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

[washington football]

Arizona will probably be picking 1st next season. They need oline for next season . Az is trading out.

 

[Commander Wraith]

No one's asking me, but it'd be dumb for them to take Love. They aren't going to be good, but Love will be good enough to keep them winning at least 5 games.... so they'll be perpetually below average.

I think/assume they’d much prefer to trade back… for multiple reasons. And I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if the reports of them taking Love are in part to entice someone to move up. If forced to stay put though, I can’t blame them for taking the sure fire prospect over one with warts. To your point, not ideal from a team building standpoint, but then again, a lot can change over the next 5 years of his rookie deal (namely, them landing a qb).

 

[Discobob]

I think/assume they’d much prefer to trade back… for multiple reasons. And I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if the reports of them taking Love are in part to entice someone to move up. If forced to stay put though, I can’t blame them for taking the sure fire prospect over one with warts. To your point, not ideal from a team building standpoint, but then again, a lot can change over the next 5 years of his rookie deal (namely, them landing a qb).

I understand your thoughts... I'd just compare this to the Bijan situation... he's a stud, but since they've drafted him:

7-10
8-9
8-9

By the time they are actually good enough to win anything, he's gonna become the highest paid RB in the league. I just don't think it really ever makes sense to draft an RB super high unless you have enough other pieces to work with. We have the parts to have a very good offense (almost 100% due to JD5), so you could argue that he'd make sense here as a support to our best player.

 

[Kalu44]

I think/assume they’d much prefer to trade back… for multiple reasons. And I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if the reports of them taking Love are in part to entice someone to move up. If forced to stay put though, I can’t blame them for taking the sure fire prospect over one with warts. To your point, not ideal from a team building standpoint, but then again, a lot can change over the next 5 years of his rookie deal (namely, them landing a qb).

Love would at least sell some tickets in Az this year, given their lack of QB. A decent running game would also help their rookie QB (whether this year or next). I still don’t think you take RB #3, as the positional value is just not there.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I would hope that if we go D with #7 (Styles/Downs/Delane) that we are blowing up JJs phone. Choosing to spend #7 on defense should IMO necessitate an overpay at WR. It should be calculated into the cost

I think it's going to depend on the whole draft, not just the first round.

I've said before, I think the entire league just put Jennings on hold because he over valued himself, and literally nobody wanted to pay his price. And then after a while, all teams who had interest just said, "let's revisit this after the draft."

So, after Sunday, chances are his list of possible landing spots will decrease because some of the teams will have solved their needs through other means.

The question is, how long is he willing to wait it out? If he doesn't get his price, is he willing to wait until there's an injury in training camp? Take it into the season to see who's desperate? Would he risk sitting out a year? How far would he be willing to press his leverage? We don't know that.

I think a slight overpayment for Jennings would make some sense. But you can't go completely wild because you upset the balance of the WR room contracts and possibly piss off Terry, and risk him throwing another toddler style tantrum.

I also think depending what they do, bringing Deebo back at a minimum on a one year deal as just another proven NFL starting WR makes a lot of sense. Figure out how to use him, but he's an NFL starting caliber WR, and we currently only have one of those under contract, so you need another.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

They definitely need a QB but like the Jets, you can't pick Ty at 2 or 3. Just wait until next season for that if you can't move up from the 2nd round to get Ty. I think they really want to trade their pick but if they can't, I do think that Love is very much in play

It's very possible, but I think it would be somewhat disasterous long term for them. They should pick the best DL or OL player they can get, build from the trenches, then find the QB, then get the RB.

We have the QB, a solid OL, and can afford to spend a pick on a RB.

They should go trenches first since they are absolutely in the middle of a rebuild since they let whatshisname go.

 

[RedWolf]

If Bain goes to the NFCE? I'm going to absolutely hate it, especially if he goes to the Cowboys

 

[Discobob]

If Bain goes to the NFCE? I'm going to absolutely hate it, especially if he goes to the Cowboys

Bain feels like a guy who's gonna have a Daron Payne like career. That doesn't scare me.

Now if you're a Miami fan, I can understand not wanting to have to root against him.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

You’ve been vocal about not trading down, and I get it, particularly in a vacuum. If we presume the reports that they have Delane over Tate are accurate, my question becomes - does this include weighting (what I think should be) the number one priority for our franchise - supporting Daniels.

Of course there’s so much potential nuance to the debate (Delane vs Tate). Some of which I address below, but also - how different are their grades on these 2? Are they in the same tier or different tiers? Who do they feel is more scheme agnostic considering this staff might be gone next year? I posted earlier about how many guys are either on 1 year deals or are FAs next year, so there’s also factoring in adding picks to (hopefully) alleviate those potential departures. And so much more.

Point being, I don’t see this debate as being as black and white as “which player do we have rated higher?”. Now, if they’ve got Delane rated higher after factoring in all of those nuances, especially if he’s a tier above Tate, then yeah, absolutely take Delane.

I don't know how trading down plays into the supporting Daniels idea. And I agree, that should be a priority for the team. That said, having a defense that can actually play also supports Daniels, because he doesn't have to feel like they have to score 40 points every week to be competitive, that's good too. There are multiple ways to slice this onion.

