Ahhh– 2026… The first (and only other) back-to-back title attempt by the Seattle Seahawks since the prime “Legion of Boom” days. No need to harken back, or whatever ya’ll do, since the Hawks are forging a new trail in history!

The title defense is but one storyline, as it will be fascinating to see how each of the 31 other clubs adjust, prune and reload their teams in the upcoming NFL draft. Let’s take a second to remind ourselves that the NFL is a copycat league, but not a hive-mind. There will be players taken shockingly higher or lower than Mel Kiper told us they would. Did you see what the Bengals did?!

I had a cool twist that I was excited for months to reveal in my final mock draft… I had a feeling that the plateauing Cinci Bengals could be in a position to take a big swing with a blockbuster trade involving the New York Giants. They just need a new vibe in that building. That happened, just not the way that I thought it would.

Then, five days before the draft, they swung for a nose tackle instead. Well… ok.

Mock drafts can feel as, or more futile than a March Madness bracket… the only difference here is that each successive pick is based on results of the previous picks before it. It’s like a long, winding corridor of dominoes. Each organization is operating as a self-serving agent of chaos to the very foundation of this hypothetical chain reaction. With that in mind, I sought to create something as adaptable as each GM’s gameplan has to be. This year’s draft seems to be as unpredictable and combustible as ever, with factors such as NIL and a lack of elite prospects proving to be silent influencers in the shape of this list of NFL prospects.

You’ll see draft pick predictions for each team, followed by a list of 1-3 (4 in special cases) other strong positional considerations (in parentheses, after my actual prediction). The more question marks, the more likely/tempting I think that alternate pick is. Consider this somewhat of a draft strategy roadmap for each team.

I didn’t include any projected trades this time around, but there could be plenty. Dallas and New York (J) could swap 12 and 16, respectively. Arizona and Buffalo could easily trade 25 and 34 (2nd). Minnesota and Pittsburgh could collaborate to move 18 and 21, respectively. With such an unpredictable and even draft class, I just decided to handle it straight-up this year. Trades could return next year.

Let’s get into it…

1. Las Vegas Raiders – Fernando Mendoza, QB (EDGE?) A player they’ve absolutely had their eyes on for a while now. Lock it in. Even if there were pass rushers worthy of this spot, the Raiders will not be reconstructing the new roster just chasing the exact same style it was built to last time out. Geno Smith and Pete Carroll are gone, but new Coach Klint Kubiak carries on the Seattle sentiments in the city of sin. Mendoza piloted the 16-0 Indiana team that won a shocking national title while never trailing in the CFP. As for individual accolades, the young passer won the Heisman for his outstanding season before earning the CFPNC-OPOY against a team that denied him as a walk-on. His size, accuracy, toughness and determination should make him an intriguing potential franchise guy to pair with Kubiak. Raiders minority owner and galvanizing force, Tom Brady is on record as being a fan of his. In some of the interviews and appearances I’ve seen, Mendoza cites pocket movement as his biggest area that needs improvement moving forward… good, because this offensive line was BRUTAL last season. While the team that came from Oak-Town fielded a bottom-8 scoring defense, the offense came in last in both yards and scoring in 2025, so that takes precedent. They might even go QB at 1, use Crosby to get back into the 1st round to get an EDGE to expedite the transition to a 3-4 formation or a CB to make all rushers’ jobs easier. Advance the reign of Egon Durben.

2. New York Jets – Arvell Reese, EDGE / LB (DB?) The Jets need an EDGE and an off-ball LB…why not kill two birds with one Manhattan Schist stone? A splash player with speed who allows Aaron Glenn to get creative with his formations. This was, after all, the first team to record zero INT’s over the course of a season. Is it embarrassing that it happened with a former defensive back as head coach? The answer is yes. Trading DE/EDGE Jermaine Johnson for NT T’Vondre Sweat reinforced their push to a 3-4 defensive scheme. After recording the lowest total of sacks in the AFC last year (26), they could acquire the Swiss Army Knife in Reese to pick up the bookend on outside rusher to pair with McDonald IV. End these depressing stats… Bailey here? They pick the 20-year-old who brings versatility and better run defense than Bailey. Emphasis on that last sentence, especially with WMIV looking like a pass rush specialist himself. This kid is a ball of clay… he isn’t even close to the player he could be! He’s the choice, and I’m not accepting any alternatives. The Jets can easily leverage their three 1st-Rounds picks in 2027 to find a franchise QB if their free agent attempts this year fizzle out.

3. Arizona Cardinals – Francis Mauigoa, OT (HB? S?? EDGE????) Bain or Bailey after they managed the 3rd-lowest sack total (30) in 2025???? Only if they cut Baron Browning? That might not be too taxing of a transaction. This team feels like it has always had stars on the D-line and little else (besides the incomparable Larry Fitzgerald). This would be a departure from all of that. What about Darius Robinson? What about Jordan Burch? Coaches and front offices have to rely on development in some spots. Mauigoa is a bully on the right edge of the offense, with measurements comparable to All-World Detroit RT, Penei Sewell. If nothing else, he is a player that can help set the (nasty) tone in the desert. Wilkinson’s signing at RT doesn’t preclude them from taking a tackle high. Could slide Wilkinson inside to guard, as he did when he played for the red birds on a 1-year stint in 2023. Square that offense away while you have an offensive coach. If Reese is here, that might change things. I think I’d go him, with plans to create a hybrid position for his skill set.

4. Tennessee Titans – Sonny Styles, LB (HB?? EDGE????) This is where things get very, very interesting. Love?? To lift Cam Ward and the offense. Bain Jr.???? To diversify and prestige the pass rush. Styles gives Saleh his Warner! Calvin Johnson type measurable at linebacker is wild! A Fred Warner / Azeez Al-Shaair / Nick Emmanwori comp? Since Tenekee spent on offense in FA (Robinson/Bellinger/OL) to assure the continued improvement of Cam Ward, it frees them up to take a dynamic defender here. The very uniquely suited Styles, and the ferocious Bain are available and likely considerations.

5. New York Giants – Jeremiyah Love, HB (MLB? WR??? CB????) It feels like a receiver, even with Nabers’ injury status, would be outside of the bounds of a first, Harbaugh-led salvo (especially even higher than they took ‘Leek). There hasn’t been a running back taken in the top 5 since Saquon Barkley in 2018. Joe Schoen must attain poetic justice and get a player that can transform the offense into a truly balanced threat. Love’s explosive run rate (~20%) and 10-yard split (1.49s) place him in company with backs like Chris Johnson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jonathan Taylor (according to the McShay Show podcast). He’s tough, elusive and creative, chat. The Big Blue offense would have a very talented array of young stars with this move. Let’s remember that the 2000’s G-Men thrived with the three-headed rushing attack of “Earth, Wind and Fire” that were personified by Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward. That could be revitalized in the team up of Cam Skattebo, Love and either of Tyrone Tracey/Devin Singletary. Ward was the 3rd fiddle, but even he rushed for 1K at one point! So did Tracey, in his rookie year, but that could also make him a young and valuable trade chip. They can scoop another highly regarded collegiate player with the 10th pick.

6. Cleveland Browns – Caleb Downs, S (OT??? WR????) I don’t believe in taking Freeling at 6… he has rare athleticism but is incredibly raw. “Georgia’s passing game was heavily built on play action and screens, which allowed Freeling to partake in just 95 true pass sets all season. That ranked just barely among the top 200 tackles in the country”. Cleveland also (reportedly) passed on Tetairoa McMillan last year because of (in part) his decision not to take part in most pre-draft testing, as well as a 4.53 40 time. That’s the same time that Carnell Tate ran this year. Sure, you could say T-Mac’s success could change their whole philosophy, but the counterargument is Marvin Harrison Jr. in Arizona. There doesn’t seem to be a sure-thing, elite WR or OT prospect here. BPA has Cleveland taking the #1 or #2 player in the draft. A dynamic chess piece that can help fortify the seam, strengthen against the outside run and force offenses into pass situations against the generational Myles Garrett sounds like a great idea to me. It’s another form of supporting the offense… as seen by the (admittedly generational) Seahawks title team this year. They can use their second 1st (24th overall) to trade up for another elite prospect at OT or WR (2nd?) or EDGE (3rd?). Bringing back Hickman and taking an EDGE might complete this defense in a way that could stick it to Jim Schwartz. Here they take a unicorn of a safety who can play in the box and even function as a slot/LB, à la Emmanwori in Seattle? He could displace either Myles Harden or Quincy Williams in different scenarios. Mayhem ensues…

7. Washington Commanders – David Bailey, EDGE (CB? WR???) Dan Quinn has been around some great pass rushers: DeMarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons, Dwight Freeney, Vic Beasley (*ahem*), Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett to name a few. The Washington Football Team was bottom-10 in pressure rate last year (24th, with a 32.5% mark). Von Miller led the team in sacks last year, so they went out and got Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson. A premier rusher also has the chance to drop to them here at 7, and the defense will be all the better for it in a potential switch to more 3-4 alignments (seems like all the rage these days) under new DC, Daronte Jones. Charles Omenihu and Deatrich Wise Jr. can slide inside as DE’s to compliment Daron Payne, Jer’Zhan Newton, Tim Settle and Javon Kinlaw. Jones’ pressure-heavy scheme could lead to WAS prioritizing upgrades/insurance at corner as well. David Bailey is a destructive unit who harbors an explosive first step. Brian Burns comp? Is D.C. going to get baited into trading up with the Cards to make this happen?! I wouldn’t. Go get a top receiver, to support Jayden Daniels and Scary Terry in the 2nd.

8. New Orleans Saints – Carnell Tate, WR (CB? EDGE???) I think Alvin Kamara is retiring, ya’ll. Don’t quote me. Nola used a rare contract mechanism to convert a bulk of his contract to a signing bonus. Drafting another WR across from Chris Olave on day 2 would give this offense explosive capability. Don’t look now, but the Saints also have a refreshed, young and talented offensive line and a promising young OROY QB. Full speed ahead! NOLA opts against defense to continuing building an airborne arsenal for Tyler Shough and Kellen Moore to express themselves with. Don’t let it all be on Etienne (no… go back! It’s ay-chan!). The selection is TATE! The dude from Ohio State who may very well go at 6 or 8. Here, the Saint get the gift of an agile, long-limbed WR1 who can challenge deep. He had an 86% contested catch rate in his final season on an ADOT of 14.6 yards. He can also pose as an adequate blocker for the ground game. I’ve seen comps for him in the realm of Olave/Pickens/Ridley. Even though Cam Jordan is gone, if Delane were here, they’d consider adding him to the group of Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley.

9. Kansas City Chiefs – Rueben Bain Jr., EDGE / DL (OL? CB/S?? TE???) The first team since the Jamarcus Russell-led Raiders (16 years ago) to post three consecutive games of 170 yards or less… that’s why Ken Walker () is in town (10 runs of 20+ yards; compared to the Chiefs’ combined 1 from the running back room). They could also take Kelce’s heir apparent if they feel good about Kenyon Sadiq. Need another guard to feel like you have strong depth… maybe one who has also played a little tackle??? Fano as an underrated option here??? This is HUGE as recent KC teams are not used to picking anywhere close to this high. Take a guy who has the potential to be special. Bain led the nation with 83 pressures but is doubted due to shorter than ideal arm length. Are we asking the right question, detective? That’s an iRobot line for ya. Melvin Ingram comp? KC knows that name well. Make life easier on an expectedly young set of DB’s as KC starts over in the defensive backfield. They are usually good at finding hidden gems at CB later in the draft. It feels like edge rusher is a shallower pool than both the corners and wideouts this year. This guy can also kick inside to rush in different alignments, giving this front a lot of flexibility with all of their recent draft picks on the edge. Khyris Tonga was a nice signing, but this would allow a lot of versatility in term of down and distance (and some nastiness to the defensive front). They also have a second 1st-Rounder, the 29th overall pick.

10. New York Giants (via CIN) – Mansoor Delane, CB (WR?) With the security of another top 10 pick (5, earlier), the New York Football Giants can take a major swing on offense and still get an impact defender. Flott is gone and they tried to deal for Trent McDuffie before the former Chief was sent to LA. They need cover men to actually make use of their insane depth at pass rusher. How about a technician with the lowest catch rate allowed? A press man-coverage specialist who is compared to Quinyon Mitchell. Oh, the guy can also defend the run. Now just imagine if the Bengals had traded this pick to get into position to take Jeremiyah Love. Marcus Freeman, when discussing Love’s receiving ability, boldly proclaimed that, “I think he could be an elite wide receiver”. It could’ve made the Cincinnati offense multi-dimensional. I don’t understand the Bengals… but I’ll keep watching. If they win a ring, I’ll have egg on my face.

11. Miami Dolphins – Makai Lemon, WR (CB/S?? OG???) With a lot of draft capital and tons of needs, the ‘Fins can really just let the draft fall to them. Did you know that nobody on the current Miami Dolphins roster is making more than $7.8M . They enlist an intelligent, route-oriented slot-receiver who has received Amon-Ra St. Brown / Golden Tate comps. Yall say he was acting “strange” at the combine; I say some people communicate in mannerisms different than what your upbringing exposed you to that goes for us all. Despite that, he’s a DAWG who can take a dump-off pass for a chunk gain. He was the 2025 Biletnikoff Award winner, named the nation’s top wide receiver. Give the young, talented & developing, but unproven QB (Malik Willis) a target who can get open quickly and closer to the middle of the field. Spencer Fano as all-time swing OL??? Don’t give up on Jonah Savaiinaea (or his name) quite yet! But do give him so good competition later in the draft. They can use their second 1st-Rounder (30th overall) to address a need on the other side of the ball. Willis needs help to not just absolutely drown out there with a team of Costco hospitality members. Okay, that was harsh… but the Dolphins’ constant tear downs and rebuilds need to be studied. The Miami brain trust (that are former Packers Lieutenants) need a show of force behind Willis at this point. Where is the hope for some point-scoring potential? Remember when they put up 70 on the Denver Broncos?

12. Dallas Cowboys – Jermod McCoy, CB (EDGE?? OT???) It feels like they need a corner and an EDGE in their two 1st’s. Use this to trade UP for an EDGE?? They were in on Maxx Crosby… they’d love if Bain slid to this slot. His teammate, Mesidor (as well as T.J. Parker) could be considered if they have J.M. medically flagged, but Dallas would be in better position with their next pick. This dude could either face a precipitous fall in the draft due to medical (Will Johnson from last year?) or, if teams are comfortable, could go top five? A corner who could’ve slid due to bad 40-yard dash testing… due to injury recovery… but dusted all outstanding doubts by recording a 4.38. It was then flagged that he could need another surgery. This, after he missed the entire ‘25 season with a torn ACL. McCoy is a big, physical cover man with closing speed. He’s an absolute ball hawk, but he may need recovery time. New DC, Christian Parker was quoted as saying, “We still want to be fast and aggressive, but I will say, there’s a premium on instincts, there’s a premium on the brain,” Parker said of his ideal Cowboys defenders. “At different spots, they have to handle a different mental workload in terms of where their eyes have to be. You want guys to be able to process those things quickly”. Jermod’s scouting report on NFL Draft Buzz describes him as “instinctive”, with “exceptional football IQ”. Trevon Diggs is gone, and Jermod McCoy is the type of risky player that Jerrah hasn’t been afraid to take before (Parsons also sat out his final year of college play, Jaylon Smith missed his entire rookie year). If it hits, Cobie Durant could man the slot, DaRon Bland can play dime (along with Jalen Thompson) and outside, while McCoy takes the other outside position. Young dudes, Shavon Revel Jr. and Caelen Carson get more time to develop (Durant on a 1-year contract) and fill in where necessary. SRJ, in particular may have a window near the beginning of the season to earn season-long PT. You also have experienced vets such as Derion Kendrick and Corey Ballentine as reserves. McCoy, however, when in the swing of things again, has great potential on a defense that may often be dragged into shootouts by Dak Prescott. The ‘Boys will draft a tackle at some point. They also hold the 20th overall pick!

