NFL draft picks tracker: Analysis for every 2026 first-round selection

Here. We. Go. Or … “here we go,” words often changed in Pittsburgh, site of the 2026 NFL Draft, which kicks off with the first round on April 23. It’s the first time the “annual player selection meeting” has been staged in the Steel City in 78 years – and safe to say this one might be more consequential than the 1948 draft, when Harry Gilmer was selected first overall by Washington. (Oops. Future Hall of Famers Bobby Layne and Y.A. Tittle went late in that draft’s top 10.)

The 2026 draft is not viewed as one with much, if any, Hall of Fame-caliber talent – certainly when juxtaposed with the expectations that are already coalescing around the 2027 draft. But there should be quite a few players entering the league this year that make significant – and maybe even immediate – impacts.

USA TODAY Sports will analyze each pick, one through 32, as it is made Thursday night, so stay right here.

How to watch the NFL draft:

The 2026 draft will be broadcast on NFL Network, ESPN and ABC and streamed on NFL+ and ESPN+ over the next three days:

• Thursday, April 23 (Round 1 starts 8 p.m. ET)
• Friday, April 24 (Rounds 2-3 start 7 p.m. ET)
• Saturday, April 25 (Rounds 4-7 start 12 p.m. ET)

NFL draft prospect rankings

NFL draft expert Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz has been evaluating and ranking players ahead of the 2026 NFL draft. Take a dive into his overall assessment:

▶ Top 100 big board (April 9)

50* biggest NFL draft busts of last 50 years

The asterisk because I couldn't limit this list of names, which will take you down memory lane, to just 50. One reason? Rewind four years to the 2021 draft, supposedly chock full of quarterback talent ... that mostly has yet to materialize. Yet one of the league's prominent QBs also escaped the list this year.

▶ Read more

2026 NFL draft tracker: First-round order

1. Las Vegas Raiders −