NEW YORK — We won’t truly know who won or lost the first round of the 2026 NFL draft for a few years, but the decisions by a few teams Thursday night certainly stood out.

After the Las Vegas Raiders selected quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall — a long-expected formality — the rest of the first round from downtown Pittsburgh was filled with surprises.

Seven teams made multiple first-round picks. There were eight trades. Two players who attended the draft in person were not selected Thursday.

All of that made for compelling drama. But who best maximized their draft capital?

For all of the pre-draft buzz about the Cowboys trading up to take a defensive difference-maker, Dallas managed to land stud safety Caleb Downs without paying a premium.

Dallas sent two fifth-round picks to Miami in order to move up one spot to No. 11, where it took Downs in what could end up being the draft’s biggest steal.

Nobody questions the talent of Downs, whose IQ and instincts made him a leader on Ohio State’s tenacious defense. He was widely considered a top-five player in this draft.

But Downs was the victim of positional value, as a safety still has not been drafted in the top 10 since 2017.

That was to the benefit of the Cowboys, who now have a new centerpiece on a defense that allowed an NFL-worst 30.1 points per game last season.

Dallas further bolstered its beleaguered defense by taking UCF pass rusher Malachi Lawrence at No. 23 — and, in doing so, added two fourth-round picks by trading back three spots with Philadelphia.

Time will tell if the Giants regret passing twice on Downs, whom they were frequently linked to.

But there’s no denying the Giants improved Thursday with the additions of versatile Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5 and road-grading Miami offensive lineman Frances Mauigoa at No. 10.

The freakishly athletic Reese was a candidate to go as high as No. 2, and nobody — including the Giants — expected him to last until No. 5.

So even though the Giants have a surplus of edge rushers, they took Reese, whom some considered the best player in the draft.

Reese has experience playing inside and outside linebacker, and he’ll begin off the ball to complement edges Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux. But expect Reese to move all around the Giants defense — and for their “NASCAR” pass-rushing package to be a terror on third downs.

Mauigoa, meanwhile, fills a huge void as the missing piece on the offensive line. He is set to start off at right guard but has plenty of experience playing right tackle, where he could end up down the road.

Selecting the 6-6, 329-pound Mauigoa was all about protecting second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart.

“I’m ready to die for you, man,” Mauigoa said in a message to Dart on the ESPN draft broadcast.

It was a statement first draft for head coach John Harbaugh, who prioritizes physicality as much as anybody.

Indeed, it was a big night for the New York teams, as the Jets added three players in the first round.