The 2026 Draft Thread - 1st Round - 7th overall

[RWJ]

This one came out of nowhere. Interesting. It fits Blough's system from what we've read or heard about it.

Also to add to your post from Fowler:

 

[Dlts20]

Honestly at this point, I think the WR position is severely underrated on this board. All of the big 3 have pro bowl potential IMO

 

[ES1974]

Not a big fan of going DB anywhere near pick #7 this year, although a top DB selection isn’t the worst idea if we’ve fixed the elephant in the room matter on offense.

My DB standouts, if we moved around picks, also noting these online combine write ups, are….

Chris Johnson
San Diego State · CB · Senior

Johnson had the most impressive overall workout among the combine cornerbacks, which should put him in the top-50 conversation. He checked the necessary boxes with his measurements (6-0 3/8, 193 pounds, 9 7/8-inch hands). He ran a strong 4.40-second 40 and had a 38-inch vertical jump. During on-field drills, his backpedal was smooth and he showed the ability to turn on a dime. Johnson double-caught and dropped a couple of passes but he looked good bringing in others.

Dillon Thieneman
Oregon · S · Junior

Thieneman was expected to excel at the combine and he did not disappoint. He started with a 41-inch vertical and 10-5 broad jump. Then he ran a 4.35 40 (1.52 10-yard split) at 6-0 1/8, 201 pounds. Thieneman changed directions quickly for a player with his build during drills and brought in passes, even when they were thrown outside his frame. A productive player at Purdue and Oregon, he seems like a lock for the first round after his display of athleticism

 

[DWinzit]

Dillon Thieneman
Oregon · S · Junior

Thieneman was expected to excel at the combine and he did not disappoint. He started with a 41-inch vertical and 10-5 broad jump. Then he ran a 4.35 40 (1.52 10-yard split) at 6-0 1/8, 201 pounds. Thieneman changed directions quickly for a player with his build during drills and brought in passes, even when they were thrown outside his frame. A productive player at Purdue and Oregon, he seems like a lock for the first round after his display of athleticism

I am with you on Thieneman and have posted numerous times about him. He and Cross would make a nice S combo.

I believe he will go in the bottom third of the first round. I don't see a good avenue right ow for us to be drafting in that range

 

[DWinzit]

Honestly at this point, I think the WR position is severely underrated on this board. All of the big 3 have pro bowl potential IMO

I love that enthusiasm.

The group has potential but honestly, I am not certain who the big 3 are.

We really need at least one solid WR2. To me, past Terry we have a number of WR3456's, and I like that group a lot

EDIT - I answered this like you were talking about the Commanders WR's....my bad!

 

[ES1974]

Spent a bit of time looking at the prospects. Setting aside any pre determined views on who’s going where, I think there are only 2 players I’d be fully committed to taking at #7, and that would be either Bailey or Love, in that order.

After that, my third option is to trade out. As for trading back, no further than 16 with NYJ, so a swap of #7 for #16 and #33 works.

However, that might just be too far back…so open minded to then going #16 and #71 to move back up, safe in knowledge #33 is a valuable pick to sit on.

And yes, that’s a quick take from a Saturday night with my good friends google and beer.

 

[KDawg]

Honestly at this point, I think the WR position is severely underrated on this board. All of the big 3 have pro bowl potential IMO

I don’t think this is necessarily true. Tyson is a significant injury concern and Lemon is a character concern. Both of which we don’t have additional data points that the League has - so it’s tough for us to look beyond those things. They are both very talented receivers.

Boston, Fields, Germie are three receivers I really like.

Ted Hurst, Elijah Sarratt are two guys who I think may be some of the biggest sleepers in the class.

And we haven’t even talked about Chris Bell, Skyler Bell, etc.

This is a pretty good group. Problem is, we don’t have a 2nd rounder. I’d be willing to bet if we did there would be a ton of people talking about receiver much more glowingly.

Spent a bit of time looking at the prospects. Setting aside any pre determined views on who’s going where, I think there are only 2 players I’d be fully committed to taking at #7, and that would be either Bailey or Love, in that order.

After that, my third option is to trade out. As for trading back, no further than 16 with NYJ, so a swap of #7 for #16 and #33 works.

