NFL Draft 2026 – First Round Order

Dec. 16, 2025
Frank Coyle/ Pro scout

Giants & Raiders Hold Top Two Overall Selections

The first-round draft order is posted below with three games to go. Currently, the GMen hold the 1^st overall selection at 2-12. They are tied with the Raiders and Titans but currently rank higher due to strength of schedule. Gmen and Raiders will meet on Week 17 in Las Vegas and maybe the deciding matchup of the year for the top overall selection.

Here is the current first-round draft order following the Steelers win Monday night.
Tie breakers are broken first by strength of schedule, then by head to head matchups.

NFL Draft 2026 – First Round Order

Team                    W-L record

1          NY Giants                     2-12

2          Las Vegas                     2-12

3          Tennessee                    2-12

4          Cleveland                      3-11

5          NY Jets                         3-11

6          Arizona                         3-11

7          New Orleans                 4-10

8          Washington                   4-10

9          Cincinnati                      4-10

10         LA Rams (Atlanta)         5-9

11         Miami                           6-8

12         Kansas City                  6-8

13         Minnesota                     6-8

14         Dallas                           6-7-1

15         Baltimore                      7-7

16         Carolina                        7-7

17         Detroit                           8-6

18         NY Jets (Indianapolis)    8-6

Playoff Teams as of Dec. 16th

19         Tampa Bay                   7-7

20         Pittsburgh                     8-6

21         Philadelphia                   9-5

22         Houston                        9-5

23         Dallas (Green Bay)        9-4-1

24         Buffalo                          10-4

25         Chicago                        10-4

26         LA Chargers                  10-4

27         San Francisco               10-4

28         Cleveland (Jacksonville) 10-4

29         New England                 11-3

30         Seattle                          11-3

31         LA Rams                       11-3

32         Denver                          12-2

All ties in record are broken by current strength of schedule.
Atlanta, Green Bay, Jacksonville and Indianapolis all currently do not have 1st-round selections from prior deals.

March 11, 2026
The 2026 League Year and Free agency signing period begins at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Trading period for 2026 begins at 4:00 p.m. ET, after expiration of all 2025 contracts

Mendoza Wins Heisman Trophy Award

NEW YORK — QB Fernando Mendoza of #1 Indiana, won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming the first Hoosier to win college football’s most prestigious award since its inception in 1935.

Mendoza claimed 2,362 points, including 643 first-place votes. He beat Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 points), Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (719 points) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 points).

Frank Coyle voted for Fernando Mendoza. He is a longtime member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy, Outland Trophy, Bronko Nagurski, Jim Thorpe, Fred Biletnikoff and Eddie Robinson awards annually for 34 years.

Mendoza lead the Hoosiers to their first #1 ranking and the top seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket, winning the Big Ten Championship in the process. He threw for 2,980 yards and a national-best 33 TD passes while also running for 6 scores. Indiana, the last unbeaten team in major college football, will play in the CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented on Jan. 1^st after a bye week next weekend in the opening round.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti was in attendance at the ceremony. As Mendoza greeted Cignetti after winning, the coach simply said, “Great job, bro. You deserve that one.”

Mendoza was a first-year starter at Indiana after transferring from California and set new team records for TDs and points during last season’s surprise run to the CFP. He is the second Heisman finalist in school history, joining 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson. Mendoza is the seventh Indiana player to earn a top-10 finish in Heisman balloting, and it marks another first in program history: having back-to-back players in the top 10. Hoosiers QB Kurtis Rourke was ninth last season.

“This trophy might have my name on it,” Mendoza said at the lectern, again acknowledging his teammates back on campus. “But it belongs to all of you, it belongs, for the first time, in Bloomington. Playing in front of Hoosier Nation is one of the greatest privileges of my life.”

Quarterbacks have won the Heisman in four of the past five years, with two-way player Travis Hunter of Colorado ending the run last season.

The Heisman Trophy presentation came after several accolades were already awarded. Mendoza was named The Associated Press player of the year earlier this week and picked up the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards Friday night, and Love won the Doak Walker Award.

NFL Draft 2026 – First Round Order

Dec. 9, 2025
Frank Coyle/ Pro scout

Raiders Move to Top Overall Selection

Here is the current first-round draft order following the Chargers win Monday night.
Tie breakers are broken first by strength of schedule, then by head to head matchups.

