Building the Beast: 2026 NFL Draft order takeaways and Dane Brugler's All-Rookie team
The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL
The Athletic
4.6 • 3.3K Ratings
🗓️ 7 January 2026
⏱️ 77 minutes
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Summary
Sure, the NFL playoff field is set. Cool. You know what's really cool, though? The top 18 of the 2026 NFL Draft order being locked in place. At least that's what's really cool as far as Building the Beast is concerned. Dave Helman and Dane Brugler offer up their takeaways from the draft order on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Building the Beast. Then, Dane and Dave debate the toughest picks on Dane's All-Rookie Team.
Rundown (timestamps are approximate)
3:00 The 2026 NFL Draft order is set
45:12 Don't forget about Trinidad Chambliss
57:00 Dane's All-Rookie Team
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Host: Dave Helman
Co-Host: Dane Brugler
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Video Producer: Katy Duffy
Audio Producer: Michael Beller
Social Producer: Scott Krinch
Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social
Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_
Follow Dane on X: @dpbrugler
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to another episode of Building the Beast. |
| 0:05.7 | I am your host, Dave Hellman, and we have got a loaded show for y'all on the first Wednesday |
| 0:10.5 | after the end of the NFL regular season. |
| 0:13.0 | The top of the draft order is officially set. |
| 0:15.7 | We know who's picking one. |
| 0:17.2 | We know the entire top 10. |
| 0:18.9 | So it's starting to feel a little more real. Dane Bruegler and |
| 0:22.7 | myself, we walked through some of the more interesting teams, some of the more interesting scenarios, |
| 0:27.8 | what might play out and what we might need to watch for at the top of this draft cycle. We also took |
| 0:33.1 | a quick look at the college football semifinals. Ole Miss is playing Miami and Indiana is playing Oregon. |
| 0:38.9 | Big week of college football on deck. |
| 0:41.1 | Dane also wrote his 2025 all-rooky team with the regular season over. |
| 0:45.8 | We can look back at some of the more fun, more impressive rookies from this season. |
| 0:49.7 | Really fun, spirited conversation, a loaded show. |
| 0:53.4 | Let's get into it. |
| 0:59.6 | All right, Dane, we do a weekly draft podcast, so it's not as if this snuck up on us. |
| 1:05.5 | We've been anticipating the real start to draft season for a while, but even still, it kind of feels like the bat signal went off. |
| 1:14.3 | Like when the beginning of the draft order is finalized, when the Raiders secure the number |
| 1:19.6 | one overall pick and the first 10 to 15 selections in this upcoming draft are now set in |
| 1:25.8 | stone, it really feels like the start of something new. |
| 1:29.5 | Like when did that signal go off for you? Was it when the Giants beat the Cowboys? Was it later on |
| 1:34.4 | Sunday? Like when did you get that, you know, when did your bat phone ring on Sunday? |
... |
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