JACK HOADLEY
Assistant Sports Editor
The 2026 NFL Draft concluded Saturday evening, and now more than ever we can arrive on a number of opinions about each NFL team this season.
While this was an objectively weak draft class, the upgrades that a number of teams made will go a long way.
Here are some of my biggest takeaways and opinions about how the board fell during one of the league’s biggest weekends.
Teams who needed defense walked out significantly improved.
A number of NFL teams entered with defense on their mind this weekend, and many walked out much better on that side of the ball.
The NFC East, in particular, improved defensively with the Giants adding Arvell Reese at pick five, a versatile linebacker who could be a future All-Pro.
The Commanders and Cowboys added Ohio State stars of their own, with Washington taking Sonny Styles at seven and Dallas selecting Caleb Downs at 11, widely regarded as the steal of the draft.
In comparison to teams that sought offensive playmakers, defense-needy teams came out significantly stronger in comparison.
The level of talent on defense was vastly superior compared to offense, which should allow for those teams who took defense to be much better this season and beyond.
Contending teams made questionable moves.
Whether it was the Rams drafting a QB, or the Bills trading back three times, contenders in the NFL seemed like they were trying to do anything but win now.
While looking ahead is always a good idea in the NFL draft, selecting Ty Simpson, a 23-year-old quarterback, in the middle of your win now window with Matthew Stafford, is ridiculous in my eyes.
The Rams could’ve added anywhere on offense outside of that position and been seen as successful, yet they found a way to get no better than they were Wednesday.
Then, Buffalo managed to add little beyond good depth in rounds two and three, even though Skyler Bell is one of my favorite selections in round four.
Buffalo played the board poorly, continuing to pass up on impact talent in favor of one more late round pick.
Buffalo missed out on players like Emannuel McNeil-Warren and Kayden McDonald by trading back and selecting T.J. Parker, who will be a rotational third or fourth pass rusher for Buffalo.
The only contender who had a strong draft was the Eagles, adding Makai Lemon via trade up with a division rival, who will immediately need a wide receiver.
The NFC is wide open.
Despite a strong draft from Philadelphia, almost every other top NFC team had a weak draft, leaving the door wide open for teams who struggled in 2025.
Particularly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got much better in the draft, having Rueben Bain Jr. fall right into their lap at #15.
Teams like Tampa, including Dallas and Detroit, benefitted from weak contender drafts as the door is open for nearly every team in the conference to be competitive.
Parody will be all over the NFC in 2026 as weaker teams truly evened the playing field after very strong drafts.
The Raiders and Browns should be much better in 2026.
While I am hesitant to speak highly of these two organizations, Cleveland and Las Vegas may have put previous woes behind them with their newest adds.
Vegas obviously succeeded in hopefully filling their quarterback position by taking Fernando Mendoza with the first selection.
But then at the top of round four, they stopped the fall for Jermod McCoy, paring the talented corner with second round selection Treydan Stukes, reinventing their secondary.
Though the offensive line is a major concern, Vegas got much better through a best-player-available strategy.
Cleveland had a similar plan and delivered even more than Vegas did by adding impact players across both sides of the ball.
My favorite selections from Cleveland were wide receivers Denzel Boston and K.C. Concepcion, who will both be immediate starters to help develop their young QBs.
More late round steals than ever before.
Finally, when we look back, I feel like we will see more late round steals than even before from this class.
From my own perspective, the player selected at 30 may not be much different from the player selected at 100, which may allow for more late round successes than we’ve ever seen.
Lots of the players who fell still possess strong traits that make them valuable to an NFL team.
Bell may become a future star for Joe Brady and the Bills, and a player like McCoy going to Vegas could change their team.
In general, the lack of top-tier talent makes the mid-round players in this class more likely to be successful than normal.
Overall, the 2026 draft was a fun one for a lot of franchises, but some are left with a lot of backlash from the media and more questions than they started with (the Rams).
My Draft Winners: New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts
My Draft Losers: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers
