Lions Draft T Blake Miller At No. 17
Closely linked to tackles throughout the pre-draft process, the Lions have lined up a Taylor Decker successor. Ten years after their first-round Decker pick, the Lions chose Clemson’s Blake Miller at No. 17. Miller is already the fifth offensive lineman to come off the board.
The 6-foot-7, 317-pound Miller is not certain to play left or right tackle this coming season, as Penei Sewell may be in line for a position change. But a starting job likely awaits in Detroit, which added Larry Borom on a one-year, $5MM deal in free agency. Borom started a career-high 11 games in Miami last season, but the former Bear has come off the bench in 25 of 63 appearances. With that in mind, Parker should have a good chance of winning a No. 1 job as a rookie.
The bench is a foreign concept to Miller, who started in all 54 of his appearances at Clemson from 2022-25. He earned a third-team All-ACC nod in 2023 before collecting second-team all-conference honors in each of the past two seasons. The durable stalwart broke the Clemson record in offensive snaps (3,778), per Colton Pouncy and Grace Raynor of The Athletic.
Fifty-two of Miller’s college starts came at right tackle. Sewell has been elite in that position, though the Lions may bank on the future Hall of Famer shifting to the position Decker held from 2016 until they released him in March. Decker and Sewell formed an enviable tandem in Detroit for a half-decade. The Lions will now begin a new era with Miller and Sewell comprising their top bookends.
Jets Select TE Kenyon Sadiq At No. 16
The top tight end prospect in this year’s draft is heading to New York. Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq will join the Jets via the No. 16 overall pick.
Linked by some to go to an NFC South club, Sadiq will team with 2025 second-round tight end Mason Taylor with the Jets. A New York team that managed to go 17 games without seeing anyone clear 400 receiving yards will pick up some vital pass-catching muscle alongside Garrett Wilson.
The 6-foot-3, 241-pound Sadiq spent three years at Oregon, where he enjoyed a breakout junior season in 2025. He led Ducks pass catchers in receptions (51) and touchdowns (eight), and he finished second in yards (560). After leading college football tight ends in TDs, Sadiq earned First-Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Tight End of the Year honors. Sadiq cemented his status as an athletic freak at the Combine, where he ran the fastest 40-yard dash (4.39 second) of any tight end since at least 2023.
Adding at least one receiving threat in this draft was a must for the Jets, though the popular belief was they would select a wideout before a tight end. The team reportedly gave first-round grades to Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson and Denzel Boston. Tate (Titans) and Tyson (Saints) came off the board in the top 10. Boston is still available, but the Jets like Sadiq better. As owners of the 33rd and 44th choices, the Jets should be in position to land a promising receiver in the second round if they want to give quarterback Geno Smith another target to join Sadiq, Taylor, Wilson and Adonai Mitchell.
Bucs Choose DE Rueben Bain Jr. At 15
Rueben Bain Jr. will fill a key need without needing to relocate especially far. The Buccaneers are adding the Miami defensive end whose minor slide stops at No. 15.
Tampa Bay will pair the former Hurricane standout with YaYa Diaby, who is heading into a contract year. Diaby has had moderate pass rush success, totaling 19.0 sacks over his first three years of NFL play. He’s been part of a team-wide effort to get after the quarterback after the past few years, splitting the responsibility with Calijah Kancey and Vita Vea along the defensive line.
To that point, the Buccaneers couldn’t have asked for a better player to fall to them at this point in the draft to contribute to this team-wide pass rush effort. Bain is the epitome of such play, as evidenced during his three years in Coral Gables. As a true freshman, when teammate and fellow first-round pick Akheem Mesidor went down with injury, Bain stepped in as a starter and filled a giant role on the Hurricanes defense. Without lining up directly over center, Bain played all over the defensive line for Miami, leading the team with 7.5 sacks and finishing second with 12.5 tackles for loss.
Miami dedicated Bain more consistently to the outside after that. After an injury-limited sophomore campaign, Bain got to pair with Mesidor when both were healthy for the first time last year, and the two terrorized teams all through the Hurricanes’ College Football Playoff run to the national title game. Bain’s addition to the Tampa Bay pass rush should excite Buccaneers fans, as Bain tends to bring success to the pass rushers around him as they benefit from the attention opposing offensive lines will pay to Bain.
