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

NFL draft draws fans to Pittsburgh for Day 1 | full coverage 29:28 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 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 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. Maybe the biggest shocker was the Los Angeles Rams selecting QB Ty Simpson at No.