The 2026 NFL Draft: See the full list of first-round picks

The 2026 NFL Draft kicked off Thursday night in Pittsburgh with a quarterback being taken No. 1 overall for the fourth straight year. 

The Las Vegas Raiders, as was widely expected, selected QB Fernando Mendoza, who capped his stellar Heisman season by leading Indiana to its first national title in school history. 

The choice of Mendoza marks an attempt by Raiders minority owner Tom Brady — the legendary QB who won a staggering seven Super Bowl rings — to mentor an heir apparent of sorts, giving Las Vegas a clean slate as it enters a major rebuild following the disappointing one-and-done tenures of head coach Pete Carrol and QB Geno Smith. 

A major unknown heading into Thursday was the fate of powerful Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, arguably the draft's best athlete. That question was quickly answered when he heard his name called by the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3 overall. 

With the position no longer considered premium, it is often overlooked at the top of the first round. Love was the first running back taken in the top 3 since the Cleveland Browns selected Trent Richardson at No. 3 in 2012. He is just the fourth running back since 2018 to be selected in the top 10. 

The only other running back selected in Round 1 happened to be Love's backfield teammate at Notre Dame, Jadarian Price, who was taken by the defending champion Seattle Seahawks with the 32nd and final pick of the night. Price will help replace Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, who departed Seattle this offseason to sign a lucrative deal with the Chiefs.  

Maybe the biggest shocker was the Los Angeles Rams selection of QB Ty Simpson at No. 13, indicating that the Rams have tapped their successor to veteran QB Matthew Stafford, who is currently in extension talks with the team. 

Ohio State, flexing its credentials as a football powerhouse, was responsible for four of the top 11 selections; wide receiver Carnell Tate was taken by the Tennessee Titans at No. 4; edge Arvell Reese was selected by the Giants at No. 5; linebacker Sonny Styles was picked by the Washington Commanders at No. 7; and the Dallas Cowboys traded up one pick with the Miami Dolphins to nab safety Caleb Downs at No. 11. 

Miami edge Rueben Bain Jr., who had been projected to go in the top 10, fell all the way to the Baltimore Ravens at No. 15. A report earlier this month found that Bain was involved in a deadly 2024 car crash in Florida in which he was cited for careless driving, but was not criminally charged.    

Teams had been expected to focus their early attention on the trenches in a draft experts concur is lacking in blue chippers. But in a surprise, two wide receivers were selected early: Tate at No. 4 and Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson at No. 8 by the New Orleans Saints.   

The Kansas City Chiefs conducted the first big draft day trade: moving up from No. 9 to No. 6 to take LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane in a swap with the Browns.  

The New York Giants, who finished with just four wins last year and are hoping for a reset under new head coach John Harbaugh, had two top 10 selections thanks to a blockbuster trade last week in which they acquired the No. 10 pick from the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for disgruntled star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Along with Reese at No. 5, they used their No. 10 pick on offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa of Miami.

The Buffalo Bills, who entered the draft with the No. 26 pick, traded back three times to accrue significant day 2 and day 3 assets, ending the night without a first round selection. 

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the opening night of the draft drew an estimated 320,000 people to Acrisure Stadium, a record. 

2026 NFL Draft order and picks for Round 1

• No. 1: Las Vegas Raiders — QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

• No. 2: New York Jets — Edge David Bailey, Texas Tech

• No. 3:  Arizona Cardinals — RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame

• No. 4: Tennessee Titans — WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State

• No. 5: New York Giants — edge Arvell Reese, Ohio State

• No. 6: Kansas City Chiefs (trade up with Cleveland Browns) — CB Mansoor Delane, LSU

• No. 7: Washington Commanders — LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State

• No. 8: New Orleans Saints — WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State

• No. 9: Cleveland Browns (trade down with Chiefs) — OT Spencer Fano, Utah

• No. 10: New York Giants — OT Francis Mauigoa, Miami

• No. 11: Dallas Cowboys (in trade with Miami) — safety Caleb Downs, Ohio State

• No. 12: Miami Dolphins  — OT Kadyn Proctor, Alabama

• No. 13: Los Angeles Rams — QB Ty Simpson, Alabama

• No. 14: Baltimore Ravens — Guard Olaivavega Ioane, Penn State

• No. 15: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, edge Rueben Bain Jr., Miami 

• No. 16: New York Jets, TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon

• No. 17: Detroit Lions — OT Blake Miller, Clemson

• No. 18: Minnesota Vikings — defensive tackle Caleb Banks, Florida

• No. 19: Carolina Panthers — OT Monroe Freeling, Georgia

• No. 20: Philadelphia Eagles (in trade with Dallas) — WR Makai Lemon, USC

• No. 21: Pittsburgh Steelers — OT Max Iheanachor, Arizona State

• No. 22: Los Angeles Chargers — LB Akheem Mesidor, Miami

• No. 23: Dallas Cowboys (in trade with Eagles) — edge Malachi Lawrence, Central Florida

• No. 24: Cleveland Browns — WR KC Concepcion, Texas A&M

• No. 25: Chicago Bears — Safety Dillon Thieneman, Oregon

• No. 26: Houston Texans (in trade with Buffalo Bills) — Guard Keylan Rutledge, Georgia Tech

• No. 27: Miami Dolphins (in trade with San Francisco 49ers) — CB Chris Johnson, San Diego State 

• No. 28: New England Patriots (in trade with Bills) — OT Caleb Lomu, Utah

• No. 29: Kansas City Chiefs — OT Peter Woods, Clemson

• No. 30: New York Jets (in trade with San Francisco) — WR Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana

• No. 31: Tennessee Titans (in trade with Bills) — edge Keldric Faulk, Auburn

• No. 32: Seattle Seahawks — RB Jadarian Price, Notre Dame

Where to find expert picks for a 2026 mock NFL Draft

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