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

[skinsinparadise]

Just to critique your critique. Whoa! That's meta. I think there is value to seeing a player realize that they need to improve on a skill (let's say sprinting) train to "wow" at the combine. If, six weeks after the college season, they take to coaching, master the (sprinting) technique and excel at the combine in a relatively short amount of time it does provide some info. Mind you, I don't think that's determinative, but it does show the player is a worker and pick up techniques which probably is useful.

It's a good point, it showcases resolve and work ethic at times, and that includes interview prep.

Conversely, if you have a meh performance and are meh in the interviews considering the stakes, that can be telling, too.

Haskins (RIP) showing up to the combine out of shape got some notice. Sanders last year dropped in the draft in part because of his arrogance and lack of preperation at the combine according to some.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

One thing that people must realize is that free agency effects other teams also. They will solve a lot of their problems there too so their draft needs will change just like ours. I could see KC going for Kenneth Walker or someone and won't even be looking at Love anymore. That goes for every team in front of us. We will know a lot more about the draft in 2 weeks

This is true. However I would argue that KC needs a real infusion of youth on offense. If they get Walker (I don't actually think he's going to end up being available) or another top-end RB, then they would still need offense and might go up to get Tate.

You are correct, though, it's really hard to predict what teams are going to do until after the first few waves of FA.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Thinking about Jeremiayh KDawg Love. More draftniks seem smitten by him, they think he is indeed a J. Gibbs, McCaffrey, B. Robinson player and then there are some here who think he's a peg behind.

I was watching him this morning and trying to do it with a critical eye and play devil's advocate.

To me the idea that he isn't quite that caliber RB to my eyes would be: he's more of a straight line speed runner, and there isn't a ton of stop and go. In short, more of an RG3 style runner but with much better vision than a Russell Wilson in his hey day. More vertical without elite horizontal.

He's not Barry Sanders stylisically at all. The zig and zag and horizontal movements from Love are fine but not IMO special. That's not his game. And if you are looking for that you will be dissapointed. The more I watch him the more he reminds me of McCaffrey, actually. He also doesn't have the power of a Bijan Robinson. I think he's a better north-south runner than McCaffrey, and McCaffrey has better hands but Love has good hands, too.

To me his superpowers are

A. Acceleration -- he hits the hole so fast
B. Vision -- he can see it including in short spaces
C. breakaway speed
D. Contact balance
E. Soft hands in the passing game.

Think of that Barkley run against Washington in the playoffs. Once Barkley saw the hole he accelerated so quickly that even the defenders who were close to the action couldn't fill that gap and then once he hit that gap he was gone. That's Love. Barkley's breakaway runs aren't purely about long speed -- they are also about vision and short speed. That's Love IMO.

Also he can hit singles too. He sees it quickly in tight quarters and can get those tough 3-4 yards. And he's not always one cut and go. He can be patient when need be. Stutter steps and waits for the play to develop.

But to summarize -- his vision combined with short speed and long speed is special.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

It's a good point, it showcases resolve and work ethic at times, and that includes interview prep.

Conversely, if you have a meh performance and are meh in the interviews considering the stakes, that can be telling, too.

Haskins (RIP) showing up to the combine out of shape got some notice. Sanders last year dropped in the draft in part because of his arrogance and lack of preperation at the combine according to some.

I have no argument about the importance of the interviews.

And showing up unprepared for any interview is stupid on steroids.

I think, however, your point that there's not a lot to coach on a 40 yard dash might not be correct. You are looking at it from the perspective of somebody who ran track.

From the perspective of somebody who doesn't run track, there is actually a lot of technique they wouldn't know or ever have to have learned, and that can make quite a difference. My source: I don't remember the name of the player, but it was somebody interviewed during the draft who was talking about his 40 time and the improvement from combine to his individual workout. Apparently his individual workout was better my some magnitude than the combine, and he said one of the big reasons was he hadn't run a 40 yard dash from a track starting position since High School, and he had no idea how to line up, weight distribution, pacing, etc. He said he made a mistake, he trained for the combine and thought he did well, then his agent had him get a track coach to train him, and it was an entirely different world.

I have searched for this, it was years ago, maybe as many as 10-15 years ago, and I can't find it. It was a snipped of an interview during draft coverage, but it stuck with me.

