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The 2026 NFL Draft, like any other, sparked mixed emotions among fans.
Broadcasts and social media erupted with debates on various topics, while controversies overshadowed the event for some this year.
Here’s all the biggest drama to come out of the 2026 NFL Draft:
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The latest New England Patriots scandal
Dianna Russini, left, and Mike Vrabel, right, are shown in a split composite image showing Russini with an ESPN microphone and Vrabel on the Titans bench wearing a headset. (Image images)
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel left his team on Day 3 of this year’s draft while turning his attention to his family after several scandalous photos of him and NFL reporter Dianna Russini were leaked in recent weeks.
Vrabel and the Patriots announced he was leaving the team early Thursday morning, and a few hours later, The New York Post published a photo showing Vrabel and Russini kissing.
Vrabel then held a press conference just before the start of the first round, amid speculation about his future with the team.
“My previous actions do not meet the standard I hold myself to,” he said at the news conference.
COMPLETE NFL DRAFT RESULTS FROM THE FIRST ROUND OF A WILD NIGHT
Vrabel was asked to explain why he initially made a statement. calling pictures of him and Russini at an Arizona resort were “laughable” after they were published by the New York Post in early April.
“That is a private and personal matter. “I don’t think those comments…were an attempt to protect his family,” Vrabel said.
It was the last question Vrabel answered before storming off the podium and leaving the room.
The Patriots then selected Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu in the first round, sparking viral jokes after his draft pick profile video showed him dancing where he slowly spun in a circle while raising his hands.
“This video will go triple platinum when Drake Maye gets fired for the 5th time in half,” one user wrote in the caption of an X post of Lomu’s video.
Arvell Reese and the New York Giants
Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after the New York Giants selected him with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the NFL draft in Pittsburgh on April 23, 2026. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
The Giants surprised many when they selected Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese with the fifth overall pick.
Some fans and pundits believed the Giants wouldn’t add another linebacker with such a high pick, with several high investments at the position already on the roster. Some fans were even more frustrated when they used the 10th overall pick on offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, passing over touted safety prospect Caleb Downs. Downs then went 11th to the rival Dallas Cowboys.
Meanwhile, Reese emerged as a topic of debate for other reasons. Stories about how he earned a 0.4 GPA in high school and then earned a 3.7 GPA at Ohio State spread like wildfire on draft night.
“I think the secret is time and effort,” Reese told CBS Sports. “In high school, it was a time where I didn’t even try in school or I didn’t really think school was important. So I just had to focus on it and take it seriously.”
But then New York sports radio host Craig Carton of WFAN went viral for commenting on Reese’s academic rollercoaster.
“How does a kid who had a 0.4 GPA in high school come out of Ohio State with a 3.7 GPA?” Cardboard said. “I’d like to figure that out.”
Reese also went viral for a series of moments interacting with New York sports media shortly after being drafted.
During his introductory press conference, Reese earned both praise and fear from fans and pundits for a comment about embracing “violence.”
“To play defense, you have to be violent. You have to be thinking about doing something violent,” he said.
At another point in the press conference, Reese was asked an awkwardly worded question about how it would impact veterans and children with disabilities.
Reese asked the reporter to repeat the question and then stammered before answering, “I don’t know how to answer that.”
“Who asks a rookie a question like this right out of the gate?” wrote one X user in response to a clip of the interaction.
ESPN and the new eight-minute draft clock
The NFL launched a new shortened pick clock this year, reducing the amount of time teams have to pick from 10 minutes to eight minutes.
However, the decision appeared to generate a strong reaction on social media, especially against the ESPN broadcast.
Several fans complained that they couldn’t even scroll with X or open their phones without seeing the results with 3 or 4 picks ahead. One user wrote: “Personally, I liked the 8 minute clock, but the first 10 selections were very annoying because I couldn’t even open my phone without having the next 4 selections screwed up.”
Sean McVay and the Rams’ selection of QB Ty Simpson
Alabama’s Ty Simpson celebrates after being selected with the 13th overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
When the Los Angeles Rams selected quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday, head coach Sean McVay didn’t seem thrilled and admitted as much on Friday.
McVay, summing up the second day of the Rams draft, He opened his press conference by acknowledging his behavior after Simpson’s selection.
“I got my behavior last night, but we’re excited about it. There are different things. I always want to be aware of how things happen and things like that. I’m very excited about last night and I’m very excited about today. I couldn’t be more excited for us to continue to lead together, but every decision we make is collective and collaborative,” McVay said.
“For any questions or misunderstandings based simply on my behavior or disposition last night, I wanted to get that out of the way. This is my friend here.,” McVay said with a smile as he approached general manager Les Snead.
“They caught my attention because I received a lot of text messages. That was never my intention to get ahead, but sometimes I can be a little moody.”
A reporter followed up and asked the 40-year-old coach why he was in a bad mood.
“Well, there were other things that had nothing to do with it, which is normal life,” McVay said.
“The main thing was that I couldn’t be more excited to be able to add him, but also to understand how much I love Matthew Stafford, how respectful you always want to be and the way things can be interpreted. The demeanor would have been stoic in nature because you’re excited, but in no way – it’s Matthew’s football team.”
Cardinals select running back with third pick
Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame celebrates after being selected with the third overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
The Arizona Cardinals made one of the boldest and most debated picks in this year’s draft, taking running back Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame with the third overall pick. While Love is undeniably talented, the move has Draft Twitter in absolute chaos, with fans, analysts and scouts calling him everything from “dessert-first strategy” to “bad business.”
“Love the player. Hate the pick where it happened. Top 5 RB shouldn’t happen these days,” one X user wrote.
Another user wrote: “I hope jersey sales are good because RB Jeremiyah Love will be the worst pick in Round 1. I think the owner intervened.”
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ESPN reporter Myron Medcalf wrote on