A pair of controversies threatened Bain’s draft status and future NFL career as a short arm-length measurement as the NFL Scouting Combine and an unfortunate driving accident from two years ago made frequent headlines over the last month of the pre-draft process. By most accounts, NFL teams took much less stock into Bain’s arm measurements than draft pundits, and they had reportedly been made aware of the driving accident story months before it broke.
Whether these issues contributed to Bain falling out of the top 10 to No. 15 or if it was simply a run of tackles and series of trades that delayed his name getting called no longer matters Bain will head up Alligator Alley to continue his pro ball in-state. The Buccaneers will now have to figure out how to use Bain in their base 3-4 front, as an outside linebacker opposite Diaby or a versatile in-line defensive end next to Vea, Kancey, A’Shawn Robinson, and former Hurricane Elijah Roberts.
Ravens Add G Vega Ioane At No. 14
Ely Allen’s PFR mock draft is on fire along the offensive line. After Spencer Fano went to Cleveland and Francis Mauigoa to New York, Vega Ioane is going to Baltimore.
The Ravens took the Penn State guard at No. 14, bringing in a player who should be an instant starter on the interior. The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Ioane was a full-time starter at left guard for the past two years. After earning a second-team All-Big Ten nod in 2024, Ioane took home first-team all-conference and first-team All-America honors last season. He went back-to-back years without allowing a sack or taking a holding penalty, per Pro Football Focus.
Known as a mauler who excels in the running game, Ioane looks like an ideal fit for the Ravens. Although dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson was rarely healthy during a 13-start 2025, he was still a key contributor to a rushing attack that finished first in yards per attempt and second in yards. Jackson and running back Derrick Henry stand to benefit from Ioane’s presence going forward.
Ioane should serve as a much-needed upgrade on a Ravens line that has undergone a few notable changes this offseason. They lost elite center Tyler Linderbaum to the Raiders, which was a major blow. The team also allowed Daniel Faalele to leave for the Giants after back-to-back 17-start seasons. Faalele was on the field for 99.7% of offensive snaps last year. Free agent pickup John Simpson will replace Faalele, while Ioane should step in at left guard from the get-go and send 2025 starter Andrew Vorhees to the bench.
Dolphins Draft T Kadyn Proctor At No. 12
This draft promised to be filled with first-round offensive linemen. That prophecy is proving accurate. Spencer Fano, Francis Mauigoa and now Kadyn Proctor have gone off the board.
The Dolphins selected Proctor at No. 12 overall, doing so after picking up two extra draft choices (Nos. 177 and 180) from the Cowboys. This is the first pick of the Dolphins’ new regime of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley, who are looking to protect free agent quarterback addition Malik Willis.
As a 40-game starter at left tackle in college, Proctor earned no shortage of accolades during his three-year run at Alabama. He was a freshman All-American in 2023, a second-team All-SEC performer in 2024, and a consensus All-American and first-team all-conference player last season. Standing 6-foot-6, the mammoth Proctor has hung around the 400-pound mark in the past. While that is a concern, he weighed in at 352 pounds at the Combine. Proctor went on to steal the show at Alabama’s pro day in late March, further boosting his chances to go early in the first round.
Still just 20 years old, it is unclear where Proctor will line up at the outset of his career. The Dolphins have another massive left tackle in the 6-7, 326-pound Patrick Paul, a 2024 second-rounder who posted his first 17-start season last year. They lost right tackle Larry Borom to the Lions in free agency, but injury-prone veteran Austin Jackson is still under contract for another season. Proctor could eventually take over for Jackson or begin as a guard if he beats out either Jamaree Salyer or Jonah Savaiinaea, per C. Isaiah Smalls II of the Miami Herald.
The Proctor pick will not be the last of the night for the Dolphins, who are scheduled to select 30th. Wide receiver, cornerback and edge defender are among the areas they could address with that selection.
Cowboys Acquire No. 11 From Dolphins, Select S Caleb Downs
The Cowboys have moved up one spot, acquiring No. 11 from the Dolphins. Miami will slide back a pick, and this will allow the Cowboys to block other teams from trading up to outflank them.
The Dolphins will add Nos. 12, 177 and 180 in this swap, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. This will boost Miami’s pick count to 13. Considering where the Dolphins are on their latest rebuild timeline, it makes sense for new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan to add two Day 3 picks to drop one spot. The Cowboys drafted Ohio State safety Caleb Downs with the pick.
