The 2026 Draft Thread - Day 3

[Bulldog]

Maybe Adam Peters is just getting better with experience.

I don't know, perhaps he is listening more to the scouts and making fewer instinctive picks like the one for McCaffrey based on bloodlines?

 

[Simeon]

I don't know, perhaps he is listening more to the scouts and making fewer instinctive picks like the one for McCaffrey based on bloodlines?

Plus maybe working to accommodate better coaches?

 

[Bulldog]

Plus maybe working to accommodate better coaches?

I don't like Ben Johnson after he treated the Commanders rather shabbily, but I do like his offense. And Blough is a disciple of that approach to offense.

I think it's a more accessible and quarterback friendly system.

And as Joe Gibbs always maintained if your quarterback is not left standing up you aren't winning many football games.

Peters and Quinn were not going to allow what happened to Kyler Murray happen here with Daniels and so Kingsbury had to go.

 

[aledb11]

I really wanted to draft Jeff Caldwell in the 7th. Even more wanted him as UDFA. He signed with the Chiefs.

 

[Dlts20]

I've been thinking about, what if our guy was really Delane but the Chiefs got wind of Keims report, etc. If that is true, does a guy like AP get really upset within the organization about the leaks because that can totally change the direction of the franchise. Who in the know is telling Keim stuff

Kicker is the one common thread between this administration and those that preceded it.

We have had Tress Way but have never been able to find a kicker that can maintain a consistently high level of play to pair with him.

And this from the organization that had Joe Gibbs who truly believed that special teams were an equal 3rd phase of the game and had a kicker win the league MVP award. My have we fallen... Smh

We still have Way and Reeves though

 

[Bulldog]

Damn Chiefs. Mahomes may not be ready to play until October but guys still want to go there based on their recent past history.

I don't think the Chiefs are going to be elite contenders in 2026, I think 2027 is the year back for them going deep in the playoffs.

 

[Faithful Fan]

I've been thinking about, what if our guy was really Delane but the Chiefs got wind of Keims report, etc.

Entirely plausible. Sonny will be good though.

And this from the organization that had Joe Gibbs who truly believed that special teams were an equal 3rd phase of the game and had a kicker win the league MVP award. My have we fallen... Smh

We still have Way and Reeves though

I thought our special teams were pretty good last year. LMC and Lane were good returners, and Tress Way is still one of the best in the business.

Kicker has been a problem, but I’m hoping Moody can settle in and be the guy for a long time, he has the potential.

 

[The Brotherhood]

I've been thinking about, what if our guy was really Delane but the Chiefs got wind of Keims report, etc. I

And this from the organization that had Joe Gibbs who truly believed that special teams were an equal 3rd phase of the game and had a kicker win the league MVP award. My have we fallen... Smh

We still have Way and Reeves though

To your point about Delane, I also had exactly that thought. Based on simply the Chiefs moving up for that pick, it looks a lot like it IMHO

 

[Emir of Schmo]

Soooo. Sonny ran a faster 40 than Ceedee Lamb at the combine lol. What an animal.

Fred Davis II.

4.65/40 speed has me shaking my head a bit.

I was right behind the fence watching Fred Davis & Jordan Reed (rookie year) run routes during preseason camp in RVA. Reed was like a gazelle just gliding through his routes & I knew instantly he was so much better than Sleepy. My wife was an ambassador for camp a couple of years.

 

[Anselmheifer]

Regarding out 7th round pick, I’m just saying, we could have used it to have Aiyuk here through the entire offseason, if he is our plan as the primary outside receiver across from McLaurin

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I don't know, perhaps he is listening more to the scouts and making fewer instinctive picks like the one for McCaffrey based on bloodlines?

2024 was his first draft as a GM. And he was working with a very mixed staff of folks, some new, some holdover. You can’t change a scouting department in January so a lot of the information being fed into the process was coming from folks who were already here.

Every job requires experience. And you can’t buy it.

None of this is an excuse. However Peters had better be a better GM today than the day after the draft in 2024.

And he should continue to learn and evolve and grow over the next several years.

Almost nobody is great at a new job right off the bat. There are always stumbles and setbacks and learning experiences.

The key is you actually learn and grow and get better with those experiences.

It seems like that’s happening. We really won’t know about this draft class for 2-3 years.

 

[Rick Astley]

This guy looks like a UDFA to me.

I think we could have gotten a SEC or other large conference player with stats against better opponents to evaluate.

This kid's numbers look OK but the competition?

I guess they really do want a #3 that carries the clipboard.

