The long wait is over, as the 2026 NFL Draft is set to kick off on Thursday night in downtown Pittsburgh with what’s expected to be quite the entertaining first round.

It’s a virtual lock that the Las Vegas Raiders, owners of the No. 1 overall pick, select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza to begin the draft in hopes he can be their franchise man for years to come. From there, the mock drafts are all over the place, which is always a sign for some fun, and even chaos, as the draft rolls along.

However, there are those who have cemented themselves as first-round talent entering Thursday night, whether it’s through the NFL Combine and Pro Day workouts, top-30 visits to different franchises, what they put on tape during their college careers, or all the above.

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Either way, the prospects have done all they can do — now it’s up to the teams to determine if they fit what they need to succeed.

Fox News Digital had the privilege of speaking to some of those potential first-round picks leading up to the start of the NFL Draft, and each of them was asked the same question: “What will an NFL team be getting from you if they were to call your name on draft night?”

Here are some of their answers:

OHIO STATE OLB ARVELL REESE: “I think an NFL team is going to get somebody who loves the game, who loves football. Then, they’re going to get somebody who plays the game violently. …On top of that, you have to play with relentless effort. So, I think an NFL team is getting that out of me — someone who plays with relentless effort, someone who looks forward to playing violently. You have to look forward to playing it violently.”

Reese is quite the physical specimen, standing running a sub-4.5 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine at 6-foot-4, 241 pounds, and many experts believe he can still grow into his body and his game on the field. He was named an All-American in 2025, racking up 6.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss for the Buckeyes, though their season ended by the hands of the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Now, Reese heads into the draft looking at a potentially short night when the clock starts ticking. Some have him mocked to the New York Jets at No. 2 overall, and many believe he won’t be available when the top 10 picks are made. Either way, the edge rusher is viewed as an immediate impact player on the defensive line wherever he lands.

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OHIO STATE S CALEB DOWNS: “I would describe [myself] as a very instinctual player with a great mind for the game, but also all the physical attributes that you’re going to need. A player that, wherever you feel like the ball’s at, that’s where you want him to be. Put him at the [point of attack] and he’s going to do what he does.”

A defensive Swiss Army knife, Downs has simply made plays all throughout his college career, which began at Alabama before transferring to the Buckeyes and helping them win the 2025 national championship.

Like his Ohio State teammate in Reese, Downs isn’t expected to be available after the first 10 picks, but where exactly he lands remains to be seen. The New York Giants at No. 5 has been a popular spot, especially considering the comparison to Kyle Hamilton, whom John Harbaugh coached with the Baltimore Ravens before moving on to New York. But teams like the Washington Commanders (No. 7), New Orleans Saints (No. 8) and Kansas City Chiefs (No. 9) are also intriguing to watch, as is a potential trade.

Downs had 164 solo tackles, 1.5 sacks, six interceptions and 12 passes defended throughout 44 career college games, earning himself two All-American nods in the process during his time at Ohio State. If a team is looking for a versatile defender, who can excel no matter the assignment, Downs has positioned himself as that man in this draft.

ALABAMA QB TY SIMPSON: “I think it starts with my personality and how I can take over a locker room and a franchise. Aa s quarterback, you want to go in there, rally the troops, and be an influence to people there. So, every 30 visits, every time I talked to a team, every time I Zoom’d with them, I hoped to show my personality, my leadership, but also my ball knowledge and football IQ. The tap speaks for itself, but a guy who gets people to elevate their play around him is what you want in a quarterback. I fully feel like I can do that.”

Simpson’s confidence is what makes him who he is on the football field, whether it’s threading a pass through defenders to his intended target, or using his legs to pick up crucial yardage. He told Fox News Digital that his Christian faith plays a large part in playing confident and free, and he fully intends to bring that to whichever NFL franchise wants him.