It's possible that as somebody who ran track, this technique was just ingrained in you because it was your sport.

I dunno. I neither ran track nor played football.

But I did play tennis. And something I had to get coached out of me, which is VERY common, it's very typical when a ball is hit short, that players take a half step backwards before going forwards. It's a small thing, almost un-noticeable unless you're really looking for it. I played into High School and nobody commented on it. Then a coach in HS saw it, and was like, "you're wasting a full step." And we did drill after drill after drill to just immediately start going towards the ball. It had to do with anticipation, weight distribution, even when not running, movement after a shot, a whole lot of really technical things.

I just have to imagine a lot of these types of drills have the same type of techniques which would help do well at the drill. Maybe the 40 yard dash less than others, but maybe not.

 

[Canuck]

The Love hype will die down, just like it will for Styles.

That said, if it doesn't, Love could go anywhere after pick 1.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Thinking about Jeremiayh KDawg Love. More draftniks seem smitten by him, they think he is indeed a J. Gibbs, McCaffrey, B. Robinson player and then there are some here who think he's a peg behind.

I was watching him this morning and trying to do it with a critical eye and play devil's advocate.

To me the idea that he isn't quite that caliber RB to my eyes would be: he's more of a straight line speed runner, and there isn't a ton of stop and go. In short, more of an RG3 style runner but with much better vision than a Russell Wilson in his hey day. More vertical without elite horizontal.

He's not Barry Sanders stylisically at all. The zig and zag and horizontal movements from Love are fine but not IMO special. That's not his game. And if you are looking for that you will be dissapointed. The more I watch him the more he reminds me of McCaffrey, actually. He also doesn't have the power of a Bijan Robinson. I think he's a better north-south runner than McCaffrey, and McCaffrey has better hands but Love has good hands, too.

To me his superpowers are

A. Acceleration -- he hits the hole so fast
B. Vision -- he can see it including in short spaces
C. breakaway speed
D. Contact balance
E. Soft hands in the passing game.

Think of that Barkley's run against Washington in the playoffs. Once Barkley saw the hole he accelerated so quickly that even the defenders who were close to the action couldn't fill that gap and then once he hit that gap he was gone. That's Love.

Also he can hit singles too. He sees it quickly in tight quarters and can get those tough 3-4 yards. And he's not always one cut and go. He can be patient when need be. Stutters step and waits for the play to develop.

But to summarize -- his vision combined with short speed and long speed is special.

I heard on some podcast somewhere they could use him all over the field also, so they could, in theory, split him wide and use him as a WR. Your thoughts on that? I don't remember which podcast this was.

The last RB who I can remember who could do that REALLY well was Marshall Faulk. Those "greatest show on turf" Rams teams ran through Faulk. And they would move him everywhere. Sure, they had Bruce and Holt and Kurt Warner, but it was Faulk who was the engine of those offenses. Teams had to account for him first, and then everything played off of that. It was really cool to see. Also, Marshall Faulk is a HOF player.

Edgerin James was good at it too, but they didn't tend to line him up outside, they tended to more keep him in the backfield, and then have him release.

If he truly could be an "everywhere" weapon, then that increases his value tremendously.

 

[skinzplay]

If Love is still there at 7, we've gotta take him. Don't care who else in available.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

The Love hype will die down, just like it will for Styles.

That said, if it doesn't, Love could go anywhere after pick 1.

2 thoughts:

1. The hype is purely a media driven thing, and really has no bearing on where/when any player is picked. One of the biggest misnomers, which is a Kiper catch phrase which has been mocked (no pun intended) is players are "flying up draft boards." Of down draft boards. There is no way that Mel would have ever known what NFL Team's draft boards would look like. And the teams don't really care that much what the Thor Nystrom's of the world have to say, or the fans have to say, about any of this.
2. Why do you think it will die down?

 

[burgold]

Thinking about Jeremiayh KDawg Love. More draftniks seem smitten by him, they think he is indeed a J. Gibbs, McCaffrey, B. Robinson player and then there are some here who think he's a peg behind.

I was watching him this morning and trying to do it with a critical eye and play devil's advocate.

To me the idea that he isn't quite that caliber RB to my eyes would be: he's more of a straight line speed runner, and there isn't a ton of stop and go. In short, more of an RG3 style runner but with much better vision than a Russell Wilson in his hey day. More vertical without elite horizontal.

