Which NFL Rookies, Teams Wish They Could Have a Do-Over in 2026 Draft?

The NFL draft process isn't perfect. While the weekend itself is often joyous and filled with hope, not everything goes according to plan. Some regrets are likely, even if they're not made public.

"Everyone won the draft," a veteran NFL scout sarcastically told Matt Lombardo of Between the Hashmarks. "You can't effectively judge a draft until at least two to four seasons later."

The 2026 class had a few moments where things could have gone much differently and probably should have—whether an organization chose another path or a player landed in an alternative situation.

The hit rate among draft prospects is low. Each franchise's job is an attempt to place every individual in a position to succeed. It's far more difficult to achieve than it sounds.

The following three teams and individuals may be happy with their current setup on the surface, but things could have gone much better.

Miami Dolphins

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

Caleb Downs

The problem with the Miami Dolphins' draft is the organization suffered from a self-inflicted wound. The Dolphins could have come out of this year's draft with A) the No. 1 overall prospect regardless of position and B) the NFL's largest class in order to raise the talent floor of the league's worst roster.

Miami did achieve the latter of those two objectives but failed miserably with the former.

There's simply no question that Caleb Downs was a superior prospect compared to Kadyn Proctor. Yet the Dolphins decided to hand the elite safety to the Dallas Cowboys, trade down one spot and then take Proctor.

"He's what we thought. The person, elite. The intelligence, elite," Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said of Downs. "It's cool for me on the field to watch the ability for him to be going in any direction and how quickly he can get into balance. … He's just got incredible lower-body athleticism. … It's very impressive."

Obviously, positional value came into play to some degree.

"We thought Proctor was rare—his height, weight, speed, production," Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan rationalized after the fact. " ... He's an outlier, there's not many like him."

To be fair, Proctor does bring rare size and movement skills to the offensive tackle position. But concerns linger.

"Smart guy, and if you can keep his weight somewhat good, he's good enough," one executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando.

Proctor will start his career at left guard. Eventually, he'll need to prove he's a long-term solution at offensive tackle to even make the case he was the right choice over Downs, who brings All-Pro potential to the Cowboys' secondary.

Pittsburgh Steelers

AP Photo/Chris Szagola

Makai Lemon

The Pittsburgh Steelers could have basked in the glow of being an outstanding host for the 2026 draft, but their front office made a critical mistake in this year's first round that quickly became public and basically ruined the team's initial selection.

Before Pittsburgh was on the clock with the 21st overall pick, the team called wide receiver Makai Lemon to tell him he would be its selection. However, the Philadelphia Eagles traded up to the 20th overall pick and sniped the USC product before the Steelers could actually select the reigning Fred Biletnikoff Award winner.

"You don't make the call until you're on the clock," an executive from another team told Sando. "It's crazy."

"They think they are tying up the phone lines so the other team moves on because they can't get in touch with the player," another exec said. "All it takes is you to call the player, and if another team calls the agent and they're like, 'Oh, he's on the phone with so-and-so,' now they know who you're picking."

What's not exactly known is if the Eagles caught wind of the Steelers' intentions. Maybe Philadelphia always planned to make that move.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman didn't let on one way or the other:

"We just felt like this was a player that we wanted to go up and get. Just based on where our board was at that time, where we were picking, just felt like it made a lot of sense based on our board. Obviously, when you have a player that you like that's ranked higher on your board than where you're picking, you think at every pick that he's gonna be selected. That's just the way the draft is, you think everyone's thinking the way that you are, and so certainly for us, we didn't want to sit on our hands. We wanted to go get him, and so that's why we made a trade."

Whether or not the Eagles originally intended to trade up, Pittsburgh clearly botched the moment and selected Max Iheanachor. With all the pomp and circumstance that surrounded that particular selection, the Steelers had to quickly change direction and land someone other than their top choice.

Think before you dial.

Jacksonville Jaguars

AP Photo/Eric Gay

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren

The Jacksonville Jaguars almost universally received the lowest grades from this year's draft because of a perceived lack of value throughout the team's 10-player class.

These aspersions weren't simply from media outlets. They also came from within the league.

"I did not like what Jacksonville did at all," one executive told Sando. "Their picks reflect numbers—workouts, pro days, that kind of stuff—more than the film. 'We are going to be smarter than everybody else.' It was a traits draft for them."

Another said: "The GM's bravado is outsized for their accomplishments, and the world loves to punish that. But it's paradoxical that it's the analytics community, which has now rallied around the public consensus board as being right, that is the one that wants to punish him."

In a lot of cases, Jacksonville's draft could have just looked better on paper had some of the acquisitions been made in different rounds to better reflect overall value. For the Jaguars, the entire class can be blown up and restarted from scratch and come across as far more enticing.

Obviously, the franchise didn't own a first-round pick thanks to last year's Travis Hunter trade. Still, Jacksonville made four selections among this year's Top 100.

How different would the Jaguars' class be perceived had the organization chosen...

56. S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo

81. TE Will Kacmarek, Ohio State

88. OG Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon

100. DT Darrell Jackson Jr., Florida State

... in those same slots? They're the same positions the Jaguars addressed yet better overall values compared to what actually occurred (except for Pregnon, who was already seen as a good value).

