Some Monday Thoughts On Round One, After seeing Jeremiah's Top 50

[mayoclinic]

I think Iheanachor, Delp and Keyron Crawford are very similar prospects. Plenty of flashes, plenty of unrealised upside but haven’t put it all together enough to be easily provable succcesses. I like all three, but I don’t think they’re necessarily walking onto the roster day one and being roster changers.

I’d draft all three in the expectation they live up to their upside but I’d also be a little cautious too.

I think you might want a mix of traits/upside with experience/readiness.

Examples:

- Blake Miller/Keylan Rutledge at OL with Keyron Crawford at EDGE

- Max Iheanachor at OL with DDS or Gabe Jacas at EDGE

I wouldn't use all 3 day 1-2 picks on high ceiling guys who need development time.

 

[mgteich]

Here's Dane Brugler's top 300 from yesterday, for comparison:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/interactive/the-beast-2026/top-300-prospect-rankings/

If you look at Brugler's list and assume the top 25 are gone, you still have:

26 Denzel Boston
27 Aveion Terrell
28 Akheem Mesidor
29 Blake Miller
30 Colton Hood
31 TJ Parker
32 Kayden McDonald
33 Max Iheanachor
34 Chase Bisontis

Plus Caleb Banks (52), Keylon Rutledge (62), Treydan Stukes (56), Jake Golday (48) and Jacob Rodriguez (40).

Even if Mesidor, Miller, Iheanachor and McDonald are off the board, there are a number of attractive prospects worth taking at 31 if we can't trade down.

The Pats should have some solid options.

I'll presume that Boston is also gone.

Parker
Howell
Faulk
Allen
Price
Terrell
Hood
Bisontis
============
Who would you be comfortable picking at 31?
We could juat pick the next player on Vrabel's board no matter how far his from he is from BPA per various lists.

I like Parker, but even then, a trade down might be better since we would have the extra pick plus be able to get one of these.
Jacas
Banks
Rutledge
Golday
Rodriguez
Stukes

 

[mayoclinic]

I'll presume that Boston is also gone.

Parker
Howell
Faulk
Allen
Price
Terrell
Hood
Bisontis
============
Who would you be comfortable picking at 31?
We could juat pick the next player on Vrabel's board no matter how far his from he is from BPA per various lists.

I like Parker, but even then, a trade down might be better since we would have the extra pick plus be able to get one of these.
Jacas
Banks
Rutledge
Golday
Rodriguez
Stukes

Right now my big board at 31 looks something like (excluding concensus top-25 prospects):

Max Iheanachor
Blake Miller
[Caleb Lomu]
Keylan Rutledge
Akheem Mesidor
Kayden McDonald
Caleb Banks
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
Treydan Stukes
Jake Golday
Jacob Rodriguez
TJ Parker
Gabe Jacas

I would probably take Iheanachor or Miller at 31 without hesitation. After that, I'd look hard at who is available and think seriously about trade-down offers.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

I'm not sure "fingers crossed" is the right approach to filling your biggest need.

Right.
You can't do it all, but if you look at our current roster, and factor in how bad our pass rush was last year, I am not comfortable crossing my fingers at the Edge position.
Would much rather cross my fingers at RT.

 

[sg14]

Right now my big board at 31 looks something like (excluding concensus top-25 prospects):

Max Iheanachor
Blake Miller
[Caleb Lomu]
Keylan Rutledge
Akheem Mesidor
Kayden McDonald
Caleb Banks
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
Treydan Stukes
Jake Golday
Jacob Rodriguez
TJ Parker
Gabe Jacas

I would probably take Iheanachor or Miller at 31 without hesitation. After that, I'd look hard at who is available and think seriously about trade-down offers.

Why the parentheses?

 

[mayoclinic]

I'm not personally sold on Lomu. He has good size, length, athleticism and footwork. But I don't see the violence and aggression that I'm looking for. My biggest question about him is whether he has the temperament to knock people on their ass.

So I'm not pounding the table for him like for Freeling, Iheanachor, or Miller. But if the Pats brain trust drafted him, I could get on board with it.

 

[manxman2601]

I'm not personally sold on Lomu. He has good size, length, and footwork. But I don't see the violence and aggression that I'm looking for. My biggest question about him is whether he has the temperament to knock people on their ass.

So I'm not pounding the table for him like for Freeling, Iheanachor, or Miller. But if the Pats brain trust drafted him, I could get on board with it.

He's also a LT only. Apparently Fano was moved from LT to accomodate him.

 

[mayoclinic]

Some people seem to feel he could play RT, but he doesn't have experience.

Kadyn Proctor has been LT only, but I personally think he projects better to the right side.

 

[stinkypete]

If Jeremiah is correct and the OT's are gone early. The BPA could very well be the DT's and at that point Caleb Banks should come into play as well as Kayden McDonald. I know the injuries with Banks are a concern but the guy is a top 15 talent in this draft and I think late in the first or a small trade down would be worth the risk. With the loss of Tonga in FA I think either one of these DT's could be the pick.

Banks is a very, very interesting proposition.

RT would be my top priority, but I am settling into the camp that expects a mid-round run. I am perfectly ok with a trade up for a tackle, and I wonder if this is the reason Boutte's name has come up so often lately.

The only edge I really like at our range is Jacas, but I can't convince myself that he's the best player available at that spot. All the other edges seem like rotational guys who would be 2nd-3rd rounders any other year.

My favorite player in this draft is Jacob Rodriguez, because I'm still chasing a Bruschi type, but LB doesn't make as much sense here given the composition of the board and the roster.

Banks makes the most sense out of the DTs - I expect McDonald to be gone by the time we pick, and Woods' build and game seem a little redundant on the roster. His limitations with tackling are coachable, and if fixed, he could simultaneously replace the roles of Barmore and Tonga as one, three down player.

At this stage in the roster build we're drafting starters for 2027. Some roster projection goes into play. Barmore's dead cap plummets in 2027. If the team is looking to move on as rumored, finding a replacement with a vaulted ceiling is a wise move. On the same note, Onwenu is a free agent, the board around #63 promises value at interior line. It would not surprise me to see a guard picked there.

 

[mayoclinic]

This frames the issue nicely.

I feel that Iheanachor/Miller and Mesidor are nice confluence of need and value at 31, but all may be gone.

The next 7 highest graded players on my board are neither EDGE nor OT, and are clustered together fairly closely: IOL Keylan Rutledge, IDL Kayden McDonald, IDL Caleb Banks, S Treydan Stukes, S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, LB Jake Golday, and LB Jacob Rodriguez. I'd rather have any of them than reach for an EDGE at 31. Banks would be my highest rated player aside from the medicals, but they are significant.

 

[mgteich]

This frames the issue nicely.

I feel that Iheanachor/Miller and Mesidor are nice confluence of need and value at 31, but all may be gone.

The next 7 highest graded players on my board are neither EDGE nor OT, and are clustered together fairly closely: IOL Keylan Rutledge, IDL Kayden McDonald, IDL Caleb Banks, S Treydan Stukes, S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, LB Jake Golday, and LB Jacob Rodriguez. I'd rather have any of them than reach for an EDGE at 31. Banks would be my highest rated player aside from the medicals, but they are significant.

Rutledge and trade up in the 2nd for an EDGE still seems right, although McDonald is probably the BPA and would fill a very large hole.

 

[mayoclinic]

That's probably where I am.