The 2026 Draft Thread - Day 2

[DWinzit]

But I think it was a damned good pick. He makes us better. Immediate upgrade over the other slots.

Yes it does sound like he is an upgrade if he can contribute right away. The key is the route running ability. If Jayden can rely on him to be where he is supposed to be, they should get on the same page, entrust each other and work well together. It doesn't sound like Jayden had that trust last year with the receivers.

Lane will need to learn to work the outside or will be working elsewhere. I am not sure what the plan would be with Luke

 

[burgold]

Maybe a cross of St. Brown and Crowder? Think of him as Crowder if Crowder was faster, had better hands and was better blocker and better with YAC.

That'd be a hell of a steal in the third if Williams becomes that.

 

[skinsinparadise]

That'd be a hell of a steal in the third if Williams becomes that.

I'd be very surprised if he's at least not Crowder level good.

Part of the reason why I kept stressing Bernard and A. Williams if they don't take one in the first was:

A. It's so hard to see bust. He should be at least solid.

B. Feels like a perfect match to Jayden. He needs precise route runners who can seperate

C. The other guys Peters drafted, McCaffrey and Lane were projects. So many other guys in this range IMO are projects. Antonio to me doesn't feel like a project.

I was digging and posting about him before I noticed McShay was on the bandwagon but in one of his podcast, he goes this dude will go to the NFL and catch 80 balls right away. Maybe hyperbole on his end but I know what he means, this guy looks NFL ready.

 

[Higskin]

I'd be very surprised if he's at least not Crowder.

Part of the reason why I kept stressing Bernard and A. Williams if they don't take one in the first was:

A. It's so hard to see bust. He should be at least solid.

B. Feels like a perfect match to Jayden. He needs precise route runners who can seperate

C. The other guys Peters drafted, McCaffrey and Lane were projects. So many other guys in this range IMO are projects. Antonio to me doesn't feel like a project.

I was digging and posting about him before I noticed McShay was on the bandwagon but in one of his podcast, he goes this dude wioll go to the NFL and catch 80 balls right away. Maybe hyperbole on his end but I know what he means, this guy looks NFL ready.

Poking around some of the reaction video's and one comparison name that's coming up is JSN. Maybe it's the size, quickness and journey from slot that makes people say that but would be a huge win if he could develop to JSN like.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Poking around some of the reaction video's and one comparison name that's coming up is JSN. Maybe it's the size, quickness and journey from slot that makes people say that but would be a huge win if he could develop to JSN like.

I think the key is watch his 2024 games. He was good in 2025 but played hurt. JSN is a high bar to match. But I do think this dude's floor is very high.

 

[Higskin]

I think the key is watch his 2024 games. He was good in 2025 but played hurt. JSN is a high bar to match. But I do think this dude's floor is very high.

Logan and others talked about what a mess that 2025 offense was as well.

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

There aren’t a lot of LSU guys I wanted from this draft. Mansoor and Haulcy were it. Some of you draft “gurus” are insufferable.

As primarily a bystander reading through these threads, it’s not ‘them’ that’s insufferable.

It’s sort of your thing to crash out over LSU guys. It’s one thing to prefer x player, but you get big mad.

 

[Anselmheifer]

SIP, how would you compare Antonio Williams to Makai Lemon. It seems like we got a guy that is a better separator, faster, but that didn’t produce at as high a volume and probably isn’t the same contested catch/YAC guy. With the odd vibes that Lemon exudes, I’d love it our 3rd round WR out produced the Eagles 1st rounder.

 

[KDawg]

I watched some more full games of Williams. A couple from '25 and a couple from '24.

First off, I'm convinced he owed Klubnik money. It looks like Klubnik was trying to get Williams new teeth at times. Though Klubnik was also running for his life

TThoughts:

-Williams get open

-I don't think he's a great fit on the outside, but I do think using him wide with slot rules/motions/route packages can absolutely work. So I'm not against him at Z, but I don't want him as a traditional Z. Has to be used like Atwell. But I think he is a slot receiver and it shouldn't be overthought or toyed with.

