Full NFL Draft grades for every team's class: Cowboys, Raiders ace test, Jets and Steelers in the middle

Full 2026 NFL Draft grades for every team's class

As you'll notice, there isn't a grade lower than "C" that we're handing out. Frankly, that's intentional. We're hours removed from the end of the draft, and there's only so much that we can grade when it comes to how these picks turn out. Heck, those feelings can change by training camp if we see role switches from college to the pros that help some prospects out.

That's part of the process here, but you can also simply see the teams whose draft class turned out ideally, as well as the teams who might've missed the mark a bit more glaringly. At the end of the day, we're never rooting for anyone to fail, but we can question things like value and fit when it comes to the picks were made — or praise those things, of course, if we feel like teams got it right.

But let's dive a bit deeper into some of our favorite 2026 draft classes, as well as our least favorite and then a few that have our attention for one reason or another.

Highest-graded NFL Draft classes

Las Vegas Raiders – Grade: A+

• Round 1, Pick 1: QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
• Round 2, Pick 38: DB Treydan Stukes, Arizona
• Round 3, Pick 67: EDGE Keyron Crawford, Auburn
• Round 3, Pick 91: IOL Trey Zuhn III, Texas A&M
• Round 4, Pick 101: CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
• Round 4, Pick 122: RB Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas
• Round 5, Pick 150: S Dalton Johnson, Arizona
• Round 5, Pick 175: CB Hezekiah Masses, California
• Round 6, Pick 195: WR Malik Benson, Oregon
• Round 7 Pick 229: DL Brandon Cleveland, NC State

The Raiders had a slam dunk teed up for them with the No. 1 overall pick and they converted by taking Fernando Mendoza. What stood out as the bigger question for me was how Vegas would operate thereafter in the draft, and I absolutely loved how they handled their business after landing a franchise quarterback.

Stukes and Crawford can be contributors right away on this defense that lacked quality of depth, while Trey Zuhn should immediately slot in at one of the guard or center spots this season. They were also the team to stop Jermod McCoy's fall. While the health concerns are obviously real, that's a worthwhile gamble on a first-round talent in the fourth round.

Beyond that, the Raiders took some smart fliers at positions in the secondary, the receiver room and on the defensive front, places you always need more depth. This felt like a strong plan that they executed well, and Vegas should be a team expected to take a big step forward in 2026, even if they aren't ready to contend just yet.

Cleveland Browns – Grade: A+

• Round 1, Pick 9: OT Spencer Fano, Utah
• Round 1, Pick 24: WR KC Concepcion, Texas A&M
• Round 2, Pick 39: WR Denzel Boston, Washington
• Round 3, Pick 58: S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo
• Round 3, Pick 86: OT Austin Barber, Florida
• Round 5, Pick 146: IOL Parker Brailsford, Alabama
• Round 5, Pick 149: LB Justin Jefferson, Alabama
• Round 5, Pick 170: TE Joe Royer, Cincinnati
• Round 6, Pick 182: QB Taylen Green, Arkansas
• Round 7, Pick 248: TE Carsen Ryan, BYU

What a meat and potatoes kind of draft for the Browns, and one that makes perfect sense for their current state of affairs. For one, they traded back to get more draft capital from the Chiefs, then took the guy they likely would've tabbed at No. 6 in Spencer Fano to fortify their completely rebuilt offensive line. They then got Shedeur Sanders more weapons with Concepcion and Boston, both of whom I like a lot, then took a clear best player available in McNeil-Warren.

Put simply, Cleveland made it a point to keep building the trenches on offense and then load up on talented pieces for the roster, of which they have too few. That's probably not going to translate into wins for the Browns this season, but it does give Sanders a puncher's chance to prove he's the guy, which will inform the future of the organization either way beyond this season. And if he's not the QB they want to move forward with, the infrastructure in place is now substantially stronger.

Dallas Cowboys – Grade: A+

• Round 1, Pick 11: S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
• Round 1, Pick 23: EDGE Malachi Lawrence, UCF
• Round 3, Pick 92: LB/EDGE Jaishawn Barham, Michigan
• Round 4, Pick 112: OT Drew Shelton, Penn State
• Round 4, Pick 114: CB Devin Moore, Florida
• Round 4, Pick 137: EDGE LT Overton, Alabama
• Round 7, Pick 218: WR Anthony Smith, East Carolina

I don't think it's outlandish to say that the Cowboys, with the help of a little fortune, put on a masterclass in the draft. That started with Caleb Downs pick, the no-brainer of no-brainers. There were some who wondered if Dallas would trade into the top 10 for him, but they were able to give up two fifth-rounders to move up one spot and nab a field general perfect for Christian Parker and this defense.