13. Los Angeles Rams – Jordyn Tyson, WR (QB? TE?? CB??? OT????) I ORIGINALLY had Fano here, with conviction!!!! Ultimately, the squeeze of an all-in season, along with us all witnessing a short-armed OT get absolutely wrecked and embarrassed by the Seahawks, and topped with a side of mismatch fit in run scheme made the pick eat away at me every day. I finally changed it. Pairing the Rams with Jordyn Tyson is mighty, mighty enticing… to combat the massive deal that Puca will get (and was accelerated by JSN’s deal), as well as the eventual decline of Davante Adams (they already tried to trade him)? Apparently, they tried to go get Tetairoa McMillan last year, even after signing Adams. They pursued A.J. Brown this offseason, in some capacity. Tyson is a versatile and quicker-than-fast route artist who can highpoint and create RAC with his tenacity. He draws comps to Terry McLaurin / Jaxon Smith-Njigba / Stefon Diggs. He does have injury question surrounding him, after missing time each of the last three years. He could compliment Puka and DA well. There’s also this from SumerSports (via TheRams .com): “Tyson’s route tree at ASU was diverse, as he ran eight different routes at least 7% of the time”. Los Angeles is not used to picking this high, and I’m mad that Atlanta helped it happen… here’s why I’m mad, and why I’d pick something other than WR: Fratt Stafford won MVP with the current collection of players at his disposal. There are some young WR’s and TE’s on the rise. The biggest reason, however, is that it could be both serendipitous and fortuitous, especially right after Havenstein retired. Warren McClendon filled in well at times… but there is this, according to A-To-Z Sports: “From Week 16 to the NFC Conference Championship Game, McClendon averaged 23 “true passing sets” against teams the Rams couldn’t hide him from. He allowed 17 of his 24 pressures during this stretch and both of his sacks. When the competition picked up and the Rams couldn’t hide him as much, McClendon’s production skyrocketed. His 17 pressures allowed during that stretch were among the highest figures of any OT in the NFL, and his 1-on-1 sack total (three) and 1-on-1 pressure total (13) were both among the highest marks in the NFL, tying Bobby Hart in sacks allowed and narrowly beating out Josh Fryar’s 16 pressures. Additionally, his 3-second time to pressure was the fourth-quickest in the league among tackles with over 150 pass blocks in that stretch, just behind Pittsburgh’s Dylan Cook and New England’s Will Campbell (including that awful Super Bowl performance).” The entire Rams offensive line are in contract years… except for LT, Alaric Jackson, who has two more years. I know they want to win now, but think about the future of this offense. LA’s two guards are both going into contract years. The Fano pick would allow LAR to fear no o-line injury in an all-in year. Even so, I HAD to RECONSIDER (I read some liter…ature on the subject), as Tyson could be the best wideout in this draft, and seems to have McVay-specific qualities (like route-running precision, toughness, contested-catch ability and size). He even LOOKS like a half black version of Cooper Kupp! Look up my boy and tell me I’m lyin’.
14. Baltimore Ravens – Spencer Fano, OL (DT? TE?? WR???) I know Vega Ioane is the popular pick here. If this were the John Harbaugh-fronted Ravens then that would easily have been the pick. A lot of Baltimore fans have Ioane on their wish lists, but he doesn’t seem as perfect of a match for new OC Declan Doyle’s wide zone run scheme experience. After all this, the 14 spot isn’t Vegas or Vega. There’s a good shot that the Ravens take whoever the Rams don’t take between Tyson and Fano. Sadiq or Tyson as elite weapons? Could go after a lineman with this kind of sentiment from the coach. New HC Jesse Minter saw Jim Harbaugh and team invest the #5 overall pick in Joe Alt, before injuries derailed the LA Bolts’ season. Andrew Vorhees is currently set to compete to start at one guard spot (scary)… but Baltimore let Faalele walk, who earned a higher PFF grade than Vorhees (two more pressures and one more sack, on 42 more snaps). Meanwhile, 2024 UDFA, Corey Bullock is penciled in as an entrant in the starting center role… former starter, Tyler Linderbaum (via The Lounge Podcast before last season) called Bullock “physical, tough – and he’s a smart guy, too. So, if anything happens, I’m totally comfortable with him going in at that position and playing at a high level”. If he can’t, B-More signed two vets to stabilize the position with competition. Fano is a try-hard fluid mover who could see his skillset blossom in a wide zone offensive attack. Can he improve his play strength. He scored the lowest allowed pressure rate in the draft. He’s been talked about as an elite possible conversion to the center position. We may need to hold a few horses before relegating him inside. He also has the ability to act as an outside zone RT. Fano, ultimately, can transition to guard or center to buttress the offense with his movement skills and tenacity. He could add an element of speed to the second level on duo blocks, while extending running lanes for the dynamic duo of Jackson and Henry. I’m no PI, but I believe this was in relation to friction with Todd Monken. Look at the difference now. Zay Flowers does need some help on the outside, but that can come later.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Akheem Mesidor, EDGE (S? LB?? OG/C???) Akheem Mesidor is an older prospect, but that matters little, as this regime is in win-now mode. He is explosive and instinctive as an outside EDGE. The D-Line is (hopefully) healthy and now reinforced with a couple of vets. This pick would create a strong rotation in front of a young (but talented) secondary. GM, Jason Licht when discussing (at the NFL Combine) what the team is emphasizing for the coming season: “You have to pressure the quarterback in order to have success, so whether that is a D-tackle or outside linebacker in our case, even inside linebacker,” said Licht. “I would say our front seven will be something that we need to focus on”. Get this defense some teeth so that Todd Bowles has no excuse but to succeed as a defensive scheme expert on the hot seat. A top shelf running mate for Alex Anzalone was also alluded to and has to be a thought here. AA is the Will/Mo linebacker (usually a coverage specialist), and Tampa needs a Mike backer (a thumper) to step up. Lavonte David is a Tampa legend, as one of just 3 men over the last 30 years to record 1,000+ tackles, 40+ sacks and 35+ takeaways. The other two are Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher. Do they find the next one here? C.J. Allen??? Remember when these dudes came into Lumen and took the eventual Super Bowl champions to OT and came out victorious in a nail-biting barn-burner? It was the only team who Seattle did not beat in the 2025 season.

16. New York Jets – Olaivavega Ioane, OG (QB? DB??? WR????) *See 2nd overall pick for additional needs* The Jets hold the most high-value draft capital in the league. This isn’t the first time. Can they spend it right? After taking a supreme pass rusher (Reese) early, NY can use their second 1st-Rounder (16th overall) on an offensive piece to aid Geno: possibly either an OG or WR. The green team in Gotham had the 6th-most drops from wideouts, while being targeted the 7th-fewest amount of times none had more than 400 yards through the air. Cooper Jr. had just 5 drops in three collegiate seasons, so he is a contender here. If that aforementioned power trio is gone, they could choose to wait and attack in the 2nd. Then the Jets would have clear runway for a player like Ioane to beef the blocking unit. Vega Ioane is an absolute finisher of a mauling guard who hails from Graham, WA. New OC, Frank Reich, ran inside run concepts (inside zone and duo) as ~62% of his rush attempts on the last two years that he was a play caller. League average is ~45%. A gap player like Ioane could be a great fit here. Tippman (66 PFF grade) could move back to center to utilize his mobility on duo blocks (think Jason Kelce in the designation and ability to climb to the second level), making Josh Myers (53 PFF grade and 3rd most in both pressures allowed and penalties charged with among centers) a depth piece on the inside. I mean, PFF isn’t everything… but J.M.’s grade from them registered as the 2nd-worst for any C in pro football. It would be an impressive commitment to the trenches that would echo back to Glenn’s experience in Detroit. They can acquire a receiving threat on day 2 (two 2nd-rounders and a 3rd) and even flip a late round pick for an established player. Avieon Terrell as a final piece in the slot for the defense??? Could the Cowboys be a target trade-up partner (12th overall) to aid the Jets in securing on of the top triumvirate of wideouts in this class?

17. Detroit Lions – Kadyn Proctor, OT (DT? EDGE??? LB????) The Motor City lost its OT2 (Taylor Decker) and OT3 (Dan Skipper). Larry Borom was signed as a solid option to start, but adding a player with big upside here could solidify the outside blocking in a way that already exists for the interior of the offensive line. Legendary Detroit swing tackle, the previously discussed Skipper, is now on staff to help develop a 6th lineman (be it Borom or a draft pick). Proctor is a big and power-centric gap scheme-friendly OT with surprising agility. Gap scheme is exactly what the D(2roit) likes to do on O. Oh, and he can do this. Proctor never had a full and healthy spring in college and dealt with three coaching changes. An NFL staff could feel like there’s more juice that makes it worth the squeeze to start the back half of the round. With only one (or two, depending on how you view Fano) true OT off the board so far, The Lions get their pick of styles in this scenario. Faulk or Parker, to truly load the D-line with potential???? D-Hutch had 16 sacks and is a perennial DPOY candidate at this point. No other edge rusher on the Detroit roster had more than 3 sacks last season, bruh. Fans may be uneasy about the secondary, as they have 4 CB’s that are free agents after the season and 2 safeties who could face long roads back from injury this year. Good thing they signed Chuck Clark, Christian Izien and Roger McCreary to fortify… The starting corners are good, and they are some young (cheap) and promising prospects at both safety and slot defender. Avonte Maddox, Thomas Harper and Ennis Rakestraw are wild cards. The Lions are in good shape with depth and interchangeability.

18. Minnesota Vikings – Dillon Thieneman, S (WR? LB??) This team feels like it lacks depth everywhere on the roster… it was also the worst team in the league at drafting defensive value (the lowest in PFF’s “Approximate Value over expectation” (AVoe) stat) over the last four years. A trade back to pick up extra ammo feels feasible in a pivotal year for Kevin O’Connell, Kyler Murray and team. Downs is the dream replacement for the possibly retiring Harrison Smith. No chance he is available at all. Let’s hit a line drive with your interim GM. Here I have them selecting the movable piece that is Dillon Thieneman. Because of the above challenges in the area of drafting for Brian Flores’ defense, a member of the secondary who can make others better and erase mistakes might hold true value (that transcends positional value). This is a player that is used to taking on multiple roles, which could go far in a defense where even safeties have lined up at the nose position. Now, would the Vikes rather have McNeil-Warren and his size, range and physicality to compliment Joshua Metellus for two-high disguising? Either would be Flores’ answer to Nick Emmanwori in Seattle, Antoine Winfield Jr. in Tampa and Kyle Hamilton in Baltimore that allows him to get creative as a versatile safety / slot / box defender. Frees up Flo’ to mix things up with both D.T. and B.M.J. and his exotic blitzes. Which, if any, does Minny consider good enough to overcome this stat. (via The Viking Age): “Not since 2014 has a safety who was selected with the No. 18 pick or later in the first round in the NFL Draft gone on to earn at least one Pro Bowl selection in their pro career. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who was drafted with the 21st overall pick in 2014 by the Green Bay Packers, is the last safety to accomplish this”. That’s not a joke (but it could easily be), look it up. If the Jonathan Greenard trade rumors come to fruition, Keldric Faulk could slot in here nicely as a moveable piece to rush the passer from the outside and as a down DE. Colton Hood is a sneaky pick for them here; all three of the starting corners are 28+. Christian Wilkins to reunite with Brian Flores? As Dolphins coach, the former New England lieutenant called Wilkins, “the face of what we want to be about”. Only if he agrees not to kiss any teammates doe… Switch with CLE at 24 (who may want Freeling or Cooper Jr. before CAR and DAL)?! Just before division rival, and fellow safety-needy Bears? Thieneman is someone to help in the chess matches with Caleb Williams, Jordan Love and Jared Goff. The presence of teams like the Panthers and Chargers could convince them just to stick and pick their guy.

19. Carolina Panthers – Kenyon Sadiq, TE (CB?? OT???) A team that felt like it took a big step in the right direction last year… they hit on some picks and made it to the playoffs. The question remains: Is QB, Bryce Young still the guy? Tight End, Kenyon Sadiq to further strengthen the arsenal and isolate the answer? He holds similar allure as the freaky Vernon Davis did back in the Niners’ Harbaugh heyday. I had Freeling here for the longest time, based on BPA. I was going back and forth, and this kid may or may not have convinced me about the fit and to tip over the edge of the fence I was sitting on. My COUNTERARGUMENT is that offensive tackle is the smart long-term choice. All four of the OT’s currently on the roster could be gone next year (Ekwonu due to expiring contract right after a serious injury, Walker due to uncertain fit as a FA signing, Moton due to age, Forsythe due to ineffectiveness). I have respect for all former Seahawks, but you cannot go into a hopeful season being one injury away from starting Stone Forsythe — respectfully. Bryce Young cannot be under pressure this year. In addition, through week 7 of this past season, 5th-Round rookie Mitchell Evans was PFF’s highest-graded first year player in the league. Having said that, he hasn’t yet proven to be a game-breaker. Sadiq can go top 20 with his threat of speed and route acumen. Can be an effort blocker despite his smaller size at the position? That’s a maybe and a passion project. One thing we did see, is that Sadiq put Abdul Carter on his back during the Big 10 Championship in ‘24. He’s lined up out wide, in the slot, as an in-line TE, as an H-back, wildcat QB, and as a tailback. Freeling has uncanny athleticism, but can he add strength to deal with the power of NFL defensive linemen? I still think that if Jonathon Brooks can make a recovery to the levels of being a featured part of the offense, he could benefit from a turn towards more zone running than all of the gap mauling that Carolina has an aptitude for. For a team that is paying for a good offensive line in some parts, getting more cost-controlled rookie contracts in place could be very beneficial. Call it a smart leverage and future-planning play. There is something to be said for not ruining and demotivating the unique angles of an injured player and a 1-year prove-it contract tackle on the cheap, however. See how back and forth this convo is?! Ultimately, if Canales and Dan Morgan (both former Seattle guys) are thinking more urgently short term to give B.Y. one more shot to show what he’s got, then Sadiq might be the pick. Survival is a helluva motivator. Canales went on record to say: “We’re changing things in our offense to fit Bryce, and we’re trying to bring players that will complement what Bryce does. It was something that Dan and I had talked about throughout really the last two years – Bryce’s ability to perform in critical situations and in high-stakes situations. And feeling our responsibility to build a team that puts itself in those high-stakes moments where he can perform and come through”. AND ALSO, this quote from Morgan about a home run threat at WR: “I do think that’s something that we are missing on our offense a little bit—is where we can just get the ball out to a guy and he can take a 5-yard catch and take it the distance, or make a few guys miss and come up with a big play”. Sadiq is the fastest tight end (4.39 second 40) ever recorded. It felt like a positive year for the senior-year QB, Young, but that may be a case of mistaking team success for individual credentials. Despite the good vibes, the truth is that Young ranked 27th in QB Rating (86.5) last season, tied with Spencer Rattler and five spots below the slightly over-hated Justin Fields .

20. Dallas Cowboys (via GB) – C.J. Allen, ILB (S? OT?? EDGE???) *see pick 12 for additional needs* The ‘Boys will keep in mind that after this pick, they won’t be on the clock again until the tail end of Round 3 (92 overall). That, plus the fact that Jerry Jones does WTF he wants, could spell a reach here. The 2nd Off-ball linebacker out the box? A cerebral run stopper who (apparently) called plays and on-field adjustments himself at Georgia (according to Brett Kollmann). That just might be mighty appealing to a team who seemingly suffered communication breakdowns too often on defense in 2025. For all of his overt allure, DeMarvion Overshown has shown up to play 19 of a possible 51 games since he was drafted in 2023. Donovan Ezeiruaku was 2nd among rookie EDGE players in run stop EPA, which is a great thing. He didn’t get much sack production, however. After trading Parsons, striking out on Crosby and trading for Gary, they’ll take another swing at some point (speed specialist to complement Gary and Eze, who seem to excel against the run?). Keldric Faulk as an excellent run defender? That might be a smarter decision, as he can provide support to both the EDGE position as well as DE as a hybrid DL. Does a trade for Jonathan Greenard come into play here? There are other avenues to solve the LB hole in the middle. Former rival and free agent, Bobby Okereke? Grizzled legend and free agent, Bobby Wagner? Texas boi, Jordyn Brooks (who’s currently on an aggressively rebuilding Miami team)? AFTER the draft. This pick is paired with 12th overall and the pair are weighted more heavily in this draft… in this case, they double down on defense, likely motivated to show that they can build a formidable stop unit on the heels of the much-maligned Micah Parsons trade. Jerry is still calling his ass Michael .

21. Pittsburgh Steelers – Monroe Freeling, OT (LB? CB??? WR???? OG????) The 2026 NFL Draft host has been slowly transitioning to a wide-zone rushing attack, and here takes a gifted athlete at OT. Ultimately, he could be a top-10-15 pick! With 12 picks in this year’s draft (most of any team), Pittsburgh could even make a bold trade upwards to make this a reality. The Steelers pounce on draft value here. He scored 9.99 out of a possible 10.0 RAS (relative athletic score), which ranks No. 2 out of 1,519 offensive tackles dating back to 1987.  Can the hire of McCarthy and the trade for a route technician like Michael Pittman at wideout be enough to convince A-Rod to take one more crack at it in the Steel City? Rodgers is more in control of his narrative being Pittsburgh, instead of an underwhelming 3-stop merry-go-round of constantly learning new systems, new teammates, new stakeholders, new restaurants and media engagements??? Speaking of control… During the season, one of his most memorable quotes was, “Well, when there’s film sessions, everybody shows up. And, when I check to route, do the right route. Like… Jonnu and I weren’t on the same page”. In another interview, when asked about offensive improvement he said: “D.K. and I have been getting on the same page… which: uh, which helps”. Jonnu is now gone gone. When asked on another occasion to dissect the Steelers’ offensive performance, Rodgers offered up the following: “Teams are playing Cover 2,” … “When you’re playing Cover 2, there’s not gonna be a ton of big shots down the field. Until we get them in one-high, it’s gonna be precision passing and short of the sticks. If you’re playing Cover 2, there’s not gonna be a lot of shots open down the boundary. We’re just trying to be efficient.” Seahawk fans know that Metcalf’s game is not predicated on efficiency, but explosive potential. The ‘Burg didn’t hire Mike McCarthy just to turn around and take some little-known CB project with raw talents… this is win now with a possible Cam Heyward and A-Rod swan song. Big Mike is tasked with fixing the offense to give this thing another go. Broderick Jones is the weak link on a solid young Steelers OL. From A-Aron at the end of the season when discussing 2nd-year center, Zach Frazier, and the Pittsburgh offensive line: “I don’t think there’s a better center in the league”, Rodgers plainly stated. He goes on to say that “he’s got a great running mate. The right side, that’s got to excite Steelers fans when you’ve got three young guys at center, right guard, right tackle who have played so well all season”. Him leaving out the left side is not a mistake; it’s a mandate to leadership… Those in question are a 7th-Rounder who was solid in a small sample size at guard, and a former 1st-Rounder at LT who hasn’t lived up to expectations. Khan cited the OG, Spencer Anderson, when discussing a possible parting of ways with Isaac Seumalo (who signed in ‘Zona this offseason). Then there’s Broderick Jones, who hasn’t ever truly emerged. He allowed 6 sacks on only 632 snaps. For comparison, on the right side, Troy Fautanu allowed 2, while playing 1,031 snaps. On top of all of this, Jones had to get fusion surgery on his neck. Dylan Cook also played well, an undrafted tackle who is a strong and intriguing backup. Either move him or Jones to the right to see what they can do behind Fautanu (who has battled injuries), then move Jack Driscoll inside to backup right guard. Give Rodgers time to be precise and replace one former Bulldog OT with another. Freeling has the potential to be excellent and gives PIT a plethora of options. B. Jones could even move to left guard if Anderson or Hoffman don’t work out. Interestingly, Georgia’s was the only Pro Day that McCarthy attended . Cooper Jr. to go all in with A-Rod???? He needs precise route runners… Write this down: Garrett Nussmeier’s father (Doug, for those who remember the name) worked under Mike McCarthy in Dallas. Taylen Green would be fun, contrasting competition to pit against Will Howard when Rodgers leaves.