NFL Draft 2026 – First Round Order

Team                        W-L record

1          Las Vegas                     2-11

2          Tennessee                    2-11

3          NY Giants                     2-11

4          Cleveland                      3-10

5          NY Jets                         3-10

6          Washington                   3-10

7          New Orleans                 3-10

8          Arizona                         3-10

9          LA Rams (Atlanta)         4-9

10         Cincinnati                      4-9

11         Minnesota                     5-8

12         Miami                           6-7

13         Baltimore                      6-7

14         Kansas City                  6-7

15         Dallas                           6-6-1

16         Carolina                        7-6

17         Detroit                           8-5

18         NY Jets (Indianapolis)    8-5

Playoff Teams as of Dec. 9th

19         Tampa Bay                   7-6

20         Pittsburgh                     7-6

21         Philadelphia                   8-5

22         Houston                        8-5

23         Chicago                        9-4

24         LA Chargers                  9-4

25         Buffalo                          9-4

26         San Francisco               9-4

27         Cleveland (Jacksonville) 9-4

28         Dallas (Green Bay)        9-3-1

29         Seattle                          10-3

30         LA Rams                       10-3

31         Denver                          11-2

32         New England                 11-2

           All ties in record are broken by strength of schedule.
Atlanta, Green Bay, Jacksonville and Indianapolis all currently do not have 1st-round selections from prior deals.

March 11, 2026
The 2026 League Year and Free agency signing period begins at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Trading period for 2026 begins at 4:00 p.m. ET, after expiration of all 2025 contracts

Rimington Trophy Announces Three Finalists

Centers, Logan Jones, Iapani Laloulu & Jake Slaughter Named Top Three DI Centers

The Rimington Trophy Committee announces 2025 Finalists for the Most Outstanding Center

Finalists

Logan Jones, University of Iowa
Logan Jones anchors Iowa’s offensive line, which is a Joe Moore Award semifinalist. Jones, a first-team All-Big Ten honoree, has started 50 career games and has served as a game captain all 12 games this season. He is the top-rated center in the country by Pro Football Focus and has not been flagged for an offensive holding penalty in 2025. Jones and the Hawkeyes outrushed their opponents nine times in 2025. Jones’ protection along with the rest of the line has helped quarterback Mark Gronowski break school single-season records for rushing yards (491) and rushing touchdowns (15) by a quarterback. Jones was named first team Big Ten and first team All-America honors by DraftInsiders.com

Iapani Laloulu, University of Oregon
Iapani Laloulu has started all 12 games for the Ducks at center in 2025 and has started 27 consecutive games for Oregon dating back to 2023. An all-Big Ten second-team selection by the league’s coaches. No. 2 among Big Ten centers and fourth among FBS centers with an 89.1 pass-blocking grade by Pro Football Focus. Has allowed just one sack and only six total pressures in 333 pass-blocking opportunities this season. In his career, has surrendered just one total sack and 18 pressures in 1,051 pass-blocking opportunities. The leader of an Oregon offensive line that is a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award for the fourth consecutive year. A key piece of an Oregon offense that ranks in the top 20 nationally in scoring (9th, 38.2 PPG), total offense (13th, 465.2 YPG), rushing offense (14th, 218.42 YPG), sacks allowed (T-17th, 14) and tackles for loss allowed (8th, 43).

Jake Slaughter, University of Florida
Jake Slaughter started all 12 games at center for the Florida Gators in 2025, posting a 100 percent block rate and zero pressures in eight of 12 games, including four of the last five. For the season he allowed just one sack, one quarterback hit and two hurries. He anchored an offensive line that saw running back Jadan Baugh finish third in the SEC with 1,170 rushing yards. Slaughter was named a 2024 First-Team All-American by the Associated Press and ESPN. He was named 2^nd team All-America honors by DraftInsiders.com

Selection Process

While more than a dozen All-America teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these three prestigious teams to determine a winner:
Walter Camp Foundation (WCF)
Sporting News (SN)
Football Writers Association of America (FWAA)

Because the selectors of these three All-America teams can place centers in a “mix” of offensive linemen that includes guards and tackles, their 11-man first teams can often have two centers. The Rimington Trophy committee’s policy is to count all players that play primarily the center position for their respective teams as centers, even though they may be listed as guards or tackles on the All- America teams.

The center with the most first team votes will be determined the winner. If there is a tie with first team votes, then the center with the most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy Committee.

Winner will be announced this Friday, December 12th on the ESPN College Football Awards Show.

NFL Draft 2026 – First Round Order

Nov. 25, 2025

   Frank Coyle/ Pro scout

Titans and Giants Hold Top Two Selections

Here is the current first-round draft order following the 49ers win Monday night.
Tie breakers are broken first by strength of schedule.

