Miami put three players into Thursday night's first round, and all three landed in spots that make sense. Francis Mauigoa went No. 10 to the Giants, Rueben Bain Jr. went No. 15 to the Buccaneers and Akheem Mesidor went No. 22 to the Chargers.
New York Giants select Francis Mauigoa at No. 10
The Giants had the busiest night of the three teams. They opened the draft by taking Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5, then used the No. 10 pick they acquired from Cincinnati in the Dexter Lawrence trade on Mauigoa.
New York's plan is to put him at guard, not tackle, even after he started every game of his Miami career at right tackle. Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor are the established tackles, Jon Runyan and John Michael Schmitz are back inside, and right guard was the vacancy. Mauigoa is expected to slot in between Schmitz and Eluemunor to open his NFL career.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Rueben Bain Jr. at No. 15
Rueben Bain Jr. has LANDED ✈️ pic.twitter.com/zhlRso5S7M
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) April 24, 2026
The Buccaneers stayed at No. 15 and took Bain. Edge rush was the team's biggest problem entering the night. Tampa Bay finished tied for 18th in the NFL with 37 sacks in 2025, ranked 24th in sacks per pass play rate, and got just 7.0 sacks from team leader Yaya Diaby. No other edge rusher on the roster had more than three.
Tampa Bay's post-draft edge rotation is Diaby, Bain, Al-Quadin Muhammad, David Walker, Chris Braswell and Anthony Nelson.
Los Angeles Chargers select Akheem Mesidor at No. 22
The Chargers also stayed put and made one first-round pick, taking Mesidor at No. 22. Unlike Tampa Bay, Los Angeles did not enter the night desperate at edge.
But, Mesidor is a plug-and-play rusher who can help immediately, and will play alongside Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, Bud Dupree, Kyle Kennard and Garmon Randolph. Mack is 35 and Dupree is 33, so Mesidor gives Los Angeles another pass rusher beyond 2026 while still helping in the rotation now.
Add us as a preferred source on Google