It is no surprise the Cowboys spent their top choice on a defensive player after the unit struggled to stop anyone last season. Despite boasting one of the NFL’s premier offenses, the Cowboys finished 7-9-1 in 2025. A defense that ranked dead last in scoring and 30th in passing ‘D’, yards and turnovers was the main culprit.
Dallas has since added a pair of veteran safeties, Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke, to join the returning Malik Hooker, but Downs is now the most talented member of the group. The Cowboys are hoping he quickly emerges as a standout under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. As the Eagles’ defensive backs coach from 2024-25, Parker helped develop Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean into stars.
The 5-foot-11, 206-pound Downs began a decorated college career in 2023 at Alabama, where he notched 107 tackles, four passes defensed, 3.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. After earning second-team All-America honors, Downs transferred to Ohio State. He was a unanimous All-American during a 2024 showing in which he totaled 81 tackles, six passes defensed and two picks. Downs helped the Buckeyes to a national title in his first year with the team. They were unable to repeat in 2025, but Downs closed his Buckeyes tenure with another tremendous season. He put up 68 tackles, including five TFL, and a pair of INTs. Downs was a unanimous All-American again. He also earned the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the top defensive back in the nation.
Downs may not end up as the only high-profile defensive prospect to join the Cowboys on Thursday. They are also scheduled to pick 20th, where they could address another need on that side of the ball.
Giants Draft T Francis Mauigoa At No. 10
The Giants added on defense with their top selection. They have brought in offensive line help at No. 10 by selecting Miami tackle Francis Mauigoa. New head coach John Harbaugh had referred to the team’s offensive line a work in progress, so Mauigoa’s addition should, in theory, bring them closer to a finished product.
In 2025, the Giants only had one offensive lineman start every game of the season, and that lineman, right guard Greg Van Roten, is the only starter not expected to return after the expiration of his contract with the team. Elsewhere on the line, Andrew Thomas returned to form after a pair of injury-riddled seasons, showing elite play in 13 games this year, while Jermaine Eluemunor continued his steady play opposite Thomas. Eluemunor also missed a few games in 2025 and rookie fifth-round pick Marcus Mbow filled in adequately as the team’s swing tackle.
The left guard role was manned almost entirely by Jon Runyan whlie a carousel at center saw starts from Austin Schlottmann and John Michael Schmitz Jr. Outside of Van Roten, though, the play on the interior line was uninspired. The Giants signed a pair of former starters in Lucas Patrick and Daniel Faalele in an attempt to bring in competition for the guards spots, but the quality of play for both in recent years fails to inspire much confidence.
With both tackle spots manned, it’s believed Mauigoa will be coming in to take the starting right guard position opposite Runyan. The pending rookie only played right tackle in Coral Gables starting every game there from his freshman year to Miami’s national championship game loss in the College Football Playoff, but many projected guard as his best future position in the pre-draft process. Although he didn’t show much versatility for the Hurricanes, when reporters asked if he’d be willing to switch to guard at the next level, he told reporters that the line has five positions, and all he wanted was to land a starting job at one of them.
The pre-draft process for Mauigoa also contained a bit of concern over a potential back issue that some expect will require surgery in the future. The 20-year-old underwent additional imaging for his back to satisfy any concerns, and the results must’ve done enough to alleviate any hesitation New York had before drafting Mauigoa. In the end, he comes off the board just five picks later than we projected in our PFR Mock Draft, but ultimately, Mauigoa lands right where we thought he belonged.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Browns Select T Spencer Fano At No. 9
The Browns accomplished a well-known goal of moving down the board on Day 1. They have also managed to add to their offensive line. Utah tackle Spencer Fano has come off the board at No. 9.
The Browns entered the offseason with the daunting task of potentially having to rebuild their entire offensive line as the entire unit faced expiring contracts. Cleveland found the final piece of its new-look starting offensive line in Fano, who should slot in opposite trade acquisition Tytus Howard. It will interesting to see which player will be given the honor of starting on the blindside, though, considering both have seen their best play at right tackle.
Fano started at left tackle for the Utes as a true freshman before ceding the job to Caleb Lomu for the past two years and flipping over to right tackle. Howard has been forced to remain versatile over his seven years in Houston, covering a litany of positions. Of his 97 NFL starts, 58 have come at right tackle, 32 at left guard, 4 at left tackle, and 3 at right guard. Howard’s versatility may make him the better candidate to work in a position unfamiliar to him, but Cleveland may decide Fano has a higher ceiling on that side despite the work it will take to transition him back over.
