2026 NFL Draft Impressions / Changes

[DWinzit]

Keim has heavily hinted they thought Biadaz struggled with calling projections and they wanted a more vocal leader at that spot.

Yes I read or heard that a few times. To me Gulbin odd I that while he was a three year starter, only one was at C. While he exhibited leadership qualities a wonder how vocal he will be able to be with the line calls. He is a good based bruiser which I really like

 

[skinsinparadise]

Yes I read or heard that a few times. To me Gulbin odd I that while he was a three year starter, only one was at C. While he exhibited leadership qualities a wonder how vocal he will be able to be with the line calls. He is a good based bruiser which I really like

Gulbin -- feels like a gap, power style center. And Kaytron Allen also feels like a gap instead of zone style runner. He had the best gap PFF grade in this group -- 90 plus grade.

So lol maybe there will be some duo, power running in the mix. I guess not team is pure zone or pure gap.

 

[KDawg]

Yes I read or heard that a few times. To me Gulbin odd I that while he was a three year starter, only one was at C. While he exhibited leadership qualities a wonder how vocal he will be able to be with the line calls. He is a good based bruiser which I really like

Re: Biadasz - it’s possible that was the issue. I’ve read it too.

However, that doesn’t quite make it clear why we released him instead of keeping him as depth for the time being. I’m assuming they tried to trade him, so okay there.

But he also found work real quick. So, it’s an odd situation to read without actually knowing.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Thank you KDawg for taking the time to write this up. It's a good read and a little bit comforting. Although AP really hasn't had a kickass draft yet, I liked that you felt it was his best one so far. We are all smarter having read your synopsis.

Peters' 2025 draft is looking sneaky good.

It was a point that method man I believe would make if I am recalling the right person on this that while picking towards the consensus isn't gospel, the teams that do so tend to have a higher success rate. I think Conn sort of mentioned the point indirectly as to those dismissing the draft media. I saw someone post a study that consensus works well in the first 4 rounds or so. And then in the last 3 it doesn't matter at all, meaning NFL teams have a better handle on some of the higher rated players than the draft media when they fall late and or picking players not on the media's radar.

It was interesting to see albiet not surprising that Ron's drafts were far off from consensus. Peter's first draft was far off from consensus. the 2025 draft was 11th as to matching consensus. This draft was #1 as to matching consensus. Maybe lol Peters is shedding his SF roots who are becoming infamous especially in recent years for straying far from consensus.

I am really happy with this draft. But you never know of course until it plays out.

 

[HTTR]

I wanted Malachi Fields if we were going receiver in the third round. But I’m OK with Williams, especially considering SIP‘s very favorable endorsement. And I would’ve taken VJ Payne in the 7th. But I don’t really know crap about him or any of the late round guys. Must be a reason Payne fell so far.
The most important pick by far was the first round and styles was a home run. So overall I’m very happy.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I wanted Malachi Fields if we were going receiver in the third round. But I’m OK with Williams, especially considering SIP‘s very favorable endorsement. And I would’ve taken VJ Payne in the 7th. But I don’t really know crap about him or any of the late round guys. Must be a reason Payne fell so far.
The most important pick by far was the first round and styles was a home run. So overall I’m very happy.

I didn't dislike Malachi Fields. I saw him as a medium-high floor, low ceiling WR. To me Antonio is a high floor-medium celing.

I am not one to live and die with analyitcs at WR. But one of the most telling is seperation scores. And Fields had one of the worst -- i watched every game of his and you can see it IMO, he's not the best seperator. He reminds me of Noah Brown in that he's a feisty WR who for a dude who isn't fast, is decent as a deep thread and has good hands. I'd be shocked if he ends up great, surprised if he ends up good -- but also shocked if he's a bust. To me he's a 4th WR type rotational and should last in the league for some time as that.

But IMHO its not that close. I'd easily go Antonio over Fields. But will see.

 

[HTTR]

I didn't dislike Malachi Fields. I saw him as a medium-high floor, low ceiling WR. To me Antonio is a high floor-medium celing.

I am not one to live and die with analyitcs at WR. But one of the most telling is seperation scores. And Fields had one of the worst -- i watched every game of his and you can see it IMO, he's not the best seperator. He reminds me of Noah Brown in that he's a feisty WR who for a dude who isn't fast, is decent as a deep thread and has good hands. I'd be shocked if he ends up great, surprised if he ends up good -- but also shocked if he's a bust. To me he's a 4th WR type rotational and should last in the league for some time as that.

