2026 NFL Draft winners, losers: Eagles strike, Love gets a bag -- and does Sean McVay look furious to anybody?

From record-setting contracts to baffling trades, a wild first round reshaped rosters and raised big questions

John Breech

Apr 24, 2026

1:31 am ET

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9 min read

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The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is officially in the books. The night got off to a predictable start with the Raiders using the first overall pick on Fernando Mendoza, but that was about the only predictable thing that happened.

The Rams got a little crazy, the Bills decided not to make a pick in the first round and the Steelers thought they were drafting someone only to find out that he had already been drafted. That's what kind of night it was for some teams.

There were plenty of winners during the opening round and there were also plenty of losers and we're going to cover them here.

2026 NFL Draft essentials

- Live draft blog: Rumors, trades and picks in real time

- Interactive draft tracker: Filter every pick by round, team, position and more

- Live team grades: Instant analysis for every team's draft class

- Round 1 pick grades: Full breakdowns for every first-round selection

- Full draft order: All 257 picks by team

Winners

Jeremiyah Love

The Cardinals new running back hasn't even played a down yet and he's already the highest paid running back in NFL history. At least in terms of guaranteed money. Love will be getting a fully guaranteed four-year, $53.9 million contract, which is the most guaranteed money ever given to a running back. Love's total tops Saquon Barkley, who held the previous record at $36 million. Love will also make an average of $13.47 million per year, which ranks seventh in the NFL. Love is already getting top of the market money at his position and he hasn't even attended his first practice. That definitely makes him a winner.

Howie Roseman and stealing from the Steelers

The Eagles general manager seems to come away as a winner every year and this year is no different. Not only did the Philadelphia land one of the best receivers in the draft in Makai Lemon, but the Eagles swiped him away from the Steelers in some Pennsylvania on Pennsylvania crime. At one point on Thursday night, Lemon was actually on the phone with the Steelers, who had the 21st overall pick, and he thought he was going to Pittsburgh.

Let's let Lemon explain what happened.

> New Eagles WR Makai Lemon: "Pittsburgh called me and I thought they were going to draft me and then the Eagles called at the same time. I guess it was meant to be. I'm super excited to be in Philly."

— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) April 24, 2026

What the Steelers didn't know is that the Eagles were in the process of trading up from 23rd overall to 20th overall. Once the trade was finalized, that put the Eagles on the clock and they were able to take Lemon one pick ahead of the Steelers. By adding Lemon, that makes it seem like A.J. Brown is all but done in Philly. The Eagles have been busy adding receivers this year. Not only did they draft Lemon, but they traded for Dontayvion Wicks while also signing Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore. That's four receivers in six weeks that Philly has added. With those additions, the Eagles have put themselves in a spot where they now have more than enough depth on the roster to withstand the potential loss of Brown.

John Harbaugh

In his first draft with the Giants, Harbaugh hit a home run. First, the Giants had Arvell Reese fall into their lap at fifth overall. Reese was widely expected to be a top-three pick, but he dropped to the Giants, and now, he'll be joining a suddenly scary defense in New York that also includes Abdul Carter, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Giants also got Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa at 10th overall. When you have a young QB, you have to do everything you can to help him and getting him some protection definitely qualifies.

Robert Saleh

The new Titans head coach got the best of both worlds on Thursday night by adding one solid player on both sides of the ball. With the fourth overall pick, the Titans added an offensive weapon for Cam Ward by drafting Carnell Tate. The Ohio State receiver will now join a Titans receiving room that also includes Wan'Dale Robinson and Calvin Ridley. After the Tate pick, the Titans traded back INTO the first round to grab Keldric Faulk. Saleh is a defensive-minded coach and it's no shock that he ended up getting a defensive player in the first round. With the addition of Faulk, the Titans now have a totally revamped defensive line that should be able to bully opposing offenses. Faulk will be joining Jeffrey Simmons along with fellow Titans newcomers John Franklin-Myers and Jermaine Johnson.

The Browns

Look, we don't really get to use the words "winner" and "Browns" in a sentence very often, so we're going to do it here. The Browns front office, which has made plenty of questionable decisions over the years,