Everything you need to know about the 2026 NFL Draft as Pittsburgh plays host to the undoubted highlight of the American Football off-season.
What is the NFL Draft?
The NFL Draft is the annual highlight of the league's off-season calendar as all 32 NFL teams bid to strengthen their groups by taking their pick from hundreds of college football's top prospects.
The annual event serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the NFL, with each of the 32 teams designated one selection across all seven rounds of the Draft.
Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order relative to its record in the previous year, and from this position, the team can either select a player or trade its position to another team for other draft positions, a player or players, or any combination thereof.
Each of the seven selection rounds are complete when each team has either selected a player or traded its position in the draft.
Start Date
The 2026 NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday 23rd April and will finish on Saturday 25th April.
Start Time
The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is projected to start at 20:00 (Eastern Time) on Thursday 23rd April, which is 01:00 (BST) on Friday 24th April in the UK.
Schedule
The NFL Draft takes place over a three-day period, with round one filling the full day one schedule, rounds two and three take place across day two, whilst rounds four, five, six and seven all feature on day three.
- Round 1: Friday 24th April at 01:00 (BST)
- Rounds 2-3: Saturday 25th April at 00:00 (BST)
- Rounds 4-7: Saturday 25th April at 17:00 (BST)
Location and Venue
This year's NFL Draft will take place outside of Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The actual Draft stage will be on the North Shore area of Pittsburgh, with Acrisure Stadium serving as a backdrop.
The event was long held in New York City until 2014 when the decision was made to mimic the Super Bowl and change the location of the Draft every year.
2026 NFL Draft Order
How is the NFL Draft order determined?
The NFL Draft order is determined by the reverse order of finish in the previous season.
This means the team with the worst record gets the first pick, the second-worst team picks second, and so on.
However, teams are able to trade players for picks, and in a further twist, teams have the opportunity to offer up picks to other teams during the Draft, should they wish, to move up the board in a bid to land a player of interest.
Who has the first pick in the NFL Draft?
Las Vegas Raiders have first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Raiders finished the 2025 regular season as one of four teams with a 3-14 record alongside Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.
However, as Las Vegas possessed the toughest schedule, they won the strength of schedule tiebreaker and were awarded first pick in the Draft.
2026 NFL Draft - Round 1 Order
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New York Jets
- Arizona Cardinals
- Tennessee Titans
- New York Giants
- Cleveland Browns
- Washington Commanders
- New Orleans Saints
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Miami Dolphins
- Dallas Cowboys
- Los Angeles Rams (from Atlanta Falcons)
- Baltimore Ravens
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- New York Jets (from Indianapolis Colts)
- Detroit Lions
- Minnesota Vikings
- Carolina Panthers
- Dallas Cowboys (from Green Bay Packers)
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Cleveland Browns (from Jacksonville Jaguars)
- Chicago Bears
- Buffalo Bills
- San Francisco 49ers
- Houston Texans
- Kansas City Chiefs (from Los Angeles Rams)
- Miami Dolphins (from Denver Broncos)
- New England Patriots
- Seattle Seahawks
How many picks are there in the NFL Draft?
The NFL Draft has a total of 256 picks; these picks are distributed among the 32 NFL teams over seven rounds.
How much time do teams get between picks in the NFL Draft?
The length of time that teams have to determine their selections varies between rounds.
For example, in the first round, teams have ten minutes per pick, whereas the time shortens to just seven minutes per pick in the second round.
Round three to six will see each of the teams given five minutes to confirm their selections, whilst in the seventh, and final round, they have just four minutes on the clock.
2026 NFL Draft - Draft Projections & Top Players
The name on everybody's lips heading into the 2026 NFL Draft is Fernando Mendoza, who led the Indiana Hoosiers to a historic 16-0 record and a national championship.
The Las Vegas Raiders will be hoping Mendoza, who evolved from being ranked 2,149th in the class of 2022 to the Heisman Trophy winner last year, can become the franchise quarterback they've long been yearning for.
Other top prospects in this year's Draft include two coveted edge rushers in Ohio State star Arvell Reese and Texas Tech prodigy David Bailey, while dynamic Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love has been tipped for stardom
Carnell Tate is the standout receiver prospect following a major year with Ohio State where he hauled in 44 receptions on 53 targets for 793 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
