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

[Riggo44]

But I posted a similar thought to Random Commanders Thoughts thread. The lack on consistency in the narrative is really annoying--especially with Cincinnati who got worse this offseason.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Chances JLC just ignored any mention of Washington?

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Maybe but lol, he's been complementary of this team on and off for years.

For his faults, he was responsive in his emails when with the WP, so back in the day we've had exchanges and his hatred was Dan Snyder-Cerrato driven not some general thing about the team or so he suggested back in the day.

 

[skinsinparadise]

But I posted a similar thought to Random Commanders Thoughts thread. The lack on consistency in the narrative is really annoying--especially with Cincinnati who got worse this offseason.

And that's really the thrust of the point for those that think taking Love is crazy -- why would one of the worst teams in the NFL take a RB?

then you got some who still believe in the team (small minority) who sees what it can do for this team. Skip Bayless for his faults, gets it. Kiper. Rich Eisen. Kay Adams.

Be one thing if it was just many in the national media who thinks this team is back to the old days and one of the bottom dwellers -- but seems like Vegas is somewhat on board with that too -- more as to this being a so so team with them.

But yeah I am a bit surprised so few nationally and the betting odds gamblers think this team is bouncing back.

 

[skinsinparadise]

 

[Riggo44]

Maybe but lol, he's been complementary of this team on and off for years.

For his faults, he was responsive in his emails when with the WP, so back in the day we've had exchanges and his hatred was Dan Snyder-Cerrato driven not some general thing about the team or so he suggested back in the day.

He's also a Class-A douchebag. But it seems like a lot of the writers from that era just never let go of their disdain for Snyder-Cerrato-Allen--Mike Wise, Jason Reid come to the forefront of the mind (I'd say Wilbon, but he hates all of DC for some reason). Mike Jones seems to have gotten over it however.

 

[HTTR]

Enemy camp intel. I wrote this up yesterday, came on here to post it only to see that Benjamin Albright had stolen my picks!!! How dare he, but kudos to him for accuracy 😁 I’ll go ahead and post it anyway and if you liked Albright’s post, here is affirmation…


Jets: it’s basically a two horse race between Reese and Bailey. And Reese is several lengths ahead, coming into the final turn. I saw one pole where 78% prefer Reese. They do need a receiver, but the plan is to address that with their other first rounder (16).

Pick: Reese


Cards: they can do us a HUGE solid by going 0L. And I still think there’s a very good chance of it happening. From what I can tell snooping around their message boards, a lot of their fans are good with the idea of just taking Mauigoa. He’s already a stud, and at only 20 years old he hasn’t even completely filled out yet. He’s going to be a monster. Sticking him at RT addresses their number one weakness (OL) and along with Paris Johnson at LT they feel like gives them bookend stud tackles for the next decade. Bringing back Connor and paying for Allgier effectively takes them out of Love consideration. Plenty of talk too about Bailey and to a lesser degree Styles. Anyone’s guess what their front office is thinking, but what they do here will be crucial as to who falls to us. The best case scenario for us I believe is also the most likely scenario, but it’s close. Prepare to hold your breath when Ariz is on the clock.

Pick: Mauigoa


Titans: posted yesterday about them… the fan sentiment is still majority behind Love. But there is plenty of pushback and plenty of evidence that the front office sees things differently, including the Shefter comments from the other day. They really want a stud pass rusher. I do think they will take Bailey or Reese if they fall. Bain is of course an enigma so it’s hard to say if they would take him, but they clearly do like him. And their QB seems to want him. Probably some wishcasting here on my part, but in this case they don’t have to worry about it with Bain since Bailey falls.

