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

The medicals were a huge part why we took Forbes instead of Gonzalez years ago. So medicals mean alot.

Oh? I don't recall hearing that. I just thought they loved all those Pick 6 highlights of Forbes and didn't bother watching other tape.

As a slight aside...how can medical staff say Forbes is going to withstand NFL punishment better than other prospects when he's built like a 15 year old? Hopefully we've got different medical staff now.
 
Looking at Logan Paulsen's Big Board, for WR he's got (striking out guys with too much injury/mental risk):

12. Carnell Tate
15. Omar Cooper
18. Makai Lemon
24. Jordyn Tyson (but says if medicals are cleared he'll go Top 10)
28. Denzel Boston
33. KC Concepcion
47. Germie Bernard
52. Chris Brazzell
55. De'Zhuan Stribling
63. Ted Hurst
65. Elijah Sarratt
71. Chris Bell
78. Antonio Williams
83. Malachi Fields
88. Zachariah Branch
95. Bryce Lance
98. Brenan Thompson

  • Surprised but not upset that Cooper is his second receiver.
  • If this is how the draft plays out, and Sarratt/Hurst go by 65. You've gotta be sweating that Williams/Fields make it there.
  • Didn't Antonio Williams show up for a Top 30 visit with the team? I must be misremembering because I can't find that again.

For me:

And I'll start with its not consensus that Tyson > Tate if Tyson is healthy. That's a 50-50 thing. The scouts that McGinn interviewed were mixed on Tyson as a player regardless of injuries and thought Tate was better. Unless he changed his take, Steve Smith thought Tate was the better player, some others feel that way, too. So for this I am factoring Tyson is 100% healthy. I watched a lot of these receivers, I'll do it Brugler style by ranking them based on what round grade the player is:

1. Carnell Tate -- mid-late first -- comp Devonta Smith
2. Jordyn Tyson -- mid-late first -- comp poor man's Stefan Diggs
3. Omar Cooper -- late first -- comp Luther Burden
4. Makai Lemon -- late first -- comp poor man's St. Brown
5. Denzel Boston -- late first-early 2nd -- comp poor man's Drake London
6. KC Concepcion -- late first-early 2nd -- maybe the most explosive WR in this draft
7. Germie Bernard -- 2nd round -- does everything well, nothing great but very steady
8. Anotinio Williams -- 2nd round -- a rich man's Jamison Crowder
9. Elijah Sarratt -- 2nd-3rd round -- not sexy, not the best seperator, but consistently gets the job done
10. De-Zhaun Stribiling -- 2nd-3rd round round. Explosive, great tools. Poor man's Concepcion, not as explosive but more physical
11. Ted Hurst -- 2nd-3rd round -- don't have enough footage to go deep on him but like his hands-movement skills
12. Chris Brazzell -- 2nd-3rd round -- poor man's Alec Pierce
13. Skyler Bell -- 3rd round fun YAC player, good hands
14. Deion Burks -- 3rd round -- underratted, sort of a quicker but not as smooth route runner as Antonio Williams
15. Ja'Kobi Lane 3rd-4th -- poor man's Carnell Tate, some personality issues
16. Malachi Fields 3rd-4th. Overrated as a contested catcher, but underrated hands, deep threat. Taller Noah Brown.
17. Zacriah Branch 3rd-4th. Overrated by Kiper and McShay IMO. Rich man's Jayiln Lane.
16. Brenan Thompson -- 4th. Aldrick Robinson?
17. Bryce Lance -- 4th. Physical freak but very raw and older prospect.
18. Kendrick Law -- 5th-6th -- great YAC player, physical and quick with the ball in his hands. Similar idea to Branch
19. Cyrus Allen --5th-6th -- probably drops further than this. Similar idea to Antonio Williams
20. Malik Benson 6th -- potential as a deep threat, which he was better with YAC especially with his speed

Raw 6th-7th-UDFA -- tough to rank them against each other

Reggie Virgil -- poor man's Carnell Tate
Jason Cameron -- physical posession WR
Caleb Dougas -- poor man's Stribiling
Eric Rivers -- poor man's Santana Moss, can track the deep ball and run
Eric McAllister -- big dude who is physical and a deep threat sort of a faster Malcahi Fields but a raw route runner
 
6'2 230 went from WR to RB. Ran a 4.5 flat
For those of you who don't click to read the full tweet it says, " A player that Washington has graded in a tier “much, much higher” than a majority of clubs".



 
Last edited:
These medicals could just be a purposeful misdirect in hopes a certain player falls to a certain spot. Its a shady business this tine of year.
 
