In a first round that began with a quarterback taken first overall and a running back with pick #32, it was not surprising that the offensive side of the ball saw most of their ilk taken on the opening night of the 2026 NFL Draft.

All told, there were 18 picks on offense and 14 on defense and, in keeping with the thought going in that this was not the sexiest draft class ever assembled, it was the offensive line that drew the most interest, with seven offensive tackles and two guards taken. Following close behind were the pass catchers, with five wide receivers and a tight end going off the board. Defensively, the most sought-after position was pass rusher, with six edge defenders taken in the first 32 picks.

There was plenty of wheeling and dealing on Thursday night too, with a whopping eight draft night trades. Interestingly, there were two trades between division rivals, with the Philadelphia Eagles swapping first round picks with the Dallas Cowboys in order to take WR Makai Lemon, and the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots doing business so the Pats could bolster their offensive line with Caleb Lomu.

The Bills actually traded down twice, first with the Patriots then again with the Tennessee Titans, who came up to #31 to select edge Keldric Faulk. The San Francisco 49ers also were active in acquiring more picks, trading first with the Miami Dolphins — who jumped from #30 to #27 to select cornerback Chris Johnson — then again with the New York Jets, who just needed to make a third selection in the first round.

New York used to own the NFL Draft, with the Radio City Music Hall the home of the event for many years. While the venue might have changed, however, the Big Apple teams still made plenty of noise on opening night, with five selections combined between the Giants and the Jets. Gang Green began proceedings by taking edge defender David Bailey with the second overall pick, before the Giants spent their first selection of the evening on Ohio State hybrid defender Arvell Reese. The G-Men bolstered their offensive line with the 10th pick, acquired from Cincinnati in last weekend’s Dexter Lawrence trade, taking Miami OT Francis Mauigoa when many thought Caleb Downs might be the pick.

The Jets also sprung a bit of surprise with their second pick, using the 16th overall selection acquired from the Indianapolis Colts in the Sauce Gardner trade last season to snag Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq, an athletic freak who blew up the Scouting Combine this spring. But NYJ weren’t finished there, trading back into the first round to grab another pass catcher, Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr, as the 49ers proved willing trade partners.

The two biggest surprises, and one slight one, came from three teams playing in the NFC West. The Cardinals, despite a plethora of needs and no long-term answer at quarterback, spent the third overall pick on running back Jeremiyah Love despite having re-signed James Conner and added Tyler Allgeier to their backfield in free agency. The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks also raised eyebrows when they spent the 32nd pick on Love’s Notre Dame backfield running mate Jadarian Price, as they look to fill the gap left after Kenneth Walker III’s departure in free agency. The champions, with a meagre four picks in their pocket this draft, had been widely expected to engineer an escape from round one in favour of adding to that total, but clearly expected Price to be gone before their next opportunity.

Perhaps the biggest surprise came at #13, however, when the Los Angeles Rams selected Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. The team were quick to announce that Matt Stafford, who can’t have many years left at the top level, was onboard with the selection, and that Simpson is there for whenever Stafford decides to call it a day. But it was an odd move for a team always in ‘win now’ mode to spend a high pick on a player they hope isn’t playing for them in 2026, especially with six offensive lineman and four top pass catching prospects still on the board when they turned in their card.

Spencer Fano was the first OT off the board, taken by the Cleveland Browns at #9 after trading down three spots to allow the Kansas City Chiefs to jump up the board. Aware that they’re unlikely to be in range of top 10 picks too often, the Chiefs had been widely predicted to make a move on opening night, but vaulting to #6 was to grab leading CB Mansoor Delane rather than one of the front seven defenders on offer.

Behind Bailey and Love (and, yes, first overall selection Fernando Mendoza), the Titans created a stir by opting for offense, and Ohio State WR Carnell Tate, rather than the predicted defensive pick had Love not been there, leaving Reese for the Giants and Sonny Styles for the Washington Commanders. New Orleans then took the second WR off the board by picking up Arizona State star Jordyn Tyson as a target for second-year QB Tyler Shough.

With Fano and Mauigoa coming off the board at the foot of the top 10, Dallas raised a few eyebrows by swapping two fifth rounders for the right to move up a single place and grab Downs, apparently fearing a rival doing a deal with Miami and snatching the safety from under their nose. The Cowboys also traded their pick at #20, swapping spots with the Eagles and taking a flier on rapidly-rising edge Malachi Lawrence.

The Dolphins, rather than taking the last of the perceived top three receivers at #12, opted for monstrous OT Kadyn Proctor, before the Rams dropped their QB bombshell. Baltimore gratefully accepted the chance to take OG Olaivavega Ioane, and Tampa Bay were even more surprised to find Miami edge Rueben Bain Jr waiting for them at #15. With Sadiq taken net, the trenches returned front and centre via Blake Miller (Deroit Lions), Caleb Banks (Minnesota Vikings) and Monroe Freeling (Carolina Panthers) before the Eagles took Lemon.

The Vikings choice of Banks was a surprise, not least because the giant DT has struggled with foot injuries, but because they have been extensively mocked to Dillon Thieneman. Instead the Oregon safety became a Chicago Bear at #25, after the hosting Pittsburgh Steelers took Max Iheanachor and the L.A. Chargers Akheem Mesidor.

Cleveland’s second pick proved to be receiver KC Concepcion at #24, before the evening was rounded out by the selections of Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge (Houston Texans), DT Peter Woods (Chiefs), and the previously mentioned trio of Cooper Jr, Faulk and Price.