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

[KDawg]

Nope, he does not but he has proven he can put this team on his back. This team needs to keep teams under 30 points a game.

Holy cow. We are going to put it all on Jayden’s back and if we fail or he becomes unhappy we are going to prematurely put ourselves in the QB market again…

To take a safety or a corner?

 

[Bulldog]

I think Trey Amos will be a top flight corner.

Peters indicated he thought Amos would have been picked in the 20's last year.

On that basis and the fact we still have #71 and the capability to add a veteran between now and the summer, we can be OK at corner without using a #1 pick on the position.

At wide receiver the only player coming in with that grade of 'top flight' in any regard is Terry at 31.

The rest of these guys are either special teamers (and some good ones) or journeymen.

 

[HOF44]

In my wildest dreams I hope Tate becomes JD’s Jerry Rice.

 

[Bulldog]

Nope, he does not but he has proven he can put this team on his back. This team needs to keep teams under 30 points a game.

That's how you get your quarterback killed and how he then goes on to play 8 or 9 games instead of 17.

The goal here is to maximize Daniels and put him in a position to reach his prime and be here for a 12-13 year career.

You can't tell me that Delane by himself raises this defense to the point it goes from a probably 19-22 ranking to the top 10-12.

Delane is a good prospect but he's not Denzel Ward or Champ Bailey coming out as a consensus future pro bowler.

 

[Dlts20]

I am still very much on board with trading down also

 

[Bulldog]

Everyone from the Cardinals to Browns already appear willing to move down. It's going to be difficult.

If we had one or two more top tier quarterback prospects in the draft things might have been interesting.

But this year is like 2019 when you had Jones and Haskins get drafted and a number of personnel guys thought neither player in a good draft was a first round choice.

 

[Kalu44]

KDawg - if Tate goes before #7, then what is your position then? Stay at #7 and take the next best WR? Trade down a few spots and take a WR? Go in a different direction at #7? Just curious on your thoughts.

 

[KDawg]

KDawg - if Tate goes before #7, then what is your position then? Stay at #7 and take the next best WR? Trade down a few spots and take a WR? Go in a different direction at #7? Just curious on your thoughts.

I think that changes everything and where I am in on Delane.

 

[skinsinparadise]

 

[skinsinparadise]

If the defense is better and the offense flounders it won’t be his problem anymore. Bye bye. And if he stays, Peters should be canned, too.

There is time. They can right the ship and get some guys. This can also be not true. But right now the offense is pathetic.

It concerns me that Quinn is so worried about his rep that he doesn’t care about the team, the young QB or his over-his-head OC. IF this is true it’s pathetic management.

Good point abiout Blough. It's a deservice for a first time OC. Still time to fix it -- but I hate Quinn's we can dp WR by committee nonsense -- I hope that ends up just spin on his end.

 

[Faithful Fan]

Over on the jets fourm there a major belief we will be trading dowb for there 16 and 2nd round pick. May be true may not but had be mentioned a few places.

I would rather they pick at 7 and get a top player.

Interesting.

Only reason I would trade down is if we are determined to take a wide receiver no matter what. One of Lemon, Tyson, or Tate will probably be there, and I could see somebody like Concepcion or Cooper if they’re not. I just see a bunch wideouts good enough to go in the first round but not really worthy of top 10 picks.

Otherwise I would rather stick and pick a top player like Love, Styles, Delane, or Downs.

Who are the Jets fans targeting with our pick?

 

[Commander Wraith]

​ 7. Washington Commanders: CB Mansoor Delane, LSU​

It comes down to Caleb Downs, Delane, or Carnell Tate. There’s love in the building for Tate, but too many sources I trust around the league think this pick is for Dan Quinn’s defense. Sonny Styles would be the ideal choice, but he’s gone to Tennessee in this exercise. (Important to note: If Styles doesn’t go at 4, he will almost certainly be here for Washington at 7.)​

Delane is a good fit, but he’s not the typical length of a corner in Quinn’s system.​

I don’t understand this idea that it’s going to be Quinn’s system… not to mention the fact that AP is making the pick and he can’t (and has said he won’t) look at just this year. I know he didn’t mean it this way, but it also makes sense to look longer term, including adopting a “scheme agnostic” POV, given he may have to clean house next offseason.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Keim on Sheehan. And I'll combine that with his last podcast.

He knows they love Love and Styles not sure who they'd take if both land at 7 but expect neither one does.

Doubled down that he thinks outside of those two -- they like Delane, Downs, Tate, Bain.

Clearly, he thinks Delane would win the tie breaker among those 4 players but he wouldn't bet his mortgage on it.

If there is a trade back, he thinks they are open for a small trade, but would be surprised if there is a big trade down

Doesn't think they'd trade off of 7 if Styles, Love or on the off chance Bailey falls there.

If they don't take a Wr in the first, he thinks they take one in the third and likely ultimately sign Aiyuk

 

[Bulldog]

I think Tyson is better than Tate. If the Giants or Browns take Tate, I take Tyson without regret.

KC is in all likelihood going to take Tyson at #9 if he falls that far.

When it comes to Jayden Daniels and getting him a WR to work with over the next 3-5 years that excels I am not going to quibble over 1 or 2 draft spots up or down as McShay does.

His perspective is strictly the raw scores and not taking into consideration the team concept of the sport.