He's not Barry Sanders stylisically at all. The zig and zag and horizontal movements from Love are fine but not IMO special. That's not his game. And if you are looking for that you will be dissapointed. The more I watch him the more he reminds me of McCaffrey, actually. He also doesn't have the power of a Bijan Robinson. I think he's a better north-south runner than McCaffrey, and McCaffrey has better hands but Love has good hands, too.

To me his superpowers are

A. Acceleration -- he hits the hole so fast
B. Vision -- he can see it including in short spaces
C. breakaway speed
D. Contact balance
E. Soft hands in the passing game.

Think of that Barkley run against Washington in the playoffs. Once Barkley saw the hole he accelerated so quickly that even the defenders who were close to the action couldn't fill that gap and then once he hit that gap he was gone. That's Love. Barkley's breakaway runs aren't purely about long speed -- they are also about vision and short speed. That's Love IMO.

Also he can hit singles too. He sees it quickly in tight quarters and can get those tough 3-4 yards. And he's not always one cut and go. He can be patient when need be. Stutter steps and waits for the play to develop.

But to summarize -- his vision combined with short speed and long speed is special.

The thing about Barry Sanders that a lot of people forget is that he had a ton of negative plays. All that juking, spinning, and wiggle often resulted in tackles behind the line of scrimmage. It's just that when it worked, it was eyepopping.

There was a reason why Pettibone's defenses always had Barry Sanders number and he looked so pedestrian against the Redskins. The 'skins defense of the time didn't have a lot of huge stars, but they had tons of good players and they played with discipline. Discipline can frustrate the heck out of a jitterbug.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I have no argument about the importance of the interviews.

And showing up unprepared for any interview is stupid on steroids.

I think, however, your point that there's not a lot to coach on a 40 yard dash might not be correct. You are looking at it from the perspective of somebody who ran track.

From the perspective of somebody who doesn't run track, there is actually a lot of technique they wouldn't know or ever have to have learned, and that can make quite a difference. My source: I don't remember the name of the player, but it was somebody interviewed during the draft who was talking about his 40 time and the improvement from combine to his individual workout. Apparently his individual workout was better my some magnitude than the combine, and he said one of the big reasons was he hadn't run a 40 yard dash from a track starting position since High School, and he had no idea how to line up, weight distribution, pacing, etc. He said he made a mistake, he trained for the combine and thought he did well, then his agent had him get a track coach to train him, and it was an entirely different world.

I have searched for this, it was years ago, maybe as many as 10-15 years ago, and I can't find it. It was a snipped of an interview during draft coverage, but it stuck with me.

It's possible that as somebody who ran track, this technique was just ingrained in you because it was your sport.

I dunno. I neither ran track nor played football.

But I did play tennis. And something I had to get coached out of me, which is VERY common, it's very typical when a ball is hit short, that players take a half step backwards before going forwards. It's a small thing, almost un-noticeable unless you're really looking for it. I played into High School and nobody commented on it. Then a coach in HS saw it, and was like, "you're wasting a full step." And we did drill after drill after drill to just immediately start going towards the ball. It had to do with anticipation, weight distribution, even when not running, movement after a shot, a whole lot of really technical things.

I just have to imagine a lot of these types of drills have the same type of techniques which would help do well at the drill. Maybe the 40 yard dash less than others, but maybe not.

I had a friend who visited me last week who I used to jog with and work out with a lot in college. He can never run as fast as I could as far as sprinting. I didn't have his endurance for long distance running. His point and I agree with it is I could improve my endurance and maybe catch up to him on that front, but he will never run as fast as I could.

As someone who still does sprints (for anyone who knows about VO2 max) for staying in shape, and also runs medium -- .5 to a mile and runs longer at times 3 miles tough. It's all different.

As I mentioned you can improve your get off in the 40. But so much of that is so basic and just from the look of watching these 40s, almost all these players get it, lean in hard, hips high, etc -- that I doubt players have a big advantage over other players. There is so much at stake with these that I am gathering almost all of them do practice their get off.

 

[skinsinparadise]

2 thoughts:

1. The hype is purely a media driven thing, and really has no bearing on where/when any player is picked. One of the biggest misnomers, which is a Kiper catch phrase which has been mocked (no pun intended) is players are "flying up draft boards." Of down draft boards. There is no way that Mel would have ever known what NFL Team's draft boards would look like. And the teams don't really care that much what the Thor Nystrom's of the world have to say, or the fans have to say, about any of this.
2. Why do you think it will die down?

