Nine picks. Four UDFAs. Thirteen Miami Hurricanes heading to NFL training camps.

I watched three first rounders go in 3 hours from a sofa in Yorkshire while the rest of the country was asleep, and I would do every sleepless minute of it again.

This might be the best NFL Draft weekend Miami has had in almost twenty years. Three players in the first round on Thursday night alone. Three more in the third round on Friday. A quarterback, a safety, a wide receiver and a guard rounding it out on Saturday. Then, before the dust had properly settled in Pittsburgh, the phones started ringing for the lads who had not heard their names called.

9 drafted. 4 UDFAs confirmed. 13 Canes headed to NFL training camps in 2026.

The last time Miami put up numbers like this was 2002. That class had Ed Reed in it.

Here is every one of them. Where they went, what they bring, and what the whole thing looked like from outside Ilkley at stupid o’clock in the morning.

The Drafted Nine

Francis “Sisi” Mauigoa, OT, New York Giants

Round 1, Pick 10

The first Cane off the board. Pick 10. New York Giants. The second offensive lineman selected in the entire draft, which should tell you everything about where scouts had him ranked coming out of Coral Gables.

Mauigoa was asked on live television about protecting his new quarterback Jaxson Dart. His answer was simple: “I’ll die for you, man.” Before he had signed anything. Before he had properly put the jersey on. That is not just a player. That is a tone-setter.

A two-time First Team All-ACC selection and consensus All-American, Mauigoa anchored Miami’s offensive line throughout the national championship run. The Giants have been desperate for genuine blindside protection for years. They may have found it.

Rueben Bain Jr., EDGE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Round 1, Pick 15

I was on the sofa. It was stupid o’clock. Rueben Bain Jr. went 15th overall to Tampa Bay and I nearly woke the house up.

The ACC Defensive Player of the Year. A consensus All-American. One of the most heavily studied prospects in the entire pre-draft process. Bain brought raw power and elite athleticism in the same terrifying package.

What made Bain special was not just the sack production. It was the motor. He never stopped. Not when the play went away from him. Not when he was double-teamed. Not when he had already beaten his man twice.

Tampa’s defensive front just got nastier. The dog gave me a look when I celebrated. Worth every bit of it.

Akheem Mesidor, EDGE, Los Angeles Chargers

Round 1, Pick 22

Three. First. Round. Picks.

Akheem Mesidor completed the hat-trick at pick 22 to the Los Angeles Chargers. He celebrated at home in Ottawa surrounded by family, and the scenes were everything you would want them to be.

Mesidor came to Miami via West Virginia, took a little time to find his absolute best level, and when he did, he was genuinely unblockable on his best days.

What he brings to Los Angeles is length, explosiveness and the ability to win from multiple alignments. He can set the edge, rush from different spots and still beat tackles clean off the snap.

The Chargers needed another threat on their defensive front. They have found one.

Carson Beck, QB, Arizona Cardinals

Round 3, Pick 65

Not the loudest pick of the weekend. Not the flashiest backstory. Just a quarterback who helped take Miami to the national championship game, going in the third round to a team that needed someone who understands pressure.

Beck came to Coral Gables via Georgia, where things had not quite worked out despite enormous early promise. At Miami, he found his footing again and delivered when the programme needed him most.

He reads defences quickly, gets the ball out on time and does not collapse when the weight of a big occasion lands on his shoulders.

The Cardinals get a developmental option with genuine starter experience at the highest level of college football. The story is not finished yet.

Markel Bell, OT, Philadelphia Eagles

Round 3, Pick 68

Right. Markel Bell is six foot nine. He weighs 346 pounds. His wingspan is eighty-seven inches. I looked that up twice because I was convinced I had misread it.

He came from Holmes Community College in Mississippi. Walked into Miami. Was handed the starting left tackle role. Went to the national championship game. Now he is a third-round NFL Draft pick heading to Philadelphia.

The Eagles know exactly what they are getting. Bell is a developmental project in the truest sense, but the kind of raw physical specimen you cannot manufacture.

The technical refinements will come with coaching. The size is already there. One of the most fascinating Canes heading into training camp.

Jakobe Thomas, S, Minnesota Vikings

Round 3, Pick 98

Nobody outside the film-room crowd was shouting loudly about Jakobe Thomas. The people who watch tape for a living were paying attention.

Pick 98. Minnesota Vikings. Third round. Seventy-six tackles in 2025. Five interceptions. A box safety who plays like he has something to prove on every single snap.