If one guy is a 93 and another guy is a 91 but puts my offense in a position to be a lot more successful and that side of the ball has my most important player on it, then I take the guy who is a 91 and don't lose any sleep over it.

If you are the 1995 Dallas Cowboys or 2007 Patriots or 2019 Chiefs perhaps you can just sit there and take the absolute BPA without any regard to the position the player plays.

But with the salary cap today how many teams really have the talent across the board to do that?

For example, I could make the argument if he drops that Delane is a better pick for the Rams at #13 than the other available prospects but is McVay going to draft him after trading picks for Trent McDuffie and signing Jaylon Watson in free agency?

Probably not.

 

[washington football]

Interesting.

Only reason I would trade down is if we are determined to take a wide receiver no matter what. One of Lemon, Tyson, or Tate will probably be there, and I could see somebody like Concepcion or Cooper if they’re not. I just see a bunch wideouts good enough to go in the first round but not really worthy of top 10 picks.

Otherwise I would rather stick and pick a top player like Love, Styles, Delane, or Downs.

Who are the Jets fans are targeting with our pick?

Tate is what they are saying over there

 

[Discobob]

Who are the Jets fans targeting with our pick?

That depends.... whose career are they hoping to ruin?

 

[skinsinparadise]

I think Tyson is better than Tate. If the Giants or Browns take Tate, I take Tyson without regret.

KC is in all likelihood going to take Tyson at #9 if he falls that far.

When it comes to Jayden Daniels and getting him a WR to work with over the next 3-5 years that excels I am not going to quibble over 1 or 2 draft spots up or down as McShay does.

His perspective is strictly the raw scores and not taking into consideration the team concept of the sport.

If one guy is a 93 and another guy is a 91 but puts my offense in a position to be a lot more successful and that side of the ball has my most important player on it, then I take the guy who is a 91 and don't lose any sleep over it.

If you are the 1995 Dallas Cowboys or 2007 Patriots or 2019 Chiefs perhaps you can just sit there and take the absolute BPA without any regard to the position the player plays.

But with the salary cap today how many teams really have the talent across the board to do that?

For example, I could make the argument if he drops that Delane is a better pick for the Rams at #13 than the other available prospects but is McVay going to draft him after trading picks for Trent McDuffie and signing Jaylon Watson in free agency?

Probably not.

To each their own, its what makes this thread fun.

But really the only thing that they can do to set me off is to pick Tyson at 7. To me it would rival the Forbes pick. But zero smoke that its happening so I am not even a little worried about it.

 

[Bulldog]

You really think Tyson is a comp to the 167 pound cornerback in Emmanuel Forbes?

If the Chiefs or Rams take him at #9 or #13 it will be very interesting as those two GMs are ones that have proven to be among the best.

 

[DieselPwr44]

How do you square with Tyson's injury history? Don't need another Malcolm Kelly.

 

[skinsinparadise]

You really think Tyson is a comp to the 167 pound cornerback in Emmanuel Forbes?

If the Chiefs or Rams take him at #9 or #13 it will be very interesting as those two GMs are ones that have proven to be among the best.

I didn't make a physical comp to Forbes. I said the pick to me (again my opinion) just as bad as Forbes. To explain that -- context is part of this. They are picking top 10. I already said if they are picking 16, I am ok with a flier on Tyson albiet have some reservations there too.

But at 7 it feels crazy to me considering who else would be on the board.

As some draftniks have said, Tyson is polarizing. Some really dig him, some don't. I am actually in the middle of that group. I don't see a bust. I don't see a superstar. I see a good Wr. Not great. Not elite. But good. And high floor good.

But i am not drafting a good WR at 7 even if everything else checked out -- but I don't think its crazy to take a good WR at 7 if everything checks out. But in Tyson's case it doesn't. He can't stay healthy and you also got maturity issues in the mix.

I don't buy the narrative that he's a special WR but if only. I explained earlier today why I think if healthy Tyson is good -- not elite. High floor. Medium ceiling if healthy. But he's not healthy so low floor, medium ceiling.

But again its just my opinion of course it doesn't make it so but yeah I'd flip out on the pick, just like I did with the Forbes pick at the time.

Part 1, WR: Who's the next star wideout?

Bob McGinn's 42nd draft series begins. One scout doesn't give a damn what Carnell Tate ran. One scout sees JSN in Makai Lemon. But in 2026? Mining for A-level talent is complicated.

www.golongtd.com

“I don’t think he has first-round traits,” said a...scout. “He’s got adequate size and adequate speed. He’ll catch the heck out of the ball. There were times he would disappear, and then all of a sudden he and (Sam) Leavitt would get together and they’d go boom-boom-boom and score. But there’s nothing about him that’s exceptional. All this first-round talk, I don’t see it. To me, to be in the first round you’ve got to have something special about you. There’s nothing physically about him – size, speed, anything – that sticks out. And he’s been hurt. He was an enigma to me.” Three-star recruit from Allen, Texas. “You can see the quick twitch and the movement, and he can run,” said a fourth scout.

“But this guy is one of the most noncompetitive receivers I’ve done in a while. Body catcher even when it’s not contested. I’ve never seen anybody catch slants and just slide to the ground like this guy does. It’s nuts. He’s just not a tough dude. He doesn’t make catches when bodies are around him. Very inconsistent. And Hines Ward coaches him, which is crazy. Because I know no way Hines is saying, ‘This is what we need here.’ I don’t like him at all. He gets hurt all the time and I don’t think he’s very tough.”