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TOP STORY

2026 NFL Draft Report Card: Who Nailed Their Picks Vs Who Left Much to Be Desired

TOP GRADES

New York Jets | A+

• round 1, no. 2: David Bailey, EDGE — Texas Tech

• round 1, no. 16: Kenyon Sadiq, TE — Oregon

• round 1, no. 30: Omar Cooper Jr., WR — Indiana

• round 2, no. 50: D'Angelo Ponds, CB — Indiana

• round 4, no. 103: Darrell Jackson Jr., DT — Florida State

• round 4, no. 140: Cade Klubnik, QB — Clemson

• round 5, no. 179: Anez Cooper, G — Miami

• round 7, no. 228 & 242: depth picks

It could be argued that the Jets’ first five picks could be impact starters, and not even because they are depleted of talent. David Bailey led college football with 14.5 sacks last year and is the best pure pass rusher in this class. Kenyon Sadiq gives Geno Smith a slot nightmare matchup in the form of a 6’3, 241-pound tight end who ran a 4.39 forty with elite athleticism and toughness after the catch. Omar Cooper Jr. flew up boards late due to his elite yards after carry and go-up-and-get-it ability, finally giving Garrett Wilson a reputable threat on the other side of him. D'Angelo Ponds, regardless of his sub-5’10 size, is a multi-year standout known for being a sure tackler and recorded seven career picks playing outside and the slot to help an interceptionless Jets defense replace Sauce Gardner. Not to mention the Aaron Glenn player comps make this a perfect fit. Darrell Jackson Jr. is a space eater, with a massive frame, impressive length, and coming off a defensive MVP season at Florida State, who immediately adds a sizable (pun intended) jolt to the Jets’ run defense.

Cleveland Browns | A

• round 1, no. 9: Spencer Fano, OT — Utah

• round 1, no. 24: KC Concepcion, WR — Texas A&M

• round 2, no. 39: Denzel Boston, WR — Washington

• round 2, no. 58: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S — Toledo

• round 3, no. 86: Austin Barber, OT — Florida

• round 5, no. 146: Parker Brailsford, C — Alabama

• round 5, no. 149: Justin Jefferson, LB — Alabama

• round 5, no. 170: Joe Royer, TE — Cincinnati

• round 6, no. 182: Taylen Green, QB — Arkansas

• round 7, no. 248: Carsen Ryan, TE — BYU

Cleveland came in with a plan.. Shocking, right? Get an offensive lineman and a couple weapons for Shedeur. Spencer Fano gives them a versatile, multi-position blocker who earned 80-plus pff grades in each of his last two seasons at Utah, while the pick itself came after wisely trading back with Kansas City. KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston arriving back-to-back in the first and second rounds is the kind of receiver haul that doesn't happen often for anyone. Adding Concepcion's elite separation and versatility with Boston's contested-catch ability marries two entirely different skill sets with Jerry Jeudy and Harold Fannin in the Browns offense. Defensively, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren was a top-30 overall prospect on just about any board you look at and was somehow still available at pick 58. Sure, there are some coverage concerns, but he’s a box safety who forced 11 fumbles in college and hits like he's auditioning for a highlight reel. If Andrew Berry keeps building this roster the way he built this draft class, Cleveland's window is cracking open faster than anyone expected.

Green Bay Packers | our grade: B+

picks:

• round 2, no. 52: Brandon Cisse, CB — South Carolina

• round 3, no. 77: Chris McClellan, DT — Missouri

• round 4, no. 120: Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE — Penn State

• round 5, no. 153: Jager Burton, C — Kentucky

• round 6, no. 201: Domani Jackson, CB — Alabama

• round 6, no. 216: Trey Smack, K — Florida (via trade-up)

No first-round pick? No problem. The Packers not only nailed it with drafting for need, but they did so as one of the biggest winners in overall draft value. Brandon Cisse, despite being one of the youngest players in the draft, was viewed as a first-round talent by numerous evaluators due to his physical brand of football and special ability to close with true 4.4 forty speed. He goes to the perfect defense for his skill set, with how much off-zone coverage the Packers ask from their corners. It’s a shock he made it to pick 52. Dani Dennis-Sutton falling to the fourth round should absolutely be considered one of the biggest steals of the draft; pass-rushers with his combination of elite size, athleticism, and production at the highest levels of college football usually turn out to be good pros, and it feels like Green Bay pounced on a gem that many had 2nd round grades on. Chris McClellan is a linebacker’s dream defensive tackle with his uncanny ability to eat up blocks and having a knack for disengaging blocks to find the football in the run game. Not to mention he’s continued to develop his pass rush, coming off a stout six sack season. Jager Burton was the most Packers pick of the draft, with starts at each guard spot and center, incredible durability, and wildly athletic for a big fella. Don’t be surprised if he’s their starting center of the future.