Pick: Bailey


Giants: both fans and media are all over the place. Plenty of Love love of course, but also Styles, Downs, and Mauigoa. GM Schon’s presence at Miamis pro day has prompted speculation that Maui is very much in play. There’s a large contingent that thinks the whole Love thing is a smokescreen, and I tend to agree with that. The national media, of course loves New York and loves love. If it’s up to them, he would be the pick. If the GM makes the pick, they are more likely fill a need at a premium position with Tate, Delane, or OL. But none of them are making the pick… It’s only going to matter what Harbaugh wants which seems to be a stud play maker in the middle of the Defense. We’ve all seen the smoke billowing about styles and downs and I think it’s true. Most likely Downs stock is falling a tad for them for the same reasons we have discussed here. So…

Pick: Styles


Browns: their fans are a trip. All the talk is about tackle or receiver, but they don’t think any of them are good enough to take at six and they don’t trust the front office to not screw up. The mixture of negativity and apathy is reminiscent of us during the Snyder years. As to what their front office is thinking, you can kind of read the tea leaves by looking at their top 30 visits… All the top receivers and just a handful of other players at various positions who aren’t anywhere near the top 10 discussion. Can’t figure out for the life of me why their GM didn’t make the 2 hour drive to OSU pro day, but despite that the pick seems super obvious to me. They had the very worst WR room in the league last year (yes, worse than ours).

Pick: Tate


So there you have it. The stars align for Love at 7 😎

 

[heisenberg]

As a fanbase we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that love may be available at 7 and we pass on him.

This place will implode but its a real possibility.

 

[Riggo44]

As a fanbase we should prepare ourselves for the possibility thst love may be available at 7 and we pass on him.

This place will implode but its a real possibility.

Honestly, if it's for Tate, I can accept that one. I am fully prepared for a "Really? Him? I guess..." type pick though.

 

[KDawg]

As a fanbase we should prepare ourselves for the possibility thst love may be available at 7 and we pass on him.

This place will implode but its a real possibility.

I’d be pretty disappointed. But, I’d need to see the surrounding picture as well.

Could be a reason.

That said, I’m not sure many of the reasons make sense.

The goal is to get the best weapons for Jayden.

Love helps him in protection, as a rusher and as a receiver.

No one else in this class can do that.

He meets every goal but one: premium position.

And at some point the actual football part of this game should matter more than the other stuff (when it’s elite vs. good).

The Commanders would need to do one hell of a job to convince me they made the right move passing on him.

But I fully anticipate doing just that for Jordyn Tyson.

 

[HTTR]

How would people feel if they passed on Love for Delane?

 

[burgold]

How would people feel if they passed on Love for Delane?

I'd get it and I could get behind it, but I'd be a little bummed.

 

[Riggo44]

Delane is a stud, so I can't be disappointed. I just can't get over the lack of weapons in our offense right now--the need for Love or Tate is tipping the scales in their direction

 

[skinsinparadise]

As a fanbase we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that love may be available at 7 and we pass on him.

This place will implode but its a real possibility.

It's early. I never take draft intel totally seriously even late in the game, but usually that last week before the draft the info especially for the top 10 tends to get better.

With that said, McShay seems to think Love falls to 7 and this team might use that opportunity to trade back.

As for how I'd feel about a trade back. Probably wouldn't like it. It would feel like deja vu -- fans and the draft media celebrating the haul they got back and then that haul flaming out while Love ends up a superstar.

My wife years back goes to me when seeing Adrian Peterson in a Redskins uniform, that its odd to see a star wearing that uniform. I know what she means.

This is the team of solid players -- the home of Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen, Jamison Crowder, erc. Our solid players are our superstars.

Sainristil and Sinnott coming here and Cooper Dejean being an Eagle is so the Washington journey. Ditto securing Trent Murphy and Spencer Long for Dallas to get their Demarcus Lawrence. On and on.

It's been the ride we never get off of. Do I trust Peters to break that curse? Not really. He already has one strike against him.

And look in real time, its fun to get those bonus Cole Turner, Jarvis Jenkins type players but it never ages well.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Delane is a stud, so I can't be disappointed. I just can't get over the lack of weapons in our offense right now--the need for Love or Tate is tipping the scales in their direction

Yeah I can't double down on the idea of let the Bears take 50 million offensive weapons, go Denver and get your Waddle in a trade, load up your young QBs. We don't do that, we are the land of Chris Moore, Von Jefferson and KJ Osborn.

 

[KDawg]

How would people feel if they passed on Love for Delane?

I’m not sure how important corner is to Jones’ scheme. They’re always important, of course. But HOW important?

