And yet given the state of the roster, hard to argue it’s not a need
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2026 NFL Draft General Discussion
- Thread starter rossihunter2
- Start date
And yet given the state of the roster, hard to argue it’s not a need
Right now my guess on BPA at 14 would be WR
Argentina Raven
Practice Squad
I know that, but if we look at BPA, it's one of the strongest options
Yea WE know that but not your typical fan. Not only that, when we start looking bad because of the players we have in the trenches, media gonna start bringing up too, not caring that at the time, the cb or wr was our best option
I was just reading that tyson has had injuries including hamstring problems… yea i think he off the list for sure imo
Argentina Raven
Practice Squad
I still prefer Lemon over Tate or Tyson.
If it's not one of those three, then I like Boston, but not in the first round.
If it's not one of those three, then I like Boston, but not in the first round.
this year was a little different given josh simmons was available
but 2024 for example, it's all well and good saying we should have gone OL, but 9 OL were already off the board before we picked and the run was finished
in terms of DL, 2025 had the 4 elite DT prospects all off the board by pick 21 when we were picking 27
so i never even find the hindsight analysis of many of these picks credible because don't just tell me they should have fixed it, show me how they could have done that
i mean that's the only reason he'd potentially be available at 14
if the medical checks are good, not sure how you don't take him at 14 - he's awesome
for me it's tyson at the top
then tate and lemon just behind who i flip-flop around on
i don't like boston very much - he's big and he looks smooth - but he lacks the suddenness and explosion to consistently separate even in college - reminds me of keon coleman a lot (another guy i did not like coming out)
and then on top of everything, stylistically i dont think he meshes well with lamar's skillset
i'd be ok with him in the 3rd right now - but currently he's WR11 and that's before doing some rewatches on some guys stacked below right now (Chris Brazzell and Germie Bernard) who i could definitely see overtaking him on my board
Dom McRaven
Hall of Famer
What makes you like Tyson over Lemon?
superior movement skills - his lateral ability, quickness and fluidity are the kinds of movement skills you see in elite NFL route runners
he's bigger than Lemon
more versatile within the structure of the offence - think lemon's more strictly just a slot receiver, whereas Tyson can be your x, z or slot
i think lemon's cool
but Tyson's ceiling is elite WR level - he has the skillset to dominate at all 3 levels
for me the only questions about Tyson as an elite WR prospect are whether he has great long-speed (but ultimately as long as he's running faster than a 4.55 i honestly don't care and my guess is he'll be in the 4.4s somewhere - and tbh i think he's probably faster than Lemon anyway) and the medical history which i cant judge - but if the medicals come out clean at the combine then i dont see how he isnt a top 7 player in this draft class
that's not to say i don't like Lemon, but i've got far more questions about his profile e.g. how big actually is he (coz im not sure i believe the listed 5'11 and idk how long he is), how quick and fast is he because while he's a really good route runner idk if he's super explosive to threaten vertically, is he limited to just the slot (i think probably) - he's super competitive after the catch and as a blocker and a really good player in general, but i dont see this elite skillset that would get me excited about him as a top 10 type player, especially for the ravens - wouldn't surprise me if he went to the Rams and flourished in that offence in 11 personnel as the slot
Tyson feels like taking a swing at what we all thought bateman could be if he didnt have drop and contested catch issues
This was more about the OL class in itself than a strategic philosophy. However I don't really agree with you. We've had a top 10 OL when Joe D was here and the investment in the line wasn't bigger.
The downgrade in the coaching staff has been huge and Emery Jones 6 month injury has been a problem as well.
To be clear I don't have a strong opinion on what we should do this offseason. I just believe context is needed.
yeah the issue was coaching and also the pipeline of guys coming through got a bit clogged with guys who couldnt do it
in fact when we had that pipeline working it was so good it was feeding other teams with long-term starters that we were casting off too (see ben bredeson, tyre phillips, jermaine eluemunor, alex lewis)
and obviously that's separate to the bradley bozeman, pat mekari, ben powers, orlando brown, james hurst, ricky wagner guys that we drafted or signed as udfas
obviously we have vorhees and faalele, but historically, we'd have had guys coming in ready to replace them or force them out and we'd recoup some value by trading them away before the roster cutdowns
this is the value of having lots of picks - you can make multiple OL selections in the mid-to-late rounds every year and keep the best guys each time
you can see the hole that the 2023 and 2024 drafts have left on this roster - 2023 was a small class with Zay and a couple of guys who are rotational or good depth (but replacement level starters), 2024 was basically a washout after R4
2022 was the draft class that helped carry on the momentum created by the outstanding 2018 class - we need the next really strong one with these high picks to retool and go again
JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
While I wasn’t entirely sold on ioane at first, my opinion of him is way higher now, and if we took him at 14 I wouldn’t be able to find a single complaint, unless there was somehow one of the elite edge rushers available.
If we took him at 14 I don’t think anyone would have a problem in the short or long term. It would be a huge upgrade to the most important group on the field
i mean i would be frustrated
if im taking a guard in the top 15 they'd better be borderline generational
i dont think vega's even close to that level of prospect
If we were running a gap/power run game, i think i would be able to stomach a top 15 pick on him because he’s such a good pass protector and solid displacing defenders but with the switch to running outside zone at a 50% plus clip, I’m not a fan.
I hope our FO is able to adapt to the new regime when it comes to drafting the players that fit their scheme.
Way off topic and probably a dream: but I’ve come around on the idea on sending pick 14 and a 27 day 2 pick for Crosby. Then grab the Texas A&M guard in round two and sign a Vet guard like Zion Johnson if he’s cheap.
JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
Generational guards don’t fall to 14.
And at some point you HAVE to be more flexible in your roster building approach. We’ve known for years that our OL was a problem and the future problem was gonna be worse, and we haven’t done enough to address it. The most important group on any team with a QB is the OL and our roster building approach has left us taking the value pick every first round, while every year our qb is getting smacked worse than the year before.
If OL is so important, and it is, you have to start valuing them differently than other position groups. For example you mentioned Sonny styles elsewhere, the fuck would we look like drafting a guy who gets us a few tackles and maybe a PD every week while ioane is giving up zero pressures on some other team and Lamar is getting injured in the pocket?
I value your opinions and I don’t question your football knowledge, you truly know your shit, but I also think you’ve leaned a little too hard into the decosta roster building methods and it doesn’t leave much room for actually trying to fix your teams problems. Rather than building a championship roster, it’s chasing value. It has its place and works out very well overall, but it also can leave you falling short consistently because you’re never addressing the glaring needs.
JoeyFlex5
Hall of Famer
Which a&m guard? Bisontis or armaj reed-adams? Because I think I like the latter more and that would be a nice scenario for me.
Although if it’s possible, I’d love pregnon in round 2. I have a hard time believing he lasts that long though
the reason i don't subscribe to that philosophy is it all falls apart if Ioane's not a great player
you put all your eggs into fixing a position in the first round of the draft vs drafting the best talent and you end up creating potentially big holes in your roster
the draft is about finding talent not fixing holes
and vega's neither the best OL in the class, nor even the best G in the class (in my opinion), and definitely not a fit for the Ravens offence as i understand it to be
schrauth, bisontis, pregnon, parker ii may be around in R2 and not only do i not see a big talent differential between them and ioane, i think those guys are better fits here
at 14, the only OL i'm happy taking in this class are Fano or Mauigoa
pregnon's old - hopefully that drops him a bit so he lasts to 45
that would be a dream 2nd round pick