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

[skinsinparadise]

 

[skinsinparadise]

Absolutely. You got some covering this team like Ashooh and Bram going let Jayden deal with the WRs, he will make dude, go get defense. I don't get it. Other teams are obssessed with ensuring their young QB thrives.

 

[Chris]

If Love and Styles are gone I still believe that Downs is the pick. Peters may have even engineered the false medical report. 😎

 

[Higskin]

The scuttle from ESPN Unsportsmanlike this morning after bumping around events in Pittsburgh last night was expect "fireworks" at #3. Canty thinks Dallas moves up and drafts Love at #3 but does say it's his pick for fireworks. Love will sell tickets.

Typical Jerry Jones if it happens when they still need so much on Defense. LOL

 

[burgold]

Both are massive holes

I think last year showed that you can only scheme around a weak wide receiver position so much. By the middle of the year, our offense could do nothing. It was only when Terry came back from injury and Burks got back up to speed that the offense limped its way up to below average.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

If Love and Styles are gone I still believe that Downs is the pick. Peters may have even engineered the false medical report. 😎

I'll be pissed. 2026/2027 would still have holes on the defense and Jayden would get frustrated, injured, and develop more bad habits again.

We've got Downs and Cross as the starting safeties. Both are best in the box. Both have some questions about being a standard 2 Deep Safety, neither can be the Post Safety. Anytime the QB sees a safety rotate post-snap, how do they not just think everything past 15-20 yards could be open? I also worry that as we see Cover 3 fall apart, that then Cover 2 Beater plays would just wreck us.

I like Downs and would like it if he was a Commander for a decade, but I'm not convinced he actually makes our near term defense that much better that forgoing other options makes sense. Delane, Tate, or trading back seem more valuable there than double dipping on a Box Safety.

 

[KDawg]

The scuttle from ESPN Unsportsmanlike this morning after bumping around events in Pittsburgh last night was expect "fireworks" at #3. Canty thinks Dallas moves up and drafts Love at #3 but does say it's his pick for fireworks. Love will sell tickets.

Typical Jerry Jones if it happens when they still need so much on Defense. LOL

Sorry. I’m not laughing if they get Love.

 

[burgold]

They can act still at WR and probably do. But I don't see that as a given for some reasons.

A. Quinn's unsolicited explanation for how their WR by committee can work with the current room

B. Playing off of point A, they signed Dyami and Van Jefferson after chasing Doubs and Pierce

C. As a beat reporter pointed out last summer, Terry out of camp, Noah was hurt, their WRs were shut down by UDFAs and their response to all of that -- they did nothing.

I do think they do something. But doing nothing or very little sadly seems to be in the equation if past is prologue.

I think its ironic that so many in the national media are going it just has to be Tate or a receiver for that team, they got nothing but a 31 year old dude coming off an injury plagued season. But i am unsure its in their blood to feel that same desperation, But will see.

So, just to play contrarian. Quinn is pretty good at coach speak. He's pretty good at saying nothing. He's also the kind of coach who I doubt will ever speak poorly about his roster.

So, Quinn's "unsolicited explanation" may be happy talk or it might be a diversion.

I just don't think he blurts strategy very often.

 

[KDawg]

So, just to play contrarian. Quinn is pretty good at coach speak. He's pretty good at saying nothing. He's also the kind of coach who I doubt will ever speak poorly about his roster.

So, Quinn's "unsolicited explanation" may be happy talk or it might be a diversion.

I just don't think he blurts strategy very often.

I actually think he only says things he means. He is measured with how he speaks. When he says something it’s generally pretty honest.

We are used to misdirection, but I’m not sure that’s the kind of guy Quinn is.

 

[Chris]

I'll be pissed. 2026/2027 would still have holes on the defense and Jayden would get frustrated, injured, and develop more bad habits again.

We've got Downs and Cross as the starting safeties. Both are best in the box. Both have some questions about being a standard 2 Deep Safety, neither can be the Post Safety. Anytime the QB sees a safety rotate post-snap, how do they not just think everything past 15-20 yards could be open? I also worry that as we see Cover 3 fall apart, that then Cover 2 Beater plays would just wreck us.

