The 2025 Draft Thread

[method man]

For the folks bummed about missing out on Fitzgerald or Borregales, I wouldn’t worry. Matt Gay is out there and a couple UFL kickers are out there too.

It’s one of those spots where guys generally fail with their first team or two before figuring things out - for obvious reasons, it is not a position where a guy has time to develop.

 

[DogofWar1]

QB gurus usually...aren't.

Very few coaches actually can develop multiple good QBs in their lifetime. 90% of the time, they got an incredible talent who was likely gonna succeed anyway.

Like Daboll got Josh Allen, who's awesome, and then came over to the Giants with Jones, and couldn't fix Jones. We'll see, maybe there'll be an Andy Reid situation where Dart is Mahomes and Allen was his McNabb, but I somewhat doubt that.

 

[Commander Wraith]

Agree, I don't think so.

Croskey-Merritt >> Brian Robinson. And this isn't post draft euphoria stuff, I said it specifically about him among others before the draft.

IMO there are two narratives that some get wrong about Robinson including the local media. And i mean this in good spirits so to each their own.

A. Brian is a really good back, he's good at getting those tough yards, its just the poor sap doesn't have breakaway speed and that limits him

B. Brian was really good at the beginning of the season but faded in the 2nd half because of injury-confidence take your pick.

To address A: He does not consistently get tough yards. He can do it but he's up and down on that front. He's decent at it. But not consistent. Also, his athleticism if anything IMO is his super power. He's fast for a big dude his size. I don't find him to be a creative runner. Do we think about Robinson's jump cut? Or spin move? Or for a big dude he really can make sharp cuts. Or his vision is special? His stop go -- deceleration ability. None of that. IMHO his athleticism is his super power not his weakness -- that's really most of his game, open a crease and he will plow through with his power and speed. But he has limits for how far he can take it because IMO he's more of an athlete than a creative runner.

To address B: As I've put on this thread, go through the games 1 by 1. He was up and down, good game, bad game from the jump. It might not feel that way because 2 of Brians 3 100 yard games last year came early. And the running game was good on the aggregate. But that was because the RB who really had a hot start and then cooled off wasn't Robinson but Ekeler. So as a whole the running game was indeed better early on. But Robinson was inconsistent -- up and down from game 1.

I agree with your assessment of Robinson. I tend to the think that the inconsistency was probably more a product of the oline (and the defenses they faced), as well as how D’s schemes against Kliff/Daniels, but I could certainly be wrong about that.

I love our additions at oline, but it remains to be seen how much of a difference we see in the run blocking - Tunsil and Conerly are better pass blockers than run blockers (though Conerly could well be an upgrade over Wylie’s run blocking) and we lost Cosmi.
On the bright side, I could definitely see the combination of improved pass protection and possible/likely receiving improvement pulling a defender out of the box.

I think you’re right though that JCM - with better vision and creativity, while also being a plus athlete with the ability to hit some longer runs - could give us a jump in production.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I agree with your assessment of Robinson. I tend to the think that the inconsistency was probably more a product of the oline (and the defenses they faced), as well as how D’s schemes against Kliff/Daniels, but I could certainly be wrong about that.

I love our additions at oline, but it remains to be seen how much of a difference we see in the run blocking - Tunsil and Conerly are better pass blockers than run blockers (though Conerly could well be an upgrade over Wylie’s run blocking) and we lost Cosmi.
On the bright side, I could definitely see the combination of improved pass protection and possible/likely receiving improvement pulling a defender out of the box.

I think you’re right though that JCM - with better vision and creativity, while also being a plus athlete with the ability to hit some longer runs - could give us a jump in production.

I think the O line will be more of a factor wth him than most because he's not a dude who is good IMO at making something out of nothing even for a power back. So do I think the O line factors in his inconsistency. Absolutely.

But I want a runner who can bring some creativity including making something out of nothing.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

I mean OL helps every RB regardless. Look at Saquon on the Giants vs the Eagles.

Maybe Robinson can become Demarco Murray with that 2014/2015 OL. Regardless on if he does or doesn't, we'd still need RB help. If he suddenly puts up 1600 rushing yards it shouldn't fool us into thinking he's suddenly figured everything out.

The other aspect is just the unfortunate nature of his gunshot wounds, it's hard to ignore he's worn down as seasons gone on every time now. At best he's a committee back. I don't think he'll ever hit 1600 rushing yards simply because he should never hit 300 carries.

 

[Hail Raiser]

QB gurus usually...aren't.

Very few coaches actually can develop multiple good QBs in their lifetime. 90% of the time, they got an incredible talent who was likely gonna succeed anyway.

