The NFL draft is one of the most anticipated days on the sports calendar and for good reason; it is a day when stars are born, dynasties are built, and championship rosters are crafted. However, the draft is also unpredictable. General managers are given the nearly impossible task of projecting a college player’s future in the NFL. Nonetheless, fans are never shy about critiquing their favorite teams’ every move—often thinking they know better than professionals after watching a 10-minute highlight tape.
While front offices suffer under immense pressure, MHS students sit at home forming their own opinions. Here is who MHS students think nailed this year’s draft.
The Giants emerged as clear draft winners. Under new head coach John Harbaugh, they utilized two top-ten picks and pick 37 to secure high-impact talent. They landed arguably the best player in the class, Arvell Reese, at fifth overall and tackle Francis Mauigoa at tenth. Adding cornerback Colton Hood and Malachi Fields, the Giants acquired four starters with star potential in their opening selections.
This past draft got Giants fan Jesse Fisher’s (’26) hopes up for the upcoming season. He noted, “When Arvell Reese fell to pick five, I couldn’t contain my excitement. At that point, I didn’t care what else the Giants did, and it was simply an added bonus that they selected multiple more starters in the later rounds.” For the second straight year, the Giants are winners of the draft, but the jury is still out on whether another good draft will convert into success or go to waste.
It seems like every year, the Baltimore Ravens hit the draft out of the park, and this year was no different. After a disappointing season where they missed the playoffs and fired their coach, they had the rare luxury of picking in the top 15. In the first round, the Ravens selected dominant guard Olaivavega Ioane from Penn State. Their second-round pick, Zion Young, was arguably the most underrated edge rusher in the draft. Finally, in the later rounds, the Ravens selected a couple of steals at wide receiver–Jakobi Lane and Elijah Saratt.
Henry Glasser (’28) was a big fan of the Ravens draft, especially the Zion Young pick, stating, “When I watched him in college, I thought he would go in the first round, and I still think the Ravens got a steal.”
The final and most surprising winner of this year’s draft is the Cleveland Browns, a team that is often the laughingstock of the event. General Manager Andrew Berry opened Thursday night by trading back from pick six with the Chiefs to select offensive lineman Spencer Fano. Later in the first round, the Browns selected the electrifying KC Concepcion to play wide receiver, then paired him with the physical Denzel Boston in the second round. The two receivers’ contrasting skill sets are expected to complement each other well. Later in the second round, the Browns took what could be the steal of the draft in Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
Browns fan Ben Snyder (’26) loves all the playmakers that the Browns selected, arguing that “KC Concepcion and especially Denzel Boston are both future number 1 wide receivers. For the first time in a while, I am actually excited to watch the Browns offense.”
According to MHS, the biggest losers of the draft are the 49ers. Although they have been competitive throughout much of the past decade, fans have questioned John Lynch’s drafting choices—especially this year. After not making a first-round selection, the 49ers had the first pick on day two, which they used to select receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, someone that many expected to go around pick 100. Following their Stribling pick, the 49ers selected an undersized edge rusher in Romello Height before reaching on running back Kaelon Black at pick 90. It seems that every year, the 49ers spend a mid-round pick on a running back, and almost every year, that running back fails to contribute.
Jonah Glassman (’28) especially hated the 49ers draft, commenting that the “Stribling pick was disgusting and Romello Height was even worse. That guy is too small to be an NFL edge.” Throughout the draft, the 49ers failed to fill some glaring needs, and as a team looking to compete next year, that is inexcusable.
The important thing to remember when discussing the draft is that none of us really know what we are talking about. Just last year, the media coined the Browns as losers, but their 2025 class produced five day one starters, including the Defensive Rookie of the Year, Carson Schwesinger. All we know right now is that the Giants, Browns, and Ravens all appear to have added several drafted high-impact starters, while the 49ers did not.
