2026 NFL Draft Begins Tonight: Schedule, Picks & Storylines

The 2026 NFL Draft opens tonight! Here, let's go over some draft details and things to be watching over the next three days.

Check back in the days/weeks/months to come as we will break down draft picks and start to look at the 2026 fantasy football season!

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Draft Details

The 2026 NFL Draft opens on Thursday night with round 1. Coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network, ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

Rounds 2-3 of the draft will take place on Friday night. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET. Rounds 4-7 will occur on Saturday, with coverage starting at 12 p.m. ET. The final six rounds of action can be found on the same channels as round 1.

This year's draft is happening in Pittsburgh. That's a fun storyline, as the Steelers moved on from Mike Tomlin and have Mike McCarthy for a new head coach.

There's a new time limit for first-round picks in 2026. Only eight minutes is allowed between picks - that's down from 10 minutes.

Teams get seven minutes to choose picks in round 2, then five minutes per pick in rounds 3-6. Only four minutes is allowed between picks in the seventh round.

Round 1 Breakdown

The Las Vegas Raiders will kick off the 2026 NFL Draft by picking first on Thursday. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza is set to be the first pick, and then after that, things are pretty up in the air.

The Jets have the second pick, before the Cardinals select third. The Titans and Giants round out the top-five picks.

The Browns, Commanders, Saints, Chiefs and Giants are the next five teams to pick (granted no trades are made). Many are fascinated to see what the Giants do with their two top-10 picks - they could change their future in those two selections.

The Dolphins are next at No. 11, followed by the Cowboys, Rams, Ravens and Buccaneers. The Jets, Lions, Vikings, Panthers and Cowboys round out the top-20 picks. Expect the Cowboys to make some noise with their first-round picks, whether that comes with intriguing picks or some trades.

The Steelers are picking 21st, and will be followed by the Chargers, Eagles, Browns and Bears. The Bills, 49ers, Texans, Chiefs, Dolphins, Patriots and Seahawks will cap the first round of action. Expect a couple trades in the final 12 picks of the first round, as teams look to get that fifth-year option with players.

We will break down picks from round 1 on Friday, so check back for that!

Overall Draft Notes/Things to Watch

Pittsburgh could be aggressive, as it has the most picks (12) in this year's draft. Hosting the draft, the team could fire up its fans by trading up - we'll see if the Steelers make any splashes. Pittsburgh has five picks in the top 100.

The Seahawks only have four selections coming this year. Expect Seattle to try to trade back - probably starting with pick 32 tonight. They have three picks in the top 100, and are coming off a Super Bowl title, so it'll be interesting to see how the Seahawks handle things tonight.

Arizona is under new leadership, and has seven picks to work with to start - one in each round. 

Atlanta has just five picks, and no first-round pick. The Falcons might trade back from picks 48 or 79 just to get some more picks.

Baltimore is under new leadership as well, but has 11 picks to play with. They have four compensatory picks between rounds 5-7. All but three of their picks are after selection No. 115, so we'll see if Baltimore trades up ever.

Buffalo has a new coach as well. The Bills are missing a second-round pick, so I wonder if the team could trade back from No. 26.

Carolina seems to be on the rise, and could take another step forward with a good draft in 2026. The Panthers have seven picks, doubling up in round 5 and not having a seventh right now.

Chicago is another team on the rise that needs to hit its picks in 2026. The Bears have seven picks, including five in the first four rounds - and four picks in the top 100.

Cincinnati just traded its first-round pick away to get Dexter Lawrence, so the team's first pick is at No. 41. The Bengals don't have a fifth either, instead doubling up in rounds 6 and 7 to have seven overall picks.

Cleveland could make some noise with its four top-100 picks, and two first rounders. The team has nine picks overall, and could be aggressive if they wanted.

Dallas has eight picks, including the two first rounders. Again, expect fireworks from Dallas in some fashion over the next couple days.

Denver has seven picks, but has no picks in rounds 1 or 3. They can add some depth with their current picks, but would have to steal some picks to come away with major contributors, so we'll see if Denver gets creative to move up.

Detroit has nine picks in the draft, but only two in the top 100. The Lions have seven picks from rounds 4 on, so again, we'll see if they package some picks to move up and grab more immediate help.

Green Bay has eight picks, but nothing until pick 52 and just two in the top 100. Five of the picks are from round 5 on, so we'll see if the Pack makes some trades to grab some better talents.

Houston has eight picks in the draft, and four in the top 100. The Texans could be a team that really takes a step forward over the next three days, so keep an eye on them.

Indianapolis has seven picks, but no first rounder and just two picks in the top 100. I'm not sure Indy has the ammo to move up either, so I'm intrigued by what the team might do.

Jacksonville has 11 picks to play with, but no first-round pick. The Jaguars have four picks in the first three rounds, and with their multitude of picks, they could be aggressive and move up if they have some guys they like.

Kansas City has the two first-round picks among nine overall selections. KC has four top-100 picks, and needs to hit this draft out of the park to bounce back in 2026 and beyond.

Vegas has nine other picks outside the No. 1 selection. So the Raiders might not only get the No. 1 pick, but could be aggressive elsewhere and maybe turn a corner in 2026 as a result.

The Chargers only have five picks, but they do have three in the top 100. I'd expect a trade back to acquire more assets.

The Rams have seven picks, with three in the top 100 but four from rounds 6 on. LA could trade back from its second- or third-round selections to acquire more picks in rounds 4/5.

Miami has 11 picks as it enters a new era. The two first-round picks will help acquire some talent, and a trade back could really help the team acquire a ton of new talent.

Minnesota has nine picks, and four of those are in the top 100. Minnesota could be aggressive and move up if they wanted, so keep an eye on them tonight.

New England has 11 picks, including three in the top 100. With eight picks in rounds 4-7, the Pats could package picks to move up in the middle rounds if they wish.

New Orleans has eight picks, including three in the top 100. The Saints came on late last season, and some good picks in 2026 could help the team improve and push for a postseason spot in the upcoming season.

The Giants have eight picks, with three of the top-37 selections. Even with the top picks, New York could be aggressive and move up even more, so watch them tonight.

The Jets have nine picks, and need to hit this draft well to turn their franchise around. New York has four of the top-44 picks, so we'll see if they stand pat, or move around a bit.

The Eagles have eight picks, including four in the top 100. Philly is bound to move around at some point, so don't be surprised if they make a splash. Don't forget about the A.J. Brown deal with New England, something we covered earlier this week.

San Francisco has six picks - Nos. 27 and 58, then four fourth-round picks. I'd expect San Fran to do some trading at some point.

Tampa Bay has seven picks, including three in the top 100. After losing some talent this offseason, we'll see if the Bucs are aggressive in the draft.

Tennessee has nine picks, and three of those are in the top 100. The Titans could stand pat, or be aggressive and add some top talents by trading up, so keep tabs on them.

Washington has six picks, but no second-round selection. The Commanders have pick seven, and could acquire more selections by trading back, so that's a pick I'll be keeping an eye on tonight.