Team                            W-L record

1          Tennessee                    1-10

2          NY Giants                     2-10

3          NY Jets                         2-9

4          Las Vegas                     2-9

5          New Orleans                 2-9

6          Cleveland                      3-8

7          Washington                   3-8

8          Arizona                         3-8

9          Cincinnati                      3-8

10         LA Rams (Atlanta)         4-7

11         Miami                           4-7

12         Minnesota                     4-7

13         Dallas                           5-5-1

14         Carolina                        6-6

15         Pittsburgh                     6-5

16         Kansas City                  6-5

17         Houston                        6-5

18         Detroit                           7-4

Playoff  Teams (19-32) as of Nov. 25th

19         Baltimore                      6-5

20         Tampa Bay                   6-5

21         LA Chargers                  7-4

22         Buffalo                          7-4

23         Cleveland (Jacksonville) 7-4

24         San Francisco                   8-4

25         Dallas (Green Bay)          7-3-1

26         Chicago                              8-3

27         NY Jets (Indianapolis)    8-3

28         Seattle                               8-3

29         Philadelphia                    8-3

30         Denver                             9-2

31         LA Rams                          9-2

32         New England                 10-2

All ties in record are broken by current strength of schedule.
Atlanta, Green Bay, Jacksonville and Indianapolis all currently do not have 1st-round selections from prior deals.

March 11, 2026
The 2026 League Year and Free agency signing period begins at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Trading period for 2026 begins at 4:00 p.m. ET, after expiration of all 2025 contracts

Biletnikoff Award Announces Semi-finalists

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Quarterback Club (TQC) Foundation, Inc., the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the prestigious Biletnikoff Award, announces the semifinalists for the 2025 Biletnikoff Award. The secure and confidential electronic voting by the distinguished members of the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee was conducted from November 10th through November 16th, and certified by a prominent CPA firm.

Frank Coyle is a longtime member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy, Outland Trophy, Bronko Nagurski, Jim Thorpe, Fred Biletnikoff and Eddie Robinson awards annually for 34 years.

The Biletnikoff Award annually recognizes the college football season’s outstanding FBS receiver. Any player, regardless of position (wide receiver, tight end, slot or inside receiver, wing back, or running back) who catches a pass is eligible for the award. As such, the Biletnikoff Award recognizes college football’s outstanding receiver, not merely college football’s outstanding wide receiver. Tight end Kyle Pitts was a finalist in 2020 and other tight ends were semifinalists in other years. Moreover, the Biletnikoff Award is a single season, not career, award.

The Biletnikoff Award’s semifinalists, three finalists, and award recipient are selected by the highly distinguished Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee, a group of 600 prominent college football journalists, commentators, announcers, Biletnikoff Award winners, and other former receivers. Foundation trustees do not vote and have never voted. For a list of voters, please see BiletnikoffAward.com/voters.

Receivers are frequently added to the watch list as their season performances dictate. Actual, not potential, performance is the basis for inclusion on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.

The Biletnikoff Award candidate eligibility and voting criteria, transparently explicit and detailed, are available for review at BiletnikoffAward.com/criteria.

The 2025 Biletnikoff Award Semifinalists

in alphabetical order

Chris Bell, Louisville (WR)

Skyler Bell, UConn (WR)

Germie Bernard, Alabama (WR)

Chris Brazzell II, Tennessee (WR)

Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana (WR)

Mario Craver, Texas A&M (WR)

Makai Lemon, USC (WR)

Eric McAlister, TCU (WR)

Duce Robinson, Florida State (WR)

Elijah Sarratt, Indiana (WR)

Danny Scudero, San José State (WR)

Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (WR)

Carnell Tate, Ohio State (WR)

Announcement/ Voting Dates

Nov. 10 – 16, 2025:

Vote by the Biletnikoff Award National Selection Committee to determine Semifinalists

Nov. 17, 2025:

Semi-finalists announcement

Nov. 17 – 23, 2025:

Vote to determine 3 Finalists

Nov. 25, 2025:

3 Finalists announcement

Nov. 25 – Dec. 6, 2025:

Final vote to determine Biletnikoff Award Winner

Dec. 12, 2025:

Biletnikoff Award Winner announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards

The name Biletnikoff is synonymous with the term receiver. Fred Biletnikoff, a member of the pro and college football halls of fame, was a consensus 1st-team All-America receiver at Florida State University and an All-Pro receiver for the Oakland Raiders. He caught 589 passes for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns in his 14-year Raiders career from 1965 through 1978. Fred was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XI.

NFL Draft 2026 – First Round Order

Nov. 11, 2025

   Frank Coyle/ Pro scout

Here is the current first-round draft order at midseason, following the Eagles win Monday night.
Tie breakers broken by strength of schedule.  

