Caleb Downs and the 5 biggest steals from 2026 NFL Draft Round 1

Each year in the NFL Draft, some players go much higher than expected and others go much lower than initially thought. Thursday night was no different, as Round 1 of the 2026 draft was full of surprises.

There were also a ton of trades, with six deals coming in during the back half of the first round and eight trades in total. All of that led to an unpredictable draft with plenty of steals.

However, there will be some teams that will feel like big winners on draft night, as they took home some of the biggest steals of the evening. Who were the best value picks of the first round? Five selections really stuck out.

Cowboys S Caleb Downs (No. 11 overall pick)

Throw positional value to the side. Caleb Downs is one of the best players in this draft class, full-stop. Downs has been one of the best players in college football for all three seasons he has been at that level and is as complete as a safety prospect will get. He sees the game in slow motion, is a great tackler, plays with instincts and is strong in coverage as well. He will immediately make a huge impact on a Dallas defense that desperately needed a playmaker.

It came as a bit of a surprise that the Chiefs and Giants (twice) passed on Downs, but both went for players at premium positions instead. Downs’ mini-slide was reminiscent of that of Kyle Hamilton in 2022. Hamilton has become one of the best overall defensive players in the league during his career, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see Downs reach similar heights.

Eagles WR Makai Lemon (No. 20 overall pick)

Makai Lemon is a little flawed as a prospect. He is undersized, but he excels at things that bigger receivers are usually excellent at such as contested catch ability. He also wasn’t impressive in the interview portion of the pre-draft process, which led to him sliding all the way to No. 20.

However, Lemon is still a great football player who can be a productive piece of any good NFL offense. He is a strong route runner with good run-after-catch ability, and he has the skillset to play both inside and outside. In 2025, he win the Biletnikoff Award as the best wide receiver in college football after a stellar season with USC.

In classic Howie Roseman fashion, when Lemon slipped all the way to No. 20, the Eagles moved up a few spots to scoop him up. With an AJ Brown trade imminent, Lemon should slot right into the starting lineup as a rookie and will have a chance to make an instant impact.

Buccaneers EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. (No. 15 overall pick)

At some points in the draft process, Rueben Bain Jr. was viewed as the top edge rusher in this class and a candidate to go No. 2 overall to the New York Jets. However, the Miami (FL) product is a bit of a statistical anomaly, with sub-31 inch arms. Very few trench players, especially pass rushers, have been successful with that frame, and that along with a recent report of his involvement in a fatal car accident, ultimately resulted in his slide.

However, Bain dominated some of the top competition that he played against this year with the Hurricanes, especially in the College Football Playoff. He has good speed and bend, but also great explosiveness and power, which gives him a deep pass rush repertoire.

Bain is also a strong run defender due to his strength and his ability to stretch plays to the sideline with his athleticism. All of those skills should give the Bucs a day one starter at a position of need on the edge, and they should be over the moon getting him at No. 15.

Jets WR Omar Cooper Jr. (No. 30 overall pick)

Coming off of a national championship season with Indiana, Omar Cooper Jr. was projected to be as high as the second wide receiver drafted in the first round this year. However, as the end of the first round neared, four receivers had come off the board and Cooper was not one of them.

Then, after already picking David Bailey and Kenyon Sadiq in the first round, the Jets moved back into the first round to leapfrog the Bills and take Cooper. The Indiana product is a perfect fit in the receiver room in New York next to Garrett Wilson as someone who can do a ton of damage over the middle and after the catch while Wilson handles a lot of the responsibilities of a true X receiver.

Geno Smith will have to prove a lot at quarterback, but he has a number of quality weapons to get the ball to. If this Jets offense exceeds expectations this fall, Cooper will likely be a big reason why.

Commanders LB Sonny Styles (No. 7 overall pick)

You have to be a pretty special off-ball linebacker prospect to be considered a steal in a draft at No. 7 overall, but that’s exactly what Sonny Styles is. Styles didn’t make it to the Commanders in most mocks leading up to the draft, so Washington will be thrilled to scoop him up here.

Styles is big, strong, fast and physical, erasing plays in the middle of the field against both the run and the pass. He was arguably the best linebacker in college football last season on an elite Ohio State defense and will immediately be one of the most rangy players in the NFL at the position. The Commanders entered this offseason with needs all over their defense, and Styles addresses a big one.

Styles will likely start alongside Bobby Wagner in year one, so maybe the rookie will be able to take some tricks of the trade with one of the best to do it in his generation. If he picks up a thing or two from the future Hall of Famer, it may not be long before Styles is one of the best in the league at his position.

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