Texans Trade Up To Draft DT Kayden McDonald
The first trade of the second round comes early as the Texans move up two picks to draft Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald. They trade places with the Raiders to make the pick, giving Las Vegas pick Nos. 38 & 91 in exchange for pick Nos. 36 & 117.
McDonald was widely expected to be the 2026 NFL Draft class’s only first-round interior defender — opting to attend the festivities in Pittsburgh — but slipped into Day 2 after seeing Florida’s Caleb Banks and Clemson’s Peter Woods taken in the first round. With teams seeing his name near the top of the list of best remaining players throughout the day, it’s clear he was a priority for a few clubs. According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Houston felt the need to trade up ahead of the Giants, a team they expected might take McDonald before they could in order to replace Dexter Lawrence.
After essentially redshirting in his first year with the Buckeyes, McDonald held a rotational role off the bench in the team’s 2024 championship run. 2025 was McDonald’s first and only season as a full-time starter, but the All-American defender showed enough in 14 games to prove he was NFL ready. The disruptive, explosive defensive tackle made plays all over the field for Ohio State, notching 65 total tackles, three sacks, and nine tackles for loss. While he was able to produce in the pass rush, he really excelled as a run stopper.
The Texans had quite a few strong contributors on the defensive line last year, with Sheldon Rankins and Tommy Togiai leading the way and Tim Settle rotating in. Settle made his way to Washington in free agency, setting up a perfect role for McDonald to fill as a rookie. Houston’s defense was one of the best in the league last year, and while McDonald has clear starting potential, he may benefit by starting slow in the NFL in a rotational role. If the Texans let Togiai walk in free agency after this year, McDonald will have a clear path to a starting role in Year 2.
Rams Draft QB Ty Simpson At No. 13
The Rams have regularly see their own draft pick fall late in the first round in recent years (if they’ve had one at all), but armed with the Falcons’ selection (via a first-round trade last year), Los Angeles will use the mid-first-round real estate to make a long-term investment.
Rumored to be high on Ty Simpson — but seen as iffy to select him this high — the Rams are taking a Matthew Stafford heir apparent at No. 13 overall. The Falcons traded up 20 spots to add James Pearce Jr. last year, and the Rams will use the return on that exchange to bet on Simpson, a one-year Alabama starter.
Stafford has not yet signed an extension, but that is widely rumored to be in the offing. This will create an interesting dynamic, as the Rams have followed the 2020 Packers’ lead by taking a quarterback in the first round as a Super Bowl contender. Jordan Love turned out to be a smart move; will the Rams be thankful they took Simpson in a draft-and-develop scenario?
A recent Trade Rumors Front Office piece listed the Rams’ lack of prime draft real estate as a factor in the Simpson derby. While rumors circulated the team was preparing to add strength to this year’s roster — as rumblings Simpson could fall out of Round 1 altogether emerged — the team will take the chance on adding a passer who will not be expected (barring a Stafford injury) to contribute this season. It is quite possible Simpson will be sitting for at least two years, representing a rare (pretty much Green Bay-only) developmental route among modern QBs.
Such an approach may be the best-case scenario for Simpson. The same developmental route benefited him in Tuscaloosa. After sitting as a true freshman behind future No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, Simpson then sit two more years behind Jalen Milroe before finally being named the starter for the Crimson Tide. In his single season leading the first-team offense, Simpson was able to look past an initial faltering out the gate in a brutal loss to a below average Florida State team to become one of the hottest names in college football over the first half of the season.
In nine starts, Simpson looked like the early frontrunner for QB1 in this draft class, completing 66.9 percent of his passes for 21 touchdowns and only one interception while averaging 273.4 passing yards per game. Despite the disappearance of the Tide’s WR1 from 2024, Ryan Williams, and the surprising lack of a run game in Bryant-Denny Stadium, it looked like Simpson had put his squad back on track for an easy run to the College Football Playoff. Over the next six weeks, though, Simpson saw a stark decline in quality of play, completing only 60.5 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns and four interceptions while only averaging 184.3 passing yards per game.
Speculation over what caused this deterioration offered theories that a home loss to Oklahoma had revealed his kryptonite, that teams had finally gotten enough film to figure him out, or that his health had limited his performance. It was believed that a lower back injury and elbow bursitis began hurting him in October, while other reports cited gastritis that caused him to lose nearly 20 pounds. Adding injury to insult, his season ended when he suffered a fractured rib in a blowout loss to the eventual champion Hoosiers.
Sitting behind Stafford, Simpson should have plenty of time to get fully healthy, if he isn’t already. He’ll also have ample time to clean up the minor parts of his game that scouts nitpicked from his lone year as a starter. Evaluators wanted to see a greater variety of touch on his passes along with improved consistency on deep passes. Any lack of starting experience isn’t going to go anywhere as he sits for a a couple more years, but as a prospect praised for his mental acuity, getting to study film and NFL defenses while backing up an MVP for a year or two should work miracles for his NFL development.