Team                            W-L record

1          Tennessee                    1-8

2          NY Giants                     2-8

3          New Orleans                 2-8

4          Cleveland                      2-8

5          NY Jets                         2-7

6          Las Vegas                     2-7

7          Washington                   3-7

8          Miami                           3-7

9          Arizona                         3-6

10         Cincinnati                      3-6

11         LA Rams (Atlanta)         3-6

12         Dallas                           3-5-1

13         Minnesota                     4-5

14         Baltimore                      4-5

15         Houston                        4-5

16         Carolina                        5-5

17         Kansas City                  5-4

18         Cleveland (Jacksonville) 5-4

19         Pittsburgh                     5-4

20         San Francisco               6-4

21         Dallas (Green Bay)        5-3-1

22         Chicago                        6-3

23         Detroit                           6-3

24         Buffalo                          6-3

25         Tampa Bay                   6-3

26         LA Chargers                  6-3

27         Seattle                          7-2

28         LA Rams                       7-2

29         Philadelphia                   7-2

30         New England                 8-2

31         Denver                          8-2

32         NY Jets (Indianapolis)    8-2

All ties in record are broken by current strength of schedule.
Atlanta, Green Bay, Jacksonville and Indianapolis all currently do not have 1st-round selections from prior deals.

March 11, 2026
The 2026 League Year and Free agency signing period begins at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Trading period for 2026 begins at 4:00 p.m. ET, after expiration of all 2025 contracts

NFL Draft Yearbook 2025 – Abdul Carter Scouting Report

Frank Coyle/ Head Scout

Edge Defenders – Grade: A+

         Positional Overview:

This year’s edge defenders’ class is an exceptionally strong group which could produce as many as 6-7 #1 picks. There are several blue-chip prospects at the top and probably 10-12 could go in the top 50 selections. There could be as many as 15+ in the top three rounds with as many as 25+ thru the middle rounds. Abdul Carter is the best edge defender in this draft class and could be a top four overall pick. He is NFL ready and a three-down starter. He is an explosive edge defender and the best of this class. Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams are fast-rising players who figure in the top 10 selections. Walker has the freakish athleticism to fit both NFL fronts as an edge rusher. Walker is well-developed and can be a day one starter and difference maker. Shemar Stewart had an impressive postseason and displayed special talent at the Senior Bowl. He is rated a top 30 selection with a prospect with impact ability in either scheme. James Pearce is a quality edge rusher with fine production and has developed talent to start in either front. Ditto Donovan Ezeiruaku and Mike Green who are explosive edge rushers who impressed at the Senior Bowl. They are first round bubble prospects. Landon Jackson and Jack Sawyer are tough three down defenders with early impact ability. Jackson had a strong Senior Bowl and figures in the late 1st or early 2nd round. Sawyer was brilliant in the postseason and the key defender in the Buckeyes national title.  Oluwafemi Oladejo is a player on the rise and coveted by both fronts. He is an emerging edge rusher who may be the wild card of the 2nd day of the process. Up to fifteen prospects figure in the top 100 picks and fit the edge rusher role. There should be an expected run throughout the top 150 picks especially from the 2nd thru the 4th rounds. With the huge demand for rushers, clubs will draft into this deep group for prospects. Expect approximately 35-45 prospects chosen over the three-days with the importance of rushers playing a huge part in game strategy. This is a top-heavy and deep class through the middle rounds and one of the best groups in recent memory.

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Edge Defenders

  1 Abdul Carter #11                  Penn State         6-3, 250 – Sp. 4.50
                 NFL Comparison: Von Miller                           Rating 93

Explosive edge rusher has flashed dominant skills since his true freshman season in the tough Nittany Lion defense. Elite burst off the edge to pressure blockers with the ability to bend the edge and run the arc to finish with big plays. Converts speed to power very well. Long arms and strong athletic frame give him the components of Pro Bowl players like, Von Miller and Micah Parsons. Next in the long line of PSU edge defenders following former top defender Parsons. His elite burst vs Big Ten blockers allowed him to post 23 sacks and 19 pressures over his short three seasons. Played off backer at times especially earlier in his career and graded out well vs the run and the ability to drop in coverage. He has only touched the surface of his pass rushing talent. Plays a disciplined game and has shown the ability to play the run well. Holds the edge and has learned to separate quickly from blocks with the ability to pick up the ball and burst to finish. Chiseled frame with long arms and fast hands and the speed to go sideline to sideline. Elite get off with the ability to gain a fast advantage off the edge and the ability to bend and finish. Production improved annually as he learned finer points of play to handle that special attention. Shows the ability to strike with a strong punch, dip his shoulder and bend the edge, in addition to counter inside. Explosive on the delay blitz where his burst can hit openings and finish quickly. Shows developed inside move to hit an opening. Anchors well to hold the point in run defense along with the speed to pursue and make plays from the backside. His coverage skills are good, yet still in the development process. Shows all the AA to refine those skills. Three down defender and scheme diverse who can line up outside/inside in either scheme. Dominant final performance with 12 sacks and 24 pressures in most of his reps from the edge. His pressing foot issue is a definite concern. It is an injury with major impact on his initial ability to come off the snap and in many cases requires a screw to stabilize the foot. Second best defensive player in the draft and probable top 3-5 selection. Best football ahead and capable of being a dominant Pro-Bowler if healthy.

Draft Projection: 1st Round – Top 5 Selection