Will that be in the first round? While Simpson has maintained his position that he has first-round talent, it will be interesting to see if an NFL team thinks the same through the first 32 picks. If he doesn’t get taken on Thursday night, many mock drafts believe he will be taken quickly on Friday, perhaps to the Arizona Cardinals, the team with the No. 3 overall pick in the first round, but also the second overall pick in the second round. The Jets are also intriguing with four picks in the top 44 (Nos. 2, 16, 33, 44).

Either way, Simpson is excited to hit the ground running and prove his worth to whichever franchise takes him this week.

TEXAS TECH LB JACOB RODRIGUEZ: “I think they’re about to get somebody who’s consistent. Somebody who is of great character and integrity, and somebody you want to put in a leadership position. I think it’s somebody, especially in the middle of the defense, can fire guys up to get them ready to play and have somebody who’s going to be steady. I’m really excited to get to wherever I get the privilege of living and playing in, but more excited to meet the people, meet my teammates and all the people I’m going to be around.”

Rodriguez wasn’t always the epitome of the modern day middle linebacker — he wanted to be a quarterback coming out of high school in North Texas. He initially went to the University of Virginia with that in mind before the Red Raiders believed he could make the switch to defense, as they saw him as a safety or middle linebacker.

The transition was worth the risk, as Rodriguez quickly developed into a defensive anchor for Texas Tech, and he truly elevated his game, and draft stock, during the 2025 season. Rodriguez won the Chuck Bednarik, Bronko Nagurski, Dick Butkus and Vince Lombardi Awards in 2025, while being named a unanimous All-American after racked up a career-high 128 combined tackles (11 for loss), four interceptions, one sack, six passes defended and two fumble recoveries, one of which he brought back for six points. His seven forced fumbles led all of college football through 14 games.

Rodriguez’s tape has gotten better by the season, and perhaps he’s not even at his best yet considering the position change. But there’s no questioning his speed, aggression, and high football IQ should translate in the NFL.

Will he be a first-round pick? That remains to be seen, but he shouldn’t last long in the second round as someone who has cemented himself a top prospect in this year’s draft class.

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The 2026 NFL Draft begins at 8 p.m. ET with the Las Vegas Raiders picking Fernando Mendoza to be their new franchise quarterback, but the intrigue doesn’t actually start until after that first pick is history.

That’s how this draft will play out. The first pick will go down as the draft’s signature moment, but the fireworks won’t be lit until later.

The maneuvering, complications, and curiosity, all of it, begin beyond the first selection.

The reason is this draft lacks the allure of multiple quarterbacks competing to go higher than the others. Only one QB beyond Mendoza has even a small chance of getting picked in the first round and that would likely require some of that maneuvering you just read about.

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This draft also lacks the draw of polarizing players such as Randy Moss back in 1998 or Shedeur Sanders a year ago, so finding heroes and villians will be difficult.

But this draft does offer touch points of high interest that will keep folks engaged. It offers drama about some teams and some individual prospects.

Let’s begin with the teams:

This draft actually begins when the New York Jets are on the clock at No. 2 and pick a player whose identity only three people in the organization – coach Aaron Glenn, general manager Darren Mougey and owner Woody Johnson — know with certainty.

That’s important, folks. Remember the Jets used to leak like century-old Bronx tenement pipes during the Robert Saleh regime. No more. The Jets are locked up tight, so even insiders aren’t sure if they’re going to pick Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey or Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese.

Or somebody else.

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The Arizona Cardinals are scheduled to pick at No. 3. And they might pick any number of players – running back Jeremiyah Love (if they’re smart), a right tackle, or a pass rusher.

But here’s the truth: The Cardinals want to trade down. Badly.

They want more picks and need more talent and the rumor league-wide is they’ve been leaking interest in Love so that a team that covets the dynamic running back offers them a trade.

Are you getting the drift here? This stuff is kind of interesting.

The fact is the Cardinals, Eagles, Chiefs, Saints, Browns, Bills, Titans Commanders and Seahawks have all been tied to trade-up or trade-down scenarios.