Like Daboll got Josh Allen, who's awesome, and then came over to the Giants with Jones, and couldn't fix Jones. We'll see, maybe there'll be an Andy Reid situation where Dart is Mahomes and Allen was his McNabb, but I somewhat doubt that.

 

[Hail Raiser]

Can we all pause and enjoy a moment of silence. If Dan Snyder owned this team and we didn't have Daniels, we'd have traded our next 3 1rsts to move up to #2 for Sanders and we all know it.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I mean OL helps every RB regardless. Look at Saquon on the Giants vs the Eagles.

Maybe Robinson can become Demarco Murray with that 2014/2015 OL. Regardless on if he does or doesn't, we'd still need RB help. If he suddenly puts up 1600 rushing yards it shouldn't fool us into thinking he's suddenly figured everything out.

The other aspect is just the unfortunate nature of his gunshot wounds, it's hard to ignore he's worn down as seasons gone on every time now. At best he's a committee back. I don't think he'll ever hit 1600 rushing yards simply because he should never hit 300 carries.

I bet he gets worned down. And his story is remarkable.

I dig the persona aside from being the only dude I gather on this team who does public smack talk about the opponents which I don't love.

But the idea that the local media sometimes says which was he was good early and then just faded at the end wasn't that true this season. I haven't studied his other seasons game to game but i'll get to it. But this year he had some lemon games early in the season, too.

Yeah I think he or just about any RB (we of course remember Timmy Smith) with some ability can have big seasons with a great offensive line. i'd still be surprised if Robinson had a big season but yeah I do think with O line improvements alone he would be better.

 

[DogofWar1]

All I know is I'm drafting JCM in fantasy in a late round. This dude had a 92 PFF grade in 2023 and his one game in '24 was great. Dude feels like a huge dark horse. Drafted AlMo back in 2012 on a hunch and it worked out nicely, and it wouldn't surprise me if JCM sneakily becomes a 1000 yard rusher.

Kain Medrano seems like a very interesting hybrid. 370 coverage snaps with a 76.3 PFF coverage grade suggests he almost could play in a safety role, but he also had a 71 PFF pass rush grade, albeit only on 64 pass rush snaps. If he can clean up his missed tackles he feels like someone who basically can slip into any role on defense we need him to. Of course he's likely to start out a special teams star.

 

[Riggo44]

Kain Medrano seems like a very interesting hybrid.

I had not heard of him before the draft--but those athletic traits, wow. Brugler had him LB10, a 4th round value. If we're extremely, extremely lucky, he seems like the type to make a Zach Baun type development: start on ST, become an out-of-nowhere LB playmaker. Have to love the speed and coverage ability initially. Tackling...not so much.

 

[SRQ-Commie]

So looking at possible UDFA’s i see Bond is still available.

Anyone no the exact details on his wrap sheet that is keeping teams away even in this signing period post draft?

If we are talking player only he is legitimate field stretcher, no?

Now talking the human side if his red flags are truly egregious I wonder if anyone would give the “talent” a shot

 

[MartinC]

So looking at possible UDFA’s i see Bond is still available.

Anyone no the exact details on his wrap sheet that is keeping teams away even in this signing period post draft?

If we are talking player only he is legitimate field stretcher, no?

Now talking the human side if his red flags are truly egregious I wonder if anyone would give the “talent” a shot

He’s turned himself in for a warrant/arrest for sexual assault.

As for the player he’s got elite speed - but very inconsistent production. He only had 30 odd catches last season, he’s never broken 700 yards receiving in a season. I think he’s at best a 20/30 catch a year guy who can take the top off a D every now and then.

Thats very good for an UDFA - but he can’t catch balls sat in jail or suspended by the NFL.

 

[Anselmheifer]

I love our additions at oline, but it remains to be seen how much of a difference we see in the run blocking - Tunsil and Conerly are better pass blockers than run blockers (though Conerly could well be an upgrade over Wylie’s run blocking) and we lost Cosmi.
On the bright side, I could definitely see the combination of improved pass protection and possible/likely receiving improvement pulling a defender out of the box.

I don’t know. Our new OT tandem are not massive road grading power/man run blockers. But, they are bother super athletic and move really well in space. I think they could be very effective in a more zone based scheme like the Shanahans run. Kingsbury is a pretty quick guy and our offensive staff is pretty great in general. I think they will probably adjust our scheme around the personnel, to some degree.

Also, if Conerly pushes Coleman inside, he will replace a less athletic player. Assuming Coami looks good still, Tunsil, Coleman, Biadasz, Cosmi, and Conerly is a hyper-athletic lineup.

 

[Anselmheifer]

QB gurus usually...aren't.

Very few coaches actually can develop multiple good QBs in their lifetime. 90% of the time, they got an incredible talent who was likely gonna succeed anyway.

