Bullet point summary by AI
- The first round saw seven teams land multiple picks. While some mastered the value board, others took massive risks that could define their franchises’ futures.
- The Giants landed two top-ten talents, but the Dolphins reached for Kadyn Proctor. The Cowboys found a steal in Caleb Downs despite a reach for Malachi Lawrence
- Draft night grades depend on board value versus actual slots. Nailing these picks builds a foundation, while overpaying for projects can stall a team’s progress
Judging NFL Draft picks in the moment is a crapshoot. We won’t truly know how good these players are until they put on pads and earn their reputations. For now, all we have is predraft evaluations and draft tactics to go off of. That’s more than enough fodder to declare which teams found the proverbial end zone and which went three-and-out.
In the first round, seven teams grabbed the spotlight by drafting multiple players, whether they came in with the picks or traded into them as the night unfolded. Not all of those teams got their money’s worth.
7. Miami Dolphins: Kadyn Proctor and Chris Johnson
No. 12 Kadyn Proctor: 42nd on FanSided’s Big Board
No. 27 Chris Johnson: 34th
Normally I love focusing on the offensive line in the first round, especially for a team in rebuild mode. Start in the trenches, always. So why am I low on the Dolphins snagging Kadyn Proctor here? One need only look at his rank on the FanSided Big Board to know why.
Spencer Fano and Francis Mauigoa were already off the board, so the top two offensive tackles weren’t within the Dolphins’ reach. But Monroe Freeling was. So was guard Vega Ione.
I can see the appeal of Proctor. A 6-foot-7 behemoth with a five-star pedigree, he looks the part. But he’s never truly matched the potential with his actual play. There have been issues with his weight and his work ethic. His former college head coach Nick Saban even gave voice to those concerns: “He’s not really a self-starter who’s going to get into shape and come into camp like you want him.” Saban’s point there was that once he’s in the building “he’s manageable.”
I’m going to be honest, if I’m reconstructing my roster from the ground up like the Dolphins are, I don’t want to spend a top 15 pick on a player who isn’t a go-getter. I want the leader of my draft class to set the standard rather than be the guy who needs to be babysat.
Chris Johnson raises fewer concerns. He’s an athletic cover corner and a turnover machine. What I do not like is moving up three spots to get him for the cost of a third-round pick. The price just seems far too high, especially when you alternatives like Jermod McCoy and Avieon Terrell would have been available in that range is someone else got to Johnson first.
6. Tennessee Titans: Carnell Tate and Keldric Faulk
No. 4 Carnell Tate: 8th on FanSided’s Big Board
No. 31 Keldric Faulk: 16th
There will be plenty who disagree, but the Titans’ first round fell flat and it started with their first pick.
Carnell Tate might be the safest bet of the WR class, but you don’t want the No. 4 overall pick in the draft to just be a safe bet. You want them to be a game changer. Is that Tate? With career highs of 52 catches and 875 yards in college, Tate was never WR1 for Ohio State. Granted, that’s because he’s been playing alongside Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith…but that kind of makes the point. Tate has never had the attention of the opposing defense’s CB1.
Jeremiah Smith is the receiver you take No. 4 overall. Tate isn’t that guy. Somewhere else on the board this would feel like a fine selection. All I see is a No. 4 pick that could have been used on pass rush help like Rueben Bain or to take a freak defensive playmaker like Arvell Reese. Or even better, to move back and stockpile some picks to help with the rebuild.
Going back into the first round to get Keldric Faulk did feel like a savvy move though. The Titans gave up hardly anything to do it, swapping pick 35 for 31, 66 for 69 and 101 for 165. Faulk needs refinement. He’ll need to develop counters to his power rush and work on his timing and pad height. However, those are things you can teach. He has the physical traits you can’t teach to feel worthy of that first.
5. Kansas City Chiefs: Mansoor Delane and Peter Woods
No. 6 Mansoor Delane: 12th on FanSided’s Big Board
No. 29 Peter Woods: 19thThe Chiefs moved up into the top 10 to snag Mansoor Delane, the best cornerback on our Big Board. The issue is, the best corner on our Big Board probably was going to be there when Kansas City picked at No. 9. So why move up? The Browns, Commanders and Saints weren’t a threat to take a CB. Maybe Brett Veach worried someone else was working on a trade to get the LSU DB. If they were, it might have been better to risk it and let them spend their capital rather than giving up a third and fifth-round pick. Delane is a great player and will be a great addition to that defense, but the Chiefs could have also gotten better with that third and fifth.
Taking Peter Woods at No. 29 could end up looking like an absolute steal. The Clemson defensive lineman was being talked about as a top 10 pick last year before his production regressed in 2025. As a freak athlete, he has the stuff you can’t teach. The Chiefs will look like geniuses if they can develop him up to his potential.