-When he catches the ball without having to contort his body, he is a YAC machine. But a lot of catches he had to reach back for/catch in significant areas of traffic. So his YAC was more limited than it would have been.

-Runs a varied and diverse route tree.

-Runs really good routes

-High point receiver.

-Not afraid of working in the middle of the field.

-Pretty good at the deep ball, but wasn't asked to do that often.

-People think Wesco is a better receiver, but Clemson preferred Williams statistically. To be fair to Wesco, I haven't studied him or watched him near enough to actually say. But at worst Williams was WR2 on Clemson in 2025. But Wesco missed 5 games. Williams 3. But in 2024, Williams was 100% the top guy on the team. Led the team in receptions and yards and TD by a significant margin.

-Clemson used him a lot on RPO hitches

-He looks much smaller than he is.

-I don't think he's a great blocker.

-Has some concentration drops and sometimes when a guy is barreling down on a quick hitter he doesn't get the ball secured fast enough and it gets jarred loose.

-Could use some work on his release package off the LoS. He dances too much, in my opinion. But, like Smith said, maybe Blough likes that? It does create space at times so it may be a positive long run.

-I've heard Santana Moss comparisons in Commander circles - I don't see Moss. I see Ladd McConkey a little bit. I see Jamison Crowder a little bit. I don't see Santana.

-Don't think he's a contested catch guy, but has strong enough hands that at times can pull one in in traffic. His super power is not being in traffic to find out, though.

Final Thoughts:

-I think he's going to have some concentration drops and struggle at times against NFL competition in the slot. But he is a significant upgrade to our slot position, a day one starter, immediate contributor, and I think he will continue to develop and be a really solid addition to our receiving corps. He is not a project like Lane and McCaffrey. He is ready to go right now. Just because he has things to work on does not mean he cannot be a high end contributor. I do worry some about durability, but his injury history is mostly missed games from 2023. He missed the first 2 in 2025 and played through injury, so that toughness is a big time positive. I wouldn't be surprised if he, at worst, is a 50/500/3 slot receiver for us in year one if he is healthy. I could see higher, but I don't want to set the bar too high for the young man.

Good pick. He makes us better.

 

[skinsinparadise]

SIP, how would you compare Antonio Williams to Makai Lemon. It seems like we got a guy that is a better separator, faster, but that didn’t produce at as high a volume and probably isn’t the same contested catch/YAC guy. With the odd vibes that Lemon exudes, I’d love it our 3rd round WR out produced the Eagles 1st rounder.

I don't think its crazy that he can out do Makai Lemon, especially if you compare the heallthier 2024 version to him.

He was Clemson's top producer in 2024. In 2025, he missed some games, played banged up and as #2 in production.

I think Antonio is the smoother-crisper route runner. Better athlete -- faster and quicker. Better releases and I think projecting forward better at beating press-man.

Makai I like better with YAC, maybe slightly better hands, and their is a baller aspect to him game that's hard to quantify that I don't think Antonio matches. He's more physical.

Makai aside from his weird pressers, from what I read didn't shine in his interviews either. Antonio supposedly A plus on that front, smarts, etc.

 

[Canuck]

I know nothing about Williams, but seems like we drafted a high floor player that should help in 2026.

Guys like Hurst have a much higher celing, but what will he do next yr.? As we know, the coaching staff and to a slightly lesser extent, the FO are on the hot seat and need to win next yr.

 

[Canadian Hog]

With your QBs, you want smarts and accuracy. Jayden had those coming out of college, allowing for a seamless transition to the pros. With WRs, route running and separation are excellent traits to possess to give you a leg up entering the NFL. I think these two will be a match made in heaven with the compatible traits they have at their respective positions. Really excited for the possibilities.

 

[Conn]

Yes it does sound like he is an upgrade if he can contribute right away. The key is the route running ability. If Jayden can rely on him to be where he is supposed to be, they should get on the same page, entrust each other and work well together. It doesn't sound like Jayden had that trust last year with the receivers.

