The NFL Draft will roll around on April 24, and some teams are preparing to select top college talents to improve the future of the franchise. But what if history repeats itself and those picks are whiffs? More often than not, the players picked by teams in the first round end up not panning out to be franchise talents. It’s the times that they do, however, that we all remember.
All but four teams will be picking in the first round of the 2026 draft. Let’s look back in history and see when each of the 28 teams selecting last owned their respective slot and who they took.
Las Vegas Raiders – Pick No. 1
QB JaMarcus Russell (2007)
The Raiders are expected to pick Heisman Trophy-winner Fernando Mendoza first overall this year but they better hope he works out better than the last time they picked in the same spot. Russell was a stud in college at LSU but simply could not transition to the NFL. He played just three seasons for the Raiders (and in the league overall) finishing with a 7-18 record and a career total 18 touchdowns in that time.
New York Jet – Picks No. 2 and No. 16
QB Zach Wilson (2021)
The last time the Jets were in this position they bought into the hype that the BYU product was their QB of the future. The result couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Wilson played three seasons in New York, accruing a 12-21 record before departing to take on backup roles with the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins. He’ll enter the 2026 season on the New Orleans Saints’ roster as a depth piece.
DE Quinton Coples (2012)
The Jets will select a second time thanks to sending CB Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts last year. The last time they picked 16th overall was in 2012 when they selected DE Quinton Coples. The North Carolina product played just three full seasons in the organization before being released and claimed by the Miami Dolphins mid-way through the 2015 campaign.
Arizona Cardinals – Pick No. 3
WR Larry Fitzgerald (2004)
Cardinals fans should get excited because the last time they sat this high up in the draft their team landed a 17-season legend of the game. Fitzgerald accrued 17,492 receiving yards and 121 touchdowns on his way to earning a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction this year. The only thing that would’ve made this better is if he got that Super Bowl ring in 2009.
Tennessee Titans – Pick No. 4
Believe it or not, Tennessee has never picked fourth overall in its history. The team will get the chance to make its first ever selection this high a home run, just as the team hopes last year’s No. 1 overall pick, QB Cam Ward, will turn out to be a superstar.
New York Giants – Pick No. 5
DE Kayvon Thibodeaux (2022)
It’s not been long since the Giants selected this high and their fans are kind of getting tired of it. While Thibodeaux appeared to be a home run of a pick four years ago, he’s entering the final season of his rookie contract with only a single campaign of double-digit sacks. That’s left him with a foggy future with the team at best as trade rumors swirl.
Cleveland Browns – Picks No. 6 and No. 24
LB Barkevious Mingo (2013)
Like the Giants, Cleveland has been a perennial Top 10 picker in the draft. Barkevious Mingo was their latest No. 6 overall selection but, like many other Browns first-rounders, he didn’t last long. Mingo played just three seasons in Cleveland before becoming a journeyman and finishing his eight-year career with six total teams and a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots in 2016.
HB Chuck Hanulak (1954)
The Browns will have an additional first-round selection by virtue of a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Halfback Chuck Hanulak only played two seasons in Cleveland but won an NFL Championship his rookie year (then served in the Air Force) and retired in 1958. Technically, the last time the team picked 24th overall, the selection was actually in the second round because the league was only 12 teams in 1954 (pre-merger). Also, given the current iteration of the Browns didn’t come to fruition until 1999, this pick is technically part of the Baltimore Ravens’ history since the old Browns left for Charm City in 1995.
Washington Commanders – Pick No. 7
DB Champ Bailey (1999)
Commanders fans should have their fingers crossed the team finds another Pro Football Hall of Famer at seventh overall but doesn’t trade them away later. 27 years ago the franchise discovered Champ Bailey and he became a defensive legend of the game. He played more seasons (10 seasons) with the Denver Broncos than he did Washington (5) which may lead some younger fans to forget he even played in the nation’s capital.
New Orleans Saints – Pick No. 8
OT Willie Roaf (1993)
Roaf, also a Hall of Famer, gave nine seasons to the Saints before an injury forced the team to trade him to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2002. He still had four Pro Bowl-worthy seasons left in the tank before hanging up his cleats. Perhaps the Saints can strike gold again at eighth overall.
Kansas City Chiefs – Picks No. 9 and No. 29
Speaking of the Chiefs, the franchise surprisingly has never selected at ninth overall in its history. Whoever the lucky prospect is that gets chosen in 2026 will be making club history as the reward for Patrick Mahomes’ first ever bad season.
DE Sylvester Hicks (1978)
The team will, however, get a second pick at No. 29 overall thanks to the Los Angeles Rams acquiring CB Trent McDuffie this offseason. Though the last time the team picked in that spot, it was technically a round two selection because the league was only 28 teams at the time. Sylvester Hicks played two full seasons for the Chiefs before injuries eventually kept him from seeing the field in 1981.
