2026 NFL Draft: ESPN's Mel Kiper's 10 best available players after Round 1

The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft has concluded. However, there’s still two full days of draft action to go before its conclusion on Saturday afternoon.

Thursday’s opening night was highlighted by Fernando Mendoza being drafted first overall by the Los Vegas Raiders. 31 other NFL prospects also heard their names called and had their dreams realized on Thursday night.

The draft resumes on Friday at 7 p.m. ET and will feature both rounds 2 and 3. With that, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has revealed the 10 best players available entering day two. The following players likely won’t have to wait long for their names to be called, either.

1. CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee

Jermod McCoy is Mel Kiper’s top-rated player overall heading into day two. He’s coming off an ACL tear that forced him to miss the entire 2025 season, which could have caused some teams to pass on Thursday

McCoy’s collegiate career began at Oregon State in 2023, where he emerged as one of the most promising freshmen in the Pac-12 Conference. McCoy recorded 31 tackles, seven pass deflections, and two interceptions for the Beavers, before hopping in the transfer portal following the season.

2. S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo

You don’t often see a skill position player at the Group of 6 level selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren appeared to be poised for this heading into Thursday. Now, he’s going to have to wait another 24 hours.

Across four seasons at Toledo, McNeil-Warren compiled 212 tackles, 13 pass deflections, eight forced fumbles, five interceptions, and one sack. The veteran defensive back is one of the most seasoned players in the entire NFL Draft, as he has played in 48 career games.

3. CB Avievon Terrell, Clemson

Last season, Terrell had 48 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, nine pass deflections, one fumble recovery and five forced fumbles. Over the course of his career (three seasons), Terrell had 125 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, four sacks, three interceptions, 25 pass deflections, three fumble recoveries and eight forced fumbles.

Terrell saw LSU’s Mansoor Delane (No. 6 overall) and San Diego State’s Chris Johnson drafted ahead of him at the same position. He’ll hope to be the third in a competitive group of DBs in this year’s cycle.

4. WR Denzel Boston, Washington

Five wide receivers were drafted during night one, and many believed Boston would have been one of them. Instead, he’s the best wideout available, per Kiper’s day two big board.

In 2025, Boston caught 62 passes for 881 yards and nine touchdowns. Not too bad a way to follow up his 63 receptions, 834 yards, and eight touchdowns the previous year.

5. DT Kayden McDonald, Ohio State

McDonald is coming off a highly productive season for the Buckeyes in 2025. He started all 14 games and logged 65 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup. He earned first team All-American status per AP, as well as earning the title of Big Ten Conference DL of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Outland Trophy.

He was also a part of Ohio State’s national championship roster in 2024. He played in all 16 games during the year as a reserve logging 19 tackles and 1.5 TFLs. He spent 2023 as a reserve limited to four games.

6. EDGE Zion Young, Missouri

Young spent two years at Mizzou after transferring from Michigan State. He is coming off the best season of his career in 2025 when he had 42 total tackles, including 16.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 tackles for loss. He took on a larger role in the pass rush after recording 5.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks in 2024, along with 42 sacks.

Five EDGE rushers came off the board in round one. While Young was passed up on Thursday, it’s not likely he’ll have to wait long for his name to be called.

7. EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M

The same for Young can be said about Howell. The former Aggies standout will hope to be the sixth EDGE rusher drafted into the league this cycle.

Across his five seasons of college football, Howell totaled 127 tackles, 35.5 TFLs, 27 sacks, 15 passes defended and three forced fumbles. Despite his success on the field, he’ll have to wait until Friday night to learn his fate.

8. CB Colton Hood, Tennessee

Colton Hood is of two Tennessee cornerbacks who could have heard their name called on night one. Instead, he fell to night two alongside teammate Jermod McCoy.

This past season, Hood had 50 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one interception and eight pass deflections. He has three career interceptions and 77 total tackles across 29 games. He played for Tennessee, Auburn and Colorado during college.

9. OG Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M

Chase Bistonis spent three seasons at Texas A&M. He was a mainstay of the Aggies’ offensive line over that time.

In 2025, Bistontis plated 795 snaps — 441 of which were passes — all at left guard. He allowed one sack, gave up three hits and 12 total pressures. He was also called for eight penalties.

10. LB Anthony Hill Jr., Texas

Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles were the only two pure linebackers to be selected during Thursday’s first round. Hill’s ranking on Kiper’s big board makes him a strong candidate to be the first on Friday.

In the 2025 campaign, Hill recorded 70 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and two interceptions. For his efforts, he earned All-American Second-Team honors from the Associated Press.