NFL Player News

The Buccaneers selected Bain in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 15th overall.

Bain (6-foot-2, 263 pounds) is likely an example of a player whose skill set grade is stronger than his athleticism grade. Bain was utterly dominant at Miami (FL), yet there is concern that his light frame and extremely short arms (30 and 7/8 inches) could make the jump in competition hard on his game. If Bain's arms don't hold him back, though, then he should be one of the better defensive ends in the league, and his addition addressees an area of need (edge rusher) for the Buccaneers. Bain was a dominant starter for each of his three years at Miami, including a 2025 junior season where he posted 9.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss.

The Ravens selected Ioane in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 14th overall.

The Ravens needed to rebuild their offensive line after allowing it to fall into some amount of decay in recent years, and Ioane was a common-sense first step toward achieving that. Ioane (6-foot-4, 320 pounds) is a mauler out of Penn State who perfectly fits the Ravens' bruising aesthetic and brings a strong skill set to go within the mauler category. He should be a high-floor, high-ceiling starter at guard and packs some serious athleticism (31.5-inch vertical) on his dense frame. Though there's still work to do on the offensive line for Baltimore, perhaps at center especially, Ioane is a big upgrade in the meantime.

The Rams selected Simpson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 13th overall.

In what might go down as the most shocking pick of the first round, the Rams picked Simpson as their quarterback of the future at the 13th pick, something around 20 slots earlier than most projected Simpson to go off the board. Simpson (6-foot-1, 211 pounds) only started one year at Alabama and posted troubling efficiency numbers (64.5 percent completed, 7.5 YPA), but to be fair the surrounding cast at Alabama was probably the worst it has been in some number of years. The Rams know Matthew Stafford and his creaky back can only take so many more hits, and with the Simpson selection the team resolved to get ahead of whenever Stafford has to hang up the cleats.

The Cowboys selected Downs in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 11th overall.

The Cowboys moved up from the 12th pick to take Downs from what was previously Miami's draft slot. Downs (6-feet, 206 pounds) is a blue-chip prospect who might have gone even higher if not for vague long-term concerns over his meniscus health, so there are basically no critics of Downs as a safety. Downs dominated at both Ohio State and Alabama, and drafting Downs might be giving Jerry Jones flashbacks of drafting Roy Williams out of Oklahoma, which was once a point of pride for the Cowboys. Downs will be a three-down player for Dallas right away.

The Giants selected Mauigoa (back) in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 10th overall.

Mauigoa (6-foot-6, 329 pounds) is a prototypical if not a blue-chip right tackle, and it's possible that he slipped slightly due to a disc issue that he played through at Miami (FL) last year. The Giants aren't in a rush to force Maiugoa onto the field over veteran right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, but that might be Mauigoa's long-term spot after beginning at guard as a rookie. It's also possible the Giants leave Mauigoa as Eluemunor's understudy at tackle, giving Mauigoa time to develop and/or shake off the back injury before throwing him into the fire.

The Browns selected Fano in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, ninth overall.

The Browns traded back from the sixth spot before selecting Fano, who was clearly their intended target the whole time. Fano (6-foot-6, 311 pounds) started at right tackle for Utah and won the Outland Trophy in 2025, but coach Todd Monken was quick to note Thursday that Cleveland plans to use him at left tackle, per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com. The concern with Fano was that he lacked the reach (32 and 1/8-inch arms) of a traditional offensive tackle, but evidently it wasn't enough to make the Browns flinch. Fano has excellent athleticism across the board (4.91-second 40, 32-inch vertical), and that's no doubt part of what led Cleveland to take the leap of faith on Fano in the top 10.

The Saints selected Tyson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, eighth overall.

Tyson (6-foot-2, 203 pounds) had the best collegiate production profile between himself and fellow top wideout prospects Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon, but Tyson's injury history understandably caused some anxiety and until Thursday it was unclear whether NFL teams would red-flag Tyson over those injury concerns. That Tyson was picked this early seems to answer the question - the Saints looked into his knee and hamstring injuries and evidently decided to bet on his talent. Tyson suffered a torn ACL, MCL and PCL his true freshman season at Colorado, and hamstring troubles from his 2025 season followed Tyson into the offseason, leaving him unable to participate in pre-draft athletic testing. If one disregards the injuries as the NFL seemingly has, then there are otherwise only reasons to like Tyson. His production was compelling both at Arizona State and Colorado, and while Tyson won't ever be a great big-play threat he shows the ability to dice up the underneath to a high-volume extent, giving him clear 100-catch upside at the NFL level during his best years. Even as a rookie, Tyson should push for a heavy workload right away, likely running as the primary Saints wideout opposite Chris Olave.

The Commanders selected Styles in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, seventh overall.

Styles (6-foot-5, 244 pounds) is a remarkable athlete even by Ohio State standards, boasting a frame massive by linebacker standards yet the easy, gliding athleticism of a cornerback (4.46-second 40-yard dash, 43.5-inch vertical jump). He might be a slight tweener in that he looks like a brute yet plays a game closer to a finesse style type, but there is almost certainly plenty of ways Styles can help the Washington defense. Styles has a history of playing both safety and linebacker, which highlights his rare upside in coverage especially. The versatile defender can probably offer the Commanders quality reps from linebacker, rover and even nickel corner spots.

The Chiefs selected Delane in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, sixth overall.

Kansas City traded up from the ninth pick to snag the sixth choice from the Browns. Delane was evidently coveted by the Chiefs to the point that they could not bear to miss out on him, and that's not terribly shocking given that the Rams poached both of the Chiefs' prior starting corners -- Trent McDuffie (trade) and Jaylen Watson (free agency) -- earlier this offseason. Delane (6-feet, 182 pounds) initially built up his game at Virginia Tech, where he was a memorable true-freshman starter before transferring to LSU for his fourth collegiate season. With so much quality experience and production to go with his 4.38-second pro day 40, it's understandable why the Chiefs were determined to reel in Delane as their new CB1.

The Giants selected Reese in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, fifth overall.

Reese (6-foot-4, 241 pounds) is a high-upside prospect who has not yet fully arrived, but the confirmed details on Reese to this point are highly encouraging. Although it's not perfectly clear yet how he'll apply at the NFL level, there is sound reason to suspect that Reese will be one of the more uniquely productive defenders in the league not long from now. Reese won't turn 21 until August 30, yet last year he consistently stood out in an Ohio State defense overrun with star-level talent. With 4.46 speed and freaky range, Reese shows an uncommon amount of upside in all phases of linebacker play, which almost gets held against him since pass rush is valued so much more than off-ball run defense in the front seven. That Reese looks obviously capable as an off-ball linebacker isn't to say that he can't develop into a straightforward 3-4 edge rusher for the Giants in due time, and it's worth keeping that in mind because Reese's positional ambiguity is sooner due to being good at too many things than it is specific doubt over his ability to do any given thing. With the raw materials Reese possesses there's very little that he can't do.