The third and final day of the 2026 NFL Draft began with a name many thought would go in the first round.
Instead, Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy went No. 101 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, as the opening pick of the fourth round on Saturday in Pittsburgh.
The Buffalo Bills owned the No. 101 selection entering the day, while the Raiders sat at No. 102. Las Vegas traded a 2027 seventh-rounder to Buffalo to move up one spot and secure McCoy.
Rated the 16th overall prospect in the draft class by Scouts Inc., McCoy’s fall was attributed to a health concern. McCoy tore his ACL and missed the 2025 college season, but while the ACL has healed, a degenerative cartilage issue was discovered in his right knee.
“All of my doctors that did my surgery told me (that) I’m good,” McCoy said, per ESPN. “But if there’s something that (the Raiders) want me to do for the longevity of my career, I’m willing to do that because I feel like they have my best interest.”
McCoy had four interceptions and nine pass breakups for Tennessee in 2024 after one year at Oregon State.
Two days after the Raiders selected Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick, they continued to make waves Saturday by sending former top-10 pick Tyree Wilson to the New Orleans Saints in order to trade up from No. 219 overall to No. 150 in the fifth round.
Wilson, the seventh overall pick in 2023, amassed 12 sacks in three seasons as a Raiders defensive end. The Raiders attempted to trade star pass rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens earlier this offseason, but Baltimore backed out due to a failed physical as Crosby recovers from knee surgery.
At No. 150, the Raiders drafted safety Dalton Johnson from Arizona.
The quarterback class continued to prove thin, as just one signal-caller was selected in the fourth round and one went in the fifth.
The New York Jets moved up in a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals to select Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik at No. 110 overall. The Bengals received the 128th overall pick in the trade, while sending New York the 199th pick in exchange for No. 140.
Klubnik, once seen as a top college quarterback, never quite realized his potential in three-plus seasons as Clemson’s starter. The 6-foot-2 prospect threw for 2,943 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions for the Tigers in 2025.
The Jets have again revamped their quarterback room but waited till the fourth round to take a flier on an incoming rookie, having opted for pass rusher David Bailey with the No. 2 overall pick. Klubnik joins a QB room featuring Geno Smith, Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe.
“I woke up this morning hoping the Jets were going to pick me,” Klubnik told reporters after the pick.
The Philadelphia Eagles used the 178th overall pick on North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton, a former FCS national champion who’ll slot in on the depth chart behind Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee and veteran Andy Dalton.
While just six quarterbacks were drafted through five rounds, a more popular position was tight end. Seventeen were taken in Rounds 1-5, more than the 16 total drafted in 2025.
Mississippi State tight end Seydou Traore, originally from London, went to the Miami Dolphins at No. 180, the penultimate pick of the fifth round. Though not announced as part of the prospect “green room” Traore appeared on stage in Pittsburgh and was celebrated by commissioner Roger Goodell, an unusual moment for Day 3 of the draft.
The Cleveland Browns kicked off the sixth round by selecting Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green with the first pick. Green will join Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel on a crowded Cleveland depth chart.
The sixth round saw the first punter and first kicker taken. Michigan State punter Ryan Eckley went to the Baltimore Ravens at No. 211, and for the final pick of the sixth round, the Green Bay Packers selected Florida kicker Trey Smack.
Three teams with established starters picked up quarterbacks in the seventh round: Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis to the Washington Commanders (223), Texas Tech’s Behren Morton to the New England Patriots (234) and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier to the Kansas City Chiefs (249).
Nussmeier was the third-highest rated quarterback by Scouts Inc. but was the 10th and final QB taken in the draft. He joins newly acquired Justin Fields and holdover Chris Oladokun as backup options in Kansas City as Patrick Mahomes recovers from ACL and LCL surgery.
The seventh-to-final pick of the day was noteworthy because the player selected has never played football before. The Philadelphia Eagles took Nigerian defensive line prospect Uar Bernard at No. 251.
A 6-foot-4, 306-pound athlete who turned heads at the scouting combine, Bernard is part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, which also produced current Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata, originally a rugby player from Australia.
Red Murdock, a linebacker from Buffalo, became the highly anticipated “Mr. Irrelevant” selection when the Denver Broncos chose him with the 257th and final pick in the draft. In 42 games across three-plus college seasons, Murdock had 364 tackles (39.5 for loss), nine sacks and an NCAA record 17 forced fumbles — one more than the previous record-holder and fellow Buffalo alum, Khalil Mack.
–Field Level Media
