The 2026 NFL Draft: Day 1 recap of first-round picks

The 2026 NFL Draft kicked off Thursday night in Pittsburgh with a quarterback being taken No. 1 overall for the fourth straight year.

The Las Vegas Raiders, as was widely expected, selected QB Fernando Mendoza, who capped his stellar Heisman season by leading Indiana to its first national title in school history.

The choice of Mendoza marks an attempt by Raiders minority owner Tom Brady — the legendary QB who won a staggering seven Super Bowl rings — to mentor an heir apparent of sorts, giving Las Vegas a clean slate as it enters a major rebuild following the disappointing one-and-done tenures of head coach Pete Carrol and QB Geno Smith.

A general view of the draft tent is seen prior to Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium on April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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Mendoza could be the only QB selected in Round 1.

A major unknown heading into Thursday was the fate of powerful Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, arguably the draft’s best athlete. That question was quickly answered when he heard his name called by the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3 overall.

With the position is no longer considered premium, it is often overlooked at the top of the first round. Love was the first running back taken in the top 3 since the Cleveland Browns selected Trent Richardson at No. 3 in 2012. He is just the fourth running back since 2018 to be selected in the top 10.

But maybe the draft’s biggest surprise was the number of wide receivers selected high. Teams were expected to focus their attention to the trenches in a draft experts concur is lacking in blue chippers. But Ohio State WR Carnell Tate was chosen by the Tennessee Titans at No. 4, and Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson was taken at No. 8 by the New Orleans Saints.

The New York Giants, who finished with just four wins last year and are hoping for a reset under new head coach John Harbaugh, had two top 10 selections thanks to a blockbuster trade last week in which they acquired the No. 10 pick from the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for disgruntled star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. They used that pick on offensive tackle Francis Mauigo, of Miami. They also had the No. 5 pick, with which they selected Ohio State edge Arvell Reese.

The football powerhouse Ohio State was responsible for four top 11 selections. Along with Reese and Tate, linebacker Sonny Styles was selected at No. 7 by the Washington Commanders, and safety Caleb Downs was taken by the Dallas Cowboys at No. 11.

The Kansas City Chiefs were responsible for the first big draft day trade: moving up from No. 9 to No. 6 to take LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane in a swap with the Cleveland Browns.

Miami edge Rueben Bain Jr. was also expected to be snatched up quickly.