Instant reactions from the 1st round of the draft
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 23: Ty Simpson of Alabama celebrates after being selected thirteenth overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams during Round One of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium on April 23, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images The first round and night one of the 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and it was a wild one with a bunch of trades, a few surprises, and teams making multiple first-round picks. We saw the Raiders land their hopeful franchise quarterback, the Rams get their hopeful quarterback of the future, a ton of offensive linemen get drafted, and Makai Lemon land in Philly and potentially replace AJ Brown on the Eagles.
We have plenty to talk about, so here are my instant reactions from the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Franchise Quarterbacks As expected, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with their 1st overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He was expected to be their selection the second the Raiders clinched the top pick in the draft, and tonight it finally became official.
However, don’t expect him to start right away. The team signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins and ideally would like Mendoza to sit his entire rookie season . So, if all goes the way the Raiders front office and coaching staff hope, we won’t see much of Mendoza in 2026.
Welcome to the AFC West Fernando Mendoza pic. twitter. com/rXeHyLHkeh — MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) April 24, 2026 One of the bigger surprises from night one was the Los Angeles Rams selecting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with their 13th overall selection.
There was a ton of debate surrounding the QB2 during the draft process, but the Rams pounced on him and now he’ll be the eventual quarterback of the future behind veteran Matthew Stafford. He lands with Sean McVay and will have time to develop in what is probably the best-case scenario for him. Jets choose Bailey over Reese One of the bigger talking points heading into the draft was, what would the Jets do at 2?
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