The 2026 NFL Draft takes place April 23-25, 2026 over three days. Round 1 is Thursday, Rounds 2-3 are Friday, and Rounds 4-7 are Saturday.
Acrisure Stadium and Point State Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The main stage is at Acrisure Stadium (home of the Steelers), with fan experiences at Point State Park. This is the 91st annual NFL Draft.
| Round 1 | Thursday, April 23 | 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT |
| Rounds 2-3 | Friday, April 24 | 7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT |
| Rounds 4-7 | Saturday, April 25 | 12:00 PM ET / 9:00 AM PT |
The 2026 NFL Draft airs on ESPN, ABC, and NFL Network. ESPN Deportes provides Spanish-language coverage. All three days are televised live.
The 2025 NFL Draft was held in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Previous locations: Detroit (2024), Kansas City (2023), Las Vegas (2022), Cleveland (2021).
The Las Vegas Raiders hold the #1 overall pick. The consensus projection is Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana — he is the unanimous #1 pick across all 22 analysts tracked on our Mock Draft Tracker.
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana — the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner. He completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just 6 interceptions while leading Indiana to a national championship. He's 6'5", 236 lbs — ideal NFL QB size. See his full profile on our Consensus Big Board.
Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) is the clear QB1 and overall #1 prospect. After him, Ty Simpson (Alabama) and Garrett Nussmeier (LSU) are the next QBs off the board, projected in the late first to second round. See all QBs on our By Position page.
Top WR: Carnell Tate (Ohio State) — zero drops per PFF, 875 yds, 9 TD
Top EDGE: Arvell Reese (Ohio State) — edge/LB hybrid, 4.46 40 at 241 lbs
Top RB: Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame) — 4.36 speed, 6.9 YPC, 18 TD
Full position rankings on our By Position page.
The NFL Draft has 7 rounds with 257 total picks in 2026 (including compensatory selections). Round 1 has 32 picks, though trades can change the number of selections each team makes.
Each team starts with one pick per round (7 total), but the actual number varies. Teams acquire extra picks through trades and compensatory selections. For example, the Cleveland Browns have 3 first-round picks in 2026 due to trades. See the full breakdown on our Draft Order page.
Compensatory picks are extra draft selections awarded by the NFL to teams that lost more qualifying free agents than they acquired. The number and round of compensatory picks are based on the value of the contracts those free agents signed. These picks are added at the end of Rounds 3 through 7.
The NFL Draft order is determined by reverse order of the previous season's record. The team with the worst record picks first. Teams that missed the playoffs pick before playoff teams. Among playoff teams, the order is based on how far they advanced (Super Bowl loser picks 31st, winner picks 32nd). Ties are broken by strength of schedule. View the full 2026 Draft Order.
Yes! Teams can trade current and future draft picks (up to 3 years ahead). Trades happen before and during the draft. Multiple first-round trades are expected in 2026 — see our Trade Scenarios page for projected deals.
A mock draft is a prediction of how the NFL Draft will unfold, projecting which players each team will select based on team needs, prospect talent, and insider information. MockDraftRanks.com tracks 22 analysts' mock drafts to find consensus projections. See our Mock Draft Tracker.