22. Los Angeles Chargers – Chase Bisontis, OG (EDGE? DT??? CB????) Harbaugh’s M.O. since he landed in the City of Angels has been to build that line. Salyer, Becton and Zion are all gone. Strange and Penning come with points to prove as highly drafted linemen whose teams moved on from them (although Strange has shown flashes). Slater, Biadasz and Alt are all coming back from injury. Take a guard with potential to fortify the wall. Here’s Jim Harbaugh discussing new offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniels: “If you’re gonna make a better candle, make a lightbulb. That analogy makes sense to me when I think of the many meetings that we’ve had, and Mike talking about offensive football”. Time to plug this bad boy in and power a switch to the west coast wide zone. Can Justin Herbert see the route progressions illuminated clearly? Bisontis has a Cooper Beebe comp. and is adept in pass protection. There is smoke around Q. Johnston’s name… Brazzell II would be interesting, but if they can use ammo in a potential draft day trade of Q-John, they might be able to secure a gamechanger out wide. Orande Gadsden III had an impressive late stretch of games, so his emergence could factor into the idea that the Bolts don’t need to panic if they believe that J. Herbo is a rising tide that could lift all boats. Do they need a penetrating DT to kick either of sophomore Jamaree Caldwell or (the infamous) Teair Tart to nose (in relief of the run-stuffing Tomlinson), while spelled by Eboigbe? Peter Woods’ arm length, especially in a 3-4 formation, might expel that fantasy for now… but Keldric Faulk might’ve been a very nice luxury pick if guard weren’t in such dire straits. Emmanuel Pregnon as a backup option if the Bills leap them for a guard?

23. Philadelphia Eagles – Omar Cooper Jr., WR (S? DT?? OT??? EDGE????) A blocker for the slumping Stay-Calm Barkley? No, Philly goes out and gets a young guy who was a slot receiver this past year… YAC is a strength for him. Cooper forced a missed tackle on 39% of his catches (sixth most in the FBS). Get rid of A.J. Brown’s whiny ass, feature Smitty and Hitch Boi (Wicks), while picking up another wideout to attack the soft middle. Can Jalen Hurts make music again with an array of weapons to prove that he deserves the bag? I thought Sadiq, but they brought back THREE TE’s INCLUDING Dallas Goedert! Saquon had the 2nd-most carries of 0 or negative yardage in 2025, with 68. That was only three behind Jeanty… they were in a tier by themselves, because nobody else had more than 58 (CMC). Will be watching Riq “the Freak” closely in this defense.

24. Cleveland Browns (via JAX) – Blake Miller, OT (WR??) *see pick 6 for additional list of needs* Their once proud line has fallen into a state of near disrepair… I mean, they could look for R2 moves, but that’s getting dangerous. In this reality, they nab one of the disparate wideout options past the draft’s opening frame. Take this year to build infrastructure about the quarterback… because what do you mean Joe Flacco left and morphed into a Pro Bowler?! Build the offensive framework up so that you can properly evaluate, let these boys shine and get one of the two young gunners traded! According to Peter Schrager: “Browns HC Todd Monken notes that Shedeur Sanders has been in the building a bunch the last few months, working out; Dillon Gabriel, as far as he’s aware, has not”. Get a player to support the evaluation of the quarterback position. This and the 6th pick go together in this puzzle. Cleveland may even trade up to get a high-caliber OT. DO THEY TAKE AVIEON TERRELL HERE IF THEY TAKE A RECEIVER EARLY??? If they go Downs up top, is this Concepcion as a catch-and-run specialist? Or Brazzell II as an explosive downfield target? Blake Mill joins the panoply of outside protectors in Round 1.

25. Chicago Bears – Keldric Faulk, DE (HB? S??? OG????) Ben Johnson would be licking his chops to somehow move up and add the type of weapon like Love to provide a little more consistency to the offense. Would he do the same for Jadarian Price? A player like Zion Young who can add to the pass rush and also help against the run (Chi-town was bottom-5, ranking 4th-worst, allowing 5.0 ypc)? Faulk is a kid who led all SEC defensive linemen in run tackles (72) over the last two seasons, and can shift inside on passing downs. EMW??? Make a solid ass move, for a team that could be opening against the Dark Side defense in Seattle. ESPN’s SackSEER model holds him in pretty high regard.

26. Buffalo Bills – Emmanuel Pregnon, OG (HB?? DB??? LB/OLB????) NO SECOND ROUND PICK!!! EMW is a sizeable strong safety type, adept at creating turnovers. Mark Schlereth criticized the O-Line at the beginning of December, saying: “I think Buffalo is fraudulent. I think, defensively, they’re very average. Then, offensively, it’s just on Josh Allen… just go out and be Superman. Then I am watching them bust protections, bust run blocking assignments, not knowing who to block. You know, if a safety is entering the box, not know if you’re gonna push to that safety; do ya turn him over to the wide receiver?”. He goes on to say, “it’s like they were cluele—, like they had never seen this stuff. And that, to me, is like elementary stuff”. M.S. finished with: “I was thoroughly unimpressed with the Buffalo Bills”. How about we solve that by getting a high-IQ and nasty tone-setter? Rare to get those two sides from the same lineman? Pregnon is an experienced four-year starter across three different schools, who gave up just 5 pressures in his final season and 3 sacks in his entire COLLEGE CAREER. He’s Bisontis among the Bison would’ve been nice. Get more of a gap-scheme guard in Pregnon, who shines in zone blocking (3rd-highest grade in this category by any lineman in the draft). He’s the best run blocker of the top 5 guards (top 3 in that attribute in the class?) and allowed a lower pressure rate than the highly touted Ioane. Also, Bradley Chubb could be washed…? Howell as a speed fit? Per Bleacher Report, “In 2025, the Buffalo Bills allowed the fifth-most rushing yards, third-most yards per carry and the second-most rushing touchdowns”. Shore that up later in the draft and stop Schlereth from making a mockery of your offense.

27. San Francisco 49ers – Caleb Lomu, OT (EDGE?? DT??? OG????) What will they do after getting straight punked by Seattle on multiple levels? If they are scared of Seattle’s DT tandem, get a guard???? Burford had the highest-pressure rate of any LG to play a qualifying amount of snaps in the league last year!!!! At the risk of sounding like a disillusioned baddie, it’s too bad the good ones are all gone. As mentioned in the Philadelphia blurb, Christian McCaffrey had the 3rd-most carries for 0 or negative in the league. If they need a big-time playmaking WR like Mike Evans to keep up with Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, wouldn’t it make sense to get the protection right in order to foster an efficient offense? A C, OG or RT could all make sense. Santa Clara was also bottom 3 in sacks but are hoping for better health from the pass rushers. Lomu has similar measurable to Seattle RT, Abe Lucas, but is an absolute athlete on the left. he could be the heir to Trent Williams’ reign.

28.Houston Texans: – Peter Woods, DT (LB? HB?? OG??? DB????) A smallish run defender who may be best utilized in a 4-3. Energy, athleticism and a dogged mentality are traits that he brings to the table. Some have questioned his consistency which could be concentrated and weaponized on a loaded Houston D-line that would utilize a rotation of players. This defense rivaled the Seahawks for most dominant unit all year. A corner as nice ass depth???? Do they trade back to allow some team to trade in?

29. Kansas City Chiefs (via LAR) – Denzel Boston, WR (CB? OG?? TE??? DT????) *see 9th overall for additional needs* Boston is an ideal X-receiver and a former UW Husky. Appropriately enough, his comp. is fellow former Dawg, Rome Odunze. Are KC Concepcion or Chris Brazzell II better fits?? Does a top pass rusher fall to them here if they end up with Caleb Downs early?? Pair this with 9th pick. Boston adds extra support for Patrick Mahomes and the KC offense to get back to who he is and who they are. If Justin Fields has to start off the season while Mahomes recovers, then the Chiefs will feel good about the pieces they placed around the signal caller position.

30. Miami Dolphins – T.J. Parker, EDGE (CB???) *see 11th overall for additional list of needs* Offense with the early pick to put SOMETHING in Willis’ cupboard! And I’m not talking about a damn Indian. Come back late in the round to take an impact defender. According to PFF: “Each of their five defensive backs who played more than 110 snaps last season earned PFF overall grades below 60.0”. For all of the hand-wringing I’ve seen over the CB situation in my dalliances on Dolphins twitter, a pairing of Jermod McCoy at 11 or Colton Hood here with a healthy () Juju Brents would bring some juice to the Miami secondary. If they follow their Packer roots, they may prioritize edge to create a supportive environment of competition on the outside. Will South Beach see the return of Rasul Douglas to free them up to take an impact hog here? As bare as the roster looks, Miami can legit address all of their glaring needs in the first three rounds… they have TWO 1st-Round picks, a 2nd and FOUR 3rd-Rounders! The biggest dead cap hit in history ($99.2M for Tua Tagovailoa, surpassing Russell Wilson’s $85M while leaving Denver) necessitates the reliance on young players and 1-year vet contracts.

31. New England Patriots – Zion Young, EDGE (S/DB? NT/DT??) I have a feeling that a trade back to the top of Round 2 is a strong possibility here. It’s the perfect storm; just THINK about it…!  Sitting one spot ahead of the Seahawks (who hold the last pick on Day 1), in a draft class considered to have a talent cliff in the middle of the 1st Round, and the unique situation of having a QB-needy division rival (the Jets) sitting as the first pick of Round 2… but, for the love of the game, and to put my patriots pick streak on the line… I’ll play along. They need more talent on the perimeter of the line, as they had Super Bowl trouble in getting enough heat on Darnold and containing the outside zone run. Pettiness with the pick if both Super Bowl teams need the same thing here? This pick feels like the most obvious need for NE, and luckily, there will be options aplenty at the position here. WE JUST HAVE TO CHOOSE WHICH ONE (A problem for me nailing the 4th-consecutive dot, but a beautiful thing for Vrabel’s defense)… The big consideration here is Young as a more adept run stopper vs. the more finesse Malachi Lawrence. Dre’Mont Jones and Joshua Farmer could factor more into the inside rotation this year, while Harold Landry III and Young rush off the edge. A couple of rookies from last year-round out a strong group in front of an ascending secondary. A stud TE would change the structure of the offense but give it more answers in pass protection and a more outside-focused (and Henderson-friendly) run game. Of new WR Romeo Doubs’ 21 career TD’s, 17 were red zone strikes. A.J. Brown is likely on the way as well. AVT calms any worries and splits up the two former rookies who got ran in the ‘ship. It’s now a very athletic left side of the line, to compliment the veteran maulers on the right. Go strengthen that defense. Young is one of the only Round 1(-ish) EDGE players to have multiple visits with the Pats. They can build depth across the roster, holding 11 total picks. TRADE DOWN TO ALLOW ARIZONA TO COME UP AHEAD OF NYJ FOR TY SIMPSON! Kayden McDonald would be a fun pick??
32. Seattle Seahawks – Chris Johnson, CB (EDGE?? NT??? HB????) “It’s no secret, with four picks, we’ll be looking to trade back”. Those are the words of Seahawks GM, John Schneider, three days before the draft’s opening ceremonies. I would ALSO NOT BE SHOCKED if they trade down to allow PITTSBURGH to come up for Ty Simpson… For all those groaning at that idea: BETTER THAN AZ OR LAR!!! I’ll assume they stick and pick a defensive back here. Colton Hood not going first might be an upset, but let’s take a look at the why’s. Johnson recorded a 16.7 passer rating allowed (mountain west), he’s 6’ and 190, missed tackle rate under 6% (effective, but not as physical as Hood). Snatched 4 INTs last year but gave up 2 TDs (both against Heisman contender, Diego Pavia). The early knock was that he didn’t look like a burner on tape. *checks 40 time…* good news: he made the 4.4 threshold for 1st-Round corners… 4.40! C.J. brings rare movement and transition skills, especially when diagnosing out of zone coverage. He allowed the 2nd-lowest catch rate among corners (only bested by Delane, who went 10th), and the lowest passer rating when targeted. Very good at diagnosing the offense while in zone coverage. This is a corner to replace Riq Woolen and free up Nick Emmanwori and Devon Witherspoon to move around! Many 12’s want a guard, like Emmanuel Pregnon here, to replace Anthony Bradford. I think they rely on continuity along the offensive line and the fires of playoff / Super Bowl football to temper the big guy in his last year of team contract control.

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Teams without 1st-Round Picks

Cincinnati Bengals – Trade into the 1st to grab a S? (TE? LB?? OG/OT??? CB????) The defense is fairly young and has time to get better… BUT, they broke the record for most fantasy points ever allowed to the TE position in a single season. EMW, if he falls? Could add LB (after housing 3 of the bottom 6 worst-graded (by PFF) off-ball LB’s in the league last year … Two were rookies): <https://www.cincyjungle.com/cincinnati-bengals-free-agency/188023/top-5-best-remaining-linebackers-nfl-free-agents-bobby-wagner>.

Denver Broncos – Trade into the 1st to grab an EDGE? (OL? CB?? DE/DT???)

Indianapolis Colts – Trade into the 1st to grab an OT? OR OG switch with TE if resign Braden Smith???
(DT? LB?? TE/WR??? FS????)

Atlanta Falcons – Trade into the 1st to grab a WR?  (OL? EDGE?? CB??? TE????) They traded their 12th overall pick to LAR to select a pass rusher who looked promising on the field, but whom now controversy surrounds off of it… do they take another, just in case, but to also give them a new, amorphous dimension as a 4-3 (utilizing Walker in a unique role)? <https://x.com/avy3n/status/2035882959996109169?s=46&t=x_w5IHvC_nE-qnK4BKBDVw>. Or stick to a 3-4 and get more DT depth?

Jacksonville Jaguars – Trade into the 1st to grab a S/CB?  (WR? EDGE?? DT??? OL????)

Green Bay Packers – LB if Quay leaves? EDGE?

Teams with TWO 1st-Rounders:

Browns: 6, 24
Jets: 2, 16
Giants: 5, 10
Chiefs: 9, 29
Dolphins: 11, 30
Cowboys: 12, 20

I mean, they are making the Hawks play on a WEDNESDAY to start the season, and almost had the season opener stolen from us by the Rams/49ers …

Now they’ve got our squad on HBO’s training camp documentary, Hard Knocks. This used to be reserved for the worst teams every year and was avoided like the plague. Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. Well, sometimes it be like that; but the ‘that’ is a chance to tell the world who we are.

Ya’ see, this team has already played and won a Super Bowl while participating in a constant limelight. Over the course of the last 5 years, NFL teams have blitzed online engagement to an nth degree. Social media teams have blown up, the schedule release seems like a national holiday, and it seems like every single player has a podcast.

Access is the new wave, and it may have something to do with the expansion and proliferation of the sport of American Football, globally. It’s all too much to keep up with, if we’re all being honest.

Remember when I said the Seahawks have already operated within the limelight?

A local documentary called the Sound of the Seahawks rolls throughout the season. Hawks players will probably feel right at home.

Even the front office has gotten its shine, with the offseason documentary entitled: Before the Noise.

The Seahawks have become more accessible and a more integrated part of the Seattle community. Think about just the food: Legion Restaurant, Big Walt’s Kitchen, Bam Bam’s Smash Burger.

Leo Williams was out on the diamond for the Opening Day with the Seattle Mariners. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was at the weigh-ins for the Israel Adesanya UFC fight in Seattle. Multiple star Seahawks players have openly campaigned to bring the Seattle Sonics back to town. They are weaving themselves in deep, into the fabric of the town.

