How the NFL Draft became the most exciting and crucial day of the year

David Bailey of the Texas Tech participates at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine (Getty)

The dilemma is always thus: how much risk is a team willing to take? Are you aiming to land a superstar? or can expert coaching and a collection of very good players, on valuable first-time contracts, prove sufficient enough to contend for the Lombardi trophy?

“The players get 17 games, but as a general manager, you only get one game [the draft], this is it.” Spielman outlines. “That's why it's so exciting. This process starts back in August, when the scouts are starting to hit the road and going to visit their colleges, all this information that is gathered between now and then, you get one shot at this thing.

“All the teams’ boards are set at the start of draft week. So now it's just going through different scenarios, who's going to fall, who may not fall, going through a lot of strategic thinking.

“Really, it's like we’ve seen thousands of games by this point. It’s not going to change if we look one more time.

“Most general managers know that front part of the board inside and out, the first three rounds. But on Saturday, that's the scouts’ day. That’s where you find hidden gems. [Jets GM] Darren Mougey is doing doing this, spending a lot of time on that backboard and guys we want to target in rounds four through seven, or a college free agent at the end of the draft.”

The Jets have meteoric expectations. With the Las Vegas Raiders all but certain to grab quarterback Fernando Mendoza, fresh from guiding Indiana to an improbable national championship, New York’s pick at two is the real start of the draft. Texas Tech edge David Bailey and Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese are both in contention. And with 16th and 33rd overall as well, Jets fans will be drooling at the prospect of fresh talent injecting life into one of the league’s most listless franchises in recent years.

Rick Spielman during his time as Minnesota Vikings general manager (Getty)

At the opposite end of the board waits Seattle, and it will be a long wait, perhaps several hours before their turn with the last pick of the night at 32. Brimming with confidence after a dominant victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl 60, defensive coordinator Aden Durde, returning despite head coach interviews with the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons, has been integral to the process. The Seahawks are determined to remain at the top of the league for years to come, and an effective strategy in the draft remains pivotal to those hopes.

“We finished the Super Bowl and had a week off, but then there was the Combine and Klint Kubiak went to the Raiders, so I was lucky enough to be part of the interviews for the offensive coordinator,” Durde tells the Independent. “You then start to watch players, even when I went away to Santa Barbara, not only college players, but there’s free agency, so you're just watching free agents at the same time. So there's a lot of work to be done.

“You have to watch the player in different phases of the game. What traits do you need in that position? And what’s their X Factor?”

The legacy of the draft can also stick with coaches and executives, too, with the high-risk picks or trades mid-draft, likely to be scrutinised for years to come.

Adrian Peterson became a legend for the Vikings after being drafted seventh overall (Getty Images)

“The Adrian Peterson situation, where we had an opportunity to move up, we decided to stay there and see if he would fall to us,” Spielman recalls.

“But there were teams in front of us that threatened to take him. That might have been my only draft in Minnesota, because the owners were sitting right next to me, asking, ‘are you sure you know what you're doing?’ I had to say, ‘oh, yeah, I got this’. But on the inside, you're like, if this goes wrong, ‘God, I may have to go and tell my wife I'm getting fired’.

“But this is kind of like Christmas for the GM, he can make or break his reputation; become the hero, almost, despite the players having all the adulation on the field. If he gets this right, then he'll become a hero in New York. In my time, I was a hero some years and a goat some years.”

NFL Draft 2026 - first round order

Round 1

1. Las Vegas Raiders

2. New York Jets

3. Arizona Cardinals

4. Tennessee Titans

5. New York Giants

6. Cleveland Browns

7. Washington Commanders

8. New Orleans Saints

9. Kansas City Chiefs

10. Cincinnati Bengals

11. Miami Dolphins

12. Dallas Cowboys

13. Los Angeles Rams (from Falcons)

14. Baltimore Ravens

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

16. New York Jets (from Colts)

17. Detroit Lions

18. Minnesota Vikings

19. Carolina Panthers

20. Dallas Cowboys (from Packers)

21. Pittsburgh Steelers

22. Los Angeles Chargers

23. Philadelphia Eagles

24. Cleveland Browns (from Jaguars)

25. Chicago Bears

26. Buffalo Bills

27. San Francisco 49ers

28. Houston Texans

29. Kansas City Chiefs (from Rams)

30. Miami Dolphins (from Broncos)

31. New England Patriots

32. Seattle Seahawks

The NFL Draft 2026 takes place from 23-25 April, with the first round beginning at 1am BST on Friday

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