The 5 Most Viral Moments In Recent NFL Draft History
The 2026 NFL Draft is less than 24 hours away.
The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is set to begin at 8 p.m. E.T. on Thursday night. It's set for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza is projected to go No. 1 overall, though he'll be watching the NFL Draft from home in Florida.
His mom has M.S., which makes it hard to travel.
"Pittsburgh is a great opportunity and it's a great venue, and I'm really excited to see most of the guys walk across the stage on Thursday night," Mendoza said on the Rich Eisen Show. "It'd be a dream for a lot of guys, however, my mom really wanted to do it at home, and so did my parents. It was a lot easier for us, especially with the family situation, and I would have to hop on a plane the next morning anyways. For that travel, it would be a lot easier to stay at home."
Perhaps we'll get a viral moment or two from the Mendoza family as they watch from home.
Over the years, we've had several viral NFL Draft moments. Here are five that stand out the most.
Will Levis slides in 2023 as his girlfriend goes viral
In 2023, Will Levis attended the NFL Draft, alongside his then-girlfriend, Gia Duddy. However, Levis slid much further than expected.
Levis, who played at Kentucky and Penn State, slid into the second round of the 2023 NFL draft, before being taken by the Titans.
By the time he was picked, his girlfriend had gone viral.
She had some advice for girlfriends in 2025, too.
"I know I know what tonight is, but do you guys know what tonight is? It's the Caudalie event, obviously so let's get ready," Duddy said. "I'm just messing with you guys, I know it's the NFL draft, you guys actually won't let me forget. But I do actually have an event with Caudalie so I do need to get ready. I feel like I've never really talked about the draft, and I don't really like talking about it, just because it just genuinely wasn't about me. So I just like never felt the need to speak on it, but I do wanna say is congratulations to all the hard-working men that are in this draft class.
"Genuinely so excited for all of you, I know I have some friends in it this year, and for those who are attending, beware of your resting [expletive] face. Because the media loves media, and they will start a story that you're just a [expletive]. So from one RBF to another, good luck."
Laremy Tunsil's gas mask photo leak in 2016
Tunsil, a standout offensive lineman prospect, was thought to be a top pick in 2016. However, during the draft, he slide out of the Top 10.
It later emerged that teams had become aware of a gas mask photo, featuring Tunsil, that was then making the rounds.
CeeDee Lamb snatching his girlfriend's phone
Lamb became a top pick for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. During the draft, Lamb was handling multiple phones.
He went viral for snatching his phone out of the hand of his then-girlfriend.
Lamb ultimately said there wasn't much to it, though.
Bill Belichick's dog captures everyone's attention
The 2020 NFL Draft was full of viral moments, thanks to the pandemic.
Belichick, then the head coach of the Patriots, did his NFL Draft from his Nantucket home. As he walked off of the screen, his beloved dog stole the show.
Mel Kiper Jr.'s passionate Shedeur Sanders rant
As Shedeur Sanders slid into the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Mel Kiper Jr. - who had the Colorado quarterback as his No. 1 QB prospect - could not believe it.
He went off on ESPN.
Kiper accused the league of being "clueless."
"The NFL has been clueless for 50 years when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks," Kiper said. "Clueless. They have no idea what they're doing in terms of evaluating quarterbacks. That's proof (Sanders falling). There's proof of that. We know exactly what we're talking about with quarterbacks, they don't."
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What viral moments will we get tomorrow night?
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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 5:44 PM.