Carolina Panthers | B+

picks:

• round 1, no. 19: Monroe Freeling, OT — Georgia

• round 2, no. 49: Lee Hunter, DT — Texas Tech

• round 3, no. 83: Chris Brazzell II, WR — Tennessee

• round 4, no. 129: Will Lee III, CB — Texas A&M

• round 5, no. 144: Sam Hecht, C — Kansas State

• round 5, no. 151: Zakee Wheatley, S — Penn State

• round 7, no. 227: Jackson Kuwatch, LB — Miami (Ohio)

Carolina might have just wrapped up one of their top draft classes in recent memory, ranking tops in class in draft value. Monroe Freeling at 19 was a “best available” pick and will allow the Panthers to maintain high-end tackle play for Bryce Young while stud OT Ikem Ekwonu heals from a patella tendon rupture, and gives Carolina an elite bookend duo of the future. Lee Hunter was an absolute force at Texas Tech last year and at UCF the three seasons before, ranking 12th among all FBS interior defenders in run-defense grade and finishing in the 96th percentile in run-stop rate. The Panthers defense is on the rise as is, and Hunter keeps them moving in the right direction on day 1. Chris Brazzell has tremendous traits and finally flashed production to match the talent in his final season at Tennessee. He immediately offers Bryce Young a true deep threat to unlock a new element to their pass game alongside Tet and Jalen Coker. Sam Hecht and Zakee Wheatley in the fifth were the best of Carolina’s tremendous value picks, both productive, experienced players who will compete for starts as rookies, which at that draft position is almost unheard of. The Panthers never reached, let the board come to them, and somehow walked out with seven picks that all make sense.

Baltimore Ravens | B

picks:

• round 1, no. 14: Olaivavega Ioane, G — Penn State

• round 2, no. 45: Zion Young, EDGE — Missouri

• round 3, no. 80: Ja'Kobi Lane, WR — USC

• round 4, no. 115: Elijah Sarratt, WR — Indiana

• round 4, no. 133: Matthew Hibner, TE — SMU

• round 5, no. 162: Chandler Rivers, CB — Duke

• round 5, no. 173: Josh Cuevas, TE — Alabama

• round 5, no. 174: Adam Randall, RB — Clemson

• round 6, no. 211: Ryan Eckley, P — Michigan State

• round 7, no. 250: Rayshaun Benny, DL — Michigan

• round 7, no. 253: Evan Beerntsen, G — Northwestern

Eleven picks is wicked volume that it’d take serious levels of bag fumbling to not have at least a few impact contributors come from this class. Losing Tyler Linderbaum in the offseason left a gaping hole at interior offensive line, and Olaivavega Ioane is an impeccable answer. He allowed exactly zero sacks over the past two seasons to go with zero holding calls last year. This was chalk for Baltimore from the moment the first round started. Zion Young amends not taking Rueben Bain at pick 14, adding a violent pass rusher off the edge, who racked up the second most pressures in the SEC last season (57) to help another glaring roster need. The receiver haul of Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt gives Lamar Jackson two different body types to work with downfield with Lane's 6’4 frame for contested situations, and Sarratt's reliable hands for possession work. Big body WRs were a huge need for Baltimore coming in, and they left with two very high upside players. Chandler Rivers allowed just one touchdown in coverage in 2025 and earned a 90.7 PFF grade in 2024, making him arguably a top overall pick from day 3 who will step in to help a needy Ravens secondary early on in his rookie campaign. Don’t sleep on Adam Randall either! Randall is a 6’3, 230-pound converted wide receiver still learning the running back ways, but he proved to be a jack of all trades at Clemson and adds a pass-catching element to the Ravens backfield they don’t currently have.

LOWEST GRADES

Chicago Bears | C+

picks:

