NFL Draft 2026: 4 best and 3 worst team hauls of Day 1

Someway, somehow, the city of Pittsburgh crammed 320,000 people on the North Shore and broke the NFL Draft attendance record, all while the most overdone stereotypical tropes of the city were mentioned. Roger Goodell said “yinz” as my eyes rolled so hard I thought they’d get stuck in the back of my head like The Undertaker taking off his hat. And I’m sure Primanti Brothers was mentioned no less than a dozen times over the week of respective draft coverage, as well as the occasional explanation of what a pierogi is while “Renegade” played for the umpteenth time.

Check out our second round mock draft and our list of the best available players after the first round here.

Cynicism aside, 32 players were drafted on Thursday. Some teams deserve a hefty pat on the back for the selection(s) they made. Others not so much. Let’s dive in.

It was surprising to see Carnell Tate go No. 4 to Tennessee, but it makes so much sense. Look who Cam Ward was throwing to last year. Chig Okonkwo led the team in receiving yards with 560. Gunnar Helm, Chimere Dike, Eric Ayomanor. No, that is not the cast of CSI: Santa Fe on CBS, they are the actual factual pass-catchers Ward was expected to win games with in 2025. Tate slots in as the immediate No. 1 target, alongside a recently-signed Wan’Dale Robinson. Trading back into the first round for Kendrick Faulk also gives them a nice addition to their defensive line.

You should be entitled to financial compensation if you’re a Steelers fan at this point. Per Ian Rapoport, Pittsburgh was on the phone with Makai Lemon getting ready to draft him when Howie Roseman and the Eagles traded one spot in front of Pittsburgh, flipped them two massive birds, and took Lemon. Keep in mind, the Steelers had 12 picks entering the draft, more than any team in the NFL, and could have moved up to get Lemon. Instead, they got jumped by the most aggressive GM in football and were left to panic pick Max Iheanachor, a raw offensive tackle out of Arizona State whom they could have selected if they traded down. Not moving up for Lemon, not taking a receiver, and turning in this embarrassed shoulder shrug of a pick is why the Steelers continue to be the most elite mediocre team in professional sports.

And to make matters worse for Steelers fans, they get to watch the Ravens get the best guard in the draft without having to do anything. Vega Ioane is such a Ravens pick, and he’s probably going to be a multiple-time All-Pro.

Have the Cardinals not learned from teams like the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers? When you’re a bad team, you don’t draft a running back in the top five. It’s like putting a Ferrari engine on a tricycle. Their roster is bad, they have no quarterback, and Jeremiyah Love isn’t going to fix that. Running backs aren’t the sundae of NFL teams, they are the cherry on top of teams that are already established and can help push them over the top. Even if Love is a stud, this will end the same way it did for Christian McCaffrey in Carolina and Saquon Barkley in New York.

Sonny Styles to Washington is one of my favorite picks of the night. Considering they were trotting out the fossil of Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu, who regressed after a very strong showing in 2024, the Commanders needed someone to put in the middle of their defense, and they got perhaps the most athletic player at his position in the class. Job well done.

I like the selection of David Bailey, but what are the Jets doing taking a tight end at No. 16? Kenyon Sadiq may be very good, but that’s not the problem. Brock Bowers is a top five tight end in football and the Raiders still stink. A tight end isn’t turning the Jets around. There were plenty of other more notable players at more premium positions, and they just used a second round pick on Mason Taylor a year ago.

I’ll call it right now - the Saints are winning the NFC South. I have loved everything they’ve done this offseason. Signing Travis Etienne, David Edwards, and Kaden Elliss were three of my favorite free agent moves, and now they add Tyson - perhaps the most explosive receiver in this class - to put opposite Chris Olave. If Tyler Shough continues his play from the final month and a half of the 2025 season, this Saints team could surprise a lot of people.