{"id":208667,"date":"2026-04-24T19:01:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/208667\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T19:01:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:01:13","slug":"nfl-draft-2026-winners-and-losers-jets-giants-load-up-cardinals-ignore-bigger-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/208667\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Draft 2026 winners and losers: Jets, Giants load up; Cardinals ignore bigger needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NFL Draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first round of the NFL Draft<\/a> is in the books, and despite a lack of star power compared to some years, Thursday night featured plenty of intriguing moves.<\/p>\n

Seven teams made multiple picks in the opening round, and there were eight trades as well, including six of the last seven selections.<\/p>\n

Some teams really seemed to help themselves in the opening round, while others delivered some head-scratching decisions. Some players heard their names called earlier than anticipated, and others endured slides that took them out of the first round.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at some of the biggest winners and losers after the first round.<\/p>\n

WinnersBuffalo Bills<\/p>\n

One of the wheelers and dealers of the night, the Bills resisted the urge to reach on a player and pulled off three Day 1 trades. Now, they enter the final two days of the draft boasting nine picks<\/a> (a second, a third, three fourths, two fifths, a sixth and a seventh). They have the flexibility to either package some of those picks to move up or really fill out their roster with a lot of depth moves if they hang onto all nine picks.<\/p>\n

New York Jets<\/p>\n

The Jets came away from Day 1 with three quality players in edge rusher David Bailey<\/a> (Texas Tech), tight end Kenyon Sadiq<\/a> (Oregon) and wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.<\/a> (Indiana). After ranking among the worst in the league in sacks, Bailey fills a big need for the Jets, and Sadiq and Cooper will pair with Garrett Wilson to give Geno Smith an upgraded arsenal.<\/p>\n

New York Giants<\/p>\n

The Giants had two top-10 picks and devoted those resources to acquire two foundational pieces that should help upgrade both their offensive and defensive fronts. With the fifth pick, they took Ohio State pass rusher Arvell Reese<\/a>, and five picks later, they took offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs<\/p>\n

The Chiefs took an aggressive approach, moving up from No. 9 to No. 6, where they met a key need, adding cornerback Mansoor Delane<\/a>, who they hope will help replace the departed Trent McDuffie. With their second pick of the round, Kansas City added an understudy for Chris Jones in Clemson defensive lineman Peter Woods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ty Simpson<\/p>\n

Analysts projected the Alabama quarterback to go somewhere late in the first round to mid-second round. The Los Angeles Rams took him No. 13,<\/a> believing it wise to get their quarterback of the future rather than use the first-rounder on a player who could help them this season. Simpson couldn\u2019t ask for a better situation. He\u2019ll come in and learn from Sean McVay, one of the brightest offensive minds in the game, and Matthew Stafford, a future Hall of Famer. He\u2019ll have time to really soak up the offense while building strength rather than having to play significant minutes before he\u2019s adequately developed.<\/p>\n

Malachi Lawrence<\/p>\n

The UCF pass rusher went No. 23<\/a> to the Dallas Cowboys, and that was anywhere from two to three rounds early, depending on who you talked to. The Cowboys certainly need pass-rushing help, but they may have reached a little. Lawrence cashes in, however, because he will sign a contract worth roughly $15 million over four years instead of a later-round deal worth between $5 million and $8 million.<\/p>\n

LosersMiami Dolphins<\/p>\n

First-year general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan raised some eyebrows with Miami\u2019s two first-round selections. First, they traded down a spot to No. 12 and drafted offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor<\/a>, who does flash, but also really struggles with inconsistencies and weight issues. Then, the Dolphins traded up from No. 30 to No. 27 to draft cornerback Chris Johnson<\/a>, who was projected as a second-round pick.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Vikings<\/p>\n

The Vikings appeared to reach on defensive tackle Caleb Banks<\/a>, taking him No. 18. Many around the league projected him as a second-round pick because he\u2019s still recovering from foot surgery to correct a lingering injury. The Vikings seemingly could have helped themselves elsewhere with a player with fewer risks.<\/p>\n

Arizona Cardinals<\/p>\n

After signing Tyler Allgeier in free agency and then retaining the services of fellow running back James Conner, the Cardinals\u2019 backfield appeared solid. Yet, they used the No. 3 pick on running back Jeremiyah Love<\/a>. The Notre Dame product may very well wind up being a true impact player, but the Cardinals needed help on their offensive line and desperately need playmakers on defense.<\/p>\n

Matthew Stafford<\/p>\n

The 38-year-old reigning MVP is set to return for an 18th NFL season, which could represent his final campaign. He and the Rams narrowly missed a trip to the Super Bowl, so as he gears up for perhaps his last stab at a second Lombardi Trophy, Stafford probably would have preferred his team use a prime draft pick on a player that could help the team this year \u2014 maybe another wide receiver. But instead, the Rams drafted Simpson, who will spend the next year (at least) developing.<\/p>\n

Jermod McCoy<\/p>\n

The Tennessee cornerback recorded a blazing 4.37-second 40-yard dash leading up to the draft, and originally, he carried a first-round grade. However, once teams began performing medical rechecks of his surgically repaired right knee, concerns arose about his long-term health, according to league sources, and McCoy fell out of the first round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NFL Draft. The first round of the NFL Draft is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":208668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[835,619,836,2680,2681,9,2683,11,430,10,22],"class_list":{"0":"post-208667","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-arizona-cardinals","9":"tag-buffalo-bills","10":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","11":"tag-miami-dolphins","12":"tag-minnesota-vikings","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-giants","15":"tag-new-york-headlines","16":"tag-new-york-jets","17":"tag-new-york-news","18":"tag-nfl"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}