The 2026 NFL Draft begins at 8 p.m. ET with the Las Vegas Raiders choosing Fernando Mendoza as their new franchise quarterback, but the intrigue doesn’t begin until that first pick is history.
Here’s how this draft will play out. The first pick will be the signature moment of the draft, but the fireworks won’t go off until later.
The maneuvers, complications and curiosity all begin beyond the first selection.
An advertisement for the 2026 NFL Draft is displayed on a video board outside Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on March 25, 2026. (Image images)
The reason is that this draft lacks the appeal of multiple quarterbacks competing to go higher than each other. Only one quarterback besides Mendoza has even a slim chance of being taken in the first round, and that would probably require some of those moves you just read about.
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This draft also lacks the appeal of polarizing players like Randy Moss in 1998 or Shedeur Sanders a year ago, so it will be difficult to find heroes and villains.
But this draft offers great touchpoints that will keep people interested. It offers drama about some teams and some individual perspectives.
Let’s start with the teams:
New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn reacts during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on December 28, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
This draft actually begins with the New York Jets being on the clock at No. 2 and picking a player whose identity only three people in the organization (coach Aaron Glenn, general manager Darren Mougey and owner Woody Johnson) know for sure.
That’s important, friends. Remember the Jets used to leak like century-old pipes in Bronx homes during the Robert Saleh regime. No more. The Jets are locked in, so even insiders aren’t sure if they’ll take Texas Tech running back David Bailey or Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese.
Or someone else.
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Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown in the first half against Syracuse at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend on Nov. 22, 2025. (Michael Clubb/South Bend Tribune/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
The Arizona Cardinals are slated to pick at No. 3. And they could take any number of players: running back Jeremiyah Love (if they’re smart), a right tackle or a pass rusher.
But here’s the truth: the Cardinals want to make a change. Seriously.
They want more picks and they need more talent and the rumor around the league is that they have been leaking interest in Love so that a team that covets the dynamic running back will offer them a trade.
Are you catching the trend here? This is something interesting.
The fact is that the Cardinals, Eagles, Chiefs, Saints, Browns, Bills, Titans Commanders and Seahawks have been linked to either up or down trade scenarios.
We can only hope that such massive chaos spills over into this draft.
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And why are teams so willing to move? Because there are players who come with great skill but also questionable reliability, a combination that makes teams want to make changes to hedge their bets.
Consider:
Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa is probably the best offensive tackle prospect in the draft. He’s big, strong, tough, everything an NFL team wants in a bookend entry.
He also comes into this draft with a herniated disc in his back.
Mauigoa was reportedly asymptomatic during the 2025 season and remains so now, but teams are aware that if his back fails, he could require surgery. So, yes, a significant potential risk.
Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson is on the injured list. He had a torn multiple ligaments (ACL, MCL, PCL) in his knee in 2022, a broken collarbone in 2024, and hamstring issues for much of last season.
Tyson is also a notable human character.
And those two traits make teams love him. And hate it. And I’m not sure where to draft him in the first round.
Injury concerns aren’t the only reason some players will be fascinating to watch during Thursday’s first round.
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You can bet that if ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky gets any airtime during the draft, he’ll be advocating for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson to be selected because there’s a bromance there.
simpson is the other quarterback who could go in the first round. But maybe not.
Ty Simpson of the Alabama Crimson Tide runs the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, on January 1, 2026. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
The Cardinals, of all teams, could be interested in him later in the first round. Simpson isn’t a valuable pick at No. 3 because he only started 15 college games and even Nick Saban, who recruited him to Alabama, doesn’t think he’s ready for the NFL.
“He needs to go somewhere where he has a chance to develop and not play right away,” Saban said on the Pat McAfee Show this week.
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There are rumors that the Pittsburgh Steelers initially viewed Simpson as a player to park on their bench and let him learn behind Aaron Rodgers. It’s unclear where that thinking is now within an organization that doesn’t enjoy 100 percent certainty that Rodgers will play in 2026.
Call it another opportunity for intrigue in the first round of this draft.