Doesn’t hurt that the Seahawks have one of the strongest cultures in today’s NFL. I didn’t stutter. It’s led by John Schneider, hand-delivered and gift-wrapped for a new owner / ownership group. It’s set in stone in the hearts of one of the more excitable and sports-thirsty fan bases in the country. Every time there is a chance for Seattle fans to show out for a new team (I just want to talk to Dwayne Johnson and the XFL) or sporting event, we do! Clock that.

Check the stats. Then, I want you to put the word out, that we back up. Put the word out that we stand by our teams, as a city. We are a sports town. This opportunity in front of a national audience could serve to seal that knowledge and help to keep the good times rolling. The Seahawks are up for sale by Jody Allen, if you hadn’t heard.

The good news is that the Portland Trailblazers just sold (also from the Allen Estate). Peep this, from Bleacher Report on the sale of the Blazers: “Even before the sale agreement was announced in September, ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst reported Dundon’s intention to keep the Blazers in Portland as part of the deal”.

We need that kind of an agreement and understanding from the jump!

Seattle has other, large things on the horizon. Sea-Town will host World Cup games in the near future for an international audience! When the Sonics come back, there will be celebration in the streets. Ok, maybe at least my street and a few dive bars on and around 99.

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This is a TV show that has won the Sports Emmy 19 times over the years. It’s a big deal.

Fans can expect a healthy dose of Witherspoon, JSN, Kupp, Barner, Love, Emmanwori, Murphy, Zabel and both Charbonnet and McIntosh’s respective recoveries from injury.

Will the affable young white boy, Rylie Mills have some golden interactions with surly vet, Jarran Reed? They are going to dote on Derick Hall and all his hobbies, aren’t they? Can we get Drew Lock a meet and greet with Jeezy? Can we get a 2nd-date (team) update on DK Metcalf to ask him if the grass was really greener? Is Ernest Jones IV destined to fight a whole offensive line in a joint practice? Will they cover Schneider’s drunken jabs at SB MVP, Ken Walker on the way out the door? This may be just the beginning of Sam Darnold’s redemption arc.

Hard Knocks may feel like more of the same of what we’re used to as 12’s… but it is a coming cultural zeitgeist. One that’ll have a few Californians and New Yorkers consider a trip out to catch a game sometime, and maybe see MOPOP, the waterfront, Pike Place, the needle and the Fremont Troll.

They did miss the Ride the Ducks.

We see some of the new players coming into the league talking about having watched the Legion of Boom as kids… (yikes for us millennials doe…). My Haitian Florida homie from Tampa Bay talks to me about having watched Seattle games for the first time when Marshawn Lynch was authoring earth-shaking TD runs. That’s the mark our previous Super Bowl-winning team left. It stands as one of the more prominent thing people in other parts of the country (and world, to an extent) know Seattle for.

The wild thing is that people don’t even know Mike Macdonald yet. BOOOOO to “East Coast Bias”. I didn’t quite believe it when I authored this tweet:

I believe that 1 of the 6 views on that X(tw)eet was none other than Kyle Brandt . If that is assumed to be true, he set out to prove me wrong, that the rest of the country truly does not pay attention to Seattle.

Okay, STOP THE COUNT! Prove me wrong he did. Touche Mr. Brandt , I hereby cease. I cease and desist all of my complaints about the aggravating narrative that Seattle is some secluded outpost of passing interest, forever toiling under the radar of the NFL landscape. I’m going to embrace that $h!t. Underdogs, we like it that way!

Give our team a national feel-good story to ruin. Talking our talk (when we deserve to) in the direction of the beloved darlings of the national media is the only way Seattle ever truly gets any respect or attention. Whether it’s Gary Payton at M.J., Richard Sherman at Brady, Doug Baldwin at Prime, Devon Witherspoon at the world. We. Did. Not. Care.

You are dealing with a team that is riding the cutting edge of modern defensive football schematics. That’s kinda a thing around these here parts… Pete Carroll constructed and conducted the Legion of Boom (with help). Now, the gloom of Mike Macdonald’s Dark Side team will be on full display.

On the John Schnieder show on 4/2, the namesake GM said, “it will allow people to see how beautiful the city is”. Seattle is the Emerald City, and I hope to see it shine in a unique fashion and glint. It’s also known as the Rainy City. Through the fog, a studied, eclectic, focused, forward-thinking and devoted city is there for the highlighting.

From rain, to grunge, to fish, to coffee, to stars like Gary Payton, Ichiro, Ken Griffey Jr., Shaun Alexander and the Legion of Boom… let’s give them something else to talk about.

The Seahawks have A+ juice at this moment in time. You can’t have the secret sauce, but the juice will be flowing. The entire country is now free to be blessed with a peek into how Seattle gets down. It should further help to defend and reinforce our way of life.

Curse be damned.

Could anybody have predicted this season? Don’t you lie to me… What we are seeing unfold before our very eyes is an all-time great run for a Seattle Seahawks HC in his second season.

There are many advanced stats that point to this team being special. In fact, it is no superlative to say that this team could be one of the best in NFL history.

The L.O.B. ain’t gonna like this one… but put some respec’ on it, unc.

How impressive is this? Just a torrid pace of competition in Mike Macdonald’s iteration of the Seattle Seahawks. Those are some very good teams there… want to see something even better?

As far as point differential, this team is among the all-time greats, MFer’s!!! That’s the Tom Brady dynasty Pats, the Greatest Show on Turf Rams, the Brett Favre and Reggie White Packers, the Jim Kelly Bills, Joe Montana 49ers and the ’85 Bears (generally considered one of the greatest defenses ever assembled). The Darrell Green and Gary Clark ’91 Washington team was the least renowned… and they still won the GAWDAM Super Bowl!!!

In fact, the only one of these other 8 teams that did not win the title was the cursed ’90 Bills. That’s a great cautionary tale for the Hawks… No matter how good you are, you still have to get the job done.

Job’s not finished, on some Kobe shit.

With that, any of my readers who have wondered where I’ve gone… I’ve been given the opportunity to contribute over at Field Gulls during this magical season. Catch my work over there.

Mark my words, though. NFL Rants will return soon…

Ya’ll ready for Part 2? Today we get some football appetizers…

As a reminder, we probably won’t see many starters during the duration of preseason action; those appearances seem to have waned further and further over the years. What we will have, is a chance to see a lot of rookies and young players get a chance to spin. Luckily, there were some pretty interesting picks made during the draft… and not all in a good way. Many questions were addressed by each team heading into the 2025 season, but a whole host of new questions have cropped up in their place.

Between this and my Part 1 of this article (Rounds 1-3), you can hit Ctrl + F (or ⌘ command + F if you’re one of those ) and search to find the entries for your team. Search per game matchup, OR read straight through — piece it together however you want. Yes, all the Seahawks picks are either listed or mentioned (in the case of three who did not make the cut). Every team in the league had at least one guy make it in his round… some teams had four. Each team is not equally interesting .

In honor of actual football coming back to us in the 8th month of the year, here are the 8 most interesting picks in each round of April’s draft to keep tabs on this preseason.

ROUND 4

• Bhayshul Tuten, Jaguars HB – (Pick #104) A tough, fast and explosive threat on the ground, as a receiver and in the return game. He’s also a smaller back, and I always love those that hold it down for the short kings (5’9” counts in the NFL, aight?). Could he provide a Devon Achane-lite impact in Duvall? Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby don’t scare me, but the fact that Tuten was the fastest back at the combine does. The fact that he said in an interview with NFL Network that, “I like contact a lot”, does. This after the Jags went way up to get a dynamic receiver / DB with the 2nd overall pick (Travis Hunter), and also took a guard in the 3rd (Wyatt Milum) … Trevor Lawrence’s success and support system is being treated as mission critical at this point, after a career of inconsistency thus far for sunshine.
• Cam Skattebo, Giants HB – (Pick #105) The Giants already had a breakout ball carrier from last year, in Tyrone Tracy Jr., who ran for 830+ at 4.4 Yards Per Carry (YPC) as a rookie. That didn’t stop Big Blue from taking this tank of a back: Cam Skattebo. Some will say that just based on his tape, he should’ve been given more respect in the draft process. An ASU legend, the Sun Devils had him all over the formation, and it remains to be seen if he will end up plying any of the lost art of fullback. New York seems to like him plenty enough at tailback. He’s not fast, but C-Skat. is a bruising halfback in the mold of David Montgomery. Same mold, different mamas. Even if he don’t know $hi+ about NFL legends . I’m excited, but this is a little overboard:

• Dont’e Thornton Jr., Raiders WR – (Pick #108) Pete Carroll loves to take calculated shots downfield at a steady pace… so does Geno Smith. After the Silver and Black took a big-hearted possession WR earlier (Jack Bech) they team him up here with this deep threat (4.30 second speed in the 40-yard dash). Thornton led all of college football with 6 catches of 50+ yards last season. Yeah, Pete’s gonna like that. He might be a one-trick pony… but that trick is pretty damn good. This is a nice convergence of a classic Raiders pick, and a classic Pete Carroll pick.
• Woody Marks, Texans HB – (Pick #116) Somebody’s poisoned the water hole!!! Mixon is hurt, and both Nick Chubb as well as Dameon Pierce (also currently hurt) were ineffective last season. Enter Woody Marks, who caught 261 passes in his college career, and seems marked for the 3rd down back role. H-Town continues to build even depth across the roster, and this man may yet still get a shot at contributing in a meaningful way. He totes the rock with grit and heart, and we may get to see him reach for the sky if he scores for the Texans.
• Billy Bowman Jr., Falcons S – (Pick #118) Through this point in the draft, the Falcons double-dipped at EDGE rusher in the 1st Round (Jalon Walker, James Pearce Jr.) to solve the annual pass rush deficit, then double-dipped at safety with their next two picks! I even have a conspiracy theory that they stole this guy before the division rival Panthers could get to him (after trading down), leaving Carolina with three starting safety types who are all box safeties with questionable coverage skills Bowman has been compared to Quandre Diggs, with his instincts, range and hitting power. I’m not sure if he’ll live up to the comp. as a 4th-round player, but he may start out in rotation in the slot for ATL. The Dirty Birds look like they’re gearing up for some shootouts fire up the royal Michael Penix and keep him clean!!!
• Jack Sawyer, Steelers EDGE – (Pick #123) Sawyer had the 2nd highest total of pressures in this draft class last year! Every single player on that list got drafted before him, and I saw so many teams with pass rushing needs pass up on him. I think some will regret that. This guy is a balanced and aggressive power rusher who adds to the rejuvenation of the defense this year (DT, Derrick Harmon in the 1st, DB’s, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey via free agency and trade, respectively). Mike Tomlin said he wanted to establish a “big-man presence” this offseason… throw in acquisitions of DK Metcalf and rookie power back, Kaleb Johnson on offense and he’s achieved that objective across the roster. Tomlin also said that Jack Sawyer’s “got Steeler DNA. Whether or not Aaron Rodgers has anything left in the tank, Blitzburgh now has four potentially potent pass rushers ready to hunt the great QB’s from the edge in the AFC.
• Dylan Sampson, Browns HB – (Pick #126) EDGE rushers and running backs are FLYING off the shelf in the 4th! It’s vision, instincts and speed with this tailback. He was drafted as the lightning to Quinshon Judkins’ thunder (2nd-Round pick), and Cleveland will want to run the ball heavily with their cadre of questionable signal callers behind center. There’s also the fact that Judkins is in some legal trouble, and is the only remaining unsigned draft pick from this class… does that mean Sampson will get his chance to shine early?
• Elic Ayomanor, Titans WR – (Pick #136) Tennessee traded up directly in front of Seattle, then as soon as this pick was made, the Seahawks announced they had traded out of the 4th (they did take a higher-rated WR in the next round). Was this their man the whole time, and the Titans caught on? Either way, this is a big, athletic target who adds to Cam Ward’s arsenal and threat downfield. He, as well as fellow 4th-Round pass catchers, Chimere Dike and Gunnar Helm, will fill in behind Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett and Chig Okonkwo to support the #1 pick. Man, the 206 doesn’t need his ugh anyway, he’s just a smaller, slower DK that’s sour grapes and a sore subject, as he does bring some similar elements to the field. I love that Ward is getting every chance to be surrounded with talent.

ROUND 5

• Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Vikings DL – (Pick #139) One of only five players drafted this year by Minnesota, Ingram-Dawkins is a hybrid DE / DT player who should mix into a rotation up front. The Vikes’ moves this offseason were about reallocation. They took priority away from Sam Darnold and gave some to J.J. McCarthy, and the rest they poured into investments in the offensive line in free agency (Ryan Kelly, Will Fries) and the draft (1st-Rounder, Donovan Jackson). On defense, although the secondary seems weakened (on paper), the emphasis on the trenches this year stands out. Signing Jonathan Allen from the Commanders and Javon Hargrave from the 49ers were nice moves. Adding their first defensive player of the draft in Ingram-Dawkins at the top of the 5th, “Minny” fortifies a unit that led the league in takeaways during last year’s campaign. This is a player who only started for one year at Georgia, showed off his quickness, but has a lot of potential room to grow behind some experienced vets. While speaking with the NFL Network during the draft, Kevin O’Connell mentioned T.I.D.’s (live from the VIP) versatility to play up and down the line… this should be fun.
• Rylie Mills, Seahawks DE – (Pick #142) This one is different, since he won’t be playing in the preseason while recovering from injury. I’ll still be paying attention to any news about his progress. Mills is one of only two defensive players among the Hawks’ 11 selections in the 2025 draft, Seattle takes a player who led Notre Dame in sacks from an interior rush position. Mills also owns the distinction of having been named to Bruce Feldman’s College Football Freaks List for the second consecutive year just before the 2024 season. He’s there below recent Seahawks signee and UDFA, Thor Griffith. He may be a freak, but don’t freak off… no Diddy, but Mills is strong, long and explosive in the trenches as a pass rusher. The catch is that the rookie may still need time to fully recover from 2024’s knee injury, as he may not be back until midway through the season (if that). This guy has the physical tools to be a good player, so can he ramp up to push Byron Murphy II / Jarran Reed / Mike Morris for playing time opposite Leo Williams (keeping BMII fresh and motivated)? I felt that more of a run stuffing NT would be a better fit in Seattle, but Mills is going to eventually audition to be the future tag team partner for Murph.
• Shedeur Sanders, Browns QB – (Pick #144) A tough, intelligent and accurate pocket passer, and son of a Hall of Famer, Sanders was a projected top-10 of the 1st Round pick. Before our eyes we witnessed possibly the most dramatic draft “slide” of all time NFL history unfold… until the Brownies traded up one spot ahead of Philly for a 5th-Round dart throw (their final 2025 selection) on Shedeur. Did all the analysts collectively get his talent wrong? Did he absolutely BOMB all of his interviews? Were the coaches and GM’s too worried about the specter of eventually losing their jobs to legendary DB and coach, Deion Sanders?? Did the league collude to teach Neon Deion, a confident and accomplished black man) a lesson about who holds the power??? It was weird to see some anonymous grown men come out (with undertones of malice and ridicule) to bash this young man. Nick Saban said of Shedeur: “When he’s in the pocket and he throws the ball on time, he is one of the most accurate passers in this draft. And he can be an exceptionally good quarterback if he did that”. Cleveland has not proven to be able to develop and support young QB’s. Ever. Now that Shedeur has been buried in the 5th Round and has to fight his way out of a competition with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and 3rd-Round rook, Dillon Gabriel, we’ll have a chance to see what he’s made of outside of the nurturing shadow of his pops. GM, Andrew Berry said that Sanders’ reaction “was probably a mixture of like gratitude, relief and determination”. Can he fight his way to relevancy at the bottom of the wet paper bag that is the Browns organization? Watching him in the preseason will be absolute cinema, one way or another. There surely won’t be any hot takes on X…
• Jaydon Blue, Cowboys HB – (Pick #149) One of the 6 straight draft picks that were on the altar of sacrifice to the media blitz on Shedeur Sanders after he was selected. These six dudes received basically zero analysis or coverage after the selection of Shedeur. Nonetheless, Jaydon Blue is a smaller back who possesses speed to make house calls from anywhere on the gridiron. Where Blue will get leveraged most is as a true receiving threat out of the backfield, as that is his superpower. Despite shady rumors from an ex-Dallas coach about Blue being “borderline lazy”, J.B. said the incident added “a little fuel to my fire”. Was there any truth to it, or was this old staffer throwing $hi+ out there, just hating for views? Offensive coordinator turned head coach, Brian Schottenheimer resurrected the name of an old favorite of mine to describe Jaydon Blue’s game: Darren Sproles and his agility. He who is 5’6” and 6th in NFL history in all-purpose yards. This guy has a lot to prove on multiple fronts before even touching the grass.

