2026 NFL Draft gets massive shakeup after Dexter Lawrence trade: How the top 10 could now unfold

A late Dexter Lawrence deal rewrites the top 10, gives New York two premium picks and reshapes the board

Garrett Podell

Apr 19, 2026

1:59 pm ET

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9 min read

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The 2026 NFL Draft was shaping up to be a pretty ho-hum affair under a week out from the opening round kicking off in Pittsburgh on April 23.

There's no debate about who the top quarterback in this draft class is or who the first overall pick should be. Indiana Hoosiers national champion quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, will be a Las Vegas Raider after the night's first selection. The next quarterback debate, if it's big enough to even call it that, is if Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson should even be a first-round pick given his one year as a starter in Tuscaloosa. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, who led college football in rushing touchdowns (35) and touchdowns from scrimmage (40) across the last two seasons, is such a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands, thanks to a video game-like spin move and the agility/balance to remain upright after using his go-to move, that no one is really that up in arms about the prospect of a running back going in the top 10.

However, the New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals spiced up the draft's first 10 to 12 picks late Saturday night with the Giants sending two-time second team All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals in exchange for the 10th overall pick. Here is how the first 12 picks are ordered now that the dust has settled.

First 12 picks, 2026 NFL Draft

1. Las Vegas Raiders

2. New York Jets

3. Arizona Cardinals

4. Tennessee Titans

5. New York Giants

6. Cleveland Browns

7. Washington Commanders

8. New Orleans Saints

9. Kansas City Chiefs

10. New York Giants (via Cincinnati Bengals)

11. Miami Dolphins

12. Dallas Cowboys

The 2026 NFL Draft class's prospects are intriguing because some of the top talent play at what are typically viewed as non-premium positions. There's the aforementioned Love at running back. Ohio State inside linebacker Sonny Styles, whose athletic testing profile from the NFL Scouting Combine compared favorably to wide receiver Calvin Johnson, aka the Pro Football Hall of Fame artist formerly known as Megatron. Ohio State All-American safety Caleb Downs' versatility makes him arguably the draft's top defensive back prospect. Miami's Rueben Bain Jr., one of the draft's top edge rushers, is hamstrung by his arm length of just under 31 inches, 30⅞ inches to be exact. No draft class is perfect, but this one has plenty of imperfections at the top.

So how will things unfold come Thursday night after this trade that gives the Giants two bites at the apple in the first 10 picks? According to NFL Mock Draft Database, the Giants selecting Styles fifth overall has been the consensus move at New York's first selection of the night. What comes next is where things get interesting. The Cleveland Browns will certainly go offense with the sixth overall pick, whether that's at offensive line or perhaps the draft's cleanest wide receiver prospect in Ohio State's Carnell Tate.

Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, a player who some viewed as the draft's most explosive wide receiver if he could prove his nagging hamstring injury was a thing of the past, reentered the top 10 pick conversation on Friday. He held a solo workout at ASU to athletically test and go through drills for the first time this draft cycle. ESPN's Pete Thamel reported the following about Tyson's showing, "He showed the twitch, explosiveness and leaping ability we all saw in the fall. He showed he's healthy and still explosive, which is all he needed to do."

ESPN reported Giants general manager Joe Schoen was in Arizona for Tyson's workout on Friday and had dinner with him the night before. Could New York be interested in pairing Tyson with Pro Bowl wide receiver Malik Nabers, who broke the franchise's single-season catches record with 109 as a rookie in 2024, by using the 10th overall pick on the now-healthy Sun Devil?

If that's the case, the team that would likely be the happiest with the Giants drafting Tyson is an NFC East rival in the Dallas Cowboys. Here's why. The Cowboys gave up an NFL-worst 30.1 points per game in 2025. That number ranks as the second-most points per game allowed in the 66-season history of the Cowboys. Only Dallas' inaugural 1960 team, which finished 0-11-1, was worse. They desperately need an impact defensive player when they come on the clock with the 12th overall pick.

If Tyson and Tate are both off the board through the first 10 picks, there's a chance someone like Downs, Bain or LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane, who yielded the lowest passer rating allowed (24.1) in the SEC last season among 82 players with at least 30 passes thrown their way, could be on the board after 10 picks. Then there's the Miam