We can only hope for such mass chaos to punctuate this draft.

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And why are teams so willing to move around? Because there are players that come with great ability but also questionable reliability – a combination that makes teams want to trade down to hedge their bets.

Consider:

Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa is probably the draft’s top offensive tackle prospect. He’s big, strong, tough, everything an NFL team wants in a bookend tackle.

He also comes into this draft with a herniated disc in his back.

Mauigoa was reportedly asymptomatic throughout the 2025 season and remains so now, but teams are aware that if his back acts up, he could require surgery. So, yeah, a significant potential risk.

Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson is a human injury list. He had a multi-ligament (ACL, MCL, PCL) knee tear in 2022, a broken collarbone in 2024, and hamstring issues much of last season.

Tyson is also a human highlight reel.

And those two traits make teams love him. And hate him. And not sure where to draft him in the first round.

Injury concerns are not the only reason some players will be fascinating to monitor during Thursday’s first round.

You can bet that if ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky gets any air time during the draft he’ll be advocating for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson to be selected because there’s a bromance going on there.

Simpson is the other quarterback who might go in the first round. But he might not.

The Cardinals, of all teams, could be interested in him later in the first round. Simpson’s not a value pick at No. 3 because he only started 15 college games and even Nick Saban, who recruited him to Alabama, doesn’t think he’s ready for the NFL.

“He needs to go someplace where he has a chance to develop and not play right away,” Saban said on the Pat McAfee Show this week.

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There are rumors the Pittsburgh Steelers initially saw Simpson as player to park on their bench and let him learn behind Aaron Rodgers. It’s unclear where that thinking is now within an organization that doesn’t enjoy 100 percent certainty Rodgers will be playing in 2026.

Call that another chance for intrigue in the first round of this draft.

The 2018 Clemson football team routed Alabama in that season’s College Football Playoff National Championship, cementing its place in the sport’s lore.

The undefeated season, punctuated by a 44-16 rout of Alabama in the title game, pushed the Tigers into the all-time great debate. Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer argued another team was superior to Clemson that year, pointing to Nick Bosa’s 2018 injury as the key reason the Buckeyes fell short of a title.

“Nick Bosa is one of the best football players I’ve ever been around. I’d put Percy Harvin No. 1… maybe Nick Bosa No. 2. If Nick Bosa is playing for Ohio State (in) 2018, I think Ohio State wins it all. That’s how good a player he was,” Meyer said during a recent edition of “The Triple Option” podcast which he co-hosts with former Alabama standout Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone.

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Meyer acknowledged the logic behind preparing Nick Bosa for the NFL Draft but admitted the choice still stung as the Buckeyes chased a title.

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“He got hurt (in) game 3. When he was getting close to maybe be able to come back, they decided to get him ready for the NFL Draft… which that broke my heart. But I get it.”

Ohio State went 13-1 in 2018, with its only loss coming in Big Ten play against Purdue. The Buckeyes were left out of the playoff but rebounded with a Rose Bowl win over Washington in January 2019. Three months later, the San Francisco 49ers took Bosa No. 2 overall.

Clemson and Alabama built a pseudo title-game rivalry in the mid-2010s. After dominating Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl semifinal, the Tigers edged Alabama for the championship, redeeming a 45-40 loss to the Crimson Tide to close the 2015 season.

Meyer also highlighted the depth of Ohio State’s 2018 defensive line, noting the presence of both Bosa and Chase Young.

“We had Chase Young and Nick Bosa (at defensive) end,” Meyer continued. “Our defense really struggled that year because Chase Young was hurt most of the year, and then Nick Bosa… he played three games and that was it. The offense was one of the top two (or) three offenses in the country.”

Meyer concluded by declaring that year’s Ohio State team “was a national title team.” Meyer won three national championships as a coach, winning twice at Florida and once at Ohio State.

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