• round 1, no. 25: Dillon Thieneman, S — Oregon

• round 2, no. 57: Logan Jones, C — Iowa

• round 3, no. 69: Sam Roush, TE — Stanford

• round 3, no. 89: Zavion Thomas, WR — LSU

• round 4, no. 124: Malik Muhammad, CB — Texas

• round 5, no. 166: Keyshaun Elliott, LB — Arizona State

• round 6, no. 213: Jordan van den Berg, DT — Georgia Tech

Here's the thing about the Bears' draft: some of the picks themselves aren't terrible. Dillon Thieneman is a legitimate A-grade selection. He is a freak athlete who had eight picks and 11 pass breakups in his college career alongside 4.35 speed and will be a day-one starter in Chicago at a position of need. Logan Jones at center gives Caleb Williams a stable pocket piece for a zone-run scheme despite his limitations in pass pro. The problem is what Chicago didn't do and they had some egregious reaches, placing the Bears towards the bottom of overall draft value. The Bears did not use any picks on edge rushers, defensive tackle, or offensive tackles despite their needs at those spots. They instead opted for a tight end for 13-personnel packages in round three behind two existing starters in Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland. Ben Johnson’s offense would not fail without a viable third blocking tight end on roster, and by no means is that role more valuable than addressing obvious roster needs that held the Bears back last season. And while Malik Muhammed was a tremendous pick in round four, Zavion Williams was projected to go in round 7 or undrafted, making him a top reach of the entire draft. Even if he’s used as a returner or in some gadget spots, he likely slots in as the Bears 5th wide receiver and was seen as WR30-35 in the class. GM Ryan Poles has a terrible reputation for drafting in round 3, and this year did him no favors.

San Francisco 49ers | C

picks:

• round 2, no. 33: De'Zhaun Stribling, WR — Ole Miss

• round 3, no. 70: Romello Height, EDGE — Texas Tech

• round 3, no. 90: Kaelon Black, RB — Indiana

• round 4, no. 107: Gracen Halton, DT — Oklahoma

• round 4, no. 127: Carver Willis, OT — Washington

• round 4, no. 139: Ephesians Prysock, CB — Washington

• round 5, no. 154: Jaden Dugger, LB — Louisiana

• round 5, no. 179: Enrique Cruz Jr., OT — Kansas

Dead last in the entire league in draft capital over expectation. AKA, San Francisco reached earlier than expected on nearly every single pick. They traded out of round one, which could have been smart, but then opened round two by selecting De'Zhaun Stribling is a fine player with tremendous burner speed and massive size, but he was ranked behind roughly nine other receivers who were still on the board at that moment, including Denzel Boston, who was grabbed six picks later by Cleveland. Romello Height is 25 years old and exclusively a pass-rush specialist, and Kaelon Black being the third running back off the board was on no one’s bingo card. He's a physical runner, but split carries at Indiana and doesn't offer much in the passing game. John Lynch continues a years-long trend of burning mid-round capital on a position Kyle Shanahan can find and make work from anywhere. Gracen Halton, for the moment, is the only real redeeming pick for the 49ers as their only value play, and brings a ton of upside as a pass rusher at DT.

Denver Broncos | C-

picks:

• round 3, no. 66: Tyler Onyedim, DT — Texas A&M

• round 4, no. 108: Jonah Coleman, RB — Washington

• round 4, no. 111: Kage Casey, OG — Boise State

• round 5, no. 152: Justin Joly, TE — N.C. State

• round 7, no. 246: Miles Scott, S — Illinois

• round 7, no. 256: Dallen Bentley, TE — Utah

• round 7, no. 257: Red Murdock, LB — Buffalo (mr. irrelevant)

Jaylen Waddle essentially consumed Denver’s draft. Denver sent the 30th overall pick and a third-round selection to Miami for the veteran receiver, which meant their first pick of the weekend came at pick 66. And boy did they whiff on it. Tyler Onyedim has flashes on tape, but was ranked way further down boards (besides Denver’s), and a few more proven, higher-value DTs were still available. He’s an arm tackler, sub-300 pounds, and will need some true development to make it work in the NFL. Everything after that is organizational depth: Jonah Coleman is a fun RB2 of the future, but is likely competing for an RB3 spot as a rookie. Kage Casey adds interior versatility, and Justin Joly gives Bo Nix another receiving option at tight end. The good news is that Waddle is a legitimate playmaker who genuinely upgrades this offense, and if Sean Payton can scheme around a thin draft class, the Broncos have enough on the roster to compete at the top of the AFC. But this was a nightmare draft. All but one of Denver's picks were day 3 selections, and the one day 2 pick was a reach. Denver landed Red Murdock as Mr. Irrelevant, who quite honestly has as much to be excited about as their first pick of the draft.

Los Angeles Rams | C-

picks:

