The NFL Draft has come and gone. It was an interesting three days to say the least. Some major names tumbled down the board, a few teams got absolute steals, and a few picks left us scratching our heads. Now it’s time to grade the teams and declare who won and who lost. Here are our 2026 NFC Draft Grades by team.
NFC East
New York Giants: A+
Arvell Reese, Francis Mauigoa, and Colton Hood marked three massively successful picks for the New York Giants who now enter a new era under John Harbaugh.
Philadelphia Eagles: A-
Howie Roseman does it again. He is planning to trade A.J. Brown and immediately replaced him with Makai Lemon who is the most exciting receiver in this class, in my opinion. They also got younger on the offensive line.
Dallas Cowboys: A
Caleb Downs was the top defensive back in the draft, and they got him outside the top 10. They needed help at linebacker and added two EDGE rushers in their next two picks, well done.
Washington Commanders: B
They didn’t have a ton of draft capital to work with but their pick of Sonny Styles who fell to them at number seven could be a franchise player in the middle of their defense for years to come.
NFC South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: B+
Rueben Bain Jr. was an EDGE rusher that many thought could have been a top five guy and they landed him at 15. If my memory serves me right, they have had success drafting defensive lineman from Miami.
Atlanta Falcons: C
The Falcons didn’t pick until the middle of the second round but upgraded their secondary with Aveion Terrell. Zachariah Branch was one of the riskiest prospects in this draft who they took with their next pick.
Carolina Panthers: B-
Monroe Freeling will have the tall task of protecting Bryce Young and this draft grade will really hinge on his performance over the next few years.
New Orleans Saints: B-
The Saints added two of the most exciting playmakers in this draft in Jordan Tyson and Oscar Delp. I was happy to see Kellen Moore obviously have major input in this class.
NFC North
Green Bay Packers: C
Not a lot of picks and not a lot of impact players taken for the Packers in this draft. Brandon Cisse has high potential and needs to be a day 1 starter.
Chicago Bears: B-
The Bears have drafted really well over the last few years when they’ve focused on offense. This year, defense was rightly the focus and showed in the selection of Dillon Thieneman.
Minnesota Vikings: C-
I wasn’t nearly as high on Caleb Banks as some others and after a quiet offseason in which they really just added Kyler Murray, I leave equally as disappointed in their draft.
Detroit Lions: C
Taylor Decker got out of Detroit, and they replaced him with Blake Miller who projects to be a Day 1 starter on the Lions offensive line.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: B
The Cardinals got the best player in the draft in Jerimiyah Love although it comes with a very expensive price tag. My favorite pick was Chase Bisontis and I’m interested in watching Carson Beck.
Seattle Seahawks: B
Jadarian Price is one of my favorite picks in the first round who was often overshadowed at Notre Dame by Love. Julian Neal in the third round gives them a legit DB on Day 2.
Los Angeles Rams: D
It sounds more and more like nepotism was involved in the drafting of Ty Simpson at 13 by GM Les Snead who is family friends with the Simpsons. You only have Matt Stafford for one or two more years, the pick should’ve been to help him.
San Francisco 49ers: C+
The Niners kept trading back for more picks and ultimately reached on a few spots but they did a nice job of filling most of the holes they had entering the draft.