Like Daboll got Josh Allen, who's awesome, and then came over to the Giants with Jones, and couldn't fix Jones. We'll see, maybe there'll be an Andy Reid situation where Dart is Mahomes and Allen was his McNabb, but I somewhat doubt that.

I don’t know. There are some coaches that can get a lot out of an offense with a sub par QB. The Shanahans were famous for this.

Regarding Daboll, Josh Allen didn’t come in as some stud. He was so inaccurate in college that I thought he had no chance. And his first year he had a 52.8% completion percentage, with 10TD’s and 12 INT’s. The Bills essentially drafted Anthony Richardson and then successfully developed him into a HOF caliber QB. I literally can’t think of another similarly successful example of developing such a raw, athletic QB.

Was most of it Daboll? Hell no. It was a whole team effort. They had computer assisted throwing mechanics analysis. Allen had to grind. It was a constant team effort. But, certainly, it was fair to think Daboll was probably as good in that regard as most people. It just hasn’t borne out.

I’ve probably historically undervalued physical tools at QB, but there are 10 gajillion guys with great physical tools but without the accuracy or ability to quickly process. The Bills, at least partially, just hit the lotto.

I think taking an Anthony Richardson and expecting him to be Josh Allen isn’t an order of magnitude more ridiculous than taking a 6th round QB and expecting him to be Tom Brady.

 

[MartinC]

I don’t know. Our new OT tandem are not massive road grading power/man run blockers. But, they are bother super athletic and move really well in space. I think they could be very effective in a more zone based scheme like the Shanahans run. Kingsbury is a pretty quick guy and our offensive staff is pretty great in general. I think they will probably adjust our scheme around the personnel, to some degree.

Also, if Conerly pushes Coleman inside, he will replace a less athletic player. Assuming Coami looks good still, Tunsil, Coleman, Biadasz, Cosmi, and Conerly is a hyper-athletic lineup.

We have an elite QB in his second year in the same system. Quality receiving targets on big deals in Terry and Deebo (plus Brown and Ertz) two OTs who are better at pass protection than run blocking and an iffy running back room.

Not saying we should abandon the run - some balance is still important - but the passing game is what our O should be based around.

 

[MartinC]

I don’t know. There are some coaches that can get a lot out of an offense with a sub par QB. The Shanahans were famous for this.

Mike Shanahan made his name as the QB coach at the Broncos (John Elway) and then OC of the 49ers (Steve Young) and then Head Coach back at the Broncos (John Elway).

In between the stints with the Broncos and 49ers he failed as HC of the Raiders - QBs Jeff George and Wade Wilson.

He wins his two Super Bowls as a HC with Elway.

He might be a great coach - but having his success with two HOF QBs sure helped …

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Mike Shanahan made his name as the QB coach at the Broncos (John Elway) and then OC of the 49ers (Steve Young) and then Head Coach back at the Broncos (John Elway).

In between the stints with the Broncos and 49ers he failed as HC of the Raiders - QBs Jeff George and Wade Wilson.

He wins his two Super Bowls as a HC with Elway.

He might be a great coach - but having his success with two HOF QBs sure helped …

He still had above average offenses with Griese and Plummer though. And he was actually developing Jay Cutler. Cutler's best year, and lone pro bowl was 2008, the last one with Shanahan. Shanahan is fired, Broncos trade Cutler and then Cutler immediately regresses.

Plummer was awful before Shanahan, but he made him decent. Griese's best years were with Shanahan too.

I can get behind Shanahan being good for QBs.

 

[Ashburn Dave]

I agree with your assessment of Robinson. I tend to the think that the inconsistency was probably more a product of the oline (and the defenses they faced), as well as how D’s schemes against Kliff/Daniels, but I could certainly be wrong about that.

I love our additions at oline, but it remains to be seen how much of a difference we see in the run blocking - Tunsil and Conerly are better pass blockers than run blockers (though Conerly could well be an upgrade over Wylie’s run blocking) and we lost Cosmi.
On the bright side, I could definitely see the combination of improved pass protection and possible/likely receiving improvement pulling a defender out of the box.

I think you’re right though that JCM - with better vision and creativity, while also being a plus athlete with the ability to hit some longer runs - could give us a jump in production.

Robinson will always be a RB2. He gets you decent points but he will never win you a game with a monster performance.

This is OK for fantasy, but not OK for a teams primary back in real life.

 

[Riggo44]

Robinson will always be a RB2.

Fully agree. Robinson needs to be the David Montgomery/Tyler Allgeier to a Jahmyr Gibbs/Bijan Robinson. We need that Gibbs/Bi. Robinson type. Both Br. Robinson and Ekler are complimentary backs--we need that stud. If we are extremely, extremely lucky JMC turns into that--but, again, a very long shot.

 

[Riggo44]