• Collin Oliver, Packers EDGE – (Pick #159) The Pack took the final guy in the green room in the 4th Round at EDGE (Barryn Sorrell), then doubled back for another, with Oliver. Where Sorrell is a power rusher, Collin Oliver is a speed rusher who may start off as a DPR (Designated Pass Rusher). Green Bay had a tough time getting pressure on Philly in their playoff loss to the eventual league champs… so it looks like they see a PRBC (Pass-Rush-By-Committee) as the answer to the woes that they’ve sat with over the spring season. Keeping the rotation fresh and varied could certainly change the equation for the Wisconsin team in gold and green; Oliver also brings the unique dimension of versatility that portends his ability to rush even from off-ball positioning. The young man who has love for an old band called, A Tribe Called Quest should go H.AM. (Hard as a mu£***er) if given the chance to display his best.
• Francisco Mauigoa, Jets LB – (Pick #162) Apart from having a fun name to say, Francisco Mauigoa is putting on for all the uces, as a breakout player who was born in American Samoa. Mauigoa also made the journey from WSU Cougar to Miami Hurricane along with top overall pick, Cam Ward. He is a downhill hitter as a tenacious defender in the middle who helps to usher along new HC, Aaron Glenn’s clear agenda to get tougher (and more Detroit-like) in the middle of the field. There’s also the fact that his brother, Francis (that had to be confusing growing up) has a chance to go in the top 3 of next year’s draft. If Francisco of the Jets keeps his head in the game, maybe he’ll get a chance to pass rush against his bro, an offensive lineman.
• Tory Horton, Seahawks WR – (Pick #166) The deep threat that Seattle’s receiving corps badly needed once they traded DK Metcalf and released Tyler Lockett. JSN and Cooper Kupp can route you up, but the Hawks had a need for speed prior to this selection (and possibly still do). In addition to being a field stretcher, Horton is tough, a savvy route runner and can hop right into the punt return game. Remember when Lockett added that explosive element as a youngin’ with his very first punt return ever? on to the next generation… which includes a fight for WR3 duties between Horton, a recent signee (MVS) and a local folk hero (Jake Bobo). Tory is somehow the 3rd-highest rated Seattle rookie in Madden 26 this year… let’s just hope that with all that speed, Horton doesn’t hear a “who” when we talk about his name at the end of the year.
• Chris Paul Jr., Rams LB – (Pick #172) Well, there are officially two Chris Paul’s in L.A. pro sports now! Unlike the “Point God” who plays for the Clippers, C.P.J. will work to limit scoring in the city of angels. Los Angelas finally moved to replace Ernest Jones IV with another menacing and instinctive run stopper. Doesn’t hurt that he didn’t allow any passing TDs in coverage either… NEVA LOST. From the only interview of him that I saw, it seems like “Pooh” Paul is a straight up character, so I also want to see how that gregarious nature carries over to the field of competition.

ROUND 6

• Ollie Gordon II, Dolphins HB – (Pick #179) There are SO MANY running back selections I could’ve included in this article! I’m excited to see this class of backs tote the pill and make their mark on a potential rebirth of the running back era. This one’s a little different. Miami takes one of the biggest (the largest), heaviest and most power-based tailbacks in this draft. They had put such an emphasis on speed for so long, that taking a power back like this is almost unexpected (but beneficial). He led the FBS in rushing yards, and was 2nd in rushing touchdowns two year ago. College teams stacked the box on him this year, and he did not show out in quite the same fashion. Tyreek seems to think he could fill a niche. The Dolphins have the longest active drought in the NFL when it comes to playoff wins… it’s been 25 years! The ‘Fins have made multiple picks this year to shift to a more physical identity, perhaps to find success even when the weather turns unforgiving.
• JJ Pegues, Raiders DT – (Pick #180) Travis Hunter’s worst nightmare (more on that below). This is an immediately relevant pick and a position that the team formerly based in California (just like Pete) went double or nothing after taking the epically named Tonka Hemingway in the 4th. That looks like an ingenious gamble for Vegas, especially after the shocking and strange release of Christian Wilkins and his freaky self. The wild thing is that both young men can play interior defensive line as well as coming in as goal line fullbacks. Emphasis on Pegues here as the more versatile of the two. In addition to being an agile run stopper on the interior, JJP has played TE, Wildcat QB, FB, HB and WR, dawg. Forget the Jags’ Hunter… let Pegues spin on both ends!! The Raiders also took a QB in the late 6th who ran a 4.39 40 (Tommy Mellott) and is expected to convert to WR… there will be no shortage of trick play possibilities in Vegas.
• Kyle McCord, Eagles QB – (Pick #181) All eyes will be on the top-rated rookie quarterbacks (Ward, Dart, Shough, Gabriel, Milroe, Sanders), but how about the next tier down? That’s not a shot at McCord here, as I saw some pre-draft pieces about the strong-armed passer being a possible factor / sleeper at the position. KMC will go at it with another 6th-Rounder, 3rd-year passer: Tanner McKee. Throw in Dorian Thompson-Robinson and this should be an interesting battle royale in the warmup games. Kyle McCord led the FBS in passing yardage this past college season and has a chance to be Jalen Hurts’ backup. The defending Super Bowl champions do a good job of investing in QB assets, and got some draft ammo from trading previous backup, Kenny Pickett. Kyle McCord may be compared a lot to the next two QB’s taken (both sharing the national champion stage): new Steelers quarterback (and reigning national champion), Will Howard and new Colts quarterback, Riley Leonard.
• Tyler Loop, Ravens K – (Pick #186) The second kicker taken, after New England broke the seal four selections earlier. Baltimore is the only team to finish in top 10 in scoring offense and scoring defense in each of the last two seasons. They used 3 of their first 4 picks on defense (all three levels), then on the next pick doubled up on the offensive line. Here they drafted a K to touch on the 3rd phase of the football team. In fact, this is a momentous occasion! Here we have the first kicker drafted in the Ravens’ history as an organization (they had been the only team in the league to not have done so)! This one has versatility, as he handles kickoffs, and has also punted. The big leg hit on a 62-yarder in his final collegiate season. Is Justin Tucker going to be given the Deshaun Watson treatment? I mean, I guess we’re good to go here.
• Bryce Cabeldue, Seahawks OG – (Pick #192) The Hawks are certainly looking to fortify the line and create an efficient machine that can control the pace on the ground. Cabeldue is a quick mover while zone-blocking, and needs to compete like the Cable due, the rent’s due, the lights due and the car note’s due if he wants to make this roster (or just hope that the Hawks straight up cut Anthony Bradford). Seattle had the penultimate pick in the 5th Round and took a nasty blocker who has the supposed vision to chew a path as the lead blocker for the ballcarrier… Robbie Ouzts. We are going to watch the birth of an endangered species with his transition from massive TE / H-back to a full time FB this preseason! After taking Grey Zabel in the opening round of the draft, Seattle selects a guard who brings strength, movement skills and depth. Lance Zeurlin and Bucky Brooks agreed that 6th and 7th round guards and centers have the chance to make rosters and even start in the right situations. The 12’s saw that happen just last year with Sataoa Laumea. To keep adding to this group, Seattle takes another lineman in the next round (Mason Richman).
• Ahmed Hassanein, Lions DE – (Pick #196) The fan that announced this pick had a very interesting speech, then left the mic saying, “One pride, worldwide”. That’s very fitting for this selection, as this is the very first Egyptian player to ever be drafted into the league. He recorded the 2nd-highest amount of sacks (22) in the FBS over the last two years. I thought Detroit would take a bookend edge rusher earlier, but here we are. This guy is still new to football, but he plays with constant urgency and relentlessness. Maybe he can pick up a few tips during the revenge tour of Aidan Hutchinson.
• Kain Medrano, Commanders LB – (Pick #205) Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu had good years last year, but their status as starters together make the ILB unit stand out with an average age of 32… Nick Bellore is currently on the roster and is older than both (36). Medrano can play in coverage better than all three veterans, and will do battle with two sophomore 5th-Rounders: Jordan Magee and Dominique Hampton for the rights to succeed the starting vets. They should soak up as much game from the older guys while they have that wealth of knowledge available to them in their careers. B-Wagz will be a Hall of Famer whenever he leaves the game. Medrano, the speedy Bruin, was the fastest linebacker at the NFL Combine.
• Chase Lundt, Bills OT – (Pick #206) The offensive line that gave up the least sacks in the league last year (14) adds a 6’7” player who allowed a 0.5% pressure rate that was the 2nd best among all right tackles in D-1 football. He and Alec Anderson may form a solid tandem of swing linemen to fill in and keep Josh Allen as clean as possible if/when there are injuries up front. Lundt is a finesse technician who played for Jim Mora Jr. (the scapegoat who was fired after one year so that Seattle could bring in Pete Carroll) and is fighting for a roster spot. He’s one of the tackles with shorter arm length who may yet still stick at tackle (instead of getting moved inside to play guard). Here he is (77) in a bad picture, standing on the sidelines on Hard Knocks while Dion Dawkins (73) mean mugs the camera:

ROUND 7

• Damien Martinez, Seahawks HB – (Pick #223) It’s tough to see injuries… the what-ifs can haunt and rob football fans of what could be. It can rob us all of competition at the highest level. Don’t forget, it has an impact on these guys’ lives, livelihoods and mental state as well. The fact that Kenny McIntosh had mostly sat on the bench for the first two years of his career, but then came on STRONG with his opportunities late last year is a beautiful thing. The fact that he tore his ACL in training camp mere days ago and may possibly not ever get to provide the full panoply of his game in Seattle is heartbreaking. I’ll be rooting for him, his well-being and his recovery. Football is a tough sport. Simultaneously, I am excited to see how Damien Martinez can prove himself and to see him contribute whatever he can behind Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. Seattle takes this guy and Ricky White III (WR) as young playmakers who can fight for spots and maybe even PT. Martinez is a hammer of a ball carrier who should provide some oohs and ahhs in exhibition games in August. His vision, acceleration and YAC-ability should serve him well behind a zone blocking line.
• Quinn Ewers, Dolphins QB, – (Pick #231) Quinn Ewers was once a highly sought high school prospect who could never quite find that extra gear to rise to franchise QB status. Even so, Ewers is probably thinking to himself I beat out Arch Manning, there’s no question I can beat out Zach Wilson for the rights to backup (oft-injured starter) Tua Tagovailoa. He’s got a quick trigger, but is an inconsistent performer. There is an underrated backup QB battle that should unfold in the 305 in the waning light of the summer.
• Tez Johnson, Buccaneers WR – (Pick #235) At 154 pounds, this guy’s got me thinking. Like bro, I think my niece might weigh more than this! Jk, she doesn’t… but somewhat believable, right? I remember when WR’s under 190 were considered small, but Johnson makes DeVonta Smith look like a heavyweight Can Tez withstand the physicality of the league? Can he unseat Trey Palmer or Sterling Shepherd for a roster spot? Tezmania is a shifty route runner and ball carrier. The Bucs already have an embarrassment of riches with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan (last year’s 3rd-Round pick) and Emeka Egbuka (this year’s 1st-Round pick who barely missed the cut in Part 1 of this article). Once you slot… apparently for the Bucs, you just can’t stop.
• Caleb Lohner, Broncos TE – (Pick #241) A dude who played four years of college basketball then finally decided to give football a try… in his only season playing at a competitive level he had 4 catches… all four resulted in touchdowns. Sean Payton can appreciate a red zone post-up game, as last seen in: Graham, Jimmy. The lonely Lohner seems to free his mind at night. He’ll be working day and night before the season to refine his overall game as much as possible. That may be on the practice squad, but preseason is his chance to put his box out skills to work.
• Konata Mumpfield, Rams WR – (Pick #242) I told my Rams homie that we need to get him a shirt that says: Puka & Tutu & Konata & Kyren. These guys have hall of fame level first names! Don’t even get me started on how annoying Garoppolo and Kinchens are to type out we’ll see if Mumpfield can make a mark in a crowded receiver room. He’s a RAC-type route runner with limited speed who should be able to catch some passes underneath to give preseason hero, Jordan Whittington some competition.
• Dominic Lovett, Lions WR – (Pick #244) After taking Sir Isaac TeSlaa (fast for his size) in Round 3, Detroit selects a player that looked promising at his first stop (Mizzou) but didn’t ascend to star level after transferring to Georgia. Lovett is even faster than the first guy. Not a bad plan for the Lions to put all this speed around Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams to mitigate the loss of a top shelf play caller in Ben Johnson (now leading the rival Bears). Lovett dropped his first pass in the Hall of Fame Game but then followed it up with a 10-yard catch and run, a 20-yard punt return, then a few more catches (one to convert on 3rd down in the red area).
• Jacory Croskey-Merrit, Commanders HB – (Pick #245) This guy only played one game last year, after a mixup with redshirt rules he ran the fastest 40-yard dash of any back in this draft… was this guy a well-kept secret because of the odd circumstances? He cuts on a dime, and just adds to a solid collection of backs in D.C.
• Moliki Matavao, Saints TE – (Pick #248) This is a 7th-Rounder who may get a lot of action, as the 2nd and 3rd stringers, Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill (you guess the order…) are both presently dealing with injuries. Matavao is a big, contested catch maven. He may not be the fastest moving player, but he does a lot of little things right. How will he click with the 3-man QB competition? Tyler Shough (Round 2 rookie), Spencer Rattler and Jacob Haener might be looking his way to act as a security blanket early and often.

See ya’ll outside!

‘Twas the first day of training camp, when all through the state // not a 12 was bragging, not even actor dude, Rainn // For we have Sam Darnold, and we don’t know his fate // To get upstaged by our rivals again would bring pain.

It’s like Christmas for football fans, we’ve got injury reports, camp overreactions and a deluge of memes across our timelines already! Football season is coming. It’s already kinda here. All those offseason memes talmbout, “what I wouldn’t give to watch a TNF game between the Jags and Titans right now” is about to become a reality, buddy! We’ll see if you’ve got it in you to stick it out in a preseason game.

We probably won’t see many starters during the duration of preseason action; those appearances seem to have waned further and further over the years. What we will have, is a chance to see a lot of rookies and young players get a chance to spin. Luckily, there were some pretty interesting picks made during the draft… and not all in a good way. Many questions were addressed by each team heading into the 2025 season, but a whole host of new questions have cropped up in their place. There are Seahawks questions, but each and every team has questions and tribulations to go through.

The below list of rookies is not who I think are going to turn out to be the best players… in fact, some of these picks are interesting because I think they are strange fits! Either way, these are players that will make me tune in this summer, and possibly all season. Cue the circus music. In honor of actual football coming back to us in the 8th month of the year, here are the 8 most interesting picks in each round of April’s draft (keep an eye out for part 2: Rounds 4-7 coming soon) to keep tabs on this preseason.

ROUND 1

• Cam Ward, Titans QB – (Pick #1) Three schools in his collegiate career, WSU legend and the first of some of these NIL top picks who moved around to find the best situation for themselves. He’s confident, aggressive and the fact that he clowned both Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter in viral social media videos sets him up as a natural foil. Is he the least talked about #1 pick in a long time…? When asked about the pressure of being a franchise QB Ward had this to say: “I don’t feel no weight on my shoulders. I’m still a zero-star recruit, I just happen to be a high draft pick”. He goes on to state bluntly: “I’ll always remember what they said about me, it’ll never leave the back of my mind. It’s there every day”. That’s a CHIP on this man’s shoulders, and you love to see the competitiveness!
• Travis Hunter, Jaguars WR/CB – (Pick #2) The youngest GM in the NFL took a huge swing with his very first draft action of his career. Jacksonville makes an aggressive move to jump out of mediocrity and provide Trevor Lawrence all the jet fuel he needs to come into all of his prodigious promise. The fact that corner was also a need on a developing defense makes this doubly interesting. Possibly the most valuable player by far, who some have prophesied could change the sport? Yeah, lemme see what’s goin on right quick . They got two of their birds, and it only took one stone: a (Glad)stone thrown with conviction behind it.
• Mason Graham, Browns DT – (Pick #5) The 2nd-least flashy guy (outside of Cam Ward) who showed up to the draft green room in Green Bay. That’s ok, he’ll let his play speak for itself. M.G. utilizes leverage and a constant motor to stop the run. He will play next to another M.G., as Siaki Ika was supposed to with his big ahh… Is this the pick that kept Myles Garrett in Cleveland? Or is it the fact that it wasn’t going to be another top pick on a QB, but instead a trade down before this pick? The world may never know… either way, the Brownies seem determined to play ball-control football in stopping the run on defense (Graham, as well as MLB, Carson Schwesinger at the top of Round 2) and allowing more pass rush opportunities for Garrett and co. Will they ultimately regret trading down from the spot where they could’ve taken the multi-dimensional Travis Hunter?
• Ashton Jeanty, Raiders HB – (Pick #6) In a year where Saquon Barkley is receiving all of the flowers, Vegas raises the Heisman runner-up as the highest drafted back since Barkley (2nd overall in 2018). He possesses speed, vision and balance and will assert those gifts to give this woebegone rushing attack some juice. It’s no secret that Coach Carroll covets a powerful ground attack. The young man who just gained the 2nd-most rushing yards in FBS history (trailing only Barry Sanders) should qualify for the role, in a sort of Alvin Kamara / LaDainian Tomlinson mold. In Jeanty’s words: “It’s tackle football, you know what I’m sayin’? I’d draft the guy they can’t tackle”.
• Tyler Warren, Colts TE – (Pick #14) An elite player who lined up as a Y-TE, in the slot, out wide, in the backfield, even as a wildcat QB and hell… even for one snap as a center… he’s an asset in both the run and pass game. I even heard words like Kittle tossed around when finding a pro comparison for this guy. Indy is souping up the chassis around starting QB, Daniel Jones. That’s right, I said Daniel Jones! I think he’ll have the chance to impress with the best supporting cast of his career. The Colts had the least amount of catches from TE’s last year…  Warren sliding to 14 might’ve been a preemptive godsend to Indy to make up for the Halliburton (NBA) injury.
• Shemar Stewart, Bengals EDGE – (Pick #17) A guy whose measurables and traits outweighed his actual college production. Sam Hubbard retired, Trey Hendrickson is beefin’ with the front office, and now Cincinnati tried to put unprecedented language in the rookie QB-hunter’s contract… now Stewart and the team are at odds… who’s going to rush the passer in Cinci?! Will every game be a track meet with their highly paid QB and WR triumvirate? How truly odd it would be if this scenario ended up playing out because the Bengals wanted to start a new contract precedent.
• Grey Zabel, Seahawks OL – (Pick #18) Versatile, agile and powerful… great traits for an outside zone offensive guard going to a team that struggled to protect their QB (3rd most sacks allowed) or run the ball (bottom-5 in rush yards) last year! All of Seattle let out a sigh of relief for this pick. Zabel posted the 3rd highest vertical jump by any offensive lineman ever at the NFL combine. He is as explosive of a guard prospect as has ever been measured. Is he the stabilizing force that the Seahawks have needed? The Steve Hutchinson to Charles Cross’ Walter Jones? I’ll believe it when I see it there, sheriff.
• Josh Simmons, Chiefs OT – (Pick #32) A team that was coming off of back-to-back Super Bowls, was clearly feeling themselves and had sights set on history. that didn’t happen, as the Philly Eagles came in and roughed KC up. Get a blindside bodyguard for the chosen one: Pat Mahomes (who’s got a haircut ), and this is a new era for him. Simmons may need time to recover from an injury, but this pick could restore some power and pride to the offensive side of the ball for the NFL’s latest dynasty. I expect this team to be extremely driven this year…