But IMHO its not that close. I'd easily go Antonio over Fields. But will see.

I wouldn’t expect a bigger guy to be a very good separator compared to a smaller quick guy. To me he looked like a guy who is good on the deep ball and would have the ability to go up and get it over top of smaller defenders. Would make him a possible red zone weapon as well I was thinking. But you know way more about these guys than I do, and I definitely trust your opinion on Williams.

Was just listening to Thor Nystrom on the Galdi podcast… he agrees with you and some of the other posters that Williams is best suited to the slot and sees him as an effective slot guy long term as his floor. But he also likes the idea of trying him on the outside, and if he can be an inside/outside guy (like a Josh Downs), it will make him very valuable—thinks the NFL is trending in that direction.

Nystrom is also very high on the Josephs and Allen picks.

 

[Commander Wraith]

Re: Biadasz - it’s possible that was the issue. I’ve read it too.

However, that doesn’t quite make it clear why we released him instead of keeping him as depth for the time being. I’m assuming they tried to trade him, so okay there.

But he also found work real quick. So, it’s an odd situation to read without actually knowing.

So, the combo of leadership and calling protections have been cited as why he was let go. As to why they let him go when they did, we’ve seen reports/speculation of cash savings and wanting to do him a solid by letting him beat the FA market. As has you say, it seemed like an unnecessary risk to release him before having an insurance plan in place… sort of putting the player before the team.

Does make you think either 1) they thought they saw a clear avenue to upgrading, or 2) that they did not want him on the team ‘no matter what’. I do think that him garnering attention quickly isn’t necessarily a pertinent point… if the reason they let him go isn’t about what he put on tape vs fit in the new offense/leadership/protection calls/etc.

A lot of potential factors/questions we’ll probably never learn enough about could tied to the above.
Were they caught off guard by the 2 centers that retired early? Or by Linderbaum getting the outlandish money he got?
Did they misread the draft?
Did Jayden and/or Blough have a problem with Biadasz?
Did they like the draft pool enough to feel comfortable?
We released both Kliff and Bobby Johnson, and elevated Stapleton, who went on to coach the OL for the National team at the Senior Bowl.
Did they feel like Biadasz was part of the reason for struggles at LG?
Why wasn’t Biadasz benched last year (once Paul took over for Allegretti)?

One super clear cut reason to not want him on the team - they felt like he was a serious contributor to Daniels getting banged up and injured. I don’t know enough about the inner workings of a center’s role to speculate much on that front though.


Probably not the place to discuss, and it’s water under the bridge at this point. It is fascinating, and fairly concerning, that Allegretti (who hasn’t garnered interest as a starting center to date) and Gulbin (with a low RAS and scheme fit questions) are their answers. I suppose we can add Coleman to that group, though I can’t imagine him being ready anytime soon. Guess we’ll see how it plays out.

 

[Riggo44]

Nicki Jhabvala's favorite pick from the draft:

Washington Commanders: Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State​

Pick: No. 187, Round 6 | Commanders takeaways

First-rounder Sonny Styles is the star of Washington’s draft class and will undoubtedly upgrade a defense that needed a leader and playmaker like him. But my favorite Commanders selection was Allen, a durable and powerful runner with good vision and one of the finest nicknames in sports. As he explained: “I was a fat baby and everybody in the town called me Fatman. Hopefully, I keep it going in Washington and they call me Fatman and, you know, when I score all you hear is Fatman.” Yep, the Commanders’ rushing corps will be led by “Bill” (Jacory Croskey-Merritt) and “Fatman.” Giddy up. — Nicki Jhabvala

 

[NickyJ]

I will reserve judgement on his name until later, but Fat Rob makes me think it better that nobody has "fat" as part of their nickname.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I wouldn’t expect a bigger guy to be a very good separator compared to a smaller quick guy. To me he looked like a guy who is good on the deep ball and would have the ability to go up and get it over top of smaller defenders. Would make him a possible red zone weapon as well I was thinking. But you know way more about these guys than I do, and I definitely trust your opinion on Williams.

