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.
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.
For decades, the best college football players left school after three years, as soon as the NFL would take them. That’s changing. Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta doesn’t see it as a good thing.
The NCAA now allows players to make money off lucrative name, image and likeness deals, and the NCAA has also become more lax about granting players extra years of eligibility. That means players are waiting to turn pro, and DeCosta says he sees more older players who have less room for growth in the NFL.
“There is a changing dynamic we’ve seen with the draft,” DeCosta said. “Players are older. The average age of the players is not necessarily older but there are older players in the draft. We’re seeing more 24 and 25-year-old players. That’s because of covid initially, and now because of NIL, guys are getting paid to stay in. That’s problematic for us because if guys are coming in older they’ve probably got less upside. They’re not three-contract players in some cases, they’re two-contract players. And in some cases they’ve got more injuries. They’ve been playing college football longer so they’ve taken on more injuries.”
DeCosta, who has been with the Ravens for 30 years, says the team has more players who will turn 25 as rookies than ever before.
“We’re trying to get a handle on that,” DeCosta said. “It’s tough for us to assess what that means. It’s something we’ve seen over the last three years, this will be the third year, 2024, 2025 and 2026. We might have had 4 percent of our players on the draft board 24 1/2 or older prior to 2024, now that number is up to 18 percent. So we’ve seen a 14 percent increase in older players on the draft board. That’s something that we don’t really understand fully what that means. I don’t think it’s a good thing, certainly. Historically we’ve tried to draft younger players when we can. That’s something we feel strongly. But now we’ve got 18 percent of the draft board that’s over 24 years old. So that’s going to change the way we target players.”
College football players are now professionals, making money and choosing their own career paths in a way they never had before. It’s a changing landscape in college football, and that changes the NFL as well.
Wednesday was the final day for teams to host draft prospects for visits, but workouts away from team facilities are still permitted and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson is expected to have plenty of eyes on him when he takes the field on Friday.
Tyson is holding a workout for teams and Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that eighteen teams are expected to be at Arizona State for the session.
Tyson did not run at the Scouting Combine or at the school’s Pro Day because he was recovering from a hamstring injury. Tyson also missed time with hamstring injuries during the 2025 season and the workout will give him a chance to assuage any doubts about his health before the draft starts next Thursday.
When healthy, Tyson had 61 receptions for 711 yards and eight touchdowns in his final season with the Sun Devils. That landed him a spot on the All-Big 12 first team and Tyson is generally projected to be a first-round pick, but the question of just how high he’ll go could be tied to how well things go on Friday.
Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said this week that he expects a lot of trades in the first round of next week’s draft, but any dealing may not include the Commanders.
Washington has the No. 7 pick and their GM Adam Peters discussed the possibility of making a deal that would change that spot during his own press conference on Thursday. Peters said he believes there are a number of defensive players that “can help impact us in a real positive way” and that he expects to be selecting someone rather than making a trade in any direction.
“I would say more likely than not that would happen,” Peters said, via the team’s website. “You never know. It’ll depend on who’s on the board.”
One reason to make a trade down would be to add to the six picks that the Commanders currently have at their disposal, but adding a high-end player with an early pick is the one silver lining of a rough season and it sounds like that may be too tempting for Peters to pass up.
Browns General Manager Andrew Berry has heard the same speculation about his plans for the No. 6 pick as everyone else.
That speculation has centered on the Browns trading down in order to add more picks that can be used to replenish their roster ahead of Todd Monken’s first season as the team’s head coach. At a Thursday press conference, Berry smiled while saying that he loves “how everybody last year thought we weren’t trading down and everybody this year assumes that we are” before going on to say that the dynamics are different than when the team traded out of the No. 2 pick last year.
Berry landed the Browns a a second first-round pick this year in that trade and said that his only goal with the team’s top pick in 2026 is to make sure they maximize their return regardless of whether they stay put or make a move.
“I’d go back to what I’ve said in the past,” Berry said. “Our mindset going into the draft with our most valuable asset isn’t about, hey, just trade it away. It’s maximizing the asset. And that can, at different times, take different forms. It can be selecting a player. It could be trading up for a veteran. It could be trading down. It could be trading up. We will continue to work through all those possibilities up until, really, we get on the clock on Thursday night. But I’d say we’re working through a number of different scenarios at this point.”
The first five picks will have something to do with the direction the Browns choose to go once the time comes for Berry to stop considering the choices and make his decision, but Berry should have a good idea of what will be on the table by the time next Thursday rolls around.
The window for pre-draft visits closed on Wednesday and former Texas A&M wide receiver K.C. Concepcion made a couple of final trips before it did.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Concepcion visited with the Chargers and 49ers to wrap up his pre-draft meetings with teams.
Concepcion also had visits with the Bills, Browns, Dolphins, Giants, Panthers, Raiders and Titans as he made the rounds in recent weeks. That’s a big chunk of the league, but Concepcion could still wind up with another team that found other ways to explore what the wideout could bring to their team.
Concepcion had 61 catches for 919 yards and nine touchdowns in his final college season. It was his only year at A&M after transferring from North Carolina State.
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
Titans General Manager Mike Borgonzi didn’t entertain any trade offers before selecting quarterback Cam Ward first overall in 2025, but he’s taking a different approach to this year’s draft.
The Titans have the No. 4 pick this time around and that creates uncertainty about who will be available as well as whether the Titans would benefit from moving down the order. At a press conference on Thursday, Borgonzi said that the Titans are fond of a “cluster” of players who could be on the board when it is their turn to pick and having those “really good options” means they are open to adding assets while waiting to make their first selection.
“We’re gonna remain flexible and fluid because I do think there’s a handful of players we really do like,” Borgonzi said.
Borgonzi called running back Jeremiyah Love a “special player” when asked if he’ll be under consideration at No. 4 and said that he’s “always looking to support” Ward, but also cited the presence of several “really good” options at edge rusher. That leaves the team with a lot of possible paths to take early in next Thursday’s first round.
Reports last month indicated that the Ravens have increased optimism about defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike will be able to return from the neck injury that kept him out for the final 15 games last season, but the team has offered no concrete word about his outlook for the coming season.
That didn’t change at Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta’s press conference on Wednesday. While DeCosta didn’t provide clarity about the veteran’s chances of playing this fall, he did say that any uncertainty will not be a major factor in how the team approaches the draft next week.
“I would say that Nnamdi’s status doesn’t really affect us that much in terms of like what we’re going to do in the draft at the defensive tackle position,” DeCosta said. “So, as you know, we just try to rank the board, and then whoever the best player is at that point in time. Certainly, we would love to get a young defensive lineman if we can. I think it’s important to try and do that every single year if we can. It’s an important position. We want to get better up front, certainly, on both sides, offense- and defensive-line-wise. It’s a priority for us, I think, and getting a younger player in there who’s a talented younger player would be ideal, and it just depends on how the board falls and who’s available at that time.”
Travis Jones, Broderick Washington, John Jenkins, Aeneas Peebles, C.J, Okoye, and David Olajiga are the other defensive linemen currently on the roster in Baltimore.
