Way-too-early 2026 NFL Draft Grades Are In
Now that the 2026 NFL Draft is in the rearview, we have weeks of analysis of the winners and losers from the night to look forward to.
Of course, the true story of the draft won't be written until years from now, when the cream from the draft class rises to the top and the prospects who couldn´t quite make it are shuffled around the league.
But that hasn't stopped draft evaluators from offering their initial reactions to the seven-round draft, which concluded Saturday afternoon, anyway.
ESPN, SI, PFF and CBS all have their early takes out already.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so while there is a lot of overlap among the teams with A grades, some teams got an A with one publication and much lower grades with the others.
The New York Giants and the Cleveland Browns were the only two teams to receive A grades on all four sites. That's not surprising considering the fact that both teams had two first-round picks to play with.
The Jets also had two first-round picks, and most of the reviewers gave them at least an A, but CBS Sports dropped their grade to a B+ (they hated the David Bailey pick, giving it a C-).
The Carolina Panthers seem to be the most polarizing team from the weekend.
PFF gave the team an A+, giving love to first-round offensive tackle Monroe Freeling (Georgia) and second-round interior defensive lineman Lee Hunter (Texas Tech), though they admitted Freeling is "still a young tackle prospect with untapped potential," which sounds like he´s a project. But they still loved the pick.
Meanwhile, SI gave the Panthers a C- while also saying that Freeling is a project. "Perhaps, eventually, Freeling can replace veteran right tackle, Taylor Moton. But Carolina missed an opportunity to select an immediate impact player."
The Los Angeles Rams, who made perhaps the most controversial pick of the draft, received an A- from CBS, but USA Today and PFF gave them C+ and C, respectively. Analysts either liked the pick or hated it. CBS gave the Ty Simpson pick an A.
"Simpson showed high-end ability last season before injuries started piling up," Mike Renner, CBS Sports draft analyst, said. "He understands how to attack tight windows and play with the anticipation necessary to translate to the NFL."
There were other discrepancies as well.
CBS and PFF both gave the Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts A grades, while USA Today and SI did not, and SI was the only publication not to give the Las Vegas Raiders an A (they gave them a B).
Here's a list of all of the A-grade teams from each draft analysis.
Related: Top NFL Draft pick Sonny Styles fits Washington's ambitions perfectly
CBS Grade A's:
- Carolina A-
- Bengals A-
- Browns A
- Colts A-
- Raiders A
- Rams A-
- Patriots A-
- Giants A-
- Tampa Bay Bucs A-
- Washington Commanders A-
Source: CBS Sports
PFF Grade A's
- Panthers A+
- Browns A+
- Colts A
- Raiders A-
- Giants A
- Jets A-
- Commanders A-
Source: PFF
SI Grade A's
- Jets A
- Browns A-
- Titans A
- Chiefs A
- Cowboys A
- Giants A+
- Eagles A-
Source: SI
USA Today Grade A's
- Raiders A
- Jets A+
- Giants A
- Browns A
- Seahawks A-
- Eagles A-
- Packers A-
Source: USA Today
Related: 49ers Named NFL Draft Loser After Massive Reach
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This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 4:24 PM.