Beyond that, the Malachi Lawrence pick was a slight reach, but also a perfect fit for a Dallas defense in need of an explosive pure pass rusher. Barham can be a hybrid role on defense, Moore would've been an easy Top 100 pick if not for injuries, and the rest of the picks are nice depth swings.

Dallas showed last year that Dak Prescott and this offense aren't far from being at a contender level, but the defense was miles away from that. After free agency and now this draft class, it feels as if the Cowboys are much closer to meaningfully competing than some fans will be comfortable admitting.

Lowest-graded NFL Draft classes

Jacksonville Jaguars – Grade: C

• Round 2, Pick 56: TE Nate Boerkircher, Texas A&M
• Round 3, Pick 81: DL Albert Regis, Texas A&M
• Round 3, Pick 88: IOL Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon
• Round 3, Pick 100: S Jalen Huskey, Maryland
• Round 4, Pick 119: EDGE Wesley Williams, Duke
• Round 5, Pick 164: TE Tanner Koziol, Houston
• Round 5, Pick 191: WR Josh Cameron, Baylor
• Round 6, Pick 203: WR CJ Williams, Stanford
• Round 7, Pick 233: EDGE Zach Durfee, Washington
• Round 7, Pick 240: LB Parker Hughes, Middle Tennessee

Not having a first-round pick is always going to increase the degree of difficulty when it comes to the NFL Draft, and the Jaguars made it even harder by coming on the clock for the first time and taking Nate Boerkircher. The A&M product is a fine player, but he was drafted almost 100 spots higher than the consensus board, and doesn't look like a difference-maker for Liam Coen's offense.

There are selections I like, most notably with Emmanuel Pregnon where they got him, which was tremendous value. But as I look across the Jags draft class, I'm largely left looking for guys who are going to have a meaningful and sizable impact on the team that just went on a solid playoff run. Frankly, I'm having a hard time finding them at this point, and it feels like a missed opportunity for Jacksonville, even without a first-rounder.

San Francisco 49ers – Grade: C

• Round 2, Pick 33: WR De'Zhaun Stribling, Ole Miss
• Round 3, Pick 70: EDGE Romello Height, Texas Tech
• Round 3, Pick 90: RB Kaelon Black, Indiana
• Round 4, Pick 107: DT Gracen Halton, Oklahoma
• Round 4, Pick 127: IOL Carver Willis, Washington
• Round 4, Pick 139: CB Ephesians Prysock, Washington
• Round 5, Pick 154: LB Jaden Dugger, Louisiana
• Round 5, Pick 179: OT Enrique Cruz Jr., Kansas

In most cases, the 49ers aren't going to draft highly on the consensus board as they value fit within Kyle Shanahan's system and their building more than most teams. Even if that's the case, it's hard to stomach both the De'Zhaun Stribling and Kaelon Black picks on Day 2. Those guys were expected to be Day 3 picks at best in this class, and they reached massively to get them.

More than that, it's worth noting that the 49ers reaching for scheme fit hasn't been as successful, especially on Day 2, as you'd expect. In reality, you're looking at Deebo Samuel and, to a much lesser degree, Dante Pettis as the hits for that process — and that's really it. So there also isn't really a track record of banking on the Niners being right by operating as they have.

Romello Height and Gracen Halton are two selections that I think substantially can help this defense, but there's too much wasted draft capital in this group for me to view it favorably.

Minnesota Vikings – Grade: C+

• Round 1, Pick 18: DL Caleb Banks, Florida
• Round 2, Pick 51: LB Jake Golday, Cincinnati
• Round 3, Pick 82: DL Domonique Orange, Iowa State
• Round 3, Pick 97: OT Caleb Tiernan, Northwestern
• Round 3, Pick 98: S Jakobe Thomas, Miami
• Round 5, Pick 159: TE Max Bredeson, Michigan
• Round 5, Pick 163: CB Charles Demmings, Stephen F. Austin
• Round 6, Pick 198: RB Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest
• Round 7, Pick 235: IOL Gavin Gerhardt, Cincinnati

In reality, much of how we view the Vikings' draft class is going to come down to Caleb Banks. They reached on a defensive tackle who has foot injuries that have hampered him at the end of his Florida career and even now in the draft process. He's a physical freak, but that's a terrifying thing to already be dealing with for a player with his size and explosiveness. His traits are incredible, and it could work out for Minnesota, but that's scary.

What made that more perplexing was taking another interior defensive lineman in the third round, while the rest of this group should be able to at least fill in as depth. That's not a bad thing, necessarily, but this also isn't a draft class where I'm seeing a ton of needle-movers that just got added to the mix.

