Just because there are 32 picks in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft doesn’t mean there are 32 players who are worth being taken in the first round. After studying all the top prospects, we gave first-round grades to just 18. This group is someone unique among drafts of the past in that there are no interior defensive lineman who made the cut, only one quarterback but two safeties. There’s also a single running back and three wide receivers.
1 – S Caleb Downs – Ohio State
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2 – LB Arvell Reese – Ohio State
3 – QB Fernando Mendoza – Indiana
4 – EDGE David Bailey – Texas Tech
5 – WR Carnell Tate – Ohio State
6 – RB Jeremiyah Love – Notre Dame
7 – LB Sonny Styles – Ohio State
8 – OT Caleb Lomu – Utah
9 – CB Mansoor Delane – LSU
10 – OT Francis Mauigoa – Miami
11 – S Dillon Thieneman – Oregon
12 – EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. – Miami
13 – TE Kenyon Sadiq – Oregon
14 – OL Vega Ioane – Penn State
15 – OT Spencer Fano – Utah
16 – WR Jordyn Tyson – Arizona State
17 – CB Jermod McCoy – Tennessee
18 – OT Monroe Freeling – Georgia
19 – WR Makai Lemon – USC
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Ranking our 18 first-round prospects in the 2026 NFL draft