The Joe Quarterback Podcast

Well, it was a wild first round. A shake up early on set the entire round off an interesting trajectory. Eight pick trades after the Raiders went on the clock with five trades between picks 26 and 31. To say that some things didn’t go quite as expected could be an understatement. Here at the Joe Quarterback Podcast, I posted my round one predictions a few hours before things kicked off. Here’s what I got right:

• Fernando Mendoza goes #1 overall to the Raiders – If you didn’t get this one, I’m really not sure what to tell you…
• Jeremiyah Love goes #3 to the Cardinals – Early week reports indicated the Cardinals were planning to take Love. I honestly thought it was posturing to get someone in the top 10 to trade up so they could target an edge rusher and get additional draft capital. I had Love going #3 in my predictions, assuming someone would trade up. I wasn’t sure who to pick, so I left the selection with Arizona. But, man oh man – talk about unexpected!
• Mansoor DeLane goes #6 to the Chiefs – I predicted the Chiefs would draft DeLane. After jettisoning most of their defensive backfield this offseason, building back the secondary was going to need to be a priority. I thought they would get him at #9, but they obviously disagreed. So, right player, right team – wrong pick in this case.
• Olaivavega Ioane goes #14 to the Ravens – Nailed it. Baltimore was really going to need to build some presence on the interior offensive line after Linderbaum left for Las Vegas this offseason. Ioane is a great step in that direction.
• KC Concepcion goes #24 to the Browns – Nailed it, again. After grabbing their top tackle at #9, it was time to get another weapon for DeShaun…Shedeur…DeShaun…Shedeur…for someone to throw the ball to this season. As long as Concepcion can get his hands on the ball, there’s big YAC upside with the Texas A&M product.
• Chris Johnson goes #27 to the Dolphins – Another case of “right guy, right place, wrong time.” I thought Johnson would make it to Miami at #30, but they wanted a little extra assurance of getting their guy.
• Omar Cooper, Jr. goes #30 to the Jets – How many times can this happen in one round? I expected the Jets to take Cooper, but back up at #16. Gang Green decided to pick up the top tight end in the draft, Kenyon Sadiq, and give Mason Taylor a little competition. Then they decided they just couldn’t live without Cooper as well, so a late round trade up positioned them to lock him in.
• Jadarian Price goes #32 to the Seahawks – Strong start and finish to my round 1 predictions. Given Seattle’s predilection for the running back by committee approach, they needed someone to fill the hole left by Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker, III (no pressure JP). However, with Charbonnet’s ACL tear putting his 2026 return in question, Price may be taking a larger role earlier than anticipated.

Ultimately, it was an exciting first round. Here’s what I’m excited about coming out of it:

• As a Bucs fan, I was excited to see Rueben Bain, Jr. fall to us at #15. I really thought he’d go higher, but the panic-buying of offensive tackles and IOL between picks 9 and 14 (and maybe the whole arm length discussion) pushed him lower than I expected. Bain is explosive with a motor. Offensive linemen better not sleep on this guy or he’s about to rule the NFC South.
• As an Auburn fan, it pains me to say it….but I like Ty Simpson to the Rams. His session with Coach Gruden was a fun watch. He’s got a chance to do something with the Rams that many first round rookie quarterbacks don’t get – a year or two to develop under a savvy veteran and QB-minded head coach. As long as Stafford stays healthy, Simpson is going to have a chance to build a foundation for his future in the NFL. This pick would also indicate that McVay is in it for the long haul in Los Angeles, so good news for Rams Nation.

Round 2 starts in just a few hours!