Was just listening to Thor Nystrom on the Galdi podcast… he agrees with you and some of the other posters that Williams is best suited to the slot and sees him as an effective slot guy long term as his floor. But he also likes the idea of trying him on the outside, and if he can be an inside/outside guy (like a Josh Downs), it will make him very valuable—thinks the NFL is trending in that direction.

Nystrom is also very high on the Josephs and Allen picks.

As to Fields. Not every big guy struggles to seperate, his production was just OK -- overrated as a contested catcher, he has a below average PFF contested catch score and it shows when watching him -- he's sort of like Tyson on that front where he has some great contested catches and then so many where he doesn't pull the ball.

His superpower are his hands IMO, he rarely drops the ball, hands catcher

 

[burgold]

I will reserve judgement on his name until later, but Fat Rob makes me think it better that nobody has "fat" as part of their nickname.

I think nicknames like "fat" work best when they are opposites like Robin Hood's Little John.

Then again, I will change my mind if I discover he's a pool player. If he's a pool player than Fats has a long and storied tradition.

 

[Dlts20]

 

[skinsinparadise]

My Favorite NFL Draft Pick for All 32 Teams​

Sharing the player selections that stood out most—from first-round stars to late-round steals

Todd McShay

Washington Commanders: WR Antonio Williams (third round, 71st overall)
The Commanders found an excellent combination of value, need, and fit with the selection of Williams. He is one of the best route runners in the class and should make an immediate impact alongside Terry McLaurin and Luke McCaffrey. I see some Ladd McConkey in Williams’s game.

My Favorite NFL Draft Pick for All 32 Teams

Sharing the player selections that stood out most—from first-round stars to late-round steals

mcshay-report.beehiiv.com

 

[RedWolf]

It seems that we're getting a lot of positive feedback for our draft, in general by most people

 

[method man]

Peters' 2025 draft is looking sneaky good.

It was a point that method man I believe would make if I am recalling the right person on this that while picking towards the consensus isn't gospel, the teams that do so tend to have a higher success rate. I think Conn sort of mentioned the point indirectly as to those dismissing the draft media. I saw someone post a study that consensus works well in the first 4 rounds or so. And then in the last 3 it doesn't matter at all, meaning NFL teams have a better handle on some of the higher rated players than the draft media when they fall late and or picking players not on the media's radar.

It was interesting to see albiet not surprising that Ron's drafts were far off from consensus. Peter's first draft was far off from consensus. the 2025 draft was 11th as to matching consensus. This draft was #1 as to matching consensus. Maybe lol Peters is shedding his SF roots who are becoming infamous especially in recent years for straying far from consensus.

I am really happy with this draft. But you never know of course until it plays out.

The Niners have deviated from consensus a ton the past few drafts. Warren Sharp did a breakdown of those picks on Saturday and the results have been horrible, especially as you go pick by pick. I believe no hits

From a fan standpoint, I can’t get as mad at AP if guys like Josephs don’t work out because there is inherently less arrogance with getting a guy like that in the 5th

 

[method man]

My Favorite NFL Draft Pick for All 32 Teams​

Sharing the player selections that stood out most—from first-round stars to late-round steals

Todd McShay

Washington Commanders: WR Antonio Williams (third round, 71st overall)
The Commanders found an excellent combination of value, need, and fit with the selection of Williams. He is one of the best route runners in the class and should make an immediate impact alongside Terry McLaurin and Luke McCaffrey. I see some Ladd McConkey in Williams’s game.

My Favorite NFL Draft Pick for All 32 Teams

Sharing the player selections that stood out most—from first-round stars to late-round steals

mcshay-report.beehiiv.com

So odd he is including LMC here. It’s interesting how little some of these national draft experts know about some of the teams.

 

[method man]

Yes I read or heard that a few times. To me Gulbin odd I that while he was a three year starter, only one was at C. While he exhibited leadership qualities a wonder how vocal he will be able to be with the line calls. He is a good based bruiser which I really like

Logan was impressed with his football intelligence on tape

 

[Faithful Fan]

So odd he is including LMC here. It’s interesting how little some of these national draft experts know about some of the teams.

I guess he could have listed Dyami, Van, Jaylin, or Treylon, but really Luke makes at least as much sense as any of them as the next on the depth chart after Terry and Antonio.

 

[DWinzit]

Logan was impressed with his football intelligence on tape

That's a good sign, I had not heard that. Thanks and I was sure hoping for that