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

I'm holding out hope we're doing a classic "if you want defense, you have to trade up ahead of us for it" move.

The whole mindset of...ignoring Jayden's competitive drive to win on most plays and when he gets frustrated he'll throw his body on the line to make the offense not suck...is wild.

We're back to just pretending that's not a thing I guess.

There's conventional roster needs. And then making sure the franchise player isn't broken roster needs.

Do we need more corners, receivers, a free safety, interior OL, running back help, edge, etc? Yup! Now factor in, "how do we not get Jayden shellshocked?" That Need lost changes.

We can win Championships without having the 2013 Seahawks or 2015 Broncos or 2025 Seahawks defenses. Because our QB is good enough to win with an above average defense and not just the #1 defense.

I do not think Delane is a better prospect than Tate. We've been talking about Tates measurables, but somehow Delane's don't get a mention. Really bad arm length, and the tape does not show his testing speed. Yet Tate's ability to separate has not made his testing speed an issue in the slightest. And since Tate's presence is that much more desperate for us because of Jayden. Yeah, we need to go offense.

If the scouting evals have Styles as a Love caliber blue chip equivalent, then this changes things a bit, especially if Daronte Jones is saying his defense will make Styles that much more valuable than a conventional LB would be.
 
Imagine what people would be universally calling for if we had a definite “bad OL” in front of Jayden. He’s the franchise! You have to protect the franchise before anything else, give him a chance, support him!

Cool now apply that to WR.
 
KDawg said:
I absolutely feel like the defense has had a ton of resources dedicated to it and we haven’t supported Jayden.

Tunsil was a great get. Conerly? So far looks solid.

Paul kinda stinks and we cut the starting center.

Our receivers stink.

Chig statistically had a nearly identical season to Ertz in 3 more games last year (I agree his upside is higher but let’s pump the brakes). I’m happy with the running back additions… but they’re all on one year deals…

After this season for receivers and RBs the only guys under contract are:

McLaurin (possible cut candidate due to salary)
Jaylin Lane
Luke McCaffrey
Bill

That’s it. From both rooms.

Oh and our OC has a month of position coach experience and his staff doesn’t have much more.

While our defense is far from set, I have more confidence in Daronte and the pieces we’ve already signed to drastically improve the defense. Downs is better than Cross, but Cross is capable. The Flores’ style defense thrives without high end corners (though it would be nice to have one).

The resources are incredibly lopsided right now. We need to support Jayden with something of quality. We haven’t done that. The closest skill position add we added to being a needle mover was Deebo. And we let him walk.
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I agree with a lot of this really. Chig has big shoes to fill, Ertz was Jayden’s go to guy. Why Deebo and Biadasz are not on our roster is a mystery to me. Our OC is a complete unknown. Our best running back was a 7th round pick who has had some fumbles.

But we have invested in Jayden. Massive resources went into the offensive line, so we protected him first. We paid Terry, hopefully he earns it this year.

We drafted guys like LMC, Lane, and Sinnott. A lot depends on if any of those investments pay off this year. I gather you don’t think they will. I believe one of them will, probably Luke if I were betting.

I also have to say I think Dyami has the potential to break out. Really go back and look at what he did in the playoffs with Jayden, they were clicking. We kept the wrong Brown last year, but at least we brought the right one back this year. I get not wanting to count on that and Terry’s health though.

Anyway, I do agree we need a WR, but we need a CB too. Sainristil and Amos are our starters. I like them but which one do you put on Justin Jefferson or CeeDee Lamb? Then we have Amik Robertson for nickle, not terrible, but then what? That cupboard is also bare.

So in the end, I could support taking whoever is the best WR or CB in the draft, which is just as well because we probably end up with Tate or Delane anyway.
 
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Historically...wide receivers don't break out in their 6th year.

Dyami was a starter for Jacksonville, but was bad enough he got benched and they had to trade for somebody...and poof their offense suddenly got better.

Counting on that, or Burks, or whoever else is folly. We essentially have no Z receiver on the roster right now.
 
The craziest draft I can remember. We are literally tied to like 8 plus possibilities and I wouldn't be shocked if any of them happen. Even when the board clears and we get to pick 7, there will be like 3 options and we still don't know who they will pick out of the 3 or trade down.

Again, that last Mcshsy tweet about us going defense really stuck out to me because he sounds like he's quoting someone in the know. That also might eliminate a trade down because the possible blue chip defenders may be gone while WRs will still be there.