Also, what is our biggest need right now? Weapons for Jayden, right? Why pass on the best weapon?

 

[HTTR]

We have Sheehan, Galdi, PFF guys, and others in the media coming out pretty strong against the idea of taking Love. The teams picking ahead of us are hearing it too. And I’m loving it, because for the first time since the combine, I am back to feeling like he will be there for us at seven. It is destiny!

 

[burgold]

I’m not sure how important corner is to Jones’ scheme. They’re always important, of course. But HOW important?

Also, what is our biggest need right now? Weapons for Jayden, right? Why pass on the best weapon?

Add to this, the one area we haven’t really addressed in a substantial way are our offensive weapons.

You can make an argument that the running back room is deeper and that tight end is better, but wide receiver may have regressed and last year, partly due to injuries, that was already a weakness.

So getting an elite weapon holds importance. WR is the bigger area of need, but Love probably sits a couple ranks above this year’s best receiver.

For bang for the buck, weapon feels like the way to go.

 

[Dlts20]

Yeah that was Monson-Steve P's take too, ex-PFF guys on a segment, they think it would be an insane move.

I think its short sighted on their end. And it sort of plays into ironically a point that Sheehan made (I made the same one last week) on his show the other day talking to a sports better which is why aren't Vegas and the national media giving this team any credit for a potential bounce back considering Jayden and all the injuries they had last year.

He goes Cincy among others are giveb credit for in their minds for bouncing back but they are keeping Washington down in their predictions for next season.

It's true. Seems like Vegas and most of the national media are considering now Washington a mediocre to bad team -- to them 2024 was the fluke, 2025 was more of the real team. There are other new cool team that are rising in the NFL, Washington not among them.

I like it and don't like this. I like it from the stand point of Peters-Quinn you want to get your edge back? Here you go. People think you guys suck. I was reading the other day an article from JLC about talking to teams GMs, to name that good off seasons from teams centering on FA -- they didn't name Washington but did name the new cool kid on the block the New York Giants which the sports better Sheehan was talking to also implied people are more intrigued by. Where I don't like it is the off season is long and its annoying to hear this team charactericized with so much doom and gloom.

But for example as I've previously mentioned, one of the few who believes in a bounce back year is Mel Kiper and he seems to like Love to Washington. But yeah if I saw this as a 5-13 team, slow rebuild to go as some in PFF (not all by the way) and others see it, Love makes no sense.

But if you see this team as a playoff team, Jayden bounces back, the team is healthy, Love makes plenty of sense.

Good point. A lot of people see us as the 5-12 team that is super far away to which I can't blame them as we had the worst defense in the league and an offense in quick sand but I think that a lot of us feel like we are a playoff team when healthy and with the upgrades so Love can put us over the top.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

This isn't exactly the right place for it, however I haven't seen any chatter about the BGO Mock Draft which we did last year, legacy from ES.

I'm going to be traveling the next couple week, but if anybody wants to start that up, please go ahead. And let us know what you might need for support.

 

[skinsinparadise]

We have Sheehan, Galdi, PFF guys, and others in the media coming out pretty strong against the idea of taking Love. The teams picking ahead of us are hearing it too. And I’m loving it, because for the first time since the combine, I am back to feeling like he will be there for us at seven. It is destiny!

There was a draft guy just now on Sheehan pushing Love -- Sheehan goes is he Barkley, Bijan? Sheehan's point is he's not. So the dude goes he's a different type of RB, then them. Exactly. That was the point I've been making -- its not like there is one player that every other needs to model after.

Similar debate to Tate versus Tyson. I am a Tate guy. But i get the Tyson people, too. Both players are so different so it depends on what you value or look for in a WR. you want that short space twitch, quick feel -- Beckham style? or do you want that smooth hands catcher who can track the ball beautifully like a Devonte Smith? Two different flavors.

Sheehan is clearly looking for that east-west zig and zag and Love while is Ok at it isn't special. But if you want a dude who hits the hole from 0-60 as fast as you can ever imagine and make big plays with their hands -- Love is the guy. He's not the same stylistically as Bijan but that's OK.