However, that might just be too far back…so open minded to then going #16 and #71 to move back up, safe in knowledge #33 is a valuable pick to sit on.

And yes, that’s a quick take from a Saturday night with my good friends google and beer.

I wish I saw what people see in Bailey. I see the burst. I see the motor. I see an elite spin. I see high end potential as he works on his hands, bend agility.

But I also see a guy who got beat against the top OT prospects (broke that down earlier in the thread in detail vs. Utah and talked about it against Arizona State), uses his hands on a very limited basis and doesn’t have the same bend as his teammate Romello Height. And he’s pretty awful as a run defender.

I’m not sold on Bailey.

He had absolutely phenomenal production this year. 14.5 sacks is a good year. 19.5 TFL is a great year - but I can’t help but see a lot of those stats are in part due to his teammates, the scheme and lesser competition.

I look at his stats and play at Stanford and I’m not sure he looks as alluring. He didn’t have the surrounding cast there. He still had 7 sacks, but he didn’t have the kind of numbers at TT.

Don’t get me totally wrong. I think he’s a first round talent. But people talk about him as a top 2 and I just don’t get it unless it’s totally based on potential.

 

[DWinzit]

And yes, that’s a quick take from a Saturday night with my good friends google and beer.

I say the 3 of you need to spend more evenings together. We will all benefit from reading the reports from the raves

 

[DWinzit]

He is 6'3" 213 and his stats make him look like a mobile QB but not high rush numbers.

I'd say he is being looked at as a Hartman replacement at QB3 (7th round?) but not pinup replacement

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

To add to a concern for Bailey. He's got some refined footwork to help make up for bend, but there's a chance that is just mimicry at the next level. That NFL OT's would have a better notion of how to combat that.

 

[philibusters]

This is DaftonDraft's scouting report of Rueben Bain...

Rueben Bain had one of the most productive seasons of anyone in the 2026 draft class and was a major reason Miami made its run to the National Championship game. In 2025 he piled up 15.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, and an absurd 83 pressures, which earned him First-Team All-American honors and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Physically he comes in at 6’2”, 263 pounds with a dense lower half and strong build, but the measurement everyone is talking about is his arm length, which came in under 31 inches. That puts him in extreme outlier territory for edge rushers, literally around the first percentile historically, and it’s the main reason his projection to the NFL has become such a debate.

On tape Bain wins with power and timing more than pure athletic flash. His first step is excellent and he consistently times the snap well, allowing him to get into tackles quickly. Once he makes contact he has a devastating speed-to-power conversion and routinely puts offensive tackles on skates when he drives through their chest. His hands are heavy and violent and when he lands a punch it sends real shock through the blocker. Despite the short arms he is extremely good at getting into the frame of the man across from him and condensing space so tackles can’t use their length advantage. One of his best counters is a nasty hump move where he gets tight to the blocker and throws his outside arm through the inside breastplate to toss them aside. Bain is also surprisingly effective bending the corner for a player with such a thick lower body; he can reduce his surface area and dip under blocks to get around the edge. Against the run he plays with excellent pad level and a naturally low center of gravity that makes him extremely hard to move. Even when he kicks inside he holds the point well, showing a strong anchor and the ability to set the edge. When technique fails he can simply turn into a bull in a china shop and power through blockers with brute force and a noticeable mean streak.

The limitations show up in the athletic profile. Bain’s long speed in pursuit is just average and he is not going to be chasing down ball carriers across the field. His short-area quickness is also more middle of the road than elite, which means he doesn’t always cross a tackle’s face or redirect instantly. His ankles are somewhat tight and that can limit how far he can extend outside his frame when trying to win around the edge. But the biggest concern is still the arm length. At under 31 inches it’s not just short, it’s historically short for the position, which means the margin for error against long NFL tackles will be smaller.