After landing Kyler Murray this offseason, I thought the Vikings, even with an interim general manager, might be willing to go for it and make some big splashes that help the team in a massive way right now. I'm not sure that's how things ended up playing out, however.

The most intriguing NFL Draft classes of 2026

Pittsburgh Steelers – Grade: B-

• Round 1, Pick 21: OT Max Iheanachor, Arizona State
• Round 2, Pick 47: WR Germie Bernard, Alabama
• Round 3, Pick 76: QB Drew Allar, Penn State
• Round 3, Pick 85: CB Daylen Everette, Georgia
• Round 3, Pick 96: IOL Gennings Dunker, Iowa
• Round 4, Pick 121: WR Kaden Wetjen, Iowa
• Round 5, Pick 169: TE Riley Nowakowski, Indiana
• Round 6, Pick 210: DL Gabriel Rubio, Notre Dame
• Round 7, Pick 224: S Robert Spears-Jennings, Oklahoma

What's fascinating about the Steelers' draft class is that they took big gambles alongside safe picks, particularly early. Iheanachor has as much upside as any tackle in the class, but he's been playing football for less than half of a decade at this point. They're likely going to insert him right in, but how that works out remains to be seen. There's also similar uncertainty with Drew Allar, who is exceptionally toolsy, but never put it all together at Penn State — and even true for Daylen Everette, who is a better athlete than corner right now, but the upside is clear.

But then you mix that with guys like Germie Bernard and Gennings Dunker, and those are rock-steady picks that make a ton of sense. They fill immediate holes on this roster and should absolutely make a big-time impact on the Steelers right away. As for the Day 3 selections, there are some solid swings that should or could help with depth.

This could be a class that eventually looks like one of the best or worst in the NFL when we're a few years down the road. As of right now, I feel like you simply have to land somewhere down the middle when evaluating it.

Carolina Panthers – Grade: A-

• Round 1, Pick 19: OT Monroe Freeling, Georgia
• Round 2, Pick 49: DL Lee Hunter, Texas Tech
• Round 3, Pick 83: WR Chris Brazzell II, Tennessee
• Round 4, Pick 129: CB Will Lee III, Texas A&M
• Round 5, Pick 144: IOL Sam Hecht, Kansas State
• Round 5, Pick 151: S Zakee Wheatley, Penn State
• Round 7, Pick 227: LB Jackson Kuwatch, Miami (OH)

Throughout the draft process, Panthers head coach Dave Canales talking about wanting win-now players on this roster, and Carolina's front office largely followed through with that. Everyone that they picked before the seventh round could legitimately see playing time for this team this season if things go right, while Freeling and Hunter should slot into the mix without question immediately.

So much of the last few years for the Panthers has been centered on ascertaining what they have in Bryce Young, and the entirety of this draft class feels the same way. They are trying to get immediately usable pieces on this roster to put a winning product on the field, which we also saw in free agency from Carolina.

Because of that, I'm high on the class overall, especially considering that this team just made the playoffs in an NFC South that's still wide open. At the same time, I do question what the overall upside is for this class and how it matches with other bigger swings made throughout the league. Frankly, it's a polar opposite haul of what the Steelers brought in.

New York Jets – Grade: B

• Round 1, Pick 2: EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech
• Round 1, Pick 16: TE Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
• Round 1, Pick 30: WR Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana
• Round 2, Pick 50: CB D'Angelo Ponds, Indiana
• Round 4, Pick 103: DT Darrell Jackson Jr., Florida State
• Round 6, Pick 188: IOL Anez Cooper, Miami
• Round 7, Pick 228: S VJ Payne, Kansas State

Frankly, outside of David Bailey, I think there's a real chance we look at the Jets rookies this season and wonder if they completely whiffed. I love Omar Cooper Jr., but I'm not sure I trust Geno Smith to feed him in the way that makes him the most productive. Similarly, Kenyon Sadiq has as much upside as anyone in the draft as a whole, but he might not be a readymade piece for the Jets to start taking off this season.

That also kind of feels like the point for the Jets, though, right? Outside of Bailey over Arvell Reese, which felt like Aaron Glenn and New York playing it a bit too safe with that selection, the fact of the matter is that there are very few paths for the Jets to actually be good in the 2026 season. So why try to kid yourselves about that and just keep building for the future.

In all likelihood, the Jets are going to be making a pick for a franchise quarterback in the 2027 draft. Why not make the situation better for that player whenever he arrives? That feels like it was the guiding principle for this draft class, and it's going to be interesting to see how fans and the team ultimately react to adding that type of haul this season.

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