NFL Draft Shockers: Which Surprising Team Stole the Show with a Stunning A+ Class in 2026?

First-round OT Blake Miller and second-round DE Derrick Moore, a Michigan alum whom the Lion traded up to get, project as Week 1 starters at crucial positions of need. Moore maybe a long-term wingman off the edge opposite fellow ex-Wolverine Aidan Hutchinson. This year’s third-rounder was invested in a 2025 trade that netted promising WR Isaac TeSlaa. It might be enough to get a team that will benefit from a last-place schedule in 2026 back to the postseason.

They wound up picking 13 players, and perhaps as many as seven or eight of them could reasonably start in 2026 – testaments to both the quality of rookie GM Jon-Eric Sullivan’s choices but also how thin this stripped down roster was entering the weekend. Sullivan’s first three selections – OL Kadyn Proctor (Round 1), CB Chris Johnson (Round 1) and LB Jacob Rodriguez (Round 2) – all have excellent college film, yet also had enough questions going into the pre-draft process that their stock didn’t seem to catch up to their highlights until later. Third-round WR Chris Bell, who’s recovering from a torn ACL suffered last November, has been compared to A.J. Brown from an ability standpoint. Fourth-rounder Trey Moore is another one to watch – an extremely productive player at UTSA but not so much at Texas, so it remains to be seen if he’s a gem at the next level or overmatched. Versatile fourth-round DB/LB Kyle Louis might also be a heist of a defensive weapon. Did the Fins get a talent comparable to WR Jaylen Waddle, who was traded for a first-rounder last month? Maybe not. Have they effectively found a replacement for LB Jordyn Brooks, a former Red Raider like Rodriguez and a player Sullivan claimed he wanted to build around five minutes ago? Yep. But the mission here was quantity and finding players who can immediately provide direct or indirect support for first-year QB Malik Willis. Check and check.