, and you think, Oh, that guy’s gonna be good. But then you get into the game and he disappears.”
But I really liked them adding Iowa OL Gennings Dunker at No. 96. He’ll be a fan favorite and grind his way into the lineup before too long. OU safety Robert Spears-Jennings at No. 224 also felt like a good get. He’s a dynamic athlete and should help in the secondary and on special teams. Former Navy star Eli Heidenreich at No. 230 also looks like a steal. He’s an explosive athlete with the ball in his hands.
11. Miami’s incredible run of linemen
It took Mario Cristobal four seasons to get his alma mater back into the national title game. The biggest difference these days in the Canes has been how much bigger and tougher they are in the trenches, and that was evident in UM producing three first-round linemen this year. Miami had six players taken among the first 98 picks and nine selected overall. They had only five go in the top 98 in the previous seven years combined. The Canes also matched their number of total first-rounders (3) over that seven-year stretch in this draft.
12. Derrick Moore is a Dan Campbell type
The Lions selected another Michigan edge rusher this year in the top 50. A few years back, they picked Aidan Hutchinson early in the first round and that has paid off. This time, they got Moore at No. 44. He feels like a Campbell kind of guy, and Detroit has to replace Al-Quadin Muhammad, who left for Tampa in free agency. An NFL D-line coach told Moore he reminds him of Jonah Elliss, who had five sacks in his debut season in Denver and made the league’s All-Rookie team in 2024. “He’s so physical. He wants all the smooth. He can be a sam backer in a 3-4. In a 4-3, he’ll set edges and will bang heads all day.”
13. The Falcons’ intriguing sixth-rounder
That’s LSU’s Harold Perkins. He had a really up-and-down career in Baton Rouge. As a freshman, he broke out in a hurry and was hell on rival offenses. LSU used him as a spy and sub-rusher. He was undersized, but his closing speed was downright scary. Then, the Tigers staff tried moving him around in different roles, and his college career fizzled.
Coaches I spoke to this month see him as a positionless player but think he could make an impact on third downs, and at the price of a sixth-rounder, that seems pretty good.
14. Lots of compelling ‘trend’ notes this year
The one that most caught my eye was that this was the first draft in 47 years that did not see an FCS player selected in the first three rounds. But there were plenty of small-school products who went in the first three rounds, and it highlights the impact the transfer portal has made across college football: LB Jake Golday, who played at Cincinnati but began his career at Central Arkansas, went No. 51 to the Vikings; WR Ted Hurst, who played at Georgia State but began his career at Valdosta State, went No. 84 to the Bucs; and OL Keagen Trost, who finished at Missouri after stints at two FCS programs, went No. 93 to the Rams.
15. Yikes, Dabo Swinney
Only three programs had more talented players in this year’s draft than Clemson did: Ohio State (11), Alabama (10) and Texas A&M (10). The Tigers had nine guys taken. That’s two more players than games they won in 2025. And it wasn’t like they just had a bunch of late-round picks: The Tigers had two first-rounders and set a program record with five guys going in the first three rounds. Oof.
16. The 2022 signing class for Arizona should go down in Wildcats lore
Especially considering the Wildcats were coming off a 1-16 stretch as first-time head coach Jedd Fisch was trying to overhaul a Wildcats program that had fallen apart. The class was ranked No. 25 at the time, which was noteworthy considering how dismal the program was at the time. The headliner was Tetairoa McMillan, who quickly emerged as a star and left as a first-rounder. Jonah Savaiinaea, a three-star O-lineman from Hawaii, went in the second round to the Dolphins last year. The rest of the class has blossomed nicely, too. Over the weekend, rangy DBs Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock were picked in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. RB Jonah Coleman was taken in the fourth round. That doesn’t even include several other good players who are still in college, including QB Noah Fifita, who will go down as one of the most productive quarterbacks in school history.
17. A late Freak
Smiled when I saw that the Bills took Penn State DT Zane Durant, a multiyear Freaks List guy, with the No. 181 pick. Durant is undersized at 6-1, 290 pounds, but ran a 4.75 40 at the combine. “He’s super athletic,” an NFL D-line coach told me this month. “But I think he’s too small and has a small frame. He’ll probably go to Canada and kill it.”
Buffalo isn’t quite Canada, but it’s really close. Maybe Durant will kill it in Buffalo.