Again…I have seen no ‘conflicting’ reports regarding Caleb Downs medicals. I have seen one tweet from DaftonDraft that reported issues. One tweet that was not confirmed by any legitimate reporter. One tweet that IIRC was deleted.
 
Again…I have seen no ‘conflicting’ reports regarding Caleb Downs medicals. I have seen one tweet from DaftonDraft that reported issues. One tweet that was not confirmed by any legitimate reporter. One tweet that IIRC was deleted.

COLUMBUS — It’s highly unlikely that Caleb Downs slides in next month’s 2026 NFL Draft. A report that surfaced after the NFL Scouting Combine suggested the Ohio State safety has some underlying physical issues made some wonder, however.

Downs pushed back against the rumor that he has “a potentially degenerative ACL” on Wednesday after the Buckeyes’ pro day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

“Nothing,” Downs told Steelers Now of what he had to say in response. “They already answered it. Pat McAfee put out a statement about it. That’s not what my medical says, so it is what it is. I don’t really know who gave him that information, whoever that dude is. But it is what it is. I’m just gonna continue to do me. I can’t control what people say.”


 
Oh? I don't recall hearing that. I just thought they loved all those Pick 6 highlights of Forbes and didn't bother watching other tape.

As a slight aside...how can medical staff say Forbes is going to withstand NFL punishment better than other prospects when he's built like a 15 year old? Hopefully we've got different medical staff now.
Yeah Gonzalez had something wrong with his foot which they though could be a long term problem. I think it was like earlier on arthritis or something.They made a big deal about it at the time. A couple of teams passed on him because of it.

I agree alot of teams just start rumors but if there any kind of past problem with injury there probably some truth. I dont think it is unreasonable to beleave that Tyson and McCoy may have some furture injury problems. McCoy will probably
drop like Johnson from Michigan last season. Cardinals got him in second rd because of injury concerns.

They probably like Forbes more but the report caused Gonzalez to drop. The Forbes pick was terrible and worked out terribly.
 
Last edited:
ssentiallysports.com/nfl-active-news-sources-giants-heavily-weighing-wr-with-ten-pick-amid-malik-nabers-injury-concerns-david-bailey-a-game-changer-for-robert-saleh/


1) Arizona Cardinals/pick No. 3: The Cardinals, specifically general manager Monti Ossenfort, want David Bailey. If he’s not available, Arizona will work hard to move the pick. They could potentially move the selection before the draft even begins. If Bailey is unavailable and they can’t move the pick, I’m told it’s unlikely they select Arvell Reese, as they view him as a hybrid defender versus a pure edge rusher, and the Cardinals have bombed on hybrid selections in the past.
 
ssentiallysports.com/nfl-active-news-sources-giants-heavily-weighing-wr-with-ten-pick-amid-malik-nabers-injury-concerns-david-bailey-a-game-changer-for-robert-saleh/


1) Arizona Cardinals/pick No. 3: The Cardinals, specifically general manager Monti Ossenfort, want David Bailey. If he’s not available, Arizona will work hard to move the pick. They could potentially move the selection before the draft even begins. If Bailey is unavailable and they can’t move the pick, I’m told it’s unlikely they select Arvell Reese, as they view him as a hybrid defender versus a pure edge rusher, and the Cardinals have bombed on hybrid selections in the past.
Tennessee would probably take Reece over Love?

No one has really said anything about a possibility for Reece to fall to us?
 
Love to the gmen would be tough to watch next ten years.

Would the gmen take Reece over Styles. I dont think anyone though its possible we end up with Reece but if tenn takes love, gmen go Styles/Downs, unless clevland trades out we get him. I still think jets take Reece. Reece would fit are team really well.
 
Maybe. don't know. Looks like the idea that the Jets are taking Bailey is gaining steam again.

My one fear is Love drops into the Giants laps.
I actually hope he does, because I don’t believe the Giants will take him. I think it’s been a smokescreen all along. Very unlikely the Jets or Cardinals do either. It’s either Tennessee or us. Just my guess though.

One things for sure… If it does fall that way, we will all be sweating bullets when the Giants stride up to the podium to make their pick!
 
That's the same doc that I posted yesterday saying that McCoy will miss the season if he gets surgery. Skinfanjon basically said that he's the most non credible quack out there

But that report is actually widespread.



There is a possibility that he is going to slip in this draft because of the knee that kept him out last season. Let’s talk about what this is and what it is not. It’s not the ACL that he had reconstructed,” Pelissero said on “Path to the Draft.”

“My understanding is the ACL itself is fine, all the scans look good. The concern is about a bone plug that was used to repair a cartilage defect in his knee. Some of the doctors who have seen his scans are concerned tha the will need another surgery to replace that bone plug, which would be an extensive recovery,” Pelissero explained.

