Certain storylines at the opening of 2026 NFL Draft will carry aftershocks that go far beyond the debut round.
The commissioner, the calls, and the Costner … it has all led to this.
Football fans are engaged in cautious celebration in Pittsburgh, where the 2026 NFL Draft is set to get underway on Thursday night. The first 32 picks will be announced on Thursday with the next two rounds following the day after.
The final four close things out on Saturday, with 257 men arriving on the professional circuit before all’s said and done.
Top Day 1 Storylines To Follow At The 2026 NFL Draft
With Thursday action set to get underway, TeamFB7 has seven storylines that will threaten Thursday … and beyond.
Two York
It’s a presumed certainty that Indiana quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner, and national champion Fernando Mendoza is destined for Las Vegas with the Raiders holding the No. 1 pick. Questions, however, immediately surface at No. 2, where the New York Jets will make their latest attempt at avoiding freshman infamy.
This marks the fifth occasion where the Jets logo resides in the top four since 2018. Conventional wisdom suggests that they would chase a long-sough franchise quarterback, though there’s a consensus drop-off from Mendoza and the rest of the passing class (the status of Alabama thrower Ty Simpson has been widely debated).
Daniel Jeremiah’s Final Mock Draft! @MoveTheSticks
— NFL (@NFL) April 23, 2026
Full: https://t.co/0eex2dJJUB pic.twitter.com/fzqYwc99tX
Adding a supplemental aerial talent to work next to Garrett Wilson is certainly an option while the fearsome defensive work of David Bailey or Arvell Reese could be an emphatic statement, especially with a noted defensive mind in Aaron Glenn leading the cause.
In any event, the Jets will be plenty busy and have a golden opportunity to open the next chapter of this seemingly-perpetual rebuild: thanks to the recent trades of some of their recent rookie acquisitions (i.e. Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams), the Jets hold four of the first 44 picks on the week’s board, including two on Thursday night (2nd and 16th).
They Might Be Giants
Elsewhere in the Tri-State area, there may finally be a light at the end of the Big Blue tunnel: the New York Giants are nearing a decade of mostly meandering through the dregs of the NFL but landing the backfield battery of Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo at last year’s selections has brought legitimate hope to blue fans of Big Blue.
Bringing John Harbaugh in to wear the top headset has only further fueled that sense of resurgence, as has the acquisition of the Cincinnati Bengals’ top 10 pick that sacrificed homegrown blitzer Dexter Lawrence. This marks the second consecutive draft where the Giants will make multiple visits to the first-round podium, as last year’s opener saw them select Dart 22 picks after pass rushing prospect Abdul Carter.
The New York Giants will have some options when picking at No. 5 in the upcoming NFL draft. @RyanJYoung gives you his pick for what John Harbaugh and the G-Men should be looking for when they go on the clock later this month.https://t.co/b3ZFb4BBJx
— teamfb (@teamfbseven) April 2, 2026
How the Giants spend these elite choice (holding fifth and 10th on Thursday night) will go a long way in determining if there is truly anything legitimate behind this sense of resurgence. Though last season spelled the end of the line for previous head coach Brian Daboll, general manager Joe Schoen held his post, albeit with a presumed sense of de facto collaboration with Harbaugh.
Schoen’s drafts have garnered mixed results at best, necessitating discussions about his job security: there’s a sense of patience with Carter while Dart, Skattebo, and Malik Nabers figure to be the future franchise faces. Picking Evan Neal before several elite receiving prospects in 2022 (i.e. Wilson, Drake London, Chris Olave, Jameson Williams) looms large, as does getting Deonte Banks before Dalton Kincaid (despite Banks emerging as a serviceable returner).
Love for Love?
Saquon Barkley’s arrival in the second slot of the 2018 draft hinted at a resurgence in the running back slot and the Penn State alum has justified that hype and then some (albeit not for the blue group that originally selected him).
Barkley indirectly spread the wealth, as his breakout yielded eight-figure yearly salaries for some of his tenured contemporaries (i.e. Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor) but drafters weren’t exactly keen on duplicating such a strategy. It has worked decently well for the Atlanta Falcons (who took Bijan Robinson eighth overall in 2023) but Barkley, Robinson, and Jahmyr Gibbs remain the only backs chosen in the top dozen during the 2020s.
“Jeremiyah Love is not just a running back, he has the traits to come in a shape an organization.”
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) April 23, 2026
– @CoachBrianKelly pic.twitter.com/TiQcGFUwhN
All that and more is to say that the over/under on Notre Dame rusher Jeremiyah Love’s time in the green room could well be one of the more stress-inducing wagers one can bet on this week. Blessed with a sterling size (212 pounds) and blessed with a long-sought athleticism, Love is capable of changing the game through both the ground and air, having visited the end zone 40 times over his last two seasons in South Bend.
