GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter and 12 other prospects will walk the red carpet at Lambeau Field before going backstage at the NFL draft theater to wait for their name to be called Thursday night.
All their hard work paid off. It’s time to enjoy the moment before joining their new teams to work even harder.
“I think a lot us prospects had a big dream and we’re accomplishing it right now,” Ward said. “Not a lot of people get this opportunity and I’m going to make the most of mine.”
Ward shouldn’t wait long. The Tennessee Titans are poised to select the Miami quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick. Hunter, the two-way star and Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado, is likely heading to the Cleveland Browns with the second pick. Carter, a premier edge rusher out of Penn State, is a favorite to go third to the New York Giants but that’s not guaranteed.
“Definitely got a good feeling with them,” Carter said about New York. “We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
There’s a lot of uncertainty entering this draft, especially surrounding the quarterbacks and Shedeur Sanders. Ward, Sanders, Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe could make it four QBs in the first round, though the consensus is fewer will go.
Running back Ashton Jeanty is making a push to sneak into the top five, tight end Tyler Warren is a potential top-10 pick and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan has a chance to be in the top 15.
It’ll be a draft loaded with players in the trenches. It’s possible more than half the first-round picks will be offensive linemen and defensive linemen.
Carter, Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham and Texas A& M edge Shemar Stewart are attending the draft so they’ll get a chance to hug NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on stage.
LSU tackle Will Campbell and Alabama guard Tyler Booker are the offensive linemen who’ll hear their name called in person.
The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl by dominating the Kansas City Chiefs in the trenches. They also had elite skiller players Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
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Draft prospect, Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, works with local youth football players and Special Olympics athletes during the league's annual prospect clinic ahead of the NFL football draft Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Draft prospect Travis Hunter of Colorado works with local youth football players and Special Olympics athletes during the league's annual prospect clinic ahead of the NFL football draft Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
FILE - Miami quarterback Cam Ward watches a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV,File)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — With the start of the New Year squarely behind us, it's once again time for the annual CES trade show to shine a spotlight on the latest tech companies plan on offering in 2026.
The multi-day event, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, kicks off this week in Las Vegas, where advances across industries like robotics, healthcare, vehicles, wearables, gaming and more are set to be on display.
Artificial intelligence will be anchored in nearly everything, again, as the tech industry explores offerings consumers will want to buy. AI industry heavyweight Jensen Huang will be taking the stage to showcase Nvidia's latest productivity solutions, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will keynote to “share her vision for delivering future AI solutions.” Expect AI to come up in other keynotes, like from Lenovo's CEO, Yuanqing Yang.
The AI industry is out in full force tackling issues in healthcare, with a particular emphasis on changing individual health habits to treat conditions — such as Beyond Medicine's prescription app focused on a particular jaw disorder — or addressing data shortages in subjects such as breast milk production.
Expect more unveils around domestic robots too. Korean tech giant LG already has announced it will show off a helper bot named “ CLOiD,” which allegedly will handle a range of household tasks. Hyundai also is announcing a major push on robotics and manufacturing advancements. Extended reality, basically a virtual training ground for robots and other physical AI, is also in the buzz around CES.
In 2025, more than 141,000 attendees from over 150 countries, regions, and territories attended the CES. Organizers expect around the same numbers for this year’s show, with more than 3,500 exhibitors across the floor space this week.
The AP spoke with CTA Executive Chair and CEO Gary Shapiro about what to expect for CES 2026. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Well, we have a lot at this year's show.
Obviously, using AI in a way that makes sense for people. We’re seeing a lot in robotics. More robots and humanoid-looking robots than we’ve ever had before.
We also see longevity in health, there’s a lot of focus on that. All sorts of wearable devices for almost every part of the body. Technology is answering healthcare’s gaps very quickly and that’s great for everyone.
Mobility is big with not only self-driving vehicles but also with boats and drones and all sorts of other ways of getting around. That’s very important.
And of course, content creation is always very big.
You are seeing humanoid robots right now. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.
But yes, there are more and more humanoid robots. And when we talk about CES 5, 10, 15, 20 years now, we’re going to see an even larger range of humanoid robots.
Obviously, last year we saw a great interest in them. The number one product of the show was a little robotic dog that seems so life-like and fun, and affectionate for people that need that type of affection.
But of course, the humanoid robots are just one aspect of that industry. There’s a lot of specialization in robot creation, depending on what you want the robot to do. And robots can do many things that humans can’t.
AI is the future of creativity.
Certainly AI itself may be arguably creative, but the human mind is so unique that you definitely get new ideas that way. So I think the future is more of a hybrid approach, where content creators are working with AI to craft variations on a theme or to better monetize what they have to a broader audience.
We’re seeing all sorts of different devices that are implementing AI. But we have a special focus at this show, for the first time, on the disability community. Verizon set this whole stage up where we have all different ways of taking this technology and having it help people with disabilities and older people.
Well, there’s definitely no bubble when it comes to what AI can do. And what AI can do is perform miracles and solve fundamental human problems in food production and clean air and clean water. Obviously in healthcare, it’s gonna be overwhelming.
But this was like the internet itself. There was a lot of talk about a bubble, and there actually was a bubble. The difference is that in late 1990s there were basically were no revenue models. Companies were raising a lot of money with no plans for revenue.
These AI companies have significant revenues today, and companies are investing in it.
What I’m more concerned about, honestly, is not Wall Street and a bubble. Others can be concerned about that. I’m concerned about getting enough energy to process all that AI. And at this show, for the first time, we have a Korean company showing the first ever small-scale nuclear-powered energy creation device. We expect more and more of these people rushing to fill this gap because we need the energy, we need it clean and we need a kind of all-of-the-above solution.
A Coro breastfeeding monitor is pictured at a Coroflo booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Yonbo X1 robots are pictured at the X-Orgin booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
A Tombot robotic puppy is pictured at a Tombot booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
People arrive at the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
