Bronny James scores first NBA playoffs points, with some help from LeBron
Bronny James scores his first points in the NBA playoffs with help from LeBron!
The 2026 NFL Draft's first round featured standout decisions, including the Las Vegas Raiders selecting quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall. The round was marked by surprises, with seven teams making multiple picks and eight trades occurring.
(Emilee Chinn/Getty Images North America/TNS)
NEW YORK — We won’t truly know who won or lost the first round of the 2026 NFL draft for a few years, but the decisions by a few teams Thursday night certainly stood out.
After the Las Vegas Raiders selected quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall — a long-expected formality — the rest of the first round from downtown Pittsburgh was filled with surprises.
Seven teams made multiple first-round picks. There were eight trades. Two players who attended the draft in person were not selected Thursday.
All of that made for compelling drama. But who best maximized their draft capital?
Here are our winners and losers from Round 1:
For all of the pre-draft buzz about the Cowboys trading up to take a defensive difference-maker, Dallas managed to land stud safety Caleb Downs without paying a premium.
Dallas sent two fifth-round picks to Miami in order to move up one spot to No. 11, where it took Downs in what could end up being the draft’s biggest steal.
Nobody questions the talent of Downs, whose IQ and instincts made him a leader on Ohio State’s tenacious defense. He was widely considered a top-five player in this draft.
But Downs was the victim of positional value, as a safety still has not been drafted in the top 10 since 2017.
That was to the benefit of the Cowboys, who now have a new centerpiece on a defense that allowed an NFL-worst 30.1 points per game last season.
Dallas further bolstered its beleaguered defense by taking UCF pass rusher Malachi Lawrence at No. 23 — and, in doing so, added two fourth-round picks by trading back three spots with Philadelphia.
The first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft was quarterback Fernando Mendoza, selected by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Seven teams made multiple picks in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The first round included eight trades and featured two players who attended the draft but were not selected.
The key surprises in the first round included unexpected selections and trades that changed team strategies.
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Time will tell if the Giants regret passing twice on Downs, whom they were frequently linked to.
But there’s no denying the Giants improved Thursday with the additions of versatile Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5 and road-grading Miami offensive lineman Frances Mauigoa at No. 10.
The freakishly athletic Reese was a candidate to go as high as No. 2, and nobody — including the Giants — expected him to last until No. 5.
So even though the Giants have a surplus of edge rushers, they took Reese, whom some considered the best player in the draft.
Reese has experience playing inside and outside linebacker, and he’ll begin off the ball to complement edges Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux. But expect Reese to move all around the Giants defense — and for their “NASCAR” pass-rushing package to be a terror on third downs.
Mauigoa, meanwhile, fills a huge void as the missing piece on the offensive line. He is set to start off at right guard but has plenty of experience playing right tackle, where he could end up down the road.
Selecting the 6-6, 329-pound Mauigoa was all about protecting second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart.
“I’m ready to die for you, man,” Mauigoa said in a message to Dart on the ESPN draft broadcast.
It was a statement first draft for head coach John Harbaugh, who prioritizes physicality as much as anybody.
Indeed, it was a big night for the New York teams, as the Jets added three players in the first round.
First, they selected Texas Tech pass rusher David Bailey, opting for the more polished product at No. 2 over the higher-upside Reese.
Next, they took pass-catching Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq at No. 16, adding a mismatch nightmare to their offense.
Then they traded back into the first round to take steady Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. at No. 30 — a value pick considering Cooper had been in the mix at No. 16.
Suddenly, the Jets’ long-suffering offense is flush with playmakers, while Bailey is a plug-and-play piece on defense.
All three could be instant starters.
Dart isn’t the only second-year quarterback who stands to benefit from Thursday night’s draft results.
The Tennessee Titans took dependable Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate at No. 4, giving quarterback Cam Ward a big-bodied weapon.
The New Orleans Saints followed a similar approach, selecting explosive Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson at No. 8 to build out their Tyler Shough-led offense.
And while there’s no guarantee Shedeur Sanders will be the primary quarterback, whoever starts for the Cleveland Browns will be better off thanks to Thursday’s additions of Utah tackle Spencer Fano at No. 9 and Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion at No. 24.
This is no indictment of the uber-talented Jeremiyah Love, as the Notre Dame star is one of the true blue-chip prospects in this draft.
But the Cardinals have too many holes to be taking a running back at No. 3 overall. In doing so, they passed on Reese and their choice of offensive lineman, either of which would have filled a major need.
It would have been more palatable if the Cardinals could have paired Love with a young quarterback in Alabama’s Ty Simpson, whom they were often linked to.
But before the Cardinals could even consider trading back into the first round for Simpson, the Los Angeles Rams sniped him at No. 13.
That Rams selection was the biggest stunner of the first round, and not only because of the polarizing nature of Simpson’s prospect stock.
Los Angeles is in win-now mode, having advanced to the NFC Championship Game last year. Matthew Stafford, the reigning NFL MVP, is entering his age-38 season.
But rather than adding an instant-impact player to support their Super Bowl mission, the Rams drafted Stafford’s eventual replacement.
USC wide receiver Makai Lemon and Miami pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr. were among the top players still on the board.
Speaking of Lemon, the Steelers called the wide receiver Thursday to tell him they planned to draft him at No. 21.
Footage from the green room shows Lemon’s family celebrating as he spoke on the phone with Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan.
However, confusion unfolded when Lemon received a call from Philadelphia.
As it turned out, the Eagles traded from No. 23 to No. 20 (sending two fourth-rounders to Dallas) and took Lemon before the Steelers could.
Lemon figures to be part of the solution for replacing disgruntled wide receiver A.J. Brown, whom the Eagles are expected to trade to New England after June 1.
The Steelers pivoted to Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor with some egg on their face — and with the draft in their city, no less.
Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks was No. 53 on the big board put together by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.
He ranked No. 62 among ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s top prospects.
Yet the Vikings took Banks with the No. 18 overall pick in what appeared to be the biggest reach in Round 1.
The 6-6 Banks is oozing with talent, but his college production didn’t always match. More concerning is that Banks has broken his left foot twice over the last year, requiring surgery in March.
He played in only three games last season.
Still, Minnesota made Banks the first defensive tackle off the board, ahead of Clemson’s Peter Woods and Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald.
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