2026 NFL Draft best, worst picks: Renner’s board vs NFL teams

The 2026 NFL draft will be remembered for several reasons: The shortened clock that had broadcasts scrambling all weekend, the run on blocking tight ends on Day 2 and the Makai Lemon robbery from hometown fans in Pittsburgh.

Which of these picks will be most memorable to their respective fan bases is up for debate. They say you can’t judge a draft until three years out — I say hogwash. The best time to judge a draft is right as it’s happening, when we’re all working with the same information. 

With that in mind, here are my favorite and least favorite picks from the weekend based on my draft board. 

2026 NFL Draft essentials

Round 1 

15. Buccaneers: Rueben Bain Jr., EDGE, Miami 📈

Board rank: 2 

The “Board Rank” really says it all here. Bain was the most dominant defensive force in college football. His arm length doesn’t scare me one bit with how physical he is with those arms. He’ll be an every-down tone-setter for the Bucs defense.

18. Vikings: Caleb Banks, DT, Florida 📉

Board rank: 92

A 330-pounder with multiple foot surgeries in the past nine months is scary enough on its own to take in the first round. Add to that the fact that he averaged only 186 snaps a year over five seasons in college football while never producing at a high level (13 career run stops), and this is easily the biggest boom-or-bust pick of the first round.

24. Browns: KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M 📈

 Board rank: 12

Concepcion gets open better than anyone else in the draft class. Don’t just take my word for it, the charting agrees as well:

To get that at 24 is such a win for a team in desperate need of receiver help. The drops are well known, but I saw them as more of a technique issue because he’s actually very good at adjusting to off-target passes. Tracking issues are bigger red flags than simple drop numbers.

28. Patriots: Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah 📈

Board rank: 13 

Lomu can flat-out pass protect. I evaluated him as an even better prospect in pass-protection than last year’s No. 4 overall pick, Will Campbell. All Lomu needs to do is get stronger and more consistent with his technique. He goes to the perfect spot where he can do both on the bench for a year before taking over as a starter.

Round 2

48. Falcons: Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson 📈

Board rank: 10

Not only is Avieon going to play with older brother A.J., one of the coolest stories of the draft, but it’s also one of the biggest steals. I’ve described Avieon Terrell as the quintessential little brother of A.J. He’s not as big or fast, but he makes up for it by playing with a serious chip on his shoulder. His eight forced fumbles the past two seasons were the most of any corner in college football.

50. Jets: D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana 📈

Board rank: 50

Ponds is undersized. We get it. It almost never showed up on tape. In fact, he plays far more physically than most corners with 3+ inches and 20+ pounds on him in the class. He’s a perfect man corner for Aaron Glenn’s scheme and a spitting image of the head coach when he was in the league.

58. Browns: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo 📈

Board Rank: 22

McNeil-Warren is an elite box-safety prospect. The physicality he brings to the position is going to be a huge value-add to the Browns’ run defense. While he wasn’t used much deep at Toledo, he moves like someone who can cover on the backend still in the NFL.

59. Texans: Marlin Klein, TE, Michigan 📉

Board rank: 185

The only justification I can come up with for this is that, being relatively late to the game growing up in Germany, Klein might have some theoretical developmental upside? He’s never been productive (364 career receiving yards and one score), experienced drop issues (9.5% drop rate), isn’t a great blocker, and he goes to one of the deepest positions on the Texans roster. His biggest saving grace is 4.61 speed, but it feels like a niche pick at 59 overall.

2026 NFL Draft team grades: Live updates, report cards for all 32 teams

Carter Bahns

Round 3

65. Cardinals: Carson Beck, QB, Miami 📉

Board rank: 202

This feels like a bit of an insult to the fan base’s intelligence. “See, we addressed quarterback!” Beck may be a solid backup, but he has few developmental tools and will be a 24-year-old rookie. It doesn’t move the needle whatsoever for the Cardinals’ standing in the NFC West and chances are they’ll draft one again next year, essentially lighting this pick on fire.

71. Commanders: Antonio Williams, WR, Clemson 📈

Board rank: 42

They will still need to find a Terry McLaurin replacement on the outside in time, but Williams is a great complement to his skillset. He’s a precise route-runner who’s willing to work the middle of the field. After four years of starting at Clemson, he’s one of the more NFL-ready receivers in the class. That’s a great value to get in the third.

91. Raiders: Trey Zuhn III, IOL, Texas A&M 📈

Board rank: 49

Zuhn is one of the best pass-protectors in the entire draft class. At left tackle last season for the Aggies, he allowed only 10 pressures all season. I think he can play anywhere along the offensive line, too, and will be perfect for Klint Kubiak‘s outside zone scheme.

92. Cowboys: Jaishawn Barham, EDGE, Michigan 📈

Board rank: 66

Barham is not only a steal from a value perspective, but he’s also the perfect complement to what’s already on the Cowboys roster. Both Donovan Ezeiruaku and Malachi Lawrence are tuned-up pass-rushers, but you don’t really want either on the field on run downs right now. Barham is the opposite. He’s one of the best run-defending edges in the class with an overtly physical play style. He’ll have a role on this defense Day 1.

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John Breech

Day 3

101. Raiders: Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee 📈

Board rank: 6

We all know why McCoy fell to this point in the draft. Unfortunately, he was a medical reject for all 32 teams for a number of issues that could cut his career short. Chiefs guard Trey Smith was a similar faller coming out. He then became the highest-paid guard in the NFL. When it comes to the point in the draft when other teams are taking special teamers, McCoy is more than worth the risk for a potential lockdown corner.

128. Bengals: Connor Lew, C, Auburn 📈

Board rank: 43

Lew was a three-year starter at Auburn and entered the draft at only 20-years old. Even at that age, he’s one of the most technically sound linemen in the class. He fell to 128 because of an ACL tear, but the Bengals don’t need him this year with Ted Karras in the last year of his contract. I would be surprised if he’s not starting in 2027.

148. Seahawks: Beau Stephens, IOL, Iowa 📉

Board rank: 193

Let me be clear, this has nothing to do with the player selection itself. I am questioning the process. Because to get Pick 8 in the 5th round, the Seahawks gave up a 2027 4th-rounder. The entire story of this draft is how thin the class is and how many teams are coveting 2027 picks in what could be a special draft class. To give a fourth-rounder up next year for Stephens seems short-sighted. This is obviously an incredibly small gripe, but it’s because I’m not going to kill any specific player selection on Day 3.

157. Lions: Keith Abney II, CB, Arizona State 📈

Board rank: 44

Brad Holmes’s early-round picks are what he’s obviously known for, but he’s also been able to find talent on Day 3 as well as anyone, too. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Malcolm Rodriguez, James Houston and Christian Mahogany all well outplayed their draft stock. Abney looks like the next man up in that list of success stories. He was an early entrant in the draft after being one of the top corners in the Big-12 each of the past two seasons. He’s one of the more instinctive corners in the class, but his limited frame may be why he fell to this range.