I like Downs and would like it if he was a Commander for a decade, but I'm not convinced he actually makes our near term defense that much better that forgoing other options makes sense. Delane, Tate, or trading back seem more valuable there than double dipping on a Box Safety.

Not saying that is my ideal just that it’s my prognostication.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

The scuttle from ESPN Unsportsmanlike this morning after bumping around events in Pittsburgh last night was expect "fireworks" at #3. Canty thinks Dallas moves up and drafts Love at #3 but does say it's his pick for fireworks. Love will sell tickets.

Typical Jerry Jones if it happens when they still need so much on Defense. LOL

There seem to be A LOT of rumors about both #3 and #6 being moved. Speculation on Saints, Chiefs, Cowboys, Rams, and Jets as teams willing to move up. Although some for only a specific player.

 

[burgold]

Time to find out just how dumb Joe Shoen really is.

I say we offer him the seventh pick for 5 and 10. I think it's even odds he would take it.

 

[ES1974]

The scuttle from ESPN Unsportsmanlike this morning after bumping around events in Pittsburgh last night was expect "fireworks" at #3. Canty thinks Dallas moves up and drafts Love at #3 but does say it's his pick for fireworks. Love will sell tickets.

Typical Jerry Jones if it happens when they still need so much on Defense. LOL

Dallas moving up for Love was being touted a few weeks back too.

I mean, fair play. Give me that over ‘safe’.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Dallas moving up for Love was being touted a few weeks back too.

I mean, fair play. Give me that over ‘safe’.

Was it Love or Reese/Bailey at #3? Thought they were determined to fix their pass rush after trading away Parsons.

Supposedly they're in talks to trade up to #6 too, but that would be for Styles.

 

[actorguy1]

I did a tally of mocks from the Huddle Report. The Huddle Report is the website that runs a contest each year for most accurate mock. So far the tally is as follows:

Tate- 8 mocks
Styles- 5 mocks
Delane - 3 mocks (including one where.
they traded down to 13
Downs- 2 mocks
Bain- 1 mock
Lemon- 1 mock

 

[Canuck]

I mostly wouldn’t mind any of the players themselves in a vacuum.

But, this isn’t a vacuum. Also, I don’t know if you’ve seen but as I mentioned above I’ve already decided we are going to draft Tate. It’s a done deal because I have spoken.

So, we may as well shift the whole conversation to day 2’s thread now.

I'd be happy with Tate.

His floor is WR2, but I think he has upside that was not seen playing across from Smith

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

I did a tally of mocks from the Huddle Report. The Huddle Report is the website that runs a contest each year for most accurate mock. So far the tally is as follows:

Tate- 8 mocks
Styles- 5 mocks
Delane - 3 mocks (including one where.
they traded down to 13
Downs- 2 mocks
Bain- 1 mock
Lemon- 1 mock

Where do they pull from, national media personalities? These 20 mocks are those wittled down from say 40 national media mock drafters and the 20 left off were never accurate?

 

[skinsinparadise]

So, just to play contrarian. Quinn is pretty good at coach speak. He's pretty good at saying nothing. He's also the kind of coach who I doubt will ever speak poorly about his roster.

So, Quinn's "unsolicited explanation" may be happy talk or it might be a diversion.

I just don't think he blurts strategy very often.

Because he's good at coach speak, I take it more seriously for him to give some unsolicited lets go deep talk into how this room can work without the question being that probing -- and his point somewhat tracks with how they've looked at that position for their tenure this far.

I recall the rationalization that they had about last years room judging by what Keim said in a podcast -- that is, they were surprised that all three guys: Gallup, KJ Osborn and Chris Moore didn't work out. I gather they thought they'd have their next Zaccheus in that group. Among their other moves

 

[skinsinparadise]

 

[DWinzit]

I am a defense first guy.

I must be honest, with all the freaking potential Styles offer...which is insane...Id say in September Love and Tate offer more.

If either of those 2 are there, AP might regret not taking them for the offense (unless he has a trick up his sleeve)