After 257 picks, the 2026 NFL Draft is officially in the books.
The draft started on Thursday with the Raiders making the most predictable pick of all time (Fernando Mendoza), but that was about the only predictable thing that happened over the three-day event. The Rams stunned everyone by taking a quarterback at 13th overall (Ty Simpson) in a wild first round that also saw the Eagles steal a player from the Steelers at a draft that was being held in Pittsburgh. Yup, the Steelers got robbed in their own city.
Makai Lemon was on the phone with the Steelers... until the @Eagles swooped in and traded up to get him 👀(via @nflnetwork) pic.twitter.com/oLI0T2yCZH
The Eagles made our winners list on Thursday for making that move, and now, we're back with our final batch of winners and losers for the draft, so let's get to the list.
Jets fans haven't had much to cheer about over the past few years, but they had plenty to cheer about during the draft. The Jets are essentially in the middle of a total reset this offseason and they used the draft to start building a foundation for what could soon be a very successful team.
At second overall, they drafted pass rusher David Bailey, who will be joining a defense in New York that could have seven or MORE new starters this year. This offseason alone, the Jets have added David Onyemata, T'Vondre Sweat, Demario Davis, Joseph Ossai, Nahshon Wright and Minkah Fitzpatrick. On top of that, they used a second-round pick on cornerback D'Angelo Ponds, who could also make his way into the starting lineup.
The biggest question mark in New York right now is at quarterback. The Jets will be relying on Geno Smith to carry them this year and they did everything they could to help in the draft. With their two first-round picks AFTER Bailey, they grabbed the top tight end in the draft (Kenyon Sadiq) and one of the top receivers (Omar Cooper Jr.). And if Smith doesn't work out, the Jets also took a flyer on Clemson QB Cade Klubnik in the fourth round, which is a low-risk move at quarterback that could come with a high reward if Klubnik pans out.
This team might not quite be ready to make the playoffs, but for the first time in a long time, Jets fans should be feeling good about the direction of the organization.
The Jets and Giants should get together to throw a party at MetLife Stadium this week because, for the first time in forever, both teams crushed it in the draft. We already went over what the Jets accomplished, so let's take a look at what the Giants did. In his first draft with Giants, John Harbaugh took the first step into molding New York into the team he had in Baltimore, and that makes sense, because the Ravens made it to the playoffs in 12 of Harbaugh's 18 seasons with the team.
For the Giants, the draft started with Arvell Reese falling into their lap at fifth overall. Reese was widely expected to be a top-three pick, but he dropped to the Giants, and now, he'll be joining a suddenly scary defense in New York that also includes Abdul Carter, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux (There had been some speculation that Thibodeaux might be traded, but it looks like he'll be sticking around). In the second round, the Giants added another likely defensive starter in Colton Hood, who could form a formidable cornerback tandem with Paulson Adebo.
That's just their defense. The Giants also upgraded on offense and that started with at 10th overall, a pick they got from the Bengals after sending Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati. The Giants used the 10th pick on Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, a player who could soon become a long-term anchor on their line. When you have a young quarterback, you want to do everything you can to help him and adding a mammoth offensive lineman checks that box. The Giants also helped out Jaxson Dart by taking Notre Dame receiver Malachi Fields in the third round. With Malik Nabers on the roster, Fields doesn't need to be a No.1 receiver, but if he can develop into a strong No. 2 receiver, that would bode well for New York's offense.
When you think of the Chiefs, you usually think of Patrick Mahomes and the offense, but this team is apparently planning to forge a new identity in 2026. Instead of bringing in help for Mahomes during the early portion of the draft, the Chiefs used their first FOUR picks on defensive players.
Round 1, Pick 6: CB Mansoor DelaneRound 1, Pick 29: DL Peter WoodsRound 2, Pick 40: EDGE R Mason ThomasRound 4, Pick 109: CB Jadon Canady
With Mahomes coming off a torn ACL, he may not be quite at 100% when the season starts and there's a good chance that the Chiefs are going to need their defense to step up, especially early in the year. The Chiefs' defense wasn't great last year, but Spagnuolo has proven that he's one of the top defensive minds in the NFL and the draft must have felt like Christmas for him, because Kansas City's front office just handed him four presents.
The Chiefs were the only team in the draft this year to use each of their first four picks on defense.
The Browns have made some bad decisions over the years, but if there's one situation where this front office almost always seems to shine in recent years, it's in the draft. The Browns kept busy during all three days of the draft: They made six trades in the first five rounds and they did a solid job of cashing in on their picks after making those trades.
The deals started in the first round when they traded down from sixth to ninth in a deal with the Chiefs that ended with Cleveland taking offensive tackle Spencer Fano. The Browns then pulled off a historical double by taking a receivers with their next two picks (KC Concepcion at 24 and Denzel Boston at 39). Those two picks made the Browns the first team in 30 years to take two receivers in the top 40.
Including Fano, they ended up taking three offensive linemen with their first six picks, which was a much-needed move for a team that will be going into 2026 with a totally revamped line. All of this comes one year after the Browns drafted Carson Schwesinger, who was voted the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2025. This feels like the second straight year where the Browns have hit a home run in the draft, but it remains to be seen if the smart moves will actually translate into wins on the field.
The NFL turned the draft into a traveling road show back in 2015, and so far, that plan has been a home run. The draft ended up being a smash in Pittsburgh with 805,000 fans at the three-day event, which set the all-time record for draft attendance. The total in the Steel City topped the previous record of 775,000, which was set during the 2024 draft in Detroit.
What does it look like when you have that many people in one place? Glad you asked.