I have been vocal about 2 things, neither of which might end up being true:

1. I would stick and pick the player with the highest potential of becoming an all-pro player at 7. If that's Delane, then pick Delane. If Love is there, pick Love. If it's Styles, pick Styles. Whoever you think has the best chance of becoming an All Pro level player, pick them.

There are two exceptions I can think of: The first exception, if you think there are 3 players that have that ceiling and ability, and you could trade down 2 spots and still get one, and you REALLY have no preference (either position, player or person), then fine, you can trade down 2 spots. I don't think that's the situation they're going to be in. And I really can't believe they wouldn't have SOME preference. But you could make an argument they would be in that situation.

The other exception is they don't think ANY of the guys they could pick would turn into that type of player. Which I personally don't believe will be the case. But if you were to tell me the only 3 players they believe can be All Pro level talents are (for example) Love, Styles and Delane, and they're all gone, then sure, you can look at a trade down.

2. I want an offensive weapon at 7. Badly. But there is a caveat: I do not want them to jump over a better defensive player for an offensive weapon. In my ideal world, they get Love, or Tate if he's the best player on their board at 7. However, if they think (for example) Delane is going to be a better CB than Tate is a WR, and Delane has the potential to be a Pro Bowl/All Pro level talent, and Tate does not, then you pick Delane and start looking at weapons at 71 and calling WR FA's.

I do not want them to skip a player on their board because they need a WR, and (to extend the example) have Delane turn into Deion Sanders, and we passed on him for a very good but not that special WR because we needed a WR.

Now, it's entirely possible they will pick a defensive guy at 7, and it's possible (though less likely) they will trade down.

So I'm not entirely sure how the "help Daniels" and "trade down" are related. Would I trade down and pick a lesser player at a position of need vs. picking a better player at a position of less need? Absolutely freaking not. But that's me. You build the team for the long haul, and you need top-end players. Go get the best one you can.

 

[clskinsfan]

Sorry wrong thread

 

[Dlts20]

It's crazy that each pick in the first round only gets 8min this year. I grew up on it being 15min and taking forever so to see that time being nearly cut in half is insane. I was happy when they moved it to 10min but this is even better.

Your front office has to be on point though, especially when it comes to trades. Things pretty much have to be planned before it's even your turn. We will know who our pick is within an hour of it starting which is great

 

[clskinsfan]

It's crazy that each pick in the first round only gets 8min this year. I grew up on it being 15min and taking forever so to see that time being nearly cut in half is insane. I was happy when they moved it to 10min but this is even better.

Your front office has to be on point though, especially when it comes to trades. Things pretty much have to be planned before it's even your turn. We will know who our pick is within an hour of it starting which is great

Yeah. We used to do a beer per pick for the top ten. Everyone was hammered then. Not gonna be doing that anymore. No one would still be awake.

 

[Dlts20]

Sorry wrong thread

Sucks and we need to find someone with a big leg. With the new kickoff rules on spots the last few years, combined with the massive improvement in leg range. Teams like Dallas can make one 20 yard completion and be in FG range

 

[clskinsfan]

Sucks and we need to find someone with a big leg. With the new kickoff rules on spots the last few years, combined with the massive improvement in leg range. Teams like Dallas can make one 20 yard completion and be in FG range

Yeah. I moved that post over to the FA thread. But Aubrey is worth every penny Dallas just paid him. He is a legit weapon in the modern game.

 

[DogofWar1]

The nightmare scenario.

 

[moondog]

If it’s BPA and we are fortunate enough to have Love drop to us I feel he’s gotta be the pick.

Focusing on a blend of BPA, need and positional value (and if Love isn’t there) I feel like Delane should be the pick and the best WR available at 71.

I love Amos. He missed half the season. Witherspoon is solid but ALWAYS hurt. You’re one fairly likely injury away from a very thing CB group.

Delane not only adds to a position of need but turns our CB room into a strength with solid depth. And it’s no secret there’s going to be some good value receivers around 71 that we also need.

 

[burgold]

The nightmare scenario.

I don't see it. In that nightmare scenario we draft Delane or Downs if we can't trade down.

 

[clskinsfan]

The nightmare scenario.

I prefer Tyson over Tate and Lemon without the medical stuff. But this team has been linked to Lemon quite a bit. Could be smoke. Or could be legit.

 

[skinsinparadise]

If it’s BPA and we are fortunate enough to have Love drop to us I feel he’s gotta be the pick.

Focusing on a blend of BPA, need and positional value (and if Love isn’t there) I feel like Delane should be the pick and the best WR available at 71.

I love Amos. He missed half the season. Witherspoon is solid but ALWAYS hurt. You’re one fairly likely injury away from a very thing CB group.

Delane not only adds to a position of need but turns our CB room into a strength with solid depth. And it’s no secret there’s going to be some good value receivers around 71 that we also need.

I waffle on Delane over Tate. But your point its spot IMO as to logic.

Specifically to Delane. Arguaby if they draft him there isn't a flagrant defensive weakness.

Some would say FS still is, and agree in a vaccum. But if Daronte runs the Flores scheme, not much post safety play, a lot of split safety play so they might be able to deal with what they have. Corner is one injury away from being a disaster.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I like Klatt but why the heck would the Giants take Bailey? that would be like Washington going for an OT at 7.