I mean, Rutgers is in the Big 10/18, so they’re playing against a lot of good teams. And I don’t know anything about this QB, but it’s safe to say that his OL and skill players were outmatched most weeks.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Getting a QB to develop as a 3rd QB tho stead with the goal of having them as a backup in 2027 is about a $8-$9m cap savings if they don’t have to resign Marriota.

For years the Packers would pick a QB just about every year. Train them, flip them, wash rinse and repeat.

I know literally nothing about the guy they picked.

But I love they picked a QB. It shows roster awareness for not just this year but future years.

And they just can’t have Hartman in the building anymore. So they might as well get a project with athletic talent to groom. And if it doesn’t work out, you cut the guy and do it again next year. It costs you nothing.

7th round picks are complete fliers. If you hit and get a real contributor, great. If not, whatever. But it’s good to take swings.

And taking swings at backup QB is absolutely valuable.

 

[Discobob]

To your point about Delane, I also had exactly that thought. Based on simply the Chiefs moving up for that pick, it looks a lot like it IMHO

It's also possible that Delane was our guy based on the assumption that Styles was very likely gone and we didn't have the ammo to move up.

 

[Dlts20]

Entirely plausible. Sonny will be good though.



I thought our special teams were pretty good last year. LMC and Lane were good returners, and Tress Way is still one of the best in the business.

Kicker has been a problem, but I’m hoping Moody can settle in and be the guy for a long time, he has the potential.

To your point about Delane, I also had exactly that thought. Based on simply the Chiefs moving up for that pick, it looks a lot like it IMHO

I actually got distracted and didn't finish my point which is why that post is written funny, with me also responding to someone else. I was saying if that is true, does a guy like AP get really upset within the organization about the leaks because that can totally change the direction of the franchise. Who in the know is telling Keim stuff

 

[MartinC]

Getting a QB to develop as a 3rd QB tho stead with the goal of having them as a backup in 2027 is about a $8-$9m cap savings if they don’t have to resign Marriota.

For years the Packers would pick a QB just about every year. Train them, flip them, wash rinse and repeat.

I know literally nothing about the guy they picked.

But I love they picked a QB. It shows roster awareness for not just this year but future years.

And they just can’t have Hartman in the building anymore. So they might as well get a project with athletic talent to groom. And if it doesn’t work out, you cut the guy and do it again next year. It costs you nothing.

7th round picks are complete fliers. If you hit and get a real contributor, great. If not, whatever. But it’s good to take swings.

And taking swings at backup QB is absolutely valuable.

I’d never heard of him before today. Just watched some highlight cuts ups (so hardly in depth scouting which I’m not qualified to do anyway). But that said he’s got NFL size and an NFL arm. Very good deep ball and can throw that deep out to the opposite hash on a line.

Good footwork and throws with good timing. Looked liked he made good decisions, but then these are highlight reels.

Didn’t see many/any anticipation throws and while he has some functional mobility he looks awkward throwing on the move. Also didnt see him really going through progressions.

He has an NFL skill base and body - now we see if he can pick up an NFL playbook and develop. We will see a lot of him in preseason I would think.

 

[Dlts20]

It's also possible that Delane was our guy based on the assumption that Styles was very likely gone and we didn't have the ammo to move up.

I agree. We probably will never know the truth but Sonny seems like a great guy and player so let's hope that it works out. Corner is much more of a premium position and was a bigger position of need for us but these guys were around a young Wagner and Warner so maybe that's where they were going all along

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Regarding out 7th round pick, I’m just saying, we could have used it to have Aiyuk here through the entire offseason, if he is our plan as the primary outside receiver across from McLaurin

It takes more than one to tango. 49ers have to agree too.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

I've been thinking about, what if our guy was really Delane but the Chiefs got wind of Keims report, etc. If that is true, does a guy like AP get really upset within the organization about the leaks because that can totally change the direction of the franchise. Who in the know is telling Keim stuff

And this from the organization that had Joe Gibbs who truly believed that special teams were an equal 3rd phase of the game and had a kicker win the league MVP award. My have we fallen... Smh

We still have Way and Reeves though

What if all that leaking to Keim and others about Delane was to ensure a team desperate for a corner would trade up for him and let Styles/Tate/whoever drop?

 

[Rick Astley]

There isn't anything in particular that stands out to not like the kid other than the fact he faced inconsistent competition at Rutgers.

I don't know those stats hold up for him in terms of TD/INT ratio and QBR in the SEC, etc.

Inconsistent competition? Rutgers plays in the 2nd best conference in the country (arguably the best conference in the country, actually). The Big 10 has produced the last three national champions.