In 2025, every NFL team entered the draft with its first-round pick still in place. This year is a whole lot different.
The 2026 NFL draft now has six teams with two first-round picks and six teams with no first-round picks, after the Bengals traded their first-round pick to the Giants for Dexter Lawrence.
Of the teams with two first-round picks, the Giants are in the best position to make significant additions to their roster, as both their picks are in the Top 10: Their own first-round pick is No. 5 overall and the Bengals’ first-round pick is No. 10 overall.
The Dolphins have their own pick (No. 11) as well as the Broncos’ pick (No. 30) from the Jaylen Waddle trade.
The Jets have their own pick (No. 2) and the Colts’ pick (No. 16) from the Sauce Gardner trade.
The Cowboys have their own pick (No. 12) and the Packers’ pick (No. 20) from the Micah Parsons trade.
The Chiefs have their own pick (No. 9) and the Rams’ pick (No. 29) from the Trent McDuffie trade.
The Browns have their own pick (No. 6) and the Jaguars’ pick (No. 24) from the draft-day trade a year ago that allowed the Jaguars to move up to draft Travis Hunter.
A seventh team was poised to get a second first-round pick when the Raiders agreed to trade Maxx Crosby to the Ravens, but that trade fell through and the Ravens kept their first-round pick.
Six teams don’t have a first-round pick: The Bengals, Broncos, Falcons, Colts, Packers and Jaguars.
All of the teams with two first-round picks missed the playoffs this year. They’re looking to rebuild their rosters, and hoping they’ll look back in a few years and say having two first-round picks was a big part of turning their teams around.
Most teams have a clear starting quarterback, obvious contenders for the job, or (at a minimum) concepts of a plan for the position.
The Cardinals, by all appearances, have none of the above.
G.M. Monti Ossenfort made clear this week that the Cardinals don’t have a starter. And to the extent a competition will be unfolding during the offseason program, Jacoby Brissett won’t be there unless and until he gets a new contract.
The other in-house options, for now, are Gardner Minshew and Kedon Slovis.
Before free agency started, Jimmy Garoppolo was linked to Arizona. The Cardinals pivoted to Minshew when talks with Garoppolo broke down.
Garoppolo remains available. Aaron Rodgers is on the market, too. (It’s hard to imagine him having any interest in the team that is stuck in a division with the Seahawks, Rams, and 49ers.) Derek Carr has made noise about a possible unretirement, but he wants to play for a contender. The Cardinals can’t fairly be described with that label.
That leaves the draft. Unless the Cardinals trade up to No. 1 (which is highly unlikely at this point, but not impossible), the next best option is Ty Simpson. They could, in theory, trade down and take Simpson in a lower spot. And there could be a team that sufficiently covets running back Jeremiyah Love to try to leapfrog the Titans at No. 4.
Other available free-agent options with starting experience include Russell Wilson and Tyrod Taylor. Most of the others have signed contracts to be backups (Carson Wentz, Joe Flacco) and a bridge starter (Kirk Cousins, if/when the Raiders take Fernando Mendoza).
As the cliche-because-it’s-true saying goes, you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. At quarterback, there’s no indication that the Cardinals are getting better at the most important position on the team. And there’s no sign they have a clear plan for doing so.
Maybe the overriding plan, if there is one, is to accept reality for 2026 and allow nature to take its course. The prize could be dibs on whoever the top quarterback is after the 2026 college football season.
The popular assumption is that it will be Arch Manning. As we’ve seen, however, the player who emerges as the consensus number one for the next year could be a player no one is even thinking about currently. It happened with Mendoza. It happened with Joe Burrow.
Beyond the six games to be played within the NFC West, the Cardinals will face the four teams of the AFC West (which produced two playoff teams in 2025 and still includes the Chiefs), the four teams of the NFC East, and the Lions (who finished last in the NFC North). That’s a recipe for earning the first overall pick in 2027.
Not having a clear plan at quarterback becomes a key ingredient in the stew of factors that could position Arizona for its next shot at a generational talent without having to try very hard to make that happen, once the 2026 season launches.
There’s no suspense about who the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft will be, as the Raiders haven’t hidden their plans to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The suspense begins at No. 2.
And at the moment, Ohio State edge rusher Arvell Reese is the favorite to be the second overall pick in the draft. Multiple sports books now have Reese in the range of a -135 to -150 favorite. Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey, who had previously been favored to go No. 2, is now an underdog in the +100 to +110 range.
The Jets own the No. 2 pick and recently canceled a planned visit with Bailey. Reese did take a visit to the Jets’ facility. The shift in odds may come from a perception that the Jets canceling the visit means they’re not taking Bailey.
But that’s not necessarily a good read on the situation. It could just as easily be that the Jets have already decided they like Bailey so much that they know they’re taking him and don’t need to use one of their 30 league-permitted visits on him. If you’ve already decided to hire someone, there’s no need to call him in for another job interview.
Reese and Bailey are considered the two best pass rushers in this draft, and the one who doesn’t go second may go third. We’ll find out on Thursday night.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
The Jets canceled their top-30 visit with Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey, Connor Hughes of SNY reports.
It is unclear when Bailey was scheduled to visit. Pre-draft visits ended on Wednesday.
Bailey is the betting favorite to be the No. 2 overall pick, which belongs to the Jets. Ohio State edge rusher Arvell Reese, who had been favored to be drafted after the Raiders select Fernando Mendoza, was one of the Jets’ top-30 visitors.
The Jets also own the 16th overall pick, and Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr., San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson, North Carolina State defensive end Cian Slone and Texas Tech safety Cole Wisniewski are others who traveled to New York for interviews and medical checks.
Bailey, a consensus All-American his senior year, led college football with 14.5 sacks and added 19.5 tackles for loss, three passes defended, three forced fumbles and had one fumble recovery in 14 games for the Red Raiders.
Bailey visited the Cowboys, Chiefs, Cardinals and Titans.
