I think my favorite pick of Round 1 was the Titans selecting Carnell Tate at No. 4.
The ONLY thing that matters for the Titans moving forward is the development of Cam Ward. That's it.
Giving him Tate will drastically help speed up that development. Big fan.
If I’m ARI, I’m taking all of the following before Love:
Reese
Bailey
Bain
Mauigoa
Freeling
Delane
McCoy
Fano
ARI should absolutely trade down even if they “lose the trade.” Can probably still get one of Styles/Downs at 9 too. Rather pay them $8mil/year than $13mil/year.
This is the most interesting draft to me in years for this exact reason. We haven’t seen a non-premium position player taken in the top 5 since Kyle Pitts.
The 2026 class presents a great excuse to do just that, even though teams shouldn’t.
This is the most interesting draft to me in years for this exact reason. We haven’t seen a non-premium position player taken in the top 5 since Kyle Pitts.
The 2026 class presents a great excuse to do just that, even though teams shouldn’t.
Downs, Love, and Styles are the 3 best players in this class. None should be taken in the top 5 picks. I wish every team understood positional surplus value.
Ideally…
WAS at 7: Love
ARI trade down to 9: Styles
DAL at 12: Downs
Won’t happen but that’s how it should go.
Downs, Love, and Styles are the 3 best players in this class. None should be taken in the top 5 picks. I wish every team understood positional surplus value.
Ideally…
WAS at 7: Love
ARI trade down to 9: Styles
DAL at 12: Downs
Won’t happen but that’s how it should go.
My greedy take is that the Dex trade should’ve happened on Thursday night
Just imagine the thrill of seeing that Bengals logo suddenly turn blue on the corner of our screens
since we’re all about supporting our young quarterbacks, the titans should only be considering WR or OT at #4 overall
the titans really could use another pass catcher and LT given how those areas look on paper right now. adding a top pick at one of those positions could really help ward develop
(also WR > RB given wan’dale robinson just got paid more than any RB in free agency)
For those who’ve followed me for a while, you know how strongly I believe equipment upgrades are one of the most untapped sources of edge in the NFL.
Better cleats for traction, better facemask design for vision, better gloves for catching and blocking, flak jacket design and strategically placed undershirts for tackle breaking, better pad design for flexibility, especially shoulder pads that allow receivers to fully extend, the list goes on.
It was amazing how many times sideline reporters said the Eagles were wearing the wrong cleats in the 1st half in bad weather games and had to switch them at half the past few seasons
Teams are very aware of the consensus board. They do mock drafts regularly just like the rest of us. So, if you hear that a team loves the 23rd player on the consensus board at, say, the 6th overall pick...
find me skeptical.
Underrated aspect of Rueben Bain's game is that he barely comes off the field. Played 90.4% of non-garbage time snaps for Miami last year
His 897 snaps were the most for a DE in the FBS last year and 2nd-most this decade
My favorite piece to quote on this: “Most reaches ARE reaches but most steals ARE NOT steals.”
For a player to be named a “steal” after the draft, that likely means dozens of teams willingly passed on them. For a “reach,” just one team needs to fall in love with a player.
Since the @GrindingMocks go back to 2018 and only the top 50 are public, who have been the biggest reaches in the 1st rd of the NFL draft? The list is really ugly and shows trying to outsmart the wisdom of the crowds is very likely not a smart decision. Its also no wonder it was the last time a GM like Howie Roseman reached to that degree.
think the most interesting trend schematically right now is how offenses are using their personnel packages to get opposing defenses into base
the rams did so with 13 personnel on 31% of snaps. the 49ers and dolphins did that with 21 personnel on 36.3% and 24.7% of snaps respectively. the steelers and texans used an extra offensive lineman at a high rate
The fact that people are totally fine with Runningbacks, Linebackers, and Safeties going in the Top 10, but the second you suggest a Guard in the Top 10, it's heracy.
Guard is more valuable than all 3 of those positions by a good margin.