There are several sources talking about this bone plug concern.
 
For me:

And I'll start with its not consensus that Tyson > Tate if Tyson is healthy. That's a 50-50 thing. The scouts that McGinn interviewed were mixed on Tyson as a player regardless of injuries and thought Tate was better. Unless he changed his take, Steve Smith thought Tate was the better player, some others feel that way, too. So for this I am factoring Tyson is 100% healthy. I watched a lot of these receivers, I'll do it Brugler style by ranking them based on what round grade the player is:

1. Carnell Tate -- mid-late first -- comp Devonta Smith
2. Jordyn Tyson -- mid-late first -- comp poor man's Stefan Diggs
3. Omar Cooper -- late first -- comp Luther Burden
4. Makai Lemon -- late first -- comp poor man's St. Brown
5. Denzel Boston -- late first-early 2nd -- comp poor man's Drake London
6. KC Concepcion -- late first-early 2nd -- maybe the most explosive WR in this draft
7. Germie Bernard -- 2nd round -- does everything well, nothing great but very steady
8. Anotinio Williams -- 2nd round -- a rich man's Jamison Crowder
9. Elijah Sarratt -- 2nd-3rd round -- not sexy, not the best seperator, but consistently gets the job done
10. De-Zhaun Stribiling -- 2nd-3rd round round. Explosive, great tools. Poor man's Concepcion, not as explosive but more physical
11. Ted Hurst -- 2nd-3rd round -- don't have enough footage to go deep on him but like his hands-movement skills
12. Chris Brazzell -- 2nd-3rd round -- poor man's Alec Pierce
13. Skyler Bell -- 3rd round fun YAC player, good hands
14. Deion Burks -- 3rd round -- underratted, sort of a quicker but not as smooth route runner as Antonio Williams
15. Ja'Kobi Lane 3rd-4th -- poor man's Carnell Tate, some personality issues
16. Malachi Fields 3rd-4th. Overrated as a contested catcher, but underrated hands, deep threat. Taller Noah Brown.
17. Zacriah Branch 3rd-4th. Overrated by Kiper and McShay IMO. Rich man's Jayiln Lane.
16. Brenan Thompson -- 4th. Aldrick Robinson?
17. Bryce Lance -- 4th. Physical freak but very raw and older prospect.
18. Kendrick Law -- 5th-6th -- great YAC player, physical and quick with the ball in his hands. Similar idea to Branch
19. Cyrus Allen --5th-6th -- probably drops further than this. Similar idea to Antonio Williams
20. Malik Benson 6th -- potential as a deep threat, which he was better with YAC especially with his speed

Raw 6th-7th-UDFA -- tough to rank them against each other

Reggie Virgil -- poor man's Carnell Tate
Jason Cameron -- physical posession WR
Caleb Dougas -- poor man's Stribiling
Eric Rivers -- poor man's Santana Moss, can track the deep ball and run
Eric McAllister -- big dude who is physical and a deep threat sort of a faster Malcahi Fields but a raw route runner
Oddly with your list, it feels like there is a drop off after anyone with a 1st round mention, then another drop off after anyone not having a 2nd round mention. We really want one of the players with a 2nd round mention if we don't go WR at 7.

The rest of the guys are not exciting unless they fall into the 6th and 7th rounds including some of those guys you list at the bottom like Cameron and Rivers

I wish Chris Bell was healthy because he is one of my favs.

I like Cameron in the 6th
 
Also regarding receivers, A guy that is kind of a TE/WR tweener is Eli Stowers. I know he doesn't get mentioned with them but he wont hold up in-line. He is a big WR and pretty good at 6'4" 240 real good hands and runs well at 4.51. He probably goes in the second round
 
Keim on BMitch & Finlay-

If Reese or Bailey falls- is it likely? No. Is it a scenario? Yes
Sonny Styles- would make sense
Jeremiyah Love- makes sense
Carnell Tate- makes sense
Mansoor Delane- makes a lot of sense
Caleb Downs- makes sense

Is that a Keim tell skinsinparadise?
 
Is that a Keim tell @skinsinparadise?
Can we stop this skinsinparadise is Keim non-sense? Seriously...

He's clearly been indoctrinated by his Giants fans in-laws as a sleeper agent to undermine confidence in a subtle ploy to make tickets more available for Giants fans. Duh.
 
The only definitive that I can see is if Styles is there, he will be the pick.

Otherwise, crap shoot.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 3, Members: 0, Guests: 3)

Help Users

You haven't joined any rooms.

    You haven't joined any rooms.
    Top