The 2026 Simulator Draft Thread

RWJ

RWJ

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I thought rather than adding simulator drafts to the already created and titled "The 2026 Draft Thread" thread we could put them all here.
 
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Tried to do a draft with no trades, though I am not sure if PFF is giving us the 6th rounder we picked up in the Brian Robinson trade from the 49'ers.

Pick 7: At pick one David Bailey and Rueben Bain were off the board and they are the only two edge players I would consider at 7. The three players I considered were Sonny Styles who is probably the best player on the board not factoring in position value, Jordan Tyson, and Carnell Tate. I went with Tate. WR is a valuable position, I like Tates game. Think he could play multiple receiver positions, think he is a good blocker and an already safe pick. I like Tyson slightly more as a pure receiver, but injury concners scared me off.

Pick 71: Considered about 10 guys including Max Klare, Anthony Lucas, Tauren York, DeAngelo Ponds, Justin Joly, Jacob Rodriguez, Brian Parker, and Genesis Smith. Went with Anthony Lucas cause edge is the biggest need and I think Lucas is a good player. But he is a Deatrich Wise player. Good run defender who can collapse the pocket, but is not going to win the Edge a lot as a pass rusher. Didn't feel great about this pick, second guessed myself, but the way the board feel, I didn't feel I had the perfect option and I was going to second guess myself no matter who I picked.

145: Considered Harold Perkins, Pat COogan, Jaden Roberts, DeQuan Wright and Demonte Capehart--ended up with Jaeden Roberts as I think he is the best player of the bunch, but his durability and injury concerns do make this a risky pick. Could definitely backfire.

186: Went with Aiden Fisher. I think he can be a starting NFL Linebacker. Maybe lacks the tools to be a high end one, but if you just finishing for potential starters in the 6th round he is as good of a bet as any. Think in real life he is goes like in the 5th round and is not available here, but you take the board as it falls.

223: Went with Gracen Halton: Don't know a ton abouot Halton but his PFF grade looks decent and we could use depth at DT. I didn't know a ton about a lot of the prospects left at this point, so it becomes less of an informed decision.
 

  • Jordyn Tyson
    WR | Arizona State
    A
  • 71
    Gabe Jacas
    EDGE | Illinois
    A+
  • 145
    Gracen Halton
    DL | Oklahoma
    B
  • 185
    Jalen Farmer
    IOL | Kentucky
    D+
  • 196
    Dallen Bentley
    TE | Utah
    A
  • 223
    Fred Davis II
    CB | Northwestern
    B

  • This time I used NFLMockDraftSimulator, there were a lot of Guards and TE's available in rounds 6 and 7 who probably are like 4th and 5th round picks and it makes it easy to draft those. I probably could have got Jalen Farmer in the 7th round in this simulator (in fact taking him the 6th round got me a D+) and with the other 6th round pick i could have taken either Dallen Bentley or Nate Boerkircher, either of whom seem like great 6th round value at TE and who real life are probably 4th or 5th round picks. In the seventh I was torn between Fred Davis at CB and Red Murdoch the LB out of Buffalo.
 
I don't know much about Taaffe.


I like Bailey at 7. Hunter at 71 is also a good pick. He is a real good pass rusher for his size as he is a big guy. Logan Paulsen mentioned on the Take Command podcast that he is not a natural run defender cause of stiff in his ankles and knees, in some ways a bit similar to Javon Kinlaw. In fact a comp for Lee Hunter is Javon Kinlaw and I would definitely take that in the third round. Yeah I would love to get Kyle Louis at 185, but I think he ends just outside the top 100. He is undersized, but good tape, really showed a lot at the sesnior bowl. He may not be a stack linebacker, but he is going to be a useful player. Josh Cuevas at 207 is a solid pick. Mikail Kamara seems like a good value in the 7th round. He is not super explosive, but should be a well rounded rotational piece. Reminds me of guys like Javonte Jean Baptiste (who was a solid 7th round pick) and KJ Henry who we took in the 5th
 
Have any of you downloaded the Mockout app. It is free. They do update their rankings every few days. And you can do trades. Some of the trades are unrealistic imo. As you can see below I traded down 1 spot to 8, and got the 42nd pick. Not sure that is realistic, but I tried it.

