NFL Draft 2026: Fernando Mendoza is first overall pick by Las Vegas Raiders

The Kansas City Chiefs are keen to rebuild after missing out on the play-offs for the first time since the 2014 season and traded up from the ninth pick to sixth to take cornerback Mansoor Delane.

“They weren’t really on me too much in this process,” said Delane. “But they said they just wanted to keep it quiet and make that sneaky move, and they made the best move of the draft so I’m excited.”

The Dallas Cowboys moved up one spot to claim safety Caleb Downs at 11 while the Los Angeles Rams pulled off a shock by taking Ty Simpson.

The former Alabama quarterback was seen as a potential first-round selection but not as early as the 13th pick.

However, the Rams are hoping to develop him under last season’s Most Valuable Player Matthew Stafford, who turned 38 in February and has committed to one more year with the Rams.

A crowd of 320,000 attended the start of the draft, which was held outside the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the other drama was the amount of movement as eight trades were agreed on day one.

The Steelers were set to select Makai Lemon until the Philadelphia Eagles moved in front of them to select the wide receiver 20th overall. With the following pick Pittsburgh claimed offensive tackle Max Iheanachor, who left Nigeria for the US at the age of 13.

Six teams finished with two first-round picks, while the Jets had three after jumping back into the first round for wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.

The Washington Commanders took pass rusher Sonny Styles with the seventh pick. The 21-year-old is the son of Super Bowl-winning linebacker Lorenzo Styles and Sonny’s older brother Lorenzo Jr also hopes to be drafted this weekend.

“He’s my best friend, my inspiration,” said Sonny. “We’ve dreamed about this since we were five years old so to see it all happen, we’re living out the dream, but it’s just the beginning.”

The draft continues with rounds two and three on Friday, before rounds four to seven are held on Saturday.