Las Vegas made a similar gambit last season, taking Ashton Jeanty with the sixth pick but failed to generate any offensive momentum (which proved particularly painful considering Tetairoa McMillan went to Carolina just two picks later). Omarion Hampton’s breakout with the Los Angeles Chargers at 22nd overall was a bittersweet gift to his profession: he proved that rusher can still put the “V” in MVP, but that elite such talents at the draft can be found after the younger viewers get to bed.
Chief Concerns
Next to the New Yorkers, three other teams hold multiple first-round picks Thursday night. While two (Cleveland, Miami) fall in the lasting rebuild category, the outlier is the Kansas City Chiefs, who are fresh off one of the more surprising playoff absences in recent gridiron memory.
To their credit, the Chiefs took their exit in stride, swiftly reloaded with the signing of newly-crowned Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, re-upping with franchise face Travis Kelce, and adding veteran talents on defense with Alohi Gilman, Kader Kohou, and Khyiris Tonga. They later unloaded Trent McDuffie’s contract to the Los Angeles Rams and got back their first-round pick that lands 29th on Thursday.
What the Chiefs do with their picks, as they also own the ninth choice (their highest since they took Eric Fisher first in 2013), could determine the pace and course for the rest of Patrick Mahomes’ prime. The nightmare scenario for the rest of the league is perhaps the elite receiving pairing of Carnell Tate and/or Jordyn Tyson landing in the red grasp at No. 9 but it’s more likely they address a defense that struggled to create turnovers last season.
Bain Pain
Every draft seems to feature at least one elite prospect that tumbles on the mocks before things get a little too real. The infamous “gas mask bong” video starring Laremy Tunsil routinely makes its viral rounds on draft weekend and Shedeur Sanders’ infamous fall to the fifth round last year won’t be soon forgotten.
This time around the prospect in question appears to be Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr.: the final segments of draft prep have been interrupted by reports of Bain’s involvement in a 2024 car accident that proved fatal. Bain had the legal case against him dismissed and the family of the deceased has offered a statement of support in the lead-in.
From Path to the Draft: A look at the latest news on #Miami edge Rueben Bain Jr., including the details on a 2024 car crash and what team have known. pic.twitter.com/dH82Z6WlIa
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 14, 2026
The mere mention of involvement in such cases, however, invariably brings about the process of “character issues” on draft night. Bain will more than likely get a call on Thursday, but some had him in the elite echelon of the top three before this story resurfaced. If he were to fall out of the top five, he would be certainly well-positioned to make the best of the situation.
One popular fantasy has the Chiefs taking him in the latter stages of the top 10 or he could serve as the Micah Parsons successor the Dallas Cowboys are seeking three picks later. Bain will be one of 16 prospects on hand in Pittsburgh and there’s a good chance that plenty of cameras will be directed at his table.
The Host With the Most?
Pittsburgh is the latest city to get the draft honor and their house is in relative disarray.
The local Steelers made the relative best of the Aaron Rodgers situation by winning the AFC North divisional crown before another early playoff exit. They’re now dealing with the dark side of association with Rodgers, as the future Hall-of-Famer has engaged in his in-character brand of offseason indecisiveness, giving no indication of his plans for 2026. For all intents and purposes, Pittsburgh enter Thursday’s festivities with Will Howard, he of nary of NFL snap to his name, as its QB1.
That places the Steelers in a curious spot as it seeks to draw cheers from its local contingent: do they end the wait of Simpson or even make an unexpected reach for Carson Beck? Do they boost their block for an increasingly statue-esque Rodgers with an SEC talent on the outside (i.e. Monroe Freeling, Kadyn Proctor)? Or should they try to improve a defense that finished at or near the bottom of several major categories beyond turnover generation?
The funny part of the matter is that there’s probably no wrong answer in the name of protecting their divisional title but the Steelers made it clear that they’re quite tired of such a fate being their ceiling by opting to finally move on from Mike Tomlin.
Old Timer’s Day
Trades where yields are revealed later may well steal the headlines by the time the weekend lets out but several veterans may be up for grabs. The Bengals and Giants made that clear with the trade of Lawrence, who will don stripes for a $28 million price in the name of boosting a porous defense.
The weekend is known for revealing the destinational fate of freshmen, several vets could join Lawrence in the line for change of address forms. At the forefront of such rumors is Philadelphia receiver A.J. Brown, who has drawn significant interest from contending squads such as the New England Patriots, who could use any distraction from the off-field rumors centered around head coach Mike Vrabel.
Other trade candidates could include passers of drafts past eager to get a fresh start, such as Anthony Richardson of Indianapolis or Spencer Rattler of New Orleans. Either way, it’s shaping up to be a weekend that keeps the insiders’ smartphones well-vibrated, whether the rumors center upon familiar or new faces.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
