Another NFL Draft is in the books and the 2026 edition had all the usual shock picks and surprise slides as the 32 teams attempted to reload their rosters for an assault on the Super Bowl.
There was no surprise with the Las Vegas Raiders’ number one overall pick but a huge one was later sprung by the Los Angeles Rams, while another surprise came with the New York duo of Jets and Giants actually looking like putting a good draft class together.
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It was a good draft for UK involvement and an even better one for hosts Pittsburgh and the NFL itself, with the event continuing to grow.
So after three days and 257 players being chosen, let’s take a look at who made the headlines for the right, or wrong, reasons.
Were the Rams right to draft a QB?
The shock of the draft was the Rams picking Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick – because Simpson was not even a consensus first-round talent.
The Rams also have MVP Matthew Stafford at quarterback for a team many thought was the best in the NFL last season and even more see as Super Bowl contenders this coming campaign.
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Head coach Sean McVay’s instant subdued reaction to the pick went viral, but he insisted he did not want to seem too excited out of respect for Stafford – but his mood was one plenty of Rams fans shared.
Stafford is 38 and playing year-to-year so getting a long-term successor makes sense, but to take full advantage of his talents many thought a pick as high as 13 should be used to add a final elite piece to the roster that could just be the difference.
A star pass rusher or another top pass catcher being two options, but instead the Rams used that selection on a player who in all probability will not see the field at all in 2026.
The Rams made eye-catching moves in free agency for cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson to strengthen even further – so as usual only time will tell if they won or lost this one.
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Vegas finally heading in the right direction
There was no shock in Fernando Mendoza being the first overall pick of the draft – he certainly looks like a star, but top-pick quarterbacks can struggle without the right supporting cast.
The Raiders will have a sixth head coach for their seventh season in Las Vegas, but after all the turmoil they finally they look like heading in the right direction with some savvy picks.
Most notable was Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, who is a super talent but slipped down to the fourth round, pick 101, after missing all of last season with a torn ACL.
It’s a flier with a big upside if McCoy’s knee is right, which he insists it is. He’s got tremendous ability, and with fellow draftee Treydan Stukes at safety could add some much-needed playmakers in the secondary.
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Mendoza has first-round picks around him already with running back Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers at tight end, while the Raiders splashed out big money to grab centre Tyler Linderbaum to add yet more assistance.
Whisper it quietly, but the Raiders are heading in the right direction and could be the biggest winners of the draft.
New dawns in New York?
The Giants have made the play-offs just twice in 14 seasons, while the Jets have the longest active play-off drought in American sports with 15 seasons on the outside looking in. So fans in the Big Apple needed a big draft.
They had five first-round picks between them and both teams, for once, seem to have emerged as draft winners.
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Signing John Harbaugh as new head coach was already a win for the Giants, and getting edge rusher Arvell Reese at pick five was another big victory, which adds to what’s looking a scary Big Blue defence.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart got a new weapon in third-round receiver Malachi Fields, who combined with superstar Malik Nabers gives the Giants the look of a side capable of making a leap this year.
The Jets are behind in their transition but pass rusher David Bailey, tight end Kenyon Sadiq and receiver Omar Cooper all add star talent as first-round picks.
Quarterback Cade Klubnik was a bit of a flier in the fourth round but one worth taking if veteran Geno Smith struggles. Still, there are positive signs for a change with the Jets.
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Pittsburgh sets NFL Draft record
A record crowd of 802,000 watched the three days of the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh [Getty Images]
You have to hand it to the NFL for making three days of reading names off cards into the second-biggest event on the league calendar.
A record 805,000 fans visited the three-day event in Pittsburgh, with a single-day attendance record of 320,000 for Thursday’s first round.
Only the Super Bowl is bigger, and even then that’s only of serious interest to two teams, but all 32 are involved in the draft for one simple reason – hope.
The worst teams get the best picks of the college superstars and that gives them hope of a magical turnaround – and the NFL has managed to market it all as a must-see experience.
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Detroit hosted 775,000 fans in 2024, Green Bay had 600,000 last year, and both were topped by Pittsburgh.
Washington DC will hope for even more next year and commissioner Roger Goodell revealed cities were lining up to win hosting duties in years to come – with representatives from 10 on scouting trips in Pittsburgh this weekend.
The NFL Draft looks set to get even bigger.
NFL Draft 2026 talking points
History was made by the International Player Pathway (IPP) as Britain’s Seydou Traore and Nigerian Uar Bernard were selected by the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles respectively.
Tight end Traore came through the NFL Academy but Bernard has never played American football before – his physical attributes have earned him a shot at making it with the Eagles.
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The gazumping of the draft came in the first round when Makai Lemon was on the phone to the Pittsburgh Steelers being informed they were drafting him at spot 21, only to then see the Philadelphia Eagles trying to call him.
The Eagles in fact traded up to number 20 to pinch Lemon from under the noses of their fellow Pennsylvanians – a move that did not go down too well with the home fans in Pittsburgh as they certainly lost that one.
Possibly both winners and losers, the Cleveland Browns made six trades in the first five rounds and became the first team in 30 years to draft two receivers in the top 40 – KC Concepcion at 24 and Denzel Boston at 39.
The Browns are also the first team in 15 years to draft three quarterbacks in two years as they added Taylen Green to a crowded four-man line-up including Deshaun Watson and last year’s two draftees Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
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For all of Cleveland’s good draft work, they will head into the season with another confusing four-way quarterback battle.
Had LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier entered the draft last year he may well have been a first-round pick. Instead he was only pick number 249 in the seventh round this year.
That’s the downside. The upside is that he was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs and has only Justin Fields to battle for the job of backing up the injured Patrick Mahomes. That’s turning a loss into a big win.
Billed as the biggest losers of the draft, the San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars were among the more underwhelming teams – with both accused of ‘reaching’ when drafting players higher than their consensus rating.
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San Francisco traded out of the first round then picked receiver De’Zhaun Stribling with the first pick of the second – much higher than he was expected to go.
They then added running back Kaelon Black – who did not even get an invitation to the NFL Combine – in the third round. The Niners have a poor recent record both with second round picks and running backs, so neither bodes well.
Jacksonville may have picked up steals with their first four picks, but all four were drafted miles ahead of where they sat on most pre-draft rankings. General manager James Gladstone is still only 35 but in his second draft he’s either pulled off some masterstrokes or made some huge errors.
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