Draft Night Tonight
- Tonight is Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft, starting at 8pm ET on NFLN, ESPN, and ABC. - Analysts widely expect multiple first-round trades, with quarterback Fernando Mendoza still central to top-of-board talk. - Mock drafts project several trades, name the Eagles and Saints as possible movers, and CBS published full viewing logistics ( ).
Round 1 of the National Football League draft starts Thursday, April 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern, with Las Vegas on the clock at No. 1 and trade talk building across the board. (nfl.com) The first night of the 2026 draft is in Pittsburgh, with coverage on ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, NFL+, the NFL Channel and ESPN Deportes. Rounds 2 and 3 follow Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern, and Rounds 4 through 7 begin Saturday at noon Eastern. (nfl.com) The current first-round order starts Raiders, Jets, Cardinals, Titans and Giants, with the Saints at No. 8 and the Eagles outside the top 20 before any new deals. ESPN’s published order also notes that Atlanta, Green Bay, Jacksonville and Indianapolis do not own first-round picks. (espn.com) Most of the suspense begins after the top pick. NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah wrote that he expects “a decent number of trades” Thursday night and projected four of them in his final mock draft, including moves up by New Orleans and Philadelphia. (nfl.com) Quarterback Fernando Mendoza remains the central name in those scenarios. CBS News reported Thursday that he is widely expected to go No. 1 to the Raiders after leading Indiana to the national title, which would make quarterback the first pick for the fourth straight year. (cbsnews.com) ESPN’s Peter Schrager also built trades into his final first-round projection, including deals involving New Orleans and Philadelphia, a sign that teams picking later could still reshape the top half of the night. His mock draft framed the round as one driven as much by movement as by the order printed Thursday morning. (espn.com) For viewers, CBS Sports listed the main television windows on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network, with streaming through Fubo and additional analysis on CBS Sports HQ. The draft runs all three days, but Thursday remains the only night devoted entirely to Round 1. (cbssports.com) By Thursday evening, the only fixed point may be the start time. Once the Raiders make the first call, the rest of Round 1 could hinge on how aggressively teams like the Saints and Eagles try to move. (nfl.com)