If all goes as planned, it may be some time before we hear Simpson’s name again with any significance. If all goes as planned, Simpson should be taking over a talented offense as a seasoned NFL player with a couple years of preparation under his belt. The Rams are hoping things will go according to plan.
Cardinals Add RB Jeremiyah Love At No. 3
After all the recent buzz that connected the Cardinals to Jeremiyah Love, the top running back in the 2026 class is indeed Arizona-bound. Love has been drafted third overall. The Notre Dame product becomes the highest drafted running back in the NFL since Saquon Barkley went second overall eight years ago.
Love was by far the consensus top running back of the 2026 class. His backup with the Fighting Irish, Jadarian Price, is widely considered RB2 and may have to wait until Day 2 of the draft to hear his name. Ever since taking over the starting job as a sophomore, Love has been perhaps the most electric running back in college football. In two years as RB1, he combined for 2,497 rushing yards and 35 rushing touchdowns in just 28 games.
Love joins a crowded running backs room in Arizona that is likely about to clear out to make room for his star power. James Conner has been the man for the Cardinals since coming over from Pittsburgh in 2021. Over his first four years with the team, Conner averaged 917 yards per season with 37 touchdowns, but in 2025, injuries limited him to only three games. The team also signed former Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier in free agency after four strong years as a backup in Atlanta.
There’s little question Love will be RB1 once he arrives in Arizona. With draft pick salaries automatically set per slot, Love will easily be the team’s highest-paid rusher on a fully guaranteed four-year, $53.02MM rookie contract. He also become the seventh-highest-paid running back in the NFL by annual average value, but his guaranteed money will exceed even that of Barkley.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Dolphins Acquire No. 27 From 49ers, Draft CB Chris Johnson
After trading back with their first pick tonight, the Dolphins are moving up three spots from their second first-round window. Miami will send Nos. 30 and 90 to San Francisco, and the Dolphins are selecting San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson at No. 27 overall. The 49ers will acquire the pick the Broncos sent to the Dolphins for Jaylen Waddle.
After LSU’s Mansoor Delane and Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy, several cornerback prospects were thought to be potential first-round candidates, but none were guarantees. Lo and behold, McCoy has slipped past Day 1, and Johnson takes the honor of CB2 and one of only two corners, with Delane, who will receive a fifth-year option.
It’s not hard to see why Miami opted to select Johnson here. Johnson started to pop on film as a sophomore for the Aztecs. Rotating in off the bench, he made the most of his opportunities, recording his first interception, deflecting a pass, and forcing a fumble all in limited time. As a full-time starter his junior year, Johnson’s production increased with another interception, four passes defensed, and three forced fumbles. He exploded in Year 4 at San Diego State, lighting up the stat sheet with four interceptions, nine passes defensed, a sack, three tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.
Part of what makes Johnson such a valuable defender isn’t just that he has a nose for the football and is constantly around the play, but he also makes the most of his opportunities when he does get his hands on the ball. While the college downing rules mean many interceptions result in zero return yards as defensive backs tumble to the ground to make a play, Johnson showed a different initiative. Over the course of his collegiate career, he averaged 38.7 yards per interception return, and in his senior year, his four picks were returned for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
There are concerns about Johnson’s physicality and strength against larger ballcarriers with his thin frame, and his level of competition was never the best in college, but Johnson dominated the tier of football that he was at. The Dolphins clearly believe he shows the ability to continue dominating at the NFL level.
Miami saw cornerbacks Kader Kohou and Jack Jones depart in free agency, and veteran Rasul Douglas‘ contract expired this offseason, as well. Making his way across the country, Johnson should immediately have a pathway to a starting role across from Darrell Baker in a young, inexperienced secondary. He may encounter some challenge for the role, but with the Dolphins trading up to land him, it may just be his job to lose.
Bolts Grab DE Akheem Mesidor At No. 22
The Chargers lost Odafe Oweh in free agency, and while they re-signed Khalil Mack, the team is adding Miami edge defender Akheem Mesidor in Round 1 tonight.
Mesidor joins an edge room already housing Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, and Bud Dupree. The Canadian pass rusher goes off the board seven picks after Miami teammate Rueben Bain Jr. Despite his rookie status, at 25 years old, Mesidor is already two years older than Tuipulotu, a second-round pick from 2023. While Mesidor doesn’t bring the long-range potential for a 10-plus-year run with the team that drafted him, he brings NFL-ready pass rush ability and a vast variety of experience.