ROUND 2

• Nick Emmanwori, Seahawks S – (Pick #35) A young man who is bigger, faster and more explosive than Derwin James; he also possesses ball skills (most INTs in the SEC since the start of 2023) and plenty of confidence! In fact, his physical dimensions and metrics have surpassed so many other DB’s that the analysts at the combine moved on to comparing him to specimens like DK Metcalf (Seattle fans are familiar). Can he be Kam Chancellor (after being trained by the same guy in college)? Can he be Kyle Hamilton (destined to be coached by the same play caller in the NFL)? During his draft conference call Emmanwori mentioned that the Seahawks had stated that they think he and Hamilton are somewhat similar. If even a fraction of those comparisons, the Hawks have a HELL of a 3-safety set, joining Julian Love and Coby Bryant. Seattle traded a 27-y/o DK Metcalf and with the flexibility of the extra 2nd, reincarnated him with another player who is jumbo for his position of safety, then later in the round took a player (Elijah Arroyo) who could pitch in to help replace DK’s literal receiving production. Nick Emmanwori might be able to play anywhere on defense except interior defensive lineman. LASTLY, Sherm announces his name, as the Hawks traded way up for him, along with the NFL reveal of Nike Rivals?? Don’t even try to tell me this dude isn’t the Lisan Al-Gaib!
• Jonah Savaiinaea, Dolphins OG – (Pick #37) Miami took a 331 lb. DT in Round 1, and now they select a 324 lb. OG to help protect QB, Tua Tagovailoa. The Fins are adding beef to try to become a more physical team, and it will come on the right side of the line (technically the southpaw’s blind side). The Dolphins have been built in such a finesse manner in the past, that things would absolutely ignite when everything was aligned and working right… the problem has been that things are rarely working all the way right. It’ll be interesting to see if this team can become a more resilient bunch when the going gets tough.
• TreyVeon Henderson, Patriots HB – (Pick #38) They already had a couple good backs… but Nick Saban did say that this guy could have the biggest impact of any player so far a polished pass protector and future 3rd down weapon. Mike Vrabel starting off his Patriots tenure with two straight offensive players?! Somebody go and see if they cloned my man. After taking highly touted offensive tackle, Will Campbell in the top 5, New England sets out to make sure that Drake Maye is set up for (a little more) success early in his career.
• Luther Burden III, Bears WR – (Pick #39) New head coach, Ben Johnson and his squad are really going pass game dominance or BUST here! They haven’t addressed any needs through two rounds and keep taking highly rated receiving threats (Colston Loveland at 10th overall, and now this). Burden is a Deebo / Amon-Ra St. Brown type player who can create catch-and-run yards out of the slot. Is the new HC play calling prodigy relying too heavily on the pass? Will Caleb Williams have a true breakout year with all of the weaponry at his disposal? I mean… with D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and Loveland all being counted on, does Cole Kmet or Burden come off the bench. Sheesh! I thought a complimentary pass rusher could really elevate the Chicago stop unit, but Big Ben Johnson is ready to come at the whole league with an air assault! The new head coach seems bent on not letting the offense record the lowest yards per play mark in the league again, like last year.
• Will Johnson, Cardinals CB – (Pick #47) Arizona ended the biggest draft day “slide” west of Shedeur Sanders, taking a young man who many considered at one point to be the top pure corner. I put “slide” in quotations because it only references a slide in value compared to what the amateurs think… many teams most likely knew about the red flags beforehand. I’m talkin’ more red flags than Love Island… and don’t pretend you don’t catch that reference either! Fitting that this man goes to the Red Sea. I kept seeing the description of young Will be painted out that he is a zone corner… well, ‘Zona ran man coverage schemes at a bottom-10 rate last year, so this could be a beautiful marriage. Johnson is a 6’2” corner with intelligence and ball-hawking talent (more pick-6 scores on defense than TDs given up). He is also a player who comes with both injury and speed concerns. If those prove to be of no material concern to his game, the Cards may have gotten a steal here. Arizona has been quietly building this defense in the shadows for a few years now and should not be taken lightly.
• Elijah Arroyo, Seahawks TE – (Pick #50) Nick Saban called him “tough” and “smart”. This guy can fly down the field, run great routes, and is a decent blocker with room to improve. Capable of creating splash plays in the creases, he is the replacement for Noah Fant. How will it shake out between he and A.J. Barner? One thing we know is that Arroyo is a smooth and natural receiving threat who is willing to block. Confidence and effort should be expectations, if his draft media appearances are any indication. On some Metcalf type shii? ABC’s coverage even showed a highlight of him chasing down a defender on an INT, à la DK.
• Nick Scourton, Panthers DE – (Pick #51) A guy who (reportedly) played at around 180 pounds in his 2024 college season as a power edge. He then (reportedly) weighed in at 157 at the combine in an impressive physical transformation. Where will he play? Interior D-line or EDGE? A mix of both? Will he be miscast? Does he know Sir Purr? Can the Panthers’ weak ahh defense (4th-worst and then dead last over the last two years) be salvaged? I’m going to start calling this guy the Riddler since I have so many questions. This organization’s motto is keep pounding, but they’ve been the ones getting pounded relentlessly ever since they let Spider-Man (Brian Burns) leave. If nothing else, a strong run game defender goes to the only team to allow more than six 100-yard rushers last season (Carolina allowed 10). Carolina even doubles up later with a more traditional finesse EDGE rusher in the 3rd (Princely Umanmielen).
• Tre Harris, Chargers WR – (Pick #55) After taking a tone-setting runner with their first pick (Omarion Hampton), the Bolts nab an intelligent and hard-nosed perimeter threat to aid Justin Herbert in the air attack. A little bit of a trivia fact is that Harris is a player that was Malik Nabers’ HS quarterback… He is now the next in line of big-bodied wideouts to come out of Ole Miss. Will he be more A.J. Brown and DK Metcalf, or more Laquon Treadwell? He may need to step up and tag team with Ladd McConkey if Quentin Johnston continues to disappoint. Doesn’t help that veteran WR, Mike Williams abruptly retired past the midway point of July. Will Harris’ abilities be enough to help stretch this passing attack vertically, or will Los Angeles’ AFC team be hemmed into the short game again?

ROUND 3

• Ashton Gillotte, Chiefs EDGE – (Pick #66) The Eagles won the Super Bowl over the Chiefs with a 16-pressure and 6-sack performance from their defense. The WILD thing is that Philly didn’t blitz ANY of Patrick Mahomes’ 42 drop backs They caused that much disruption and chaos with a 0% blitz rate. Remember when the L.O.B. embarrassed the greatest offense of all-time to win a ‘ship? The Broncos then committed to becoming a tougher team and created the “No-Fly Zone” defense that went on to beat Cam Newton’s Panthers on the big stage two years later. Same vibe here, and I look forward to seeing how Kansas City reshapes itself to make another run at it. Can Gillotte overtake Charles Omenihu, Mike Danna and Felix Anudike-Uzomah to provide an effective one-two punch with George Karlaftis? He does bring power and production to the table. Good news, since KC resorted to blitzing at the 5th-highest rate last year… they had a rude awakening to seeing the light in why they need to change that. As a possibly versatile DE, does he give them more flexibility to lean into 3-4 schemes?
• Harold Fannin Jr., Browns TE – (Pick #67) A hometown kid from Canton, OH who messed around and recorded more receptions and yards than any tight end in college football history… he was the only one ever to lead the FBS in overall receiving yardage. Will the Browns feature him and David Njoku simultaneously? is this them hedging their bets on the enigmatic Diontae Johnson? This guy may very well be the future of pass catching in Cleveland for whatever next QB ends up emerging after the fumbling of their B.M. Fannin will forever be compared to the five TE’s that were selected before him (Colston Loveland, Tyler Warren, Mason Taylor, Terrance Ferguson, and Elijah Arroyo). This has the potential to be the G.O.A.T. tight end draft class
• Darien Porter, Raiders CB – (Pick #68) When Pete Carroll hand picks a cornerback with any significant draft capital (first 5 rounds) he is usually right. Porter is a big, fast corner who possesses another unique trait that Coach Carroll has shown an affinity for: a WR turned DB. This also applies to players in the Seattle past such as Richard Sherman, Tre Flowers and Tariq Woolen who excelled in press zone coverage. It seems there is always criticism of Pete’s DB picks, as many analysts liked both Shavon Revel Jr. and Azareye’h Thomas more at this point in the process… we shall see, as we are dealing with a legendary teacher / evaluator of talent in the secondary. Carroll assembled the best collection of defensive backs of all time in Seattle, as a matter of fact.
• Kyle Williams, Patriots WR – (Pick #69) Four consecutive scintillating selections in the third round. The New New England brass is making it a priority to support sophomore, Drake Maye in whatever way possible. They are the only team who I’ve predicted their 1st Round pick right in each of the last 3 years… they’ve made selections to address what I felt was 3 of their top 4 needs. Williams is Cougar Gold who has the speed and acceleration to stretch defenses vertically. My readers already know that I’m loyal to the soil, but like Lavar Burton: don’t take my word for it, as Steve Smith Sr. likes him, so you know he’s certified. A guy that I thought was a fit for Seattle at this point in the draft and will combine with Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker from last year and Cardi B’s new boo to form a Boston bombardment. Get your tea ready.
• Nick Martin, 49ers LB – (Pick #75) The Niners take a compact, tenacious and speedy off-ball linebacker who could use more seasoning. The good news is they are good at sprinkling the good stuff on with their LB core, recently housing names like the all-world Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and Dee Winters. All were able to step up in a significant way at times. Some of the criticisms of Martin were surrounding his size… so SF taking physical, run stuffing DL with their first two picks (Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins) makes a lot of sense when it’s all interconnected. Even though Martin may be considered undersized, he tied for the most reps in the bench press (26) at the 2025 NFL combine ! San Francisco has committed to re-upping its front seven with young talent.
• Jaylin Noel, Texans WR – (Pick #79) Noel joins his teammate, fellow Cyclone-turned-Texan and 2nd Round pick, Jayden Higgins. While Higgins may be the perimeter X-WR, Noel is an explosive, route running, slot-type wideout. With the two Iowa bros teaming up as fresh blood, and Christian Kirk arriving in free agency, C.J. Stroud will have an all-new arsenal to go along with Nico Collins. Will Tank Dell be able to make it back at some point this year? Jaylin Noel was a two-year captain who has drawn comparisons to Tyler Lockett… Houston will be hoping he can help remove the shroud of a sophomore slump with Stroud.
• Savion Williams, Packers WR – (Pick #87) Downtown Green Bay just about exploded with cascades of brew-enhanced applause and jubilation once the Pack FINALLY selected a wideout in the 1st Round (first time in 23 years… at 23rd overall)! I know because I was there, fraternizing, jabbing at and talking ball with the nicest fans in the league. Matthew Golden has expectations to fulfill his destiny from the jump. Well, cheeseheads may have bitten off more than they can chew, as the host team doubled down on WR’s with the selection of Savion Williams here. It’ll be a dog-eat-dog competition in that position room, with a notable name or two probable to get cut or traded as the season looms. The veteran group of Watson, Doubs, Reed, Hardman and even Seattle legend Bo Melton (who was forced to move to DB) are joined by the two youngsters… and hey, competition is usually a good thing for results in a free market. We’ll see if that also applies to an air attack, and if we see J. Love’s squadron take a significant leap forward after injecting their arsenal with more talent. Either way, taking a Cordarrelle Patterson clone should bring some spice.
• Jalen Milroe, Seahawks QB – (Pick #92) Quite possibly the most interesting pick in this entire draft, as Seattle reinvests the pick it got in trading away former QB, Geno Smith. The first Nigerian signal caller in the league? The 2nd fastest, and possibly even the fastest quarterback ever… wow. Seattle mixes it up in a way reminiscent of when they took Russell Wilson in this same round 13 years ago when they already handed out significant money to a starter type mere months earlier. This time, they take a transcendent athlete at the quarterback position who also had the most turnovers in college football last year. Even if he has the speed of Lamar and the strength of Cam Newton… can he develop into an efficient passer in the short to intermediate portions of the field? That is the huge developmental question here, and it’s a great thing that Sam Darnold DOES seem more entrenched than Matt Flynn was 13 years ago, giving this unrefined passer (Milroe) a chance to grow and form answers to those questions without immediate pressure. At the very least, new OC, Klint Kubiak (former Saints OC) may see this as an upgrade over what Taysom Hill brought to red zone packages (which New Orleans was very good at) as a threat as a passer and an electric runner. Nick Saban on his former QB at Alabama: “I’ll tell you, he’s going to give the Seahawks an element of offense that nobody else in this draft can give anybody”. Saban goes on to say that “he just needs a little refinement and consistency in the passing game, and he can be an outstanding player”. Will VR help to push him to a position where he can let the naysayers know? Get your popcorn ready for preseason with this guy…

With a lot of division happening in our world today, the NFL Draft has finally arrived as an elusive vestige of hope and cooperation. Having that been said: ain’t a whole lot of cooperating going to be going on between division rivals at the 2025 college-to-NFL selection process, bet that!

Mock drafts can feel as, or more futile than a March Madness bracket… the only difference here is that each pick is based on results of the last picks. It’s like a long, swaying house of cards. Each organization is operating as a self-serving agent of chaos to the very foundation of this hypothetical house. With that in mind, I sought to create something as adaptable as each GM’s gameplan has to be (I do what I can ). This year’s draft seems to be as amorphous as ever, with factors such as NIL proving to be silent influencers in the shape of this list of NFL prospects.

This year, I admittedly spent less time searching for consensus and studying up on the opinions of others… I’m shooting from the hip, so GET DOWN! We’ll see how this goes. If it works, I will follow this course from now until eternity. If not? Well, then I’ll follow the methods of research and analytics that I have in the past! I just didn’t want to overthink on this go-round, which is hopefully what our favorite GM’s are doing in their draft rooms right now.

You’ll see draft pick predictions for each team, followed by a list of 1-3 other strong positional considerations (in parentheses, after my actual prediction). The more question marks, the more likely/tempting I think that alternate pick is. Consider this somewhat of a draft strategy roadmap for each team.

I included two projected trades (JAX-CHI and CAR-CLE). Drumroll please…

1. Tennessee Titans – Cam Ward, QB Miami (WR? EDGE??) Cam Ward is an aggressive and confident passer with a lot of physical tools. The former WSU Cougar should take the reins from the recently benched Will Levis in Nashville. As one of the great poets of our day (J. Cole) said (kinda), some quarterbacks make millions, some quarterbacks make memes. The new regime presses forward with THEIR guy as the signal caller. Oh, and Tyler Lockett will be there to bail a rookie out.

2. Cleveland Browns – Travis Hunter, WR/CB Colorado (EDGE? QB??) Welcome back to the first round, Cleveland Browns! They were last part of this dance 4 years ago, then traded an arsenal of 1sts for Deshaun Watson… Draft Hunter as a QB-helper / pass rush helper to have your cake and eat it too. My personal hunch is that Myles “Generational Talent” Garrett came back because he was down with the plan that Cleveland brass sold him on. He probably didn’t want to wait for a rookie QB to develop. The Brownies can take a developmental guy later to complete the maneuver. They resist the allure of another restart at QB by focusing on how Hunter benefits from elite cross training. He is especially tough and agile for a WR and has ball skills and route familiarity that many CB’s don’t always possess. I see wideout as his first home, but see some defensive packages being made available to him. He’s on a mission to prove his uniqueness.