Agree with the flying up and down draft boards -- Sheehan drives me crazy using that phrase to death.

As some scouts have said the flying up and down draft boards is simply the draft media catching up with what scouts think.

Over the years, the more plugged in draftniks have built good connections with various scouts and as the draft gets closer they have a better idea of what NFL teams think -- and that gets disguised as real shifts in thinking. But according to at least some scouts the shifts in thinking from the draft media is a function of them learning more about what NFL teams think of these players.

Obviously, some teams are better at keeping things closer to the vest. Under Ron, everyone seem to know what he was thinking. Not the same clearly with Peters. But I get the impression that some of these media draftniks live off of getting some scouts from teams to talk about players they are unlikely going to take -- because they are going earlier or aren't a need, etc.

For example, they can get perhaps a Seattle scout to talk freely of what they think of Reese and Styles since no shot they will be available for them to pick.

 

[Canuck]

2 thoughts:

1. The hype is purely a media driven thing, and really has no bearing on where/when any player is picked. One of the biggest misnomers, which is a Kiper catch phrase which has been mocked (no pun intended) is players are "flying up draft boards." Of down draft boards. There is no way that Mel would have ever known what NFL Team's draft boards would look like. And the teams don't really care that much what the Thor Nystrom's of the world have to say, or the fans have to say, about any of this.
2. Why do you think it will die down?

You are right about the hype being driven by the media and generally the hype is more the media catching up with teams' draft boards.

I think the hype dies down for both players because neither plays a premium position, RB and LB are sboth tacked w good young players in FA and after pro days the rankings will get reconfigured.

Syles and Love both go top 10 IMO, but not top 5 as many are saying now. Still think Bailey and Reese go top 5, Bain probably top 10, which has as much to do with need as it does how these players have performed.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Agree with the flying up and down draft boards -- Sheehan drives me crazy using that phrase to death.

As some scouts have said the flying up and down draft boards is simply the draft media catching up with what scouts think.

Over the years, the more plugged in draftniks have built good connections with various scouts and as the draft gets closer they have a better idea of what NFL teams think -- and that gets disguised as real shifts in thinking. But according to at least some scouts the shifts in thinking from the draft media is a function of them learning more about what NFL teams think of these players.

Obviously, some teams are better at keeping things closer to the vest. Under Ron, everyone seem to know what he was thinking. Not the same clearly with Peters. But I get the impression that some of these media draftniks live off of getting some scouts from other teams to talk about players they are unlikely going to take -- because they are going earlier or aren't a need, etc.

Any scout or FO person who tells a reporter/draftnik anything should be fired for cause. You never tell anybody anything about your strategy.

We were holding a board meeting, which is on the 16th floor of our building, and somebody forgot to put the blinds down for the board room, and our chief legal counsel was like, "somebody could look through the window and get information."

Now, I don't actually think that was possible because of physics. There isn't a building that could get an angle to see anything projected, and there is an interior wall in the way. The only way would be somebody with a drone, which COULD happen, but if somebody is going to put a drone outside your board room, they can figure out other ways of eavesdropping. So I wasn't terribly concerned. But we did lower the blinds anyway.

But the point was, don't tell anybody your strategy or let them figure out your strategy. Ever.

 

[skinsinparadise]

The thing about Barry Sanders that a lot of people forget is that he had a ton of negative plays. All that juking, spinning, and wiggle often resulted in tackles behind the line of scrimmage. It's just that when it worked, it was eyepopping.

There was a reason why Pettibone's defenses always had Barry Sanders number and he looked so pedestrian against the Redskins. The 'skins defense of the time didn't have a lot of huge stars, but they had tons of good players and they played with discipline. Discipline can frustrate the heck out of a jitterbug.

Yeah a lot of horizontal running can lead to loss of yards. It's not that Love doesn't have it in his tool box. You got some nice stop and go, horizontal runs in the mix. But IMO its not his niche.

It's IMO he sees it so quickly and accelerates so quickly -- that he can make something out of nothing if he just has a small crease to work with. And if he actually has a decent size crease with just one block on the 2nd level, he's taking it to the house.