Between the consensus top two offensive tackles available in this year’s draft, the Browns opted for the one with higher pass protection metrics than run grading. Both Fano and Miami’s Francis Mauigoa excel with either type of play, but each also has their specialty, and Fano’s quick first move and excellent balance and bend give Cleveland its best chance at keeping Deshaun Watson healthy or Shedeur Sanders upright. Both players also held positional versatility with evaluators thinking guard could be the best NFL position for Fano or Mauigoa, but Fano should have a clear path here to a starting bookend role.
Well, thanks to a trade back with Kansas City, Cleveland’s pick came three slots later than expected, but that didn’t stop Fano from landing right where we predicted he would in PFR’s Mock Draft. Knowing the Browns had need at tackle and wide receiver, we predicted Fano would join before Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion joined later on in the night. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the night plays out for Cleveland.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Saints Draft WR Jordyn Tyson At No. 8
Jordyn Tyson was not the first wideout taken on Thursday, but he has still turned out to be a top-10 selection. The Arizona State product has been taken eighth overall by the Saints.
The Saints were reportedly candidates to move up in the draft for an edge defender, but general manager Mickey Loomis stayed put and addressed another obvious weakness. New Orleans struck gold on receiver Chris Olave, the No. 11 pick in 2022, but had no other real threats at the position before drafting Tyson. Devaughn Vele performed well at the end of last year, but he finished with just 25 catches and 393 yards in 13 games. Other than Olave and Vele, no returning Saints wideout even hit the 20-catch mark last season.
Despite last season’s struggles, the Saints did not pick up any noteworthy receivers in the first couple of months of the offseason. That left the draft as their best bet to upgrade and bring in another weapon for second-year quarterback Tyler Shough. Carnell Tate became the first receiver off the board when the Titans chose him fourth overall, but Tyson may have the most upside of any wideout in this class. Durability is the main concern regarding Tyson, who had immense difficulty staying healthy during his four years in college.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound Tyson began his college career in 2022 at Colorado. He averaged a superb 21.4 yards per catch on 22 receptions and scored four touchdowns in nine games, but his freshman year ended with a torn ACL, MCL and PCL. Tyson transferred to Arizona State the next year, though he played just three games and went without a catch. His production exploded over 12 games in 2024, when he piled up 75 receptions for 1,101 yards and 10 scores. However, another injury – a broken collarbone – ended his season.
Tyson concluded his time at ASU with a second straight first-team All-Big 12 effort in 2025, during which he caught 61 balls for 711 yards and eight TDs. His drop rate fell from 8.5% to a microscopic 1.6% in a one-year span. While Tyson’s production was outstanding, hamstring issues limited him to nine games.
Tyson’s hamstring remained problematic during the pre-draft process. The 21-year-old did not work out at the Combine or participate in ASU’s pro day, but he recovered in time to hold a workout for interested teams on April 17. It went well for Tyson, who impressed in front of 20-plus clubs, including the Saints.
Commanders Add LB Sonny Styles At No. 7
Another Ohio State prospect has come off the board early. Linebacker Sonny Styles has been selected seventh overall by the Commanders. Just two picks after seeing his teammate Arvell Reese get drafted to New York, Styles comes off the board as the first true off-ball linebacker drafted. Styles becomes the highest drafted off-ball linebacker since Devin White went fifth overall in 2019.
Styles had to wait a bit longer than his fellow member of the Buckeye’s linebacking corps and new division-rival Reese. Styles played very sparingly as a true freshman and found himself in a rotational role in Year 2. Unlike Reese, Styles played a major role as a starter alongside Cody Simon en route to Ohio State’s run to a national championship. That year, he recorded collegiate career highs in total tackles (100), tackles for loss (10.5), sacks (6.0), and passes defensed (5), benefiting by getting to make plays of Simon’s steady coverage in the middle.
Styles heads to Washington, where he should immediately take on a starting role, receiving the torch from future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner. While it would’ve been beneficial for Styles to get to learn under Wagner, the Commanders get the benefit of drafting an immediate plug-and-play replacement for the stellar veteran. Washington had signed Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal to fill in next to Frankie Luvu in the linebacking corps, but both players have filled similar versatile roles to what Reese did next to Styles in Columbus.
With draft pick salaries slotted automatically, Styles is locked into a four-year, $37.21MM rookie deal. The contract is fully guaranteed, giving him the third-most guaranteed money at his position in the league, behind only Roquan Smith and Fred Warner.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.