3. New York Giants – Abdul Carter, EDGE Penn State (DT? CB?? QB???) This will absolutely load that Big Blue front, as the G-Men already have stars Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence in place. Carter could play off-ball on 1st downs or give way to Thibodeaux in those situations. He’s a true Micah parsons-lite who was also a Penn State #11. Remember when the boys in blue had names like Strahan, Tuck, Kiwanuka and Umenyiora working together to hunt down Super Bowl favorites? I still do have my eyes on these guys as potential players in the Shedeur Sanders sweepstakes. You’d think that the presence of vets like Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston could go a long way in mentoring Sanders and keeping him even-keel as a rook.

4. New England Patriots – Will Campbell, OT LSU (HB? WR?? DT???) Bad news: these guys have no playmakers and were in the running for worst offensive line in the league last year… Good news: Will Campbell is available to help with one of those! Does Will actually play guard due to his lack of arm length…? Not in this economy! A gruff pass protecting specialist for Drake Maye, and one who looked ready to storm the stage and slap the hell out of that arm length criticism.

5. Chicago Bears – Ashton Jeanty, HB Boise State (TRADE UP with JAX, FROM 10) (EDGE? OT??). In this scenario, Da Bears could stay at 10 and get one of the top 2-3 tackles? Instead, they go and get a game-breaking rushing guru and Heisman Trophy finalist to power their offense. A strong running game should lift some of the burden from Caleb Williams shoulders and pink-adorned fingers. Ben Johnson waited a year for this.

6. Las Vegas Raiders – Mason Graham, DL Michigan (WR? CB?? HB???) Jeanty was stolen right under their silver and black noses. Vegas lost a 3rd for Geno Smith but gained a 3rd from the Davante Adams trade. I could see the Raiders springing for a smash mouth power back like Omarion Hampton in the 2nd! Now, a topflight CB would take this defense to another level, but HC, Pete Carroll is also very good at finding diamond in the rough DB’s late in the draft who can shine. Carroll has a good shot at continuing to be a thorn in Jim Harbaugh’s side by landing one of two elite defenders from Harbaugh’s old team. Graham would line up with Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins and former 1st-round pick, Tyree Wilson to form a stout stop unit.

7. New York Jets – Tyler Warren, TE Penn State (S? OL?? EDGE???) I tried to give them a TE last year, and they threw it back in my face like a pestilent child. Warren is the type of player who can help on the ground as well as by air. Aaron Glenn’s Lions sold out to stop the run so that their pass rushing and coverage strengths would shine through. Time to reinforce the run on offense so that they can build a stable offense with easy answers for Fields. A. Glenn is also, apparently, the only one that has the huevos to give it to Rodgers straight like dat. For all those gang green fans dreaming of a Shedeur Sanders acquisition to battle Justin Fields… don’t forget about Jordan Travis waiting in the wings.

8. Cleveland Browns: Shedeur Sanders, QB Colorado (TRADE UP with CAR, From Round 2) (OT?? EDGE???) It’s got to be a QB with this type of move. Jimmy Haslem recently said that he wished he could have both Hunter and Sanders… maybe he wants to flex his money where his mouth is, like Jay-Z rapping that he would move the Nets to BK. Shedeur is an accurate distributer and has a built-in relationship with Trav. (who went #2 overall). Would this be pulling a Houston? The Texans took C.J. Stroud at 2 in 2024, then orchestrated quite the aggressive trade up for another top 5 selection, taking Will Anderson with a consecutive pick at 3. Time for Cleveland to rock.

9. New Orleans Saints – Will Johnson, CB Michigan (QB? EDGE?? WR???) NOLA selects a very good cover corner to help ease the losses of Lattimore and Adebo. Johnson is technically sound and has size. They got leapfrogged by Cleveland to take Shedeur, but new coaches, Kellen Moore (HC) and Brandon Staley (DC) know how important it is to control the pass game.

10. Jacksonville Jaguars – Tetairoa McMillan, WR Arizona (TRADE DOWN with CHI, FROM 5) (OL? CB?? EDGE???) Get a top wideout and your pass catching corps is revamped in two years! They already dealt Christian Kirk. Liam Coen saw how two stud WR’s helped to bouy an offense in Tampa. There’s also the fact that J-Ville was the worst pass defense in the league this past season. Will they get a coverage specialist to pair with their new DC? Especially that if Tet. falls.

11. San Francisco 49ers – Armand Membou, OT Missouri (LB? EDGE?? DT???) Trent Williams cannot play forever… can he? The Niners have a tough decision between a defensive tackle like Walter Nolen, and a future building block to protect the edges. Nolen would make a more immediate impact, but SF goes with the most blue-chip remaining talent on the board as they look to reload. I waffled here, but the memory of Javon Kinlaw and the impending Brock Purdy extension may help swing the decision towards an offensive trench player. Brandon Thorn, offensive line guru has praised his movement skills, which should mesh well with Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system.

12. Dallas Cowboys – Matthew Golden, WR Texas (DL?? DB??? HB????) Is this the year that the ‘Boys actually go all in? They did try to get Cooper Kupp! Is Hakeem Adenji going to play RG? They may fortify that position later in the draft, along with a guy to tote the rock. Omarion Hampton will make them really consider taking the 2nd back in the top 12. Matthew Golden is a guy that possesses both blazing speed along with sharp route running ability. He is a capable Robin to CeeDee Lamb’s Batman to bring back the high-flying Dallas offense for Skip Bayless’ ass.

13. Miami Dolphins – Jahdae Barron, DB Texas (OG? DT???) Miami received the third-highest percentage of contact behind the line of scrimmage for running backs entering Week 14, which makes them a true candidate to trade up to stop the slide of Membou. The ‘Fins instead go fishing for a Swiss army knife in the secondary, especially with the prospective exit of Jalen Ramsey. Defensive Coordinator, Anthony Weaver needs more cover men to execute his system of simulated pressures and mixed zones.

14. Indianapolis Colts – Colston Loveland, TE Michigan (LB? DT?? OG???) Loveland is a real threat in the passing game, which is where Indy needs help these days. This pick could set the offense up to be very successful… with Daniel Jones as the starting QB. It will give him a level of protection and weaponry that he never had at his disposal in the Big Apple. Anthony Richardson will just have to sit and learn until he gets his next opportunity. Linebacker is a consideration, but DC, Lou Anarumo could be motivated to try to trade for his former Bengals general in Germaine Pratt.

15. Atlanta Falcons – Mykel Williams, EDGE Georgia (S? WR?? CB???) Does he go even higher? Trice is coming off a major ACL injury, Judon is gone and Arnold Ebiketie has replacement-level sack production. All 45 of the Falcons’ combine interviews were with defensive players and the only coaches they sent were on the defensive side of the ball lol! Atlanta brings in the hometown hero who played through injury last year. When healthy, he should be able to show off his elite explosiveness off the edge. I don’t want to mock an edge rusher to the Falcons anymore ya’ll… I’m tired. Fix it.

16. Arizona Cardinals – Kelvin Banks, Jr., OL Texas (CB? DT?? WR???) Signing Josh Sweat might’ve salved the pass rush needs for now, which frees AZ up to make a pick that is *gasp* non-urgent (for the first time in a while). This is a double whammy for the Cards, as they steal a potentially perfect fit of need and talent from the division rival Seahawks. Banks can slide inside and solve issues at guard, while providing flexibility to man the tackle position if need be.

17. Cincinnati Bengals – Jalon Walker, LB Georgia (EDGE? DB?? OL???) They could take a defensive back to upgrade the defense a little, since everyone on offense is getting PAID. Or another lineman to make sure those investments have the runway to perform. With star pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson and star middle linebacker, Germaine Pratt both on the trade block, why not take a guy who can help pitch in on both front-end levels of the defense?

18. Seattle Seahawks – Kenneth Grant, DT Michigan (TE? CB?? OL???) After an offseason of major change, Seattle has the opportunity to reload with 5 selections in the first 92 picks of the NFL draft. Do they make a splash and trade up for a QB, or an OT/OG such as Kelvin Banks, Jr.? I’ve come to accept that John Schneider will not draft a (non-LT) offensive lineman in the 1st round… no matter how badly the roster needs it. It’s best player available approach here. Nick Emmanwori is tempting, as he could complete a ferocious 3-safety set, but something about the idea of a 1st round pick at DB as a part-time player doesn’t sit well. The 340 lb. Kenneth Grant has Michigan ties, can really move and could restock the DL (a position where a heavy rotation is a good thing). Go and get a speedster at wideout and a versatile guard with picks in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Jihaad Campbell, LB Alabama (OL? HB?? EDGE???) The Bucs have a balanced overall roster but take a player who is scheme flexible. Campbell can fill in for the 14-year vet, Lavonte David in the middle, while also augmenting Tampa’s pass rush efforts. Let’s get Todd Bowles’ defense back to the appropriate levels of menacing. Baker can’t be baking everything out here, now. This is supposed to be a potluck, Cheryl.

20. Denver Broncos – Mike Green, EDGE Marshall (HB? DB?? WR???) Russell Wilson is still responsible for a $32M dead cap hit in 2025: The final year of dead cap. Denver will continue to load up on young talent while they feel their window of contention opening. Green gives this team more bite on defense. On offense, they have the best line in the league, but could take a tackle to groom for the future? …They also tried to get Kupp They should be able to find more offensive threats later in the draft.

21. Pittsburgh Steelers – Jaxson Dart, QB Ole Miss (WR? EDGE?? HB???) They almost traded for Christian Kirk, in-season? George Pickens could go to Green Bay?? DK Metcalf doesn’t have a quarterback because he thought the grass would be greener??? This offense is in major flux, and I’m not sure you should put all your eggs in the mystifying Aaron Rodgers basket. Dart is a late riser who has drawn the description of a possible white Jalen Hurts . Is that the same as Jack Harlow being a white(er) Drake? Is Dart an industry plant? Nah, ok. Jaxson Dart may go much higher.

22. Los Angeles Chargers – Walter Nolen, DT Ole Miss (TE? CB?? WR???) The prodigal son hath returned, HAHA… WOOHOO!! Mike Williams is back to help open up the offense for Justin Herbert, allowing the Bolts to get even tougher in the trenches. That is always an M.O. For Jim Harbaugh-coached teams. This makes it back-to-back Ole Miss players. Walter Nolan has the potential to develop into a game-wrecker, and this could even be too low for him.

23. Green Bay Packers – Shemar Stewart, EDGE Texas A&M (OL? DT?? CB???) Does the Pack trade up or trade this away for a bonafide WR1? Josh Jacobs called for an alpha in that room… and you don’t know how much longer J.J. will be dominant for. The time to make a big swing definitely feels at hand for this young and talented team. With both of the top wideout options gone at this point in the draft, the host team looks elsewhere. It may not be the biggest need ever, but this spot in the draft feels right to take a promising pass rusher… especially if the QB hunters couldn’t get much done when it mattered the most in the playoffs. Don’t let Ike Taylor anywhere near this man.

24. Minnesota Vikings – Malaki Starks, S Alabama (DL? OG?? CB???) Their pass-defense is a problem (28th out of 32 teams) and got torched in the playoffs by the Rams. Starks can eventually replace Harrison Smith, manning the slot in the meantime. This move would also allow Byron Murphy Jr. to play more outside when necessary. The Vikings have a bonafide star slide into their laps in this scenario; a star who can play center field, erasing routes in the middle of Brian Flores’ defense.

25.Houston Texans: – Tyler Booker, OG Alabama (WR? DT?? HB???) Anybody paying attention to what the Texans are doing!? They have built some pretty insane depth across their roster. Luxury pick incoming… one that could make Stroud’s job easier. Running back and MAYBE guard are the only positions on the roster where they don’t have enviable depth. Hampton at tailback is a really enticing thought… but getting Booker (a gap scheme savant) as new OC, Nick Caley switches things over to more gap concepts could be a match made in Houston!

26. Los Angeles Rams – Emeka Egbuka, WR Ohio State (LB? OT?? DT???) A star slot who would further stratify attention between he, Puka Nacua, and new addition, Davante Adams. Egbuka can hold down the slot, help with spacing, and is a willing blocker for Sean McVay’s scheming ways. Puka, Egbuka and Tutu would make this the all-name team. They may be highly tempted to take a developmental offensive tackle (Simmons) here as well.

27. Baltimore Ravens – Nick Emmanwori, S South Carolina (WR? OT?? DT???) Imagine a back end composed of Ar’Darius Washington, Kyle Hamilton and Emmanwori… they could line up all over and be as adept in the run game as they would be covering deep. B-More may have lost their prodigious DC in Mike Macdonald, but this is a team that hung its hat on having a physical defense much before Mikey Mac. came on the scene, and this pick will ensure that that tradition will live on. It will also ensure that the league’s 31st ranked pass defense (out of 32, mind you) is given reinforcements. Emmanwori is a big, fast safety who can even line up in the box.

28. Detroit Lions – Grey Zabel, OG/C North Dakota State (WR? EDGE???) Remember that their identity is to want to run the ball on offense to avoid the pass rush, and to stuff the run on defense to bring up obvious pass rushing situations. Funnily enough, they visited with Matthew Golden… maybe they still want wideouts. Zabel is a great value and depth pick, who can bring yet another layer of grit to the team.

29. Washington Commanders – Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE Boston College (OL? LB?? CB???) The capitol team will bring the pressure back with this pick. This team is loading up for a run over the next couple of years, and as their Super Bowl-winning division rivals in PA showed in this most recent playoff run: you can never have too large of a rotation on the defensive line.

30. Buffalo Bills – Omarion Hampton, HB North Carolina (WR? EDGE?? OT???) Let’s get our hands dirty. Let’s roll in the mud baby! It’s time to get tougher as a team and approach your yearly bouts with KC as a more ball-control offense. Hampton can shoulder a run game, while punishing defenders and keeping the Bills’ stop unit fresh. I think he’ll go higher, but I don’t yet see the opening… Bills Mafia will not complain if this beast of a ball carrier is available.

31. Kansas City Chiefs – Josh Simmons, OT Ohio State (TE? DB?? DT???) Will we see the return of Tyreek during the draft? I see the Chiefs licking their wounds after their 3-peat was spoiled by Philly and coming back with a commitment to the trenches. Simmons should add more security, compete for the job at LT, and keep games from looking like this each week.

32. Philadelphia Eagles – Jalen Milroe, QB Alabama (WR? TE?? DT???) Derrick Harmon was the original pick: another defensive tackle demon to add to their already nightmarish rotation… but where’s the fun in that??? Let’s shake s**t up and get them a polarizing and dynamic runner at the quarterback position. Milroe has the chance to sit and learn from a guy, in Jalen Hurts, who came into this league with people doubting his ability as a passer. Hurts’ work ethic helped him to develop, grow and thrive. We all know GM, Howie Roseman loves having extra QB’s as future assets as well!

The news is a little hard to keep up with these days, ain’t it? It’s like one beat drop after another, with wave after wave of significant developments crashing into our collective consciousness, all while we look at each other in shock while attempting to process the previously delivered consequential happenings.

In this new day of fluid rosters and this age of wheelin’ and dealin’ in the NFL, the Free Agency period this week has been WILD…! It’s a sight to behold to see all of these teams and how they compete with and navigate one another to build a team according to a shared organizational vision. I’ll catch up on the football analysis side of things soon, soon, but let us talk about how during one of X/Twitter’s prime traffic usage times of the year, the social media platform went down!!! Hmm that’s suspicious, no? The funny thing is that the (semi-new) owner, Elon Musk came out and said it was a cyber-attack. Well, the lad has not been making a ton of (non-rich) friends recently, so maybe that clears.

What’s that? “Why”, you say? Isn’t he the glorious hero of a new age of technology and free speech? I’ve got a lot of links for you to check out (since this is not a topic to be talking out of your ass on), so let’s discuss why it’s a “no” from me, dawg.

What I’m trying to figure out is why he’s playing victim, which could be valid… but blaming it on (as one of the best comments points out), “a tiny war-torn country” that his governmental comrades were just seen disrespecting in front of the cameras? That’s a little weird. You see, what many Americans saw was a shouting match between President Donald J. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, in hosting Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That didn’t exactly scream (pun always intended) diplomacy to the global audience, no matter what your opinion of foreign aid may be.

You know what? That may have been the first time we’ve all seen that (complete with finger wagging), and it was a disgrace to see the man in the Oval Office disrespect the leader of an invaded country, cutting short a meeting at the White House. Prominent quotes from the president and VP included: “Don’t tell us what we’re gonna feel!” and “Have you said thank you, even one time?”. How about a little, “You’re gambling with World War III!” for good measure? Yeah, you could say that escalated quickly!

Ok, now let’s balance that with how Trump treated the Israeli PM . Why does Israel get the peaceful, patient and paying version of America? Who owes who? He wants to talk tough around a small country who is requesting help during an invasion, then act like a lap dog around those who are pulling puppet strings… for what it’s worth, Apple News reported that, “prior to Friday’s meeting, the defense secretary ordered the pentagon to pause offensive cyber operation against Russia, but didn’t offer further explanation as to why”. Fascinating!

I think we can all agree that the current administration makes a habit of propaganda and lies. Just ask the VP. There was an estimated total of 30K lies and pieces of misinformation reported in his first term. This dude Musk is accessing the same vein of wonton and reckless misinformation. I think we can all agree.

I mean, it’s not even about the policies anymore! It needs to be studied, because it’s more of a social movement than political prose. The answer, to me, is that the MAGA movement is founded on toxic white outrage. I believe the move to elect someone like Donald Trump was a direct response to the hiring of America’s first ever black president, in Barack Obama. There are some that really hated that the U.S. elected a black man to lead and felt that the culture of America had gone too far. They then decided to answer by electing a reality star / corporate magnate / nationalist bully as the very next president.

