2026 Draft Grades

Gibbs and Lamb anchor an elite core — but the tight end room sat empty until round 14.

Jahmyr Gibbs at 1.1 is the consensus No. 1 overall pick right now, and CeeDee Lamb falling to 2.9 (10th overall) is close to a gift. Add Ashton Jeanty, Malik Nabers, and Zay Flowers, and this is a genuinely elite skill-position core. The cost: no tight end until Travis Kelce in round 14, and three separate quarterbacks (Goff, Lawrence, Willis) when one of those picks could have bought a TE upgrade five rounds earlier.

Bijan, JSN, and Jefferson before pick 30. Almost no holes.

Bijan Robinson opens things up, then Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Justin Jefferson land back-to-back — three top-tier assets inside the first 30 picks. Tyler Warren and Dallas Goedert give real tight end flexibility instead of the one-and-done approach most of the league took, and Jonathan Campbell is one of the stronger IDP options on the board. Hard to find a weak spot here.

Chase plus a top-tier tight end at pick 34, with a little uncertainty around Walker's new backfield.

Ja'Marr Chase at 1.3 is a top-three overall asset in most rooms. Then, at pick 34, this team landed Trey McBride, last year's TE1 and part of a clear top tier at the position alongside Brock Bowers, solving a position nearly everyone else in this league punted on. Worth keeping an eye on: Kenneth Walker III moved to Kansas City in free agency, so it'll take a few weeks to see exactly how his workload shakes out in a new offense. Joe Burrow and Fred Warner give this roster a high floor regardless.

Nacua fell to 1.4, then they found Seattle's next lead back in round 7.

Puka Nacua sliding to the fourth overall pick is arguably the steal of the round — plenty of rankings have him as the No. 1 receiver in football. Then, in round 7, this team grabbed Jadarian Price: Seattle's starting back Zach Charbonnet opened camp on PUP recovering from a torn ACL, which lines Price up for a heavy early-season workload as a rookie. Patrick Mahomes falling to pick 76 is more good value on top of it.

CMC's health is the whole bet, but the Chargers stack is sharp.

Christian McCaffrey is a top-three talent when healthy, and healthy is the operative question after his lost 2024. What stands out is the build around him: Omarion Hampton, Justin Herbert, and Ladd McConkey give this roster real correlated upside out of one backfield and passing game. Jake Ferguson at tight end is the softest spot, though Isaiah Likely provides some insurance later.

Two quarterbacks before pick 20, in a league that starts one.

Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson back-to-back is the boldest swing of the draft — two premium picks on a position that starts one player, spent directly against the run on elite RBs and WRs everyone else was making. The recovery was real, though: Jeremiyah Love, the consensus No. 1 rookie back taken third overall by Arizona, fell all the way to pick 31, and Trey Kraft plus Sam LaPorta give this team a strong tight end tandem. Drafting Cam Ward as a fourth quarterback in round 16 says everything about how this roster is allocated.

Taylor and Achane in the first two rounds is about as clean as it gets.

Jonathan Taylor and De'Von Achane give this roster an excellent one-two punch at running back, and Drake London plus Chris Olave round out a genuinely balanced receiving corps. Pairing Jayden Daniels with Stefon Diggs in rounds 5 and 10 is a nice bit of stacking. Three quarterbacks (Daniels, Nix, Daniel Jones) is more depth than needed at the position, but the core here is strong enough to absorb it without much cost.

Henry, Cook, Hurts, Kittle — a steady, low-drama roster.

Derrick Henry, James Cook, and Jalen Hurts give this team a high floor from the jump, and George Kittle falling to pick 66 is real value at tight end. The one head-scratcher is taking rookie Jaxson Dart as a second quarterback in round 6 — early for a backup plan at a position you only start one of, let alone a rookie one. Everything around it is sound, unspectacular team-building.

St. Brown at 1.9 and Bowers at 4.1 are the two best falls of the entire draft.

Amon-Ra St. Brown sliding to the last pick of round one is excellent value on its own, but Brock Bowers falling to pick 28 — for a tight end many rank inside the top three at the position — is the single best value grab in this draft. Saquon Barkley in round 2 adds an elite bell-cow on top of it. The drag on the grade: three quarterbacks (Stafford, Purdy, Darnold) spread across rounds 6, 8, and 12, capital that could have bought more depth at a skill position or IDP.