4. Cleveland Browns: Spencer Fano and KC Concepcion
No. 9 Spencer Fano: 13th on FanSided’s Big Board
No. 24 KC Concepcion: 33rd
The Browns have a problem at quarterback that will get a lot easier to solve if they nail the offensive line. Going with Spencer Fano with their first first-round pick feels like nailing it, especially since they got a third and fifth-round pick from the Chiefs to move back (the first of which they flipped for two fourths and a fifth). If Fano ends up at guard, a top 10 pick will feel like more of a reach, but he’s going to improve that line either way. He’s an elite pass protector with top-tier agility to get out on the move in the run game. Size is the only concern at 6-foot-5, 311 pounds, he’s on the leaner side. His other traits make up for that concern.
KC Concepcion is a menace with the ball in his hands (if he can keep the ball in his hands — he was a drop machine in college). He’ll give Cleveland lots of fun new tricks to add to their bag while serving as a safety blanket running underneath routes for whichever QB wins that starting job. He is a bit of a stretch at 24 in terms of pure value. Omar Cooper Jr. and Denzel Boston, higher-rated receivers on the FanSided Big Board, were still available. Having said that, I dig the fit for the Browns.
3. New York Jets: David Bailey, Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper Jr.
No. 2 David Bailey: 6th on FanSided’s Big Board
No. 16 Kenyon Sadiq: 14th
No. 30 Omar Cooper Jr.: 20th
The Jets were the only team with three selections on Day 1. The question is whether they successfully used those picks to kickstart their roster…which they effectively did.
They did pass on Arvell Reese, the top player on our board, to grab David Bailey at No. 2. Those two will have their careers compared for sure. Still, Bailey’s disruptive presence off the end could be an instant gamechanger for the Jets, who had the second-worst sack total in the league last year.
After Bailey, New York focused on surrounding Geno Smith with more talent. I don’t have major complaints about Kenyon Sadiq or Omar Cooper Jr. They fit where they were taken. But I’m also not sold on using two of three picks on offensive weapons when the most dire need — cornerback — went unaddressed. Sadiq is great and all but the Jets used a second-round pick on Mason Taylor just last year. At 16, they could have snagged Makai Lemon while still having a window to snag a cornerback like Avieon Terrell or Jermod McCoy (injury issues and all) later in the round.
This is a ranking for first-round picks, so they don’t get credit for this, but I adore taking D’Angelo Ponds in the second round, so all’s well that ends well?
2. Dallas Cowboys: Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence
No. 11 Caleb Downs: 2nd on FanSided’s Big Board
No. 23 Malachi Lawrence: NR on FanSided’s Big Board
One could argue Caleb Downs was the best football player in the draft. And it just so happens one of the Cowboys’ biggest needs was a safety to set the tone in the middle of their defense. The chances he’d be available for Dallas were tiny going into the draft. Now a player who has been called “generational” in more than a few corners is going to wear the star.
The one criticism to levy is the cost to trade up one spot to get him. The Cowboys gave the Dolphins two fifth-round picks to swap firsts, making sure no one else traded up to steal him. It’s possible Jerry Jones got played and Miami milked a couple of extra picks for nothing. At the same time, the opportunity to draft Downs was such an unexpected boon, I get why the Cowboys would have been paranoid and letting that chance go to waste. The peace of mind of making it official was probably worth those two picks.
There’s no other way to frame taking Malachi Lawrence than as a reach. He wasn’t ranked on our Big Board and most analysts rated him outside the first round. Though some, like Jon Ledyard were bullish on the UCF product. His elite Combine results no doubt caught Dallas’ eye. Could they have waited and still gotten him? Maybe, but they got two fourth-rounders by trading the 20th pick to the Eagles, so they already came out ahead in terms of assets.
1. New York Giants: Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa
No. 5 Arvell Reese: 1st on FanSided’s Big Board
No. 10 Francis Mauigoa: 9thIf someone had told the Giants on Thursday morning that they’d have Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigo in their pocket by the end of the night, they might not have believed it. New York knew with two top 10 picks they’d be set up for a good night, but other teams set them up for a great one. As the Jets took David Bailey, the Cardinals grabbed Jeremiyah Love and the Titans targeted Carnell Tate, suddenly all the best defensive players in the draft were on the board for them. Reese was the top player on FanSided’s Big Board. He’s the perfect blend of athleticism, versatility, toughness and true potential at just 20.
As if getting Reese wasn’t good enough, Francis Mauigoa being available at No. 10 landed them the top offensive lineman on our draft board. There will be criticism for not also taking Caleb Downs. Personally, I’d have been tempted to make that pick. But I’m not going to fault New York for adding a stud tackle whose ready-made run-blocking prowess could stabilize the offense for the foreseeable future.
In the end, I think the Giants can look back at these picks and feel confident they came out on top.
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