The interesting part of Bain’s projection is how aware he seems to be of his own physical makeup. He doesn’t try to win with moves that require long levers like a traditional long-arm rush. Instead he consistently attacks the chest of the blocker, trying to take away their length advantage by closing space and fighting inside their frame. He hides his body well when club-ripping around the edge and often tries to run directly through the face of blockers rather than taking a wide track. There is also real positional versatility in his profile because he can condense down to five-technique or even three-technique in certain fronts, where arm length becomes less of an issue and his power and leverage become bigger advantages. When he’s inside and firing directly through a guard or tackle’s chest, his short arms matter a lot less and his ability to anchor against the run becomes a real asset.

So the entire evaluation basically comes down to how teams weigh the arm length against the production and play style. The historical data says edge rushers with arms this short almost never become high-level NFL players. But Bain’s tape shows a player who understands his body, plays within it, and wins with power, timing, leverage, and heavy hands. If he lands with a defensive line coach willing to move him around and let him rush from condensed alignments as well as the edge, there’s a path for him to overcome the outlier measurement and still be a very productive NFL pass rusher.

 

[KDawg]

This is DaftonDraft's scouting report of Rueben Bain...

Rueben Bain had one of the most productive seasons of anyone in the 2026 draft class and was a major reason Miami made its run to the National Championship game. In 2025 he piled up 15.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, and an absurd 83 pressures, which earned him First-Team All-American honors and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Physically he comes in at 6’2”, 263 pounds with a dense lower half and strong build, but the measurement everyone is talking about is his arm length, which came in under 31 inches. That puts him in extreme outlier territory for edge rushers, literally around the first percentile historically, and it’s the main reason his projection to the NFL has become such a debate.

On tape Bain wins with power and timing more than pure athletic flash. His first step is excellent and he consistently times the snap well, allowing him to get into tackles quickly. Once he makes contact he has a devastating speed-to-power conversion and routinely puts offensive tackles on skates when he drives through their chest. His hands are heavy and violent and when he lands a punch it sends real shock through the blocker. Despite the short arms he is extremely good at getting into the frame of the man across from him and condensing space so tackles can’t use their length advantage. One of his best counters is a nasty hump move where he gets tight to the blocker and throws his outside arm through the inside breastplate to toss them aside. Bain is also surprisingly effective bending the corner for a player with such a thick lower body; he can reduce his surface area and dip under blocks to get around the edge. Against the run he plays with excellent pad level and a naturally low center of gravity that makes him extremely hard to move. Even when he kicks inside he holds the point well, showing a strong anchor and the ability to set the edge. When technique fails he can simply turn into a bull in a china shop and power through blockers with brute force and a noticeable mean streak.

The limitations show up in the athletic profile. Bain’s long speed in pursuit is just average and he is not going to be chasing down ball carriers across the field. His short-area quickness is also more middle of the road than elite, which means he doesn’t always cross a tackle’s face or redirect instantly. His ankles are somewhat tight and that can limit how far he can extend outside his frame when trying to win around the edge. But the biggest concern is still the arm length. At under 31 inches it’s not just short, it’s historically short for the position, which means the margin for error against long NFL tackles will be smaller.

The interesting part of Bain’s projection is how aware he seems to be of his own physical makeup. He doesn’t try to win with moves that require long levers like a traditional long-arm rush. Instead he consistently attacks the chest of the blocker, trying to take away their length advantage by closing space and fighting inside their frame. He hides his body well when club-ripping around the edge and often tries to run directly through the face of blockers rather than taking a wide track. There is also real positional versatility in his profile because he can condense down to five-technique or even three-technique in certain fronts, where arm length becomes less of an issue and his power and leverage become bigger advantages. When he’s inside and firing directly through a guard or tackle’s chest, his short arms matter a lot less and his ability to anchor against the run becomes a real asset.

So the entire evaluation basically comes down to how teams weigh the arm length against the production and play style. The historical data says edge rushers with arms this short almost never become high-level NFL players. But Bain’s tape shows a player who understands his body, plays within it, and wins with power, timing, leverage, and heavy hands. If he lands with a defensive line coach willing to move him around and let him rush from condensed alignments as well as the edge, there’s a path for him to overcome the outlier measurement and still be a very productive NFL pass rusher.

This is pretty close to what I’ve been saying throughout this process. One of the best breakdowns I’ve seen on Bain.