• round 1, no. 13: Ty Simpson, QB — Alabama

• round 2, no. 61: Max Klare, TE — Ohio State

• round 3, no. 93: Keagen Trost, OT — Missouri

• round 6, no. 197: CJ Daniels, WR — Miami

• round 7, no. 232: Tim Keenan III, DT — Alabama

The Rams watched Matthew Stafford carry a Super Bowl-caliber roster and decided now is the time to plan for life after him, taking Ty Simpson at 13 to sit behind Stafford and develop. It’s the Packers taking Jordan Love right after the Packers came up just short with an ageing Aaron Rodgers still playing at a very high level and needing one more solid weapon. Simpson started only one season in college and now will have to wait a year, maybe two, while serving as Stafford's backup as McVay tries to make work a depleted WR room behind Puka should Davante Adams once again get hurt or be traded. The Rams otherwise still have a loaded roster, making it defensible to argue “the best time to draft a QB is when you don’t need one." But Green Bay didn’t use a top-15 pick on a guy with one half of a season of great QB play under his belt. There's an even stronger argument that the Rams could have used this pick to go “all-in” for a top receiver like Makai Lemon, edge rusher like Rueben Bain Jr., or one of the best offensive tackles available to put them over the top and not have to watch division rival Seahawks in the Super Bowl again. Max Klare in round two is a fine piece and likely more valuable in years to come, rather than as a rookie in a Rams tight end room that is already one of their roster strengths. Keagen Trost adds offensive line depth and future starter potential. But again, five picks total, no first-round pick next year, and no immediate help for a roster trying to win right now in the final years of Stafford is a hard sell.

Jacksonville Jaguars | D+

picks:

• round 2, no. 56: Nate Boerkircher, TE — Texas A&M

• round 3, no. 81: Albert Regis, DT — Texas A&M

• round 3, no. 88: Emmanuel Pregnon, G — Oregon

• round 3, no. 100: Jalen Huskey, S — Maryland

• round 4, no. 119: Wesley Williams, EDGE — Duke

• round 5, no. 164: Tanner Koziol, TE — Houston

• round 6, no. 191: Josh Cameron, WR — Baylor

• round 6, no. 203: CJ Williams, WR — Stanford

• round 7, no. 233: Zach Durfee, EDGE — Washington

• round 7, no. 240: Parker Hughes, LB — Middle Tennessee State

Without a first-round pick, after last year’s haul to trade to go up and get Travis Hunter, that is now looking less appealing after Hunter moves almost exclusively to defense, the Jaguars almost entirely crapped the bed this year. The Jags spent a second-rounder on Nate Boerkircher, who was graded as a fifth or sixth-round prospect, making him arguably the biggest reach in the entire draft. They then burned a third-round pick on Jalen Huskey, a safety-corner tweener who was pegged as a sixth-round grade by most. The one bright spot of the Jags early picks that saved this draft from a worse grade was Emmanuel Pregnon, who should push for a starting job at guard right away. That was a great pick and even better value! But two tight ends in one draft class, for a team with an ascending star in Brenton Strange, other roster needs, and needing to compete atop of a now extremely competitive AFC South, is not helping James Gladstone’s reputation. Josh Cameron as a sixth-round pick might end up the second most redeeming player in this class, and even then, he’s likely the Jags WR5 to start the year. Gladstone might be able to laugh this off if the class develops in years to come, but for now, this class looks like a growing pains draft for a young GM, not a “young guru” establishing himself as a force on draft night.

NBA

NBA Playoffs Are Delivering Excitement, But Comes At The cost of Anthony Edwards

The 2026 first round has been everything you'd want from a postseason, minus a couple of star bodies.

As expected, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the class of the bracket, running Phoenix off the floor in three straight to take a 3-0 lead, with SGA dropping a playoff-career-high 42 points on 15-of-18 shooting with eight assists in Game 3 to pull off a victory without Jalen Williams. OKC has now won 11 consecutive first-round games and looks every bit like a defending champion team.

The Minnesota Timberwolves lead Denver 3-1 in a very chippy series that has featured one McDaniels vs. Jokic scuffle, but the real story coming out of Game 4 is brutal. Anthony Edwards sustained a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee and is expected to miss multiple weeks, while Donte DiVincenzo suffered a torn right Achilles tendon to end his season and likely the next nine to twelve months. But ascending star Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench to score a career-high 43 points on 13-of-17 shooting to save Minnesota's night.

Out West, the Lakers let one slip on Sunday as Houston avoided elimination with a 115-96 rout. Amen Thompson dropped 23 points and Tari Eason added 20, while LeBron James had just 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting, and the Lakers coughed up 23 turnovers. LA still holds a 3-1 lead heading to Game 5, but another sleepwalk game makes this a series again.

In the East, the Knicks and Hawks are knotted at 2-2 after Karl-Anthony Towns posted 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists for his first career playoff triple-double to fuel a New York bounce-back win in Game 4. CJ McCollum is the Trae Young villain origin story the Hawks didn't know they needed and has been the Hawks' closer every time they've needed one.

Meanwhile, the Celtics blew out Philly 128-96 Sunday to take a 3-1 series lead of their own. Embiid missed the Sixers' last seven games and returned Sunday, but the Celtics immediately weaponized him as a switch target, running him through 37 ball-screens and feasting around him until he checked out midway through the fourth quarter with Boston up 30. VJ Edgecombe dropped 30 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the first rookie to do that in a playoff game since Tim Duncan in 1998.