The 2026 NFL Draft has come to a close, and even though we won’t know who truly won or lost the three-day event until a few years from now, where’s the fun in that?
So here are the ultimate winners and losers from the draft that was, as we now look towards 2027 with names like Arch Manning and Jeremiah Smith already being mocked as the No. 1 pick.
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Winner: Tight Ends
Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams dominated the league offensively last season, and a lot of that had to do with the 13 personnel grouping that he revolutionized throughout the season.
The Rams utilized four different tight ends throughout the year and befuddled teams, using the extra blocking to open up the run and then draw teams into a sense of security, only for one of those blockers to be wide open in the end zone for an easy touchdown.
21 tight ends in total were taken across the three days, eight more than running backs selected.
The Rams picked up even another tight end in the second round, Ohio State’s Max Klare, as they enter 2026 with an arsenal of big-bodied pass catchers.
Don’t be surprised when we see multiple teams try to replicate the 13-personnel success the Rams had last season.
Loser: NFC West
Although the reigning champions, the Seattle Seahawks, weren’t in a prime position to go big in this draft, the other three teams in arguably the best division in football also didn’t take the path many pundits expected.
The Rams were the closest to beating the Seahawks last season, and instead of adding talent that could help them win a Super Bowl next season, they focused on the future by picking Ty Simpson.
The Cardinals took Jeremiyah Love as the third overall when they had a myriad of holes elsewhere in the roster, and then randomly took Carson Beck at the top of the third round.
And in terms of deviation, the 49ers, per usual, grabbed players regardless of where they might have been ranked and surprised everyone by taking De’Zhaun Stribling as their first pick of the draft.
Let’s be honest here: We don’t know who is going to be truly good from this draft a few years from now.
When Josh Allen got picked, there were videos of Buffalo Bills fans crying that they took the inconsistent gunslinger over the likes of UCLA’s Josh Rosen.
How could the Bills pass up on the football IQ and mechanics of Rosen for a raw project like Allen?
But when it comes to sports, the best thing next to winning trophies is having hope. You don’t need to be good, but if there’s hope, there’s excitement, and that leads to positivity.
We don’t know if Fernando Mendoza will work in Las Vegas, but for the first time since the Raiders moved from Oakland to Sin City, it feels like they might actually grow a true, organic fanbase.
They have a QB they can invest in, and even got a player like Jermod McCoy in the fourth round. McCoy has top 10 pick upside as the best cornerback in the draft, but a knee injury and concerns about his future had him fall like a rock down the selections.
There’s hope that McCoy can stay healthy and instantly transform the team’s defense. There is a belief that Mendoza, even if the Raiders struggle over the next few years, will be a guiding light to a future where the Raiders aren’t the side character anymore in the NFL narrative.
And to me, that’s the biggest win for any team exiting the draft.
Loser: Diego Pavia
It was a tough three nights for Pavia, the Heisman Award finalist who confidently believed he would be selected in this year’s draft.
Photos from his draft watch party began popping up on social media on Saturday, with hats from every team in the league on a table.
No one called Pavia, and he went undrafted, once again overlooked and brushed aside.
If it wasn’t for his boasts, the 5-foot-10 quarterback would have been seen as another impressive college signal-caller who just didn’t fit the NFL style. But after all the buildup and talk, as always, the spotlight was on Pavia.
And this time, it wasn’t kind to him.
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