A month removed from the 2026 NFL Draft, the early grade consensus has firmed up — and it rewards the two teams that owned the top of the board. The Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets didn't just make the first two picks; by at least one value model, they assembled the most efficient classes in the league.
The Raiders drew an A-minus and finished first in total wins-above-average added, headlined by No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza — the Heisman winner who led Indiana to a national title and walked into Las Vegas as the cleanest franchise-QB decision in years. The Jets matched the A-minus and finished second in value added, anchored by elite edge rusher David Bailey at No. 2.
The pattern isn't a coincidence. Classes tend to grade well when a team nails the premium pick at the top — a franchise quarterback or a No. 1 edge sets a floor that the rest of the haul builds on. Both the Raiders and Jets got that part unambiguously right, which is why their classes graded out ahead of teams that reached or got cute.
The standard caveat applies, and it matters: draft grades are projections, not results. The 2026 class won't be truly graded until 2028 or 2029, when we know whether Mendoza is a franchise passer, whether Bailey is a perennial double-digit-sack rusher, and whether the bold swings — Arizona's running back at No. 3, the Rams' patient quarterback at No. 13 — paid off. Grades are a measure of process, and good process is the best predictor we have. But they're a starting point, not a verdict.
For our complete pick-by-pick analysis, see the 2026 Round 1 Grades and the full 2026 NFL Draft results. And with the NBA Draft now set for June 23-24, our 2026 NBA Draft hub has the post-lottery board.