{"id":243753,"date":"2026-04-23T20:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T20:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243753\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T20:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T20:29:09","slug":"nfl-draft-live-updates-miami-dolphins-hurricanes-mendoza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243753\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Draft live updates: Miami Dolphins, Hurricanes, Mendoza"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 NFL Draft is here.<\/p>\n

The three-day, seven-round event kicks off with Round 1 at 8 p.m. Thursday.<\/p>\n

Miami native and national champion quarterback Fernando Mendoza is all but a lock to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders. The Miami Dolphins have two selections in the first round (No. 11 and No. 30) as their new regime led by general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan makes its first selections. And perhaps as many as three Miami Hurricanes could hear their names called before the opening round comes to a close.<\/p>\n

The Miami Herald will be tracking any and all things South Florida-related with the draft over the next three days.<\/p>\n

Follow along for live updates on Day 1 below, with the newest information always being updated at the top.<\/p>\n

\"Indiana Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) greets fans as he celebrates with tight end Riley Nowakowski (37) after a 27-21 victory over the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Photo by David Santiago dsantiago@miamiherald.com Mendoza experiencing draft night from home<\/p>\n

The three-day NFL draft is taking place in Pittsburgh, and 16 of the top prospects<\/a> are set to attend the event, including two of the Miami Hurricanes\u2019 projected first-round picks in edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa.<\/p>\n

But among those not going? Quarterback and projected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, who opted to watch everything unfold with his family and friends at the comforts of home in Miami.<\/p>\n

Mendoza, who graduated from Christopher Columbus High and won both the Heisman Trophy and a national championship this season with the Indiana Hoosiers, told Rich Eisen on ESPN earlier this week<\/a> the decision to stay home had to do with family. His mom, Elsa Mendoza, has multiple sclerosis, so the extra travel to go to Pittsburgh for the draft and then immediately go to (presumably) Las Vegas after (again, presumably) being taken No. 1 overall by the Raiders would have been burdensome.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a dream for a lot of guys,\u201d Mendoza said to Eisen on Monday. \u201cHowever, my mom really wanted to do it at home and so did my parents. It\u2019s a lot easier for us, especially with the family situation. We have to hop in a plane the next morning anyway, and for that travel, it\u2019d be a lot easier to stay home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to stay and make the memory with everybody who poured into my football journey,\u201d Mendoza continued. \u201cMentors, coaches, family, friends. To be able to share that moment with all of them, is going to be the best memory that I can make, rather than limiting it to 10 or 12 people in Pittsburgh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mendoza has made his rounds throughout South Florida leading up to the draft. He attended the Miami Heat\u2019s regular-season finale on April 12 and threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Miami Marlins game on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

On Thursday night, he\u2019ll be surrounded by family and friends at home as he almost assuredly is announced as the No. 1 overall pick of the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

For more on Mendoza\u2019s journey, here is Andre Fernandez\u2019s profile on Mendoza<\/a> that published ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.<\/p>\n

Some pre-draft reading<\/p>\n

Want to get caught up on everything you need to know about the draft before it starts up? Here\u2019s the latest from the Herald\u2019s sports staff.<\/p>\n

Who the national evaluators have the Dolphins selecting<\/a> in their final mock drafts<\/p>\n

Why the Dolphins\u2019 Day 2 picks could be more important<\/a> than the first-rounders<\/p>\n

A look at the draft prospects who the Dolphins have brought in<\/a> for 30 visits<\/p>\n

Mock drafts from both Greg Cote<\/a> and Omar Kelly<\/a><\/p>\n

Where are Miami Hurricanes expected to be drafted? What mock drafts are saying<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 3:25 PM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Jordan McPherson<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.\n <\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

C. Isaiah Smalls II<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

C. Isaiah Smalls II is a sports and culture writer who covers the Miami Dolphins. In his previous capacity at the Miami Herald, he was the race and culture reporter who created The 44 Percent, a newsletter dedicated to the Black men who voted to incorporate the city of Miami. A graduate of both Morehouse College and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Smalls previously worked for ESPN\u2019s Andscape.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL Draft is here. The three-day, seven-round event kicks off with Round 1 at 8 p.m.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-243753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}