Thomas is fast enough to cover ground, physical enough to play in the box and smart enough to be in the right position before the ball even moves.

The Vikings have found themselves a proper safety. Good on them for paying attention when others were not.

Keionte Scott, DB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Round 4, Pick 116

Zero Division I offers out of school. JUCO. Auburn. Miami. Round 4, pick 116, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Keionte Scott’s route to the NFL Draft was not a straightforward journey. I was surprised to see Scott’s name called so late into the draft with a genuine buzz around him potentially going second round.

Scott ran a 4.33-second forty at his Pro Day. He brought speed, edge and playmaking from the defensive backfield, and Tampa clearly liked what it saw.

The Buccaneers already had some how managed to get Rueben Bain from Miami. Now they have Scott as well. Tampa Bay are raiding The U at this point, and I am completely here for it.

Anez Cooper, G, New York Jets

Round 6, Pick 188

Sixth round. Pick 188. New York Jets.

With that, three-fifths of Miami’s national championship offensive line had been drafted in the same class. Mauigoa at 10. Bell at 68. Cooper at 188.

Cooper is big, long-armed and powerful on the interior. He spent two years in the trenches alongside Francis Mauigoa, and you do not come through that kind of environment without learning what it takes.

Nobody is handing him anything at the Jets. Good. Day 3 picks who get told the odds are against them tend to be the most interesting ones to track come August.

CJ Daniels, WR, Los Angeles Rams

Round 6, Pick 197

Liberty. LSU. Miami. Fifty catches, 557 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025. Sixth round, pick 197, Los Angeles Rams.

CJ Daniels has been just about everywhere during his college career and he kept going every single time. LSU did not work out. He did not stop. He arrived at Miami, made his presence felt immediately and became one of the more technically reliable wide receivers in the ACC.

Strong hands. Precise route running. A player who earns every yard rather than relying on separation to happen by default.

The Rams know what they are looking at when they watch tape. They spotted something in Daniels at pick 197. That is very much worth paying attention to.

The Four UDFAs

Not hearing your name called in seven rounds is not the end of the story. The phones start ringing before the confetti has settled.

Four Canes signed as undrafted free agents before the weekend was out, and every single one of them has a genuine argument to make in training camp.

Wesley Bissainthe, LB, Kansas City Chiefs

If you are going to go undrafted, you could do considerably worse than landing at one of the most successful franchises in the NFL.

Bissainthe was a homegrown Cane. Recruited and developed in Coral Gables, he played nearly 2,000 defensive snaps during his Miami career and became one of the most reliable pieces of the defence.

The Chiefs moved quickly. That is not an accident. Kansas City know how to build a defensive unit, and they saw a linebacker with the intelligence, motor and competitive character to compete for a spot.

James Brockermeyer, C, Atlanta Falcons

Brockermeyer is a centre who has played serious snaps at major programmes and came into his own at Miami during the national championship run.

Durable, intelligent and technically sound. He is not spectacular. He is reliable, and at centre, reliable is often worth considerably more than spectacular.

Keelan Marion, WR/KR, Atlanta Falcons

Also signed with the Atlanta Falcons, which means Atlanta have got themselves a proper Miami reunion going on in Georgia.

Marion came to Coral Gables via BYU, where he built his name as a receiver and a kick returner.

Return specialists have genuine value on NFL rosters every single year. Special teams coordinators fight to keep them because the ability to flip field position consistently matters.

Marion has that ability. His dual-purpose value gives him a real shot.

David Blay Jr., DT, New England Patriots

David Blay Jr. has one of the most compelling journeys in the entire class. He started at Division II level, proved himself in Conference USA, then walked into one of the highest-profile programmes in college football during a national championship run and held his own.

The Patriots know what they are getting. A quick-twitch interior defender who plays with low pad level, strong effort and real ability against the run.

His pass-rush still needs work, but New England feels like exactly the kind of place where an unheralded player can earn a serious opportunity.

The Last Word from Across the Pond

Nine picks. Four UDFAs. Thirteen Miami Hurricanes heading into NFL training camps this summer.

The last time this programme put up numbers like this was 2002. That class had Ed Reed, Clinton Portis, Jeremy Shockey and Bryant McKinnie. Eleven players in total. It is considered one of the greatest draft classes any university has ever produced in the modern era.

This one is right behind it.

Mario Cristobal joined Miami at a time when one player went drafted in the 7th Round. He’s now taken the team to a national championship and 3 first round picks.

It’s great to be a Miami Hurricane. 🙌🏾🇬🇧