After last season, the Jaguars are ready to compete with the NFL's best. This class may not have done enough to help elevate the roster and become a perennial contender, though, which will make this a massive misstep if the incoming players don't perform above expectations.

QB Ty Simpson, Los Angeles Rams

AP Photo/Caroline Brehman

The Los Angeles Rams are in win-now mode, but first-round rookie Ty Simpson doesn't fit that approach.

On the surface, Simpson should be ecstatic about the opportunity to play for the Rams without being forced into the lineup, all while learning from head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford.

The incoming signal-caller may find himself caught in somewhat of an organizational crossfire, though.

Publicly, the Rams are all on the same page, even after McVay didn't come across as overly thrilled with the choice.

"And so the demeanor would have been stoic by nature because you are excited, but by no means ... it is Matthew's football team," McVay told reporters. "Excited to be able to add Ty. What a blessing it is for him to be able to learn from Matthew, to be able to come into this atmosphere and environment.

"But whenever that time comes for him to get an opportunity to be Matthew's successor will be on Matthew's terms. And I think that's really what the important thing was. And I didn't want that to ever be misunderstood while not minimizing the excitement for Ty [and] the buy-in."

Therein lies the rub. Stafford is 38 years old and the reigning MVP. Simpson doesn't help the team this fall, and his presence may become a point of contention.

The Rams could have drafted wide receiver Makai Lemon, edge-rusher Rueben Bain Jr. or right tackle Blake Miller to provide this year's squad with an extra boost.

In the long term, Simpson was the right choice as the franchise prepares for the future. But the Rams are the same organization that hasn't worried about the future and gone all-in when the opportunity to win at the highest level arose.

As for the Alabama product, the second-team All-SEC performer was expected to be a first-round pick even if the Rams went in another direction.

Hopefully, Simpson gets a fair shake while the Rams still contend. However, the situation could sour quickly.

Edge Rueben Bain Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

To go from being the most dominant defender on a college football field in 2025 to nearly slipping outside of the top-15 range, Rueben Bain Jr. will be motivated to prove so many doubters wrong.

Truthfully, the 21-year-old was far too good of a prospect to fall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The organization should be over the moon after landing an elite talent without having to trade into the Top 10.

Bain, meanwhile, knew he was being unfairly knocked for less-than-ideal arm length before the event even began.

"It kind of surprised me because I never heard it all my life and I just ain't give it the time of the day honestly," he told reporters.

Bain's arms measured 30⅞ inches at this year's NFL combine. Ideally, that number should at least be over 32.

"The biggest thing for a pass rusher of that nature, he plays the game with the right demeanor," Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told The Rich Eisen Show (h/t Brianna Dix of the team's official site). "Even with the arms being short, you never see him rushing down the middle of an offensive lineman. He has a very good array of pass rush-moves and he is really good with his hands and understanding of when to shoot them and when not to shoot them and when to go around that way from a pass rushing standpoint."

The Bleacher Report Scouting Department graded Bain as top five overall prospect and deservedly so. The reigning Ted Hendricks Award winner was consistently disruptive in both phases of the game. He plays with a level of physicality and violence that shows up in every contest.

Bain earned the right to hear his name called within this year's initial five or 10 draft picks. He still ended up in a great situation, but a tinge of disappointment must have germinated.

The process failed Bain. The Bucs benefited.

QB Garrett Nussmeier, Kansas City Chiefs

AP Photo/Colin E. Braley

Some will look at Garrett Nussmeier's setup and think he couldn't have landed in a better situation. After all, he gets to learn from head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Far more was expected originally, though.

"It's a great opportunity for me to learn," Nussmeier told reporters. "I'm just grateful that I have this opportunity. I can only imagine. I'm so excited to be in a room with those guys, coach Reid and his unbelievable offensive mind and sitting behind Patrick and steal some things from him and see the game through his eyes. It's going to be an unbelievable experience for me."

However, Nussmeier may eventually concede the draft process didn't go as expected when the 2025 campaign began.

The LSU quarterback was generally viewed as a first-round prospect entering his final collegiate season. Even after a shaky performance—which was later revealed to be hampered by a significant injury—he was still expected to be a Day 2 pick, particularly after a strong Senior Bowl showing.

Instead, the 24-year-old prospect nearly fell out of the draft altogether before the Chiefs snagged him in the seventh round, just eight picks before this year's Mr. Irrelevant heard his name called.

Nussmeier was never supposed to be a late-round option.

Clearly, a medical factor played into the quarterback's draft-weekend slide. He dealt with what was believed to be an oblique injury throughout the season, which limited his effectiveness, but turned out to be a cyst on his spine, as discovered by doctors at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Another red flag emerged throughout the process.

"Some of the feedback that I've gotten from teams, maybe he didn't handle some of the interviews the best that he could have," The Athletic's Dane Brugler said. "I think part of it is a lack of accountability."

Nussmeier's father, Doug, is the New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator. He's been an NFL assistant or coordinator for the last eight seasons. The quarterback has grown up around football. It's obvious in the way he plays. But that background can be a major issue if lines of communications aren't channeled properly.

From a broader perspective, sliding from potential franchise quarterback to third-string rookie, who must battle to make the active roster, is a massively disappointing swing.

Nussmeier still gets to realize his dream. At the same time, he wasn't selected by an organization where the seventh-rounder will have a legitimate opportunity to compete for QB1 and possibly become the face of the franchise.