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2026 NFL Draft General Discussion

Grim said:
2021 is a bit of an aberration due to COVID, so context does matter some. I don’t think it excuses Eric but I’ll cut him slack for that year specifically.
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Yeah, the hit rate in general in that draft is probably around 1/3. Also to be fair, we saw Bateman go off occasionally, and Oweh was better on another team. Not exactly 1st round numbers for them, but they aren't big misses. Especially compared to the rest of the back of the 1st that year.
 
allblackraven said:
I did not need to see this so close to draft

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i mean it doesnt look great albeit that class was notably weak as the first "true" covid draft and lots of kids stayed in school the extra year that year
but...
Bate is still on the team
Oweh got his 5th year option and did develop into a good player (if not the player we hoped he might be)
Stephens was a high level starter for 1 year and got a big contract in free agency after his rookie deal
Tylan Wallace was a core special teamer for 5 years

also the year we got Ar'Darius Washington as a udfa

obviously not a great class, but not awful as that graphic may make it seem initially

the frustration in that class would be that there were a few high level talents we passed on (who people knew were good prospects at the time) who have become good-to-great players and advocated for with those late 1st round picks:
Creed Humphrey
Landon Dickerson
Christian Barmore
JOK (fell for medical reasons)
Jevon Holland
 
Grim said:
2021 is a bit of an aberration due to COVID, so context does matter some. I don’t think it excuses Eric but I’ll cut him slack for that year specifically.
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managed to find brandon stephens (who even though he sucked in 2024 was a good pick) despite everyone melting down that we took him in R3 when no one knew who he was

daelin hayes looked like he could be something until he just couldnt stay healthy

Cleveland, Wade and Mason were real wastes of picks though
 
Grim said:
2021 is a bit of an aberration due to COVID, so context does matter some. I don’t think it excuses Eric but I’ll cut him slack for that year specifically.
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Their board was thin and wrecked that year. If I remember hearing correctly, by time they picked Stephens, he was the the last early day 3 pick they had on their board, so even that was a "reach" for them, although they didn't really have a choice. By time they got to Wade, they had no draftable prospects left. And no one really wanted to trade either, so they were kind of stuck. Obviously a couple of those late round guys in the entirety of the draft became something, but most of the rounds 5-7 guys from that draft are out of the league, so the Ravens were far from alone.
 
Simba said:
Their board was thin and wrecked that year. If I remember hearing correctly, by time they picked Stephens, he was the the last early day 3 pick they had on their board, so even that was a "reach" for them, although they didn't really have a choice. By time they got to Wade, they had no draftable prospects left. And no one really wanted to trade either, so they were kind of stuck. Obviously a couple of those late round guys in the entirety of the draft became something, but most of the rounds 5-7 guys from that draft are out of the league, so the Ravens were far from alone.
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it's why i find it so odd (both at the time and in hindsight) that ar'darius washington didn't get picked

yes he ran slow but that draft had so little day 3 talent and his film said he was a day 2 pick level of guy who just happened to be small and tested slow... but in an awful day 3 class, how did that guy not get drafted
 
rossihunter2 said:
it's why i find it so odd (both at the time and in hindsight) that ar'darius washington didn't get picked

yes he ran slow but that draft had so little day 3 talent and his film said he was a day 2 pick level of guy who just happened to be small and tested slow... but in an awful day 3 class, how did that guy not get drafted
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Seems like a lot of teams took the athletic testing approach that year in particular - if they weren't getting draftable talent, they were betting on athleticism and being able to mold them. So many guys picked that were bad football players but ran fast or lifted a lot of weight or something in one of those realms.

Still can't believe we were able to get something meaningful out of Shaun Wade who was not even going to make the team.
 
UKRaven1827 said:
I really really like Fano and McCoy for that matter.

But if Reuben Bain was on the board at 14 and EDC didn't pick him I would have a full scale meltdown.
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I would be there with you, in a vacuum. With that said, if we make moves before the draft to shore up EDGE, it may not be an issue then especially if we lost Linderbaum
 
I suck at evaluating LB prospects, but I just don’t see what makes Sonny styles such a hyped prospect. There’s the obvious workout numbers and his numbers show hes a very secure tackler, but the quality of his tackles are not good, a lot of downfield catch tackling, letting the runner come to him and catching them, he gives up yards with this, and he’s a hugger. Doesn’t look like a particularly strong blitzer. Didn’t see much of him filling and taking on blocks in the run game, has to time and shoot gaps to make TFLs there.

I see a basic pursuit defender more than anything.
 
That's because he's still learning the position; he's only 21 years old and has two seasons as a linebacker. Remember, he was originally a safety.
His position will be a mix of Hamilton's or Emanwory's.

This draft will show us if Macdonald or Minter are looking to have two similar profiles on the team
 
JoeyFlex5 said:
I suck at evaluating LB prospects, but I just don’t see what makes Sonny styles such a hyped prospect. There’s the obvious workout numbers and his numbers show hes a very secure tackler, but the quality of his tackles are not good, a lot of downfield catch tackling, letting the runner come to him and catching them, he gives up yards with this, and he’s a hugger. Doesn’t look like a particularly strong blitzer. Didn’t see much of him filling and taking on blocks in the run game, has to time and shoot gaps to make TFLs there.

I see a basic pursuit defender more than anything.
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I dnt see it neither.. thought i was the only one.. if i watch a lb and he doesnt react off instinct during the run, he ass. I was expecting to see him hit the holes and make consistent stops in the backfield but he doesnt.. he gives up yards before he make a tackle like you said
 
JoeyFlex5 said:
I suck at evaluating LB prospects, but I just don’t see what makes Sonny styles such a hyped prospect. There’s the obvious workout numbers and his numbers show hes a very secure tackler, but the quality of his tackles are not good, a lot of downfield catch tackling, letting the runner come to him and catching them, he gives up yards with this, and he’s a hugger. Doesn’t look like a particularly strong blitzer. Didn’t see much of him filling and taking on blocks in the run game, has to time and shoot gaps to make TFLs there.

I see a basic pursuit defender more than anything.
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run defence:



this has some of the coverage stuff in it as well:

 
rossihunter2 said:
run defence:



this has some of the coverage stuff in it as well:

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Idk if its a good thing, its not bad thing either, however… he looks like a version of edmunds when he was in college. I was a big a fan roquan that year because of his pursuit and instinctive traits but i dnt see that in styles as much. I mean its there and could possibly be more consistent in nfl but right now, idk
 
Honestly if Fano is gone and there's no big slide from a top 5 guy I kinda want Shadiq. For the first year he can play a lot from the slot or two TE formations, and fully take over as the top TE next season.

Despite the positional value I think he would bring more to our offense than any of the top WRs.
 
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