All in all, I'm going to stick to what the game plan was from DQ and AP when the offseaaon started and go with Tate but Love will be in play if he's still there
 
Skinfanjon said:
I don’t know what that videos says, but there are two picks that would make me so incredibly angry I cantstandja and its Downs or Bain. And if its in conjunction with passing on Tate there is no telling what objects will be broken in my house.
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He said he thinks most of the others will be gone and we will pick Delane. He said that teams will always overdraft QBs, Tackles, and Corners because they are so hard to find
 
actorguy1 said:
7. Washington Commanders
Miller's pick prediction: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State

I've consistently heard that Styles will be the pick if he's on the board. The Commanders have also done work on the wide receiver class in the event that Styles is gone. But Commanders coach Dan Quinn has reportedly told contacts that Styles is his favorite player in the class, and without a second-round pick, Washington must determine which positions have depth. Wide receiver is one of them, as Chris Brazzell II (Tennessee) could be the team's Round 3 target.

Fowler's intel: Teams I've talked to believe Styles would be a dream Dan Quinn pick, but they also wonder whether the Commanders are leaning offense. Wide receiver Carnell Tate (Ohio State) is a popular name here, and Washington has spent a lot of time with him.
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If Styles is the pick so be it, excellent prospect.

However, I actually hate the notion of Styles being the pick ‘because he’s Quinn’s guy’…..
 
I wouldn't be upset if we went Tate over Styles. Daniels and Blough need someone and I'm in the group that thinks that Aiyuk is far from a sure thing. It may take him a while to get back his sea legs. He may never get them back. Look how Deshawn Watson never became a good QB again after his long time off. I was happier when I thought Aiyuk was going to be a luxury pick up. If he worked out, we won the lottery on a cheapish one-year prove-it gamble. If he didn't work out then we had other answers. Right now, it feels like Aiyuk might be the plan and that feels really risky to me.

I also wouldn't be upset if we went Styles or Delane over Tate just because I think they may be superior talents, but it would be a farsighted move. It'd be a move that looks at what is best for the team two to three years from now. It would also put this season in jeopardy. Yes, defense wins championships, but I don't see this D being one player away from the '85 Bears which means to win we will need offense and defense.

I do think having one player in each unit who is good helps. Terry is still a good receiver. Bill is a good back with scary speed. Chig is a good tight end. Tunsil is an excellent left tackle. Jayden (going off his rookie year) is an electric QB. So maybe the offense's pantry isn't completely empty, but it needs help. Unless unexpected help arrives from within it needs a lot of help.
 
I don't know how much it matters on this forum, but one thing I like to remember on draft day is that no matter how disappointed I am that for the player picked this is the fulfillment of their dream so I will cheer and root for the pick. I will not toss things or say awful things in public where word might get to them. I don't know how many if any football players read message boards anymore so this might be a safeplace to vent. The chat certainly is a safe place to vent, but I hope we are positive on social media. Let's not rain on the pick's parade no matter who they are.

Also, I hope we land one of the people we really, really want because we fans deserve to be happy today too.
 
The exciting thing about this draft is the uncertainty. Even better, unless we trade down I'm not sure we can make a bad pick.

If it's Downs, we have a captain for the secondary.
If it's Styles, we have a green dot player who may finally be able to solve our problem with mobile QBs, running backs in the flat, and tight ends.
If it's Tate, we get a very solid WR and the offense may not be DOA.
If it's Delane, we get a corner who allowed zero catches and checks a lot of boxes.
If it's Bailey, we get an edge who has the potential to terrorize QBs like no one we've seen on this team for a long time.
If it's Bain, we get a powerful and productive hustler.
If it's Love, we get the most talented offensive player in the draft.

There's really no bad option for us here.
 
burgold said:
True, but I don't think they're in play. I hope not anyway.
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I think there is a difference in drafting a bad player versus not great for the franchise.

There are only a couple of players that I cringe at the idea of at 7.

There’s more than a few I cringe at as it pertains to the franchise.

That said, picking a player that isn’t the best for the franchise isn’t their fault, to your earlier point. And this is a stance I’ve taken for a long time. I can dislike a move without taking it out on the player. These are young men getting a chance and they deserve support.
 
DWinzit said:
I know this is not realisttice but if you had to choose between Reese and Bailey, who are you taking?
I am taking Bailey.
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Neither. But if I had to? Reese.
 
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