Winners
John Harbaugh
Not only did the newly minted New York Giants head coach have two picks in the top 10 after trading Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati recently, but then the draft started and perhaps the single most talented player in the 2026 class fell right into his lap. That, of course, is Ohio State’s Arvell Reese. He may well play on the edge, but the Giants also have Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter and Brian Burnes. So the Giants can trade Thibodeaux and collect more premium draft capital or they can play Reese as a chess piece off the ball early in his career. Then Harbaugh landed Miami right tackle Francis Mauigoa at No. 10, bolstering the offensive line and providing a long-term bookend with left tackle Andrew Thomas. If you want to turn a team around quickly, you’ve got to be good up front. Harbaugh, no surprise, leaned into that on both sides of the ball in the first round.
NFL draft 2026 tracker: Picks, instant reaction and more live coverage
Whichever 2027 QB the Jets draft next spring
Former Broncos GM Darren Mougey had a busy night, selecting Texas Tech OLB David Bailey at No. 2 overall, Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq at No. 16 and then trading back into the first round to also get WR Omar Cooper Jr. at No. 30. That is one heck of a haul. Itap good news in the present day, but itap really good news for whichever quarterback the Jets take next spring. Thatap when it looks like this rebuild project really, actually starts to get evaluated. Sure, Geno Smith will probably throw the ball to Sadiq a lot this fall, but those are the kind of players who make life easier on a young quarterback. That guy is coming, probably very early in the 2027 first round.
Former Broncos secondary coach Christian Parker
Parker got the job as Dallas’ defensive coordinator, knowing that the unit needed a world of help. It started in free agency and the trade market and now the Cowboys have also doubled up in the first round of the draft. They traded a pair of fifth-round picks to slide up one spot and nab Ohio State safety Caleb Downs — on the shortest of lists as the best player in the class — at No. 11 overall, then took outside linebacker Malachi Lawrence out of UCF at No. 23 overall. Downs is ready-made. Lawrence … we’ll see, but he’s got a ton of talent, he’s long and he’s fast. He’ll have a chance to see early time opposite Rashan Gary. Parker’s depth chart looks considerably different after just one day of the draft.
Losers
Matthew Stafford
When the Los Angeles Rams came onto the clock at No. 13 overall, Stafford could have looked at the board and seen players like Sadiq and WR Makai Lemon and thought, yeah, those guys would really help. Same with any number of tackles. Instead, the Rams took who they hope someday will be his successor. Thatap quarterback Ty Simpson out of Alabama. Teams can say as many times as they want that they’re happy to have their veteran — particularly when that veteran is the reigning MVP — but at some point, you want to see what the young guy has. Maybe that’ll be three years from now. But maybe it won’t be.
A.J. Brown’s Philadelphia landlord
Just kidding, Brown probably owns a house. But his days in the City of Brotherly Love are almost certainly numbered. Somebody somewhere might already be pumping out Patriots jerseys with his name on the back. As if there wasn’t enough smoke around the possibility that Brown gets dealt to New England -- it won’t happen until after June 1 for reasons related to Brown’s contract — the Eagles picked Lemon at No. 20 in the first round. That after they also traded for receiver Dontayvian Wicks just before the draft and also signed Hollywood Brown. The other Brown can probably start looking for real estate in Massachusetts.
Patrick Mahomes
The Chiefs star quarterback is working back from a torn ACL. When he returns, he will certainly be happy to have CB Mansoor Delane and DL Peter Woods on the other side of the line of scrimmage. But to not get any help in the first round on the offensive side of the ball? Thatap got to be at least a little disappointing somewhere in there. The Chiefs hardly ever pick in the top 10 and they pressed that positioning even more by trading up three spots to grab Delane. There were receivers aplenty -- Cooper and Denzel Boston among them — and RB Jadarian Price available late in the first round, but Brent Veach and company went with Woods instead. No qualms with either pick. Just, no help for Mahomes, either.