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Reactions: RWJ
Depending upon what we do in free agency - if we don't sign an impact performer at Edge we have to come out of the draft with a pass rushing threat that can start here in 2026.

I don't think we can ignore this position any longer. It has been forever since we drafted a true pass rushing DE and as we all know EDGE and COVER CORNER are the cornerstones to a good defense just like QB and LT are on offense.
 
I like the trades on it. I don't like either Parker or Overton as neither is a good pass rusher. Parker has least has power rushing moves that will generate wins, but not near consistent enough this past season (his 2024 season was better than his 2025 season) to feel good about him as a pass rusher. Overton is a great run stopping DE he is mostly just a clean up guy as a pass rusher. Ramsey is a solid safety prospect and Rodriguez is a good LB, though he has athletic limitations. Boerkircher would be a great pick for round 6 and Anthony impressed at the Shrine bowl (or maybe it was the senior bowl, I am getting them confused now, but I saw he got a decent write up).

Ultimately if we take two Edges, I want at least one of them to be a menace as a pass rusher. Parker is well rounded (pass rusher--run defender) and does have a power pass rush profile, but he is not a menace as a pass rusher. In a typical draft he is probably an early second rounder. I would rather get the kid out of Michigan (Moore) or the kid out of Missouri (Young) at 71 though they may not be there at 71 rather than Parker at 19 because I think there is more value, but without a second round pick that is risky. Cause this draft class is weaker than average, I do think Parker will go in the first round. Overton is a bit of a Edge/DT tweener, though in an odd man front which we should be transitioning to he probably has a more natural role as a 3-4 DE so the scheme change does make him more useful. As a pure edge, he has not have a pass rush profile to speak of, eventually he'll shed a block and can clean up but he is not getting any quick wins for the most part. Maybe he can develop as a pass rusher, he has some athletic tools, but his pass rush plan is developmental. Overton is a solid run defender.
 
Here is my latest. No trades.

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philibusters said:
View attachment 13968

Tried to do a draft with no trades, though I am not sure if PFF is giving us the 6th rounder we picked up in the Brian Robinson trade from the 49'ers.

Pick 7: At pick one David Bailey and Rueben Bain were off the board and they are the only two edge players I would consider at 7. The three players I considered were Sonny Styles who is probably the best player on the board not factoring in position value, Jordan Tyson, and Carnell Tate. I went with Tate. WR is a valuable position, I like Tates game. Think he could play multiple receiver positions, think he is a good blocker and an already safe pick. I like Tyson slightly more as a pure receiver, but injury concners scared me off.

Pick 71: Considered about 10 guys including Max Klare, Anthony Lucas, Tauren York, DeAngelo Ponds, Justin Joly, Jacob Rodriguez, Brian Parker, and Genesis Smith. Went with Anthony Lucas cause edge is the biggest need and I think Lucas is a good player. But he is a Deatrich Wise player. Good run defender who can collapse the pocket, but is not going to win the Edge a lot as a pass rusher. Didn't feel great about this pick, second guessed myself, but the way the board feel, I didn't feel I had the perfect option and I was going to second guess myself no matter who I picked.

145: Considered Harold Perkins, Pat COogan, Jaden Roberts, DeQuan Wright and Demonte Capehart--ended up with Jaeden Roberts as I think he is the best player of the bunch, but his durability and injury concerns do make this a risky pick. Could definitely backfire.

186: Went with Aiden Fisher. I think he can be a starting NFL Linebacker. Maybe lacks the tools to be a high end one, but if you just finishing for potential starters in the 6th round he is as good of a bet as any. Think in real life he is goes like in the 5th round and is not available here, but you take the board as it falls.

223: Went with Gracen Halton: Don't know a ton abouot Halton but his PFF grade looks decent and we could use depth at DT. I didn't know a ton about a lot of the prospects left at this point, so it becomes less of an informed decision.
Click to expand...
The only arguments I can make for Tate over Styles are:

Contracts on receivers have exploded, you can find a good LB cheaper than a good WR in free agency

We need to get Jayden on track his success/failure will have a larger impact than anything else.


With that said I still want Styles. I think he's a better player and could make a big impact as well. My order is Downs, then Styles, then maybe Love over Tate because I rank those 3 above Tate as far as prospects regardless of position. They need the best football player regardless of position.
 
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