The 2026 NFL Draft is over. The picks are in. The hats have been put on, the jerseys have been held up, and the phone calls and handshakes are already being cut into highlight packages. And when the final tally came in it was nine Miami Hurricanes selected across three days in Pittsburgh, an indication of a program headed very much in the right direction, if not already there.
It was not the record-breaking twelve that optimists had dreamed about or the ten-plus that would have been the most out of Miami since the 2002 class. But nine stamps Mario Cristobal’s rebuild with the most emphatic possible seal of approval – one year after QB Cam Ward went first overall and months after a national championship appearance where next year’s expectations are even higher. Even though it remained in single digits, this is the most Canes drafted since the 2004 class which also had nine. When players commit to Miami, or any school, the draft placement is always a key indicator and this number nine represents the clearest, loudest statement yet that The U isn’t coming back, but it is back.
Miami had three first-round draft picks on Thursday night: Rueben Bain Jr., Francis Mauigoa and Akheem Mesidor. It was the first time UM had three first-rounders since 2007. https://t.co/cMiFFOB8c4
— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) April 24, 2026
Cristobal came to Miami promising to build in the trenches, recruit with purpose, and produce the kind of draft class that makes NFL teams cross the country for visits and makes recruits look at Coral Gables differently. He has done just that. And nine picks – including three in the first round, five on defense, three offensive linemen, and a quarterback who immediately enters a starting competition – is the proof.
No. 10 – Francis Mauigoa, OT (New York Giants) — Round 1
No. 15 – Rueben Bain Jr., DE (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) — Round 1
No. 22 – Akheem Mesidor, EDGE (Los Angeles Chargers) — Round 1
No. 65 – Carson Beck, QB (Arizona Cardinals) — Round 3
No. 68 – Markel Bell, OT (Philadelphia Eagles) — Round 3
No. 98 – Jakobe Thomas, S (Minnesota Vikings) — Round 3
No. 116 – Keionte Scott, CB/S (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) — Round 4
No. 188 – Anez Cooper, OG (New York Jets) — Round 6
No. 197 – CJ Daniels, WR (Los Angeles Rams) — Round 6
Thursday’s first round set the tone fast and set it loud.
OT Francis Mauigoa went 10th overall to the New York Giants, the second offensive lineman off the board just behind Spencer Fano, and the highest-drafted Miami offensive lineman since Ereck Flowers went ninth overall to the Giants in 2015. Then, at No. 15, DE Rueben Bain Jr. landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – a pick that touched off a story that only gets better the more you pull at the thread. And at No. 22, EDGE Akheem Mesidor was called by the Los Angeles Chargers to give Miami three defensive players or offensive linemen in the first round for the first time since 2002.
The Mauigoa-Bain tandem going in the top 15 was proof of the trench work put in by Cristobal. The OL/DL pair from the same school to go inside the top 15 of the same draft is an impressive feat marking one of the most dominant two-player statements a single program made in this draft. For a program where Cristobal preached trench dominance from his very first press conference, there is no more fitting punctuation. This is even better because Mauigoa and Bain were recruited together to Miami and grew naturally with Cristobal.
The NFL Draft calls are coming out and Rueben Bain Jr.’s is incredible pic.twitter.com/vEbhJJLcbe
Then there’s Bain and Mesidor together. At No. 15 and No. 22 respectively, they became the first pair of defensive ends from the same school to both be selected in the first round since – wait for it – Miami’s own Jaelan Phillips (No. 18) and Gregory Rousseau (No. 30) in 2021. And critically, Bain and Mesidor went earlier than Phillips and Rousseau did, making them the highest-drafted Miami DE tandem in program history. Before that 2021 Miami pair, the previous time it had happened anywhere was NC State’s Mario Williams (No. 1) and Manny Lawson (No. 22) in 2006, coached by former Miami coach Manny Diaz. It has now happened twice in five years at Miami. Both times under a defensive staff that understood how to develop pass rushers. Both times sending a message to every recruit in the country watching the first round.
Of all the storylines to unspool over three days in Pittsburgh, none lands quite like this one.