The 2026 NFL Draft begins in Pittsburgh on April 23, and for the first time in a while, the quarterback at the top of the board is not from one of the traditional college football factories. Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana is widely projected as the first overall pick, and his rise to the top of the big board says something interesting about where college football is heading. Indiana has been building something serious for a few years now, and Mendoza is the clearest proof that the talent is spreading beyond the usual programs. He is a fluid, intelligent quarterback with the arm strength teams want and the instincts that translate at the next level.
The draft kicks off with Round 1 on Thursday, April 23, followed by Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday, and Rounds 4 through 7 wrapping up Saturday, April 25. It is being held in Pittsburgh, which is a city that takes its football seriously and will bring the right energy to the event. ESPN, ABC, and the ESPN App are all broadcasting coverage throughout the weekend. For teams picking in the top ten, the next ten days are probably the most intense of the offseason as trade calls get made and boards get finalized.
Beyond Mendoza, the class has some interesting names at key positions. Running back Jeremiyah Love has elite speed and real receiving ability, the kind of three-down back profile that organizations covet in the modern NFL. He has recorded multiple ninety-plus yard runs in his college career and hauled in 64 catches over three seasons, which tells you he can contribute as a pass catcher without being a liability in protection. Teams picking in the middle rounds are already excited about him. Safety Malachi Downs from Alabama has been regarded as a top prospect since his freshman year, bringing both range in coverage and the physicality to play in the box when the defense demands it.
On the offensive line, Mauigoa stands out as the top tackle in this class. He is a big, powerful player with a physically dominant lower body and the base in pass protection that teams at every level prioritize. He projects as an immediate contributor as a run blocker and has the technical foundation to develop as a pass protector with NFL coaching behind him. Offensive tackle is one of those positions where teams are always willing to use premium picks, and this class delivers a legitimate option near the top. Edge rusher Reese was not heavily recruited coming out of high school and was not on many radar screens before last season, but a breakout year with 6.5 sacks and elite production changed that quickly. His comparisons to active top-tier edge rushers are meaningful and not just analytical flattery.
The quarterback tier below Mendoza is where the draft gets more complicated. Alabama's Ty Simpson is the consensus QB2, and most projections have him going somewhere in the 20 to 40 range rather than in the first handful of picks. That range creates real uncertainty for teams that are quarterback-needy but do not hold a top-five selection. The gap between Mendoza and Simpson in the evaluations is significant enough that teams will likely need to decide whether to trade up for Mendoza or wait for Simpson and accept the variance that comes with a lower-confidence projection.
What makes draft weekend genuinely unpredictable every year is the trades. A team picks up the phone at the right moment, offers enough premium assets, and boards get reshuffled in ways that change the entire flow of the draft. The teams sitting in the top fifteen all have documented needs, and the class has the depth at edge rusher, offensive tackle, and wide receiver to make the middle rounds genuinely exciting. Teams that came out of free agency with unresolved needs are hoping the class delivers at those spots, and early indicators suggest it will.
Pittsburgh as a draft city will give the event a different feel than Las Vegas or Nashville. The football culture is embedded there in a way that does not exist everywhere. The crowd at the draft stage will be loud, opinionated, and deeply invested in what happens at the podium. For the players getting their names called, especially those going in the first round, walking across that stage in Pittsburgh will be its own experience.
The next ten days of buildup, final workouts, and last-minute evaluations will be worth paying attention to. When the picks start rolling on April 23, the quarterback class in the NFL is about to look very different.