 

[ES1974]

This is a pretty good group. Problem is, we don’t have a 2nd rounder. I’d be willing to bet if we did there would be a ton of people talking about receiver much more glowingly.

Agreed. Realising maximum value from that #7 pick should absolutely have trade back scenarios high on the list of desirable outcomes.

 

[Canuck]

Agreed. Realising maximum value from that #7 pick should absolutely have trade back scenarios high on the list of desirable outcomes.

Do you trade down regardless of who is available?

 

[ES1974]

Do you trade down regardless of who is available?

No, Bailey or Love would keep me at #7, for now anyway.

 

[Canuck]

No, Bailey or Love would keep me at #7, for now anyway.

i'm with you on Love, the drop between him and the next RB is massive.

Bailey though, I'm not so sure on.

 

[Anselmheifer]

We have gotten raped on every significant trade down for the last 20 years. I don’t understand the trade down crew here.

The only way I’m trading down, is if Love, Styles, Bailey, Reese, and Tate, are all gone. And then I might drop to 10 or 11, but not further.

Also, this draft is widely regarded as top heavy, in the sense that multiple people have said there are only 11 or 12 prospects in this draft worthy of first round grades. So, we need an impact player but we are going to drop to 16 or 20? Makes no sense

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

In order to trade down, there has to be a player sitting there which people want to trade up for.

This is a really odd draft class. A lot of the top players play non-premium positions: Styles (LB), Downs (S), Love (RB). There is virtually no way anybody is trading up to 7 to pick the second QB in this draft.

Do all three of those players go in the top 6? I couldn't begin to tell you. There seem like there are 3 top DE prospects. Is somebody going to take the top tackle (whoever they deem it to be) in the top 6?

What I'm struggling with in a trade down is who would want to come up for what player that we shouldn't just take.

If Love is there (which I don't think he will be, but maybe the league gets position value cold feet on draft day), is there a team who wants to come up and grab him because he might be the best, most immediately impactful player in the draft? Maybe. But my argument would be, we should just sit tight and pick him.

I think for me, the players (at this point) I would be willing to move off of would be the DE's and Downs. If it's Styles, Love or the top WR prospect (whoever that is on their board), I would just stand pat and draft them.

If somebody desperately wants to come up for a DE or for Downs, ok. Depending on how far back and the value of the return, I'd consider that.

If I look into my crystal ball, I think we're taking a player at 7. I really want that to be an offensive play maker. Love or the best WR on their board.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Bain doesn't have the height tip balls like the typical edge rusher. He doesn't have the speed to chase down backs in the open field. Doesn't have length so might struggle with long armed tackles with good footwork.

But.

He understands his limitations and has a plan to work through it and has done so in college. Will the same thing translate with the bigger talent in the NFL?

OK, cool.

If they were picking in the 20-30 range -- color me intrigued.

But at 7, I am not looking for a player who needs to overcome multiple limitations.

Having said that if this team takes him. I am fine with it. It would mean they weighed all those variables and are cool with taking that chance.

 

[KDawg]

Bain doesn't have the height tip balls like the typical edge rusher. He doesn't have the speed to chase down backs in the open field. Doesn't have length so might struggle with long armed tackles with good footwork.

But.

He understands his limitations and has a plan to work through it and has done so in college. Will the same thing translate with the bigger talent in the NFL?

OK, cool.

If they were picking in the 20-30 range -- color me intrigued.

But at 7, I am not looking for a player who needs to overcome multiple limitations.

Having said that if this team takes him. I am fine with it. It would mean they weighed all those variables and are cool with taking that chance.

So, while I see your point… this is how I feel about Bailey’s skillset. I think it is tremendously limited.

So this conversation is largely: traits vs. skills

People seem more willing to bet on Bailey’s traits than Bain’s skill.

To a point, I get it. It’s easier to acquire skills than traits. Traits can be improved, but by this point they are largely developed with a finite amount of improvement.

But skills aren’t that far off in that department. Of course, there is always improvement. So Bailey can get better use of his hands, going to be difficult for him to acquire better bend as that is in large part a trait, but it can be developed.

Bain can’t grow longer arms.

Still, I’d opt for the more refined player that still has skill growth.