Since that point, we’ve seen the presidential race devolve into tacky debates about each other’s golf game… and now, he’s revealed himself as an imperialist beyond a shadow of a doubt, in his quest for Greenland and the Panama Canal.

Let me get this $h*t outta the way up front: I am no democrat.

I was in college, when I started to see the ills in the world on a global level for the first time. Then you start to see, read and learn things. The whole capitalist two-party system is crooked anyway. Both sides want to benefit off of people and feed billion-dollar industries.

There is something worse happening now, however. I mean, look at this atrocious video, rife with colonizing overtones I’m glad they left comments on so we can so how even his own supporters are dogging this . And yet, here we are, saying goodbye to the department of education. It won’t go away completely, as this is a boundary that Trump is sure to test… but USA Today had this to say: “Programs and activities receiving ‘any remaining Department of Education funds’ won’t be permitted to promote diversity, equity and inclusion”.

Now they want to erase Harriet Tubman from history… This is not D.E.I., this is American history under assault.

The current regime are masters of rhetoric. They try to distract from concerning plane crashes with talk of DEI. The COVID outbreak forced a lot of pilots, mechanics and flight attendants to retire early, causing somewhat of a shortage… then Trump comes along to fire everybody that isn’t loyal to him. Aviation safety reporter, Darrell Campbell being interviewed for Apple News had this to say: “It takes two years to get an air traffic controller from initial hiring to qualified enough to start actually working in the tower. It takes about that long for a pilot to get certified. This is not just a switch that you can turn on and off overnight”. With that scalding soup of ingredients, here’s what comes out in the soup.

Don’t be surprised if Elon Musk and SpaceX come in and institute ‘changes’ to the FAA and aviation industry at large that purport to ‘solve’ all the problems we’ve been seeing. Those problems will have been partly created by Trump and his men in the first place! We’ll see if the use of strategic and widespread international tariffs follow that same pattern. Taking out the competition to gain more control over markets and industries? Listen to Reagan, man. I’ve heard it said that all the trump supporters (especially those in gov’t and military) complaining about how they didn’t know about how things would affect them is like the trees voting for the axe… It’s sad.

And now, we have classified war plans being accidentally shared in a group text to a reporter from The Atlantic… they said some of the messages were set to disappear it seems that the new administration needs a little bit of help from some of those diverse, equitable and inclusive people who know what they’re doing.

Now, let’s shift our focus to le Trump’s powerful lackey: Mr. Musky. Great guy, btw .
Greeeaaaat guy!

He was recently seen trying to convince voters to dissolve the pillars of American democracy. He’s trying to create apartheid in America, because it’s what he and his family benefited from and were molded by in South Africa. The majority benefits from the exploitation of the minority. The rules will not be the same for everybody. They don’t give a is what I’m trying to tell y’all. Here’s his daddy, describing the process of grooming as “getting along well”.

Did you hear about the Gold Cards idea that Trump unveiled? They are going to be selling the rights to be an American citizen. How far from the idea of the United States of America have we strayed? Actually, don’t answer that. This may actually be a callback to America’s ugly past…

Both Trump and Musk are dangerously powerful individuals who have made their goals pretty damn obvious. Like how do you really justify this? It’s a true American disgrace. And on the left, you’ll see Elon trying to rally people to see the system of checks and balances that are paramount to the American democracy as bad things. someone get this guy off my TL.

No matter our political ideologies, let’s keep it a buck about this guy and who he is… Bill Burr can.

Elon’s business ventures benefitted greatly from (and some say only lived due to) government funding and loans and yet, he has been hacking and slashing that same funding. Musk has “called to end the consumer credit for electric vehicles that experts say helped boost sales for Tesla”. Way to take out the competition and establish a monopoly So you think that’s the end of it? This man wants to make the USA a dystopia for most, and a playground for a very few elites!!! Welcome to the hellscape of an American oligarchy.

People were making fun of the term “woke”, and now we’ve got to wake your asses up.

This is what is happening, and it’s real. This is way bigger than democrat vs. republican at this point. It’s bigger than anything about race. This is about powers and mechanisms of greed and evil. The richest men in the world, including Jeff Bezos, are ready to collude.

Social media bans should scare you. I’m not saying we’ll become an isolationist state, but searching the social media accounts of incoming travelers for any “hatred of Trump’s policies” at immigration definitely moves us one step closer. It’s also important to keep in mind that propaganda is a very powerful and proven tool of the government. They have that tool in their grasps at this very moment. Look at the level of control and manipulation at the border. Not just that, but they are trying to get their hands on public data regarding crime, class, race and justice. These men are trying to distort reality to fit their own list for power and currency. I mean shit, at this rate we may have to vote to get Trump out of office, and the results could very well be rigged. Ya think Trump and Musk want the kind of power that Putin has over his country? 

THIS IS ALL VERY WILD! but not completely unprecedented… Fascism is a real thing.

I recently saw that Musk-eteer endorsed the idea of pardoning George Floyd’s killer… a concept that NOBODY was pushing for. That’s not the end. Musk has continued to reference, like and interact with nazi pages and ideals. Each time he does, even if it’s innocent, drives follows, engagement, views and dogma/paradigm setting. I believe he, and people associated with his agenda, are at the heart of vitriolic hate and negative discourse around films, shows and video games that depict non-white, non-men in any way (Captain America, The Last of Us, Snow White, Assassins Creed, etc.). The linked tweet was less than a week after the named game’s release after it debuted to strong reviews… It’s got me rollin’ to see him get ratio’d by the gaming studio itself! Look at the way his tweet of a fake news article impacted an actress that had nothing to do with the situation. Expect more and more and more and more and more of this rhetoric. Some conspiracies would point to this very rhetoric being manufactured by people who wanted to create a racial divide in America. The kind of divide that would allow a leader to gain the kind of support that would allow him to grab all available power.

Musk’s tweets about bitcoin literally impact its value, devaluing markets with his influence is nothing new. This man is trying to exploit the public perception of doge coin just like he did for Tesla (and will do again) when they were not a profitable company. In fact, exploitation is his whole modus operandi! I do not think that he’s dumb at all. I think he knows EXACTLY what he’s doing!

Should we dive into how the whole tariff thing has turned out to be simple market manipulation? The profit is not meant for your grubby little paws, either (unless you are among the extremely wealthy, of course). This is not for the good of the people.

Donald Trump made a presidency out of saying whatever he wanted, then when confronted about it, giving some dismissive explanation for it to the media. That salute by Musk was right in line with that whole ideology. This man does not give two cares about what you have to say, and he does not care if you know that he’s profiting, or if you find inconsistencies in his actions. Remember that in the election process leading up to his second term back in October, Donald stated that he would leverage U.S. forces and the National Guard to quell “radical left lunatics”. The current administration has their hands on so many levers of control and propaganda, that it’s hard to keep up.

Trump wanted to send immigrants to a war prison reserved for 9/11 terrorists… until that was struck down by people with sense, who’s said the conditions weren’t humane. Man, who is the lunatic here? There were reports in the Washington Post of invasive strip searches any time a migrant left/returned to their cell. I mean, what can we expect from the first president that’s a felon, right? That’s 34x felon to you, bucko!

Elon Musk contributed $250M to the Trump presidential campaign, and in return, he was given access to sensitive American data. Musk now has access to your social security number, home address and more. in the hands of a recreational ketamine user (and all that entails).

The final straw is this… Elon Musk has openly talked of some of the things he’s about. He wants people to know that empathy is a negative thing. Tough to get more evil than that jawn right there. Since he wants to allude to nazis, let’s play on the same field and bring up a quote from when the world was finally able to purge one of the greatest large-scale evils:

These are real life bad guys lol. The types of guys that were (somewhat problematically?) portrayed as Russian villains in 80’s. The guys that were looking to enslave, destroy and conquer before Bruce Willis had to ride in yelling yippee ki-yay mf’er!

Are we going to just let whatever happen? This guy gets to come to our country and tear it down from the inside fr? He must be stopped. He and his prospective tyrant leader want the power of kings… that is exactly the thing that caused people to LEAVE a ‘great’ nation (Great Britain) to create the U.S.A., as something ‘better’. But here we are .

I thought it was American to fight for your rights and freedoms, not accept a man who wants to take them away from people? Musk’s own AI thinks it’s highly probably that this regime is crooked! You couldn’t make half of this shit up if you tried. Some of ya’ll have become some straight up villains, let me tell you.

^The above is, unfortunately, one of my connections on social media. The good news is that it’s not too late to change things. Change begins with organizing. Hopefully it does not have to end in revolution. I don’t have enough trust in Musk and Trump to believe that it won’t be necessary. Even tools of the Republican machine don’t trust him.

American Football is (shockingly) very American. How appropriately meta (). It’s a true meritocracy, bringing together men of all races and creed to form a cohesive unit that works together for a common goal. We must work together and think of more than just ourselves if we want this to be the greatest nation. If we want to live up to the ideals of the America you have in your head.

Anthony Mackie said that Captain America doesn’t stand for America, but the ideal of her. Comic book fans should be relieved that’s the case. I’ve seen so many angry, possibly incel, men cussing his ass out on Facebook over this and they HATE that Cpt. America is black bruh… not all of you do, of course. But the U.S. as an ideal is very different from how the U.S., in actuality would look. Maybe more like Winter Soldier? .

If you ever wondered how a nation could let a ruler commit atrocities against humanity and take advantage of the common people, then we may be seeing your hypothetical resolve from your youth tested now as a full-grown man/woman. This article may be ironically named, as it was the pioneering black jazz musician, Thelonious Monk who supplied the name for the situation we may be in now: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.

Let’s stand together, y’all! Keep your head on a swivel, die hard, and don’t be afraid to fight for those freedoms and truths that we hold to be self-evident. As Captain America stated in Brave New World: “if we can’t see the good in each other, then we’ve already lost the fight”. What makes the United States of America great, in her own way, are her people. We will not go away, with our free will stripped from us.

Listen to Reagan again, fam. Let’s remind ourselves, and anyone else who needs reminding, “People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people”. Thank you, V for Vendetta.

If the USA’s newest General Manager gets us into trouble, turmoil and strife, then we all need to hire planes, buy billboards, send hate mail and let our voices be heard just like when your favorite team is being run into the ground! Come on Washington D.C., you guys saw this happen with your very team! Now look at you! We’ll lobby the owners… you know who the owners of the Unites States of America are?

We, the people.

Did ya’ll watch Hard Knocks this year? Excuse me.

This year, the New York Giants have been the subject of relentless ridicule and viral memes all year. For good reason, folks! It seems they made an all-time idiotic move in choosing to pay Daniel Jones instead of Saquon Barkley. They disrespected a franchise legend to save a few dollars, then still couldn’t holler at the playoffs (6-11 season). They conducted poor business, aggravating a good-natured player to the point where he felt justified in saying something like this on camera. He was still a good soldier, putting his faith in the front office and playing nice for his team. Barkley signed the franchise tag and played for New York two years ago.

You see, they bought into the league-wide trend that running backs are mostly replaceable and not great as high-value investments past their rookie contracts. The downfall of the running back position has been well documented. The ironic thing is that the Giants had one of the very few specimens in the league capable of challenging this idea. An additional ironic thing is, they paid a quarterback that not many would’ve said they had blind faith in… he looked to be leaning closer to ‘bust’ status than ‘superstar’ status. Big Blue decision-makers just didn’t have the gumption to get rid of a passer and face Big Apple public criticism… they had to show people he was the problem.

The leadership team for the New York Football Giants convinced ownership that removing Saquon from the equation would finally make a true evaluation on Daniel Jones possible. We honestly saw that dynamic play out in Philly as well… people were criticizing Jalen Hurts all year for not having passing production. You don’t have to if you have the dynamo that is Barkley in your backfield! He powers the offense all by himself, easing the QB’s job tremendously. GM, Joe Schoen even made a comment about how their investment at QB necessitated the reallocation of resources to support the signal caller. This has to be what happened, right? Otherwise, the public embarrassment from such an epically poor business decision would surely get the acting party fired on sight!

I can’t argue with the logic behind the idea, since I would’ve agreed that Daniel Jones did not look like a difference-maker, but you shafted one of your all-time greats. Execution was putrid my guys. And to top it all the way off, you did it while finally getting your 15 minutes of fame on Hard Knocks and ended up looking like fools in front of a national audience. The optics are bad for New York… the owner said he couldn’t sleep at night if S.B. Went to the Eagles, and that’s exactly what happened. Not only that, Philly looked rejuvenated, snagging the #2 seed in the NFC playoff picture and riding a deep playoff run all the way to a Super Bowl title.

I mean, can you think of a worse display of aptitude at the job of general manager of an NFL team? We could all see, plain as day, that Joe Schoen got taken for a ride and looked behind the NFL curve. Saquon tore it up, resetting vibe around the league (along with Derick Henry) of how valuable a bell cow back can be to an offense. Barkley was running roughshod over the league until KC made a concerted effort to shut him down at all costs on the game’s biggest stage. What happened then? Hurts reminded everyone that he is in fact not Daniel Jones, taking the reins of the offense back and delivering a Super Bowl MVP performance.

How embarrassing to see your franchise icon go to a rival, post a video about how his daughter knows he’s going to win now, and then see that come to fruition in the ultimate form of a Lombardi trophy… GM’s have been fired for much, much less (Jon Robinson after he traded away A.J. Brown, anyone?).

Somehow Giants brass did not get fired after this entire mess! But how? HOW SWAY?!

The only way this is really going down, is if they framed the removal of Barkley as a tool and a path to true change of a stagnant offense. It was their way of being able to get rid of Daniel Jones with no backlash. The only way it makes sense now, is if they go and get their franchise QB. John Mara is allowing the string to play out because he believes in Brian Daboll as a coach and believes in the vision (or believes in allowing the vision to play out) the way that Daboll and Schoen laid out. The plan heavily involves young bucks like Malik Nabers, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Wan’Dale Robinson.

(Book)Mark my words: The New York Giants will draft a quarterback! Bet that, even if they sign A-A-Ron. (editors note: I originally said that they’d trade UP to get one… but the return of Myles Garrett to Cleveland, Kirk Cousins visiting Ohio and NY signing two vet QB’s changes things. They still have all of the leverage and motivation to take one somewhere early, though). That was the plan (Plan B, if they could not become a contender around Danny Dimes) two years ago. Will it work? Beats the hell out of me! One thing is for certain: you don’t do everything you did just to play around and rely on maybe Sam Darnold in free agency…

It’s well-documented that coaches like to bring in their own guys, trusted personnel, when they are hired. That fact that fresh Seahawks head coach, Mike Macdonald chose two guys he had never worked with before as coordinators was slightly unprecedented. It may have also spoken to his lack of connections around the league at his (relatively) young age. Pete Carroll has said that he would like to retain some of the previous Raiders coaching staff and did just that, convincing Patrick Graham to stick around. A 6-year defensive coordinator who has been in demand, taking head coaching interviews himself! He could even be the heir.

Despite some new connection being formed, there are reports of Pete’s guys already getting interviews. The man that won a ring directing Carroll’s offense in Seattle, Darrell Bevell (among a couple others) is a heavy favorite for the same role in Vegas. Do the two men already have plans to absolve their 1-yard line, Super Bowl transgressions in Sin City? I wrote about how Geno may even fit exactly what the new regime is looking for (Proof from Pete: video queued up to 6:24):

There may be guys from teams like the Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles and Packers who ran similar systems as Pete’s late Hawks years who will get extra consideration. Here we’ll explore more of the individual dudes whom Coach Carroll will consider calling to his side to fight a new battle.

Offensive Coordinator Candidates

• Darrell Bevell
• Chip Kelly
• Byron Leftwich
• Brennan Carroll (Son of Pete, OC at UW)
• Nate Carroll (Son of Pete, passing game coordinator with the Panthers)
• Tom Cable (Former Seahawks assistant HC and OL Coach, Former Raiders HC)
• Frank Smith (Oakland ties and interviewed in the same capacity in Seattle)

Defensive Coordinator Candidates (before news of Graham’s return)

• Gus Bradley (Former Seahawks DC)
• Ken Norton Jr. (Former Seahawks LB’s Coach -> DC)
• Kris Richard (Former Seahawks DB’s Coach -> DC)
• Wink Martindale (Oakland Ties)

The following is a list of players that I believe could be system fits, and will greatly interest Pete Carroll and new GM, John Spytek (the most made-up-sounding, New England Patriots-y name that ever existed). Some are names with natural connections, and some will surprise. Go and @ me here or on X and we can expand on any of these.

Offensive Players

Quarterbacks: Russell Wilson, Geno Smith, Shedeur Sanders, Joe Milton III, Daniel Jones, Andy Dalton, Jacoby Brissett, Drew Lock, Zach Wilson

Running Backs: Javonte Williams, J.K. Dobbins, Nick Chubb, Aaron Jones, Najee Harris, Jordan Mason, George Holani

Wide Receivers: Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Tee Higgins, Hollywood Brown, Mike Williams, Dareke Young, David Moore, Joshua Palmer, Stefon Diggs

Tigh Ends: Zach Ertz, Mike Gesicki