Lane will need to learn to work the outside or will be working elsewhere. I am not sure what the plan would be with Luke

Luke I think is more likely to be able to play outside. He has a path to relevance there IF he’s going to develop at all. And Lane as stud punt returner/backup slot/4-wide body isn’t the worst outcome for a 4th round WR pick even if it’s not an ideal outcome (he was not a 3rd rounder as people were saying last night, but still not ideal)

 

[Iraolaball]

Off in Dutch-America (western Michigan) for a family function, and got to the tavern just in time to see us pick Antonio. Love it! As someone who has watched every Clemson game for the past 10-12 years, as my daughter is a ‘18 alum, this guy carried this year’s team on his back.

Quick, can separate, good after the catch, and tough. He, with some help from Randall, kept Klubnik from tanking this team early. Think he and Chig will be solid outlet guys for JD on his second or third read.

I could still see another WR taken, especially if Lance drops to our 5th round pick.

 

[Anselmheifer]

Luke I think is more likely to be able to play outside. He has a path to relevance there IF he’s going to develop at all. And Lane as stud punt returner/backup slot/4-wide body isn’t the worst outcome for a 4th round WR pick even if it’s not an ideal outcome (he was not a 3rd rounder as people were saying last night, but still not ideal)

I’d honestly prefer Lane to Luke if we are looking at special teams value. Lane had 2 TD’s as a rookie? And I think it’s harder to find a great punt returner. Deebo also looked great as a kick returner, and didn’t Ekeler also in the prior year?

 

[burgold]

Though they're opposite body types, I feel Lane is best suited for the Deebo role. Give him underneath stuff in space, screens, and quick hitters where he can accelerate through the catch and go. I might be wrong about this (didn't chart it) but I think almost all of his drops came on deep balls. We have a number of odd balls on this roster. Sainristil, because of his size, we keep thinking should be best at nickel. He's an outside guy. Coleman, everyone keeps wanting to be a guard, but he's a tackle and a fine one, and I think Lane because he's speedy people want him to be Desean Jackson when I think he's best at what I described above.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Off in Dutch-America (western Michigan) for a family function, and got to the tavern just in time to see us pick Antonio. Love it! As someone who has watched every Clemson game for the past 10-12 years, as my daughter is a ‘18 alum, this guy carried this year’s team on his back.

Quick, can separate, good after the catch, and tough. He, with some help from Randall, kept Klubnik from tanking this team early. Think he and Chig will be solid outlet guys for JD on his second or third read.

I could still see another WR taken, especially if Lance drops to our 5th round pick.

My grandparents came from Holland to Michigan, aunt lives in Holland, MI now. Love that area.

And I do like this pick. I see him having a big impact from the start. Between this and Chig I see the passing game improvements already without any FA additions, which are sure to come. If, and this is a big if, they sign Aiyuk and he is anything like he has been the past the receiving options just improved by a good bit.

 

[clskinsfan]

I'd love Terry to be the full time Z. Can move him around real easy from there. Or F, whatever the hell they are calling the flanker in the NFL schemes these days.

We still need an X - likely Burks right now.

And I think they are higher on Burks than many of us think they are. He has all of the tools. And looked like he was starting to put it together last year.

I still think they know they are getting Aiyuk. Him and JD talk constantly apparently. And you know JD is passing along those conversations to Peters/Quinn.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Not a Washington fan, impartial observer

This is Thor Nystrom level analysis though.

“These folks did great because the are picking guys who I like! Clearly my board is right and I’m going to grade teams higher who take players I have rated higher at lower slots, and say teams who do the opposite suck and reached for picks.

I have no idea who this guy is or if he’s right but it’s the exact type of schlock I can’t stand.

 

[Chris]

This is Thor Nystrom level analysis though.

“These folks did great because the are picking guys who I like! Clearly my board is right and I’m going to grade teams higher who take players I have rated higher at lower slots, and say teams who do the opposite suck and reached for picks.

I have no idea who this guy is or if he’s right but it’s the exact type of schlock I can’t stand.

Yet you read it, commented on it, and posted it here. 🤷🏻‍♂️