For those (me among them) who loved Treveyon Henderson last year. Think of Love as a better inside between the tackles runner than Henderson with better hands. But also is a stronger version of Henderson's super power which is breakway-explosive runs. Love both accelerates faster than Henderson and has better long breakaway speed than Henderson.

For those who said the other day let the Giants take him. Love would be a nightmare for at least this configuration of the defense -- Wagner or Luvu couldn't fill the gap to stop him fast enough and then Quan's typical hesitation as he's trying to diagnose the play would ensure he's a beat too late.

He doesn't have Barkely's power. But he's an even bigger nightmare than Barkley as to acceleration and long speed -- a more dangerous IMO homerun hitter.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Any scout or FO person who tells a reporter/draftnik anything should be fired for cause. You never tell anybody anything about your strategy.

We were holding a board meeting, which is on the 16th floor of our building, and somebody forgot to put the blinds down for the board room, and our chief legal counsel was like, "somebody could look through the window and get information."

Now, I don't actually think that was possible because of physics. There isn't a building that could get an angle to see anything projected, and there is an interior wall in the way. The only way would be somebody with a drone, which COULD happen, but if somebody is going to put a drone outside your board room, they can figure out other ways of eavesdropping. So I wasn't terribly concerned. But we did lower the blinds anyway.

But the point was, don't tell anybody your strategy or let them figure out your strategy. Ever.

I doubt lol aside from Rivera teams let on their strategy. But it feels like some scouts are willing to share their takes on players especially those they don't plan to take.

For example, Keim got a lot of takes on the QBs in 2024 but it was clear as to later that his sources were people like Kyle and McShay among others who had no stake in those QBs

 

[skinsinparadise]

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Hand timing almost always produces a faster result than laser.

 

[philibusters]

With Mauigoa I expected the arm length and wingspan. His feet are not elite either though they are solid. But his anchor and his grip strength are both elite as is his technique. He is not as athletic as Will Campbell and his anchor is much better than Will Campbell, but its the same type set up as last year. He is probably going top 10 as a Tackle, but he realistically is a very good Tackle prospect and elite Guard prospect. Teams value very good Tackle prospects over elite Guards.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

OL official size measurements are in.

Fano isn't going Top 6 anymore...well Will Campbell did last year but he was notably destroyed in the playoffs.

Mauigoa's arm length is a little short for OT but not too bad. He can make it work still.

Markel Bell's wingspan is over 87 inches? Daaaaamn.

 

[Conn]

Thinking about Jeremiayh KDawg Love. More draftniks seem smitten by him, they think he is indeed a J. Gibbs, McCaffrey, B. Robinson player and then there are some here who think he's a peg behind.

I was watching him this morning and trying to do it with a critical eye and play devil's advocate.

To me the idea that he isn't quite that caliber RB to my eyes would be: he's more of a straight line speed runner, and there isn't a ton of stop and go. In short, more of an RG3 style runner but with much better vision than a Russell Wilson in his hey day. More vertical without elite horizontal.

He's not Barry Sanders stylisically at all. The zig and zag and horizontal movements from Love are fine but not IMO special. That's not his game. And if you are looking for that you will be dissapointed. The more I watch him the more he reminds me of McCaffrey, actually. He also doesn't have the power of a Bijan Robinson. I think he's a better north-south runner than McCaffrey, and McCaffrey has better hands but Love has good hands, too.

To me his superpowers are

A. Acceleration -- he hits the hole so fast
B. Vision -- he can see it including in short spaces
C. breakaway speed
D. Contact balance
E. Soft hands in the passing game.

Think of that Barkley run against Washington in the playoffs. Once Barkley saw the hole he accelerated so quickly that even the defenders who were close to the action couldn't fill that gap and then once he hit that gap he was gone. That's Love. Barkley's breakaway runs aren't purely about long speed -- they are also about vision and short speed. That's Love IMO.

Also he can hit singles too. He sees it quickly in tight quarters and can get those tough 3-4 yards. And he's not always one cut and go. He can be patient when need be. Stutter steps and waits for the play to develop.

But to summarize -- his vision combined with short speed and long speed is special.

I don’t know how people feel about this comp but I said the other day he reminds me a bit of a thicker Jamaal Charles. The upright but incredibly instinctive and bursty style. And Love might actually be a better receiver