A six-year collegiate athlete, Mesidor started his studies at West Virginia, notching five sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss as a true freshman. In Year 2 with the Mountaineers, Mesidor was moved inside to defensive tackle but still contributed to the pass rush with a disruptive 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss. A transfer to Miami returned him to the edge, and he gave the Hurricanes seven sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss.
After a year lost to injury and a year covering for an injured Bain, Mesidor delivered a career-year on the Hurricanes’ run to the College Football Playoff national championship matchup. Together, Mesidor and Bain terrorized opponents, especially once they got to postseason play. While it was Bain that earned All-American honors, Mesidor led the Canes defense with 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss. His four forced fumbles were a team best, as well.
While his age and injury history may have scared some teams off, the Chargers are cashing in on hugely productive pass rusher with size to play all over the line and an arsenal of pass rush moves to find success as a rookie. Even if Mesidor doesn’t crack the starting lineup as a rookie, the team’s top pass rushing trio of Mack, Tuipulotu, and Dupree are all in the final year of their current contracts, so Mesidor may just represent the team’s future on the edge.
Vikings Choose DT Caleb Banks At No. 18
Injury concerns clouded Caleb Banks‘ draft stock, but the Florida defensive tackle will still find a first-round home. He will come off the board at 18th overall, going to the Vikings.
Banks arrived in Gainesville via transfer portal after two years at Louisville. Stepping in as an immediate starter for the Gators, Banks played well in his first year in The Swamp. Banks really grabbed the attention of NFL evaluators in Year 2 at Florida, though, when he showed a new level of disruption as he recorded 4.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss.
Banks’ senior year was marred by a left foot injury that came about in spring practices. An aggravation of that injury just before the start of the 2025 season caused him to miss the first two games of the Gators’ season, then he reaggravated it upon his return, requiring surgery that would hold him out until the final two weeks of the season. To make matters worse, Banks injured the same left foot the night before the combine, forcing him into another surgery, this one holding him out for the summer. A recent follow up determined that a June clearance is likely for the pending rookie, though, and the positive news created new buzz for Banks in the first round, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Banks shows impressive athleticism for his size, and his elite, wide frame is prototypical for his position. Minnesota sees enough potential in that size to make up for a lack of production at the collegiate level. They’ll need him to take the summer to get healthy, but once there, they’ll need him to immediately start working to improve his conditioning. That area of his game has affected his stamina, seeing him suffer late in games or deep into long drives.
The Vikings no longer roster Jonathan Allen or Javon Hargrave, so the door is wide open to a starting role on the defensive interior. If he can get healthy enough for his rookie season, he should slot in alongside former undrafted defensive lineman Jalen Redmond on the first-team defense.
Bucs Choose DE Rueben Bain Jr. At 15
Rueben Bain Jr. will fill a key need without having to relocate especially far. The Buccaneers are adding the Miami defensive end whose minor slide stops at No. 15 overall.
In its pass rush, Tampa Bay will pair the former Hurricane standout with YaYa Diaby, who is heading into a contract year. Diaby has had moderate blitzing success so far, 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 over 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 and contribute to this team-wide pass rush effort. Bain is the epitome of such play, as evidenced by 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 on the team with 12.5 tackles for loss.
Miami dedicated Bain more consistently to the edge after that. After an injury-limited sophomore campaign, Bain got to pair with Mesidor when both were healthy for the first time this past 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 as much success to the pass rushers around him as he achieves himself. They should expect to benefit from the attention opposing offensive lines will feel obligated to dedicate 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 incident months before the story broke in the media.
Whether these issues contributed to Bain falling out of the top 10 to 15th overall or if it was simply a run of tackles and series of trades that delayed his name getting called, it 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 fellow former Hurricane Elijah Roberts.
Giants Draft T Francis Mauigoa At No. 10
The Giants added on defense with their top selection. Now, they have brought in offensive line help at No. 10, selecting Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa. New head coach John Harbaugh had referred to the team’s offensive line as 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 at left tackle, 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 players 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 up 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 pointed out that the line has five positions, and his only desire 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 their well-known goal of moving down the board on Day 1. They’ve also managed to add to their offensive line. Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano has come off the board at No. 9 overall.
The Browns entered the offseason with the daunting task of potentially having to rebuild their entire offensive line as the unit faced expiring contracts for all five starters. 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 be 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 the right side. 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 of the line, 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 over run grading. Both Fano and Miami’s Francis Mauigoa excel in both types 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 both Fano and 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 first with the team taking Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion later on in the night. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the first round plays out for Cleveland.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
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 much bigger part in Ohio State’s run to a national championship as a starter alongside Cody Simon. 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 off Simon’s steady coverage in the middle.
Styles will head to Washington, where he should immediately take on a starting role, picking up the torch laid down by 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 former 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 in recent years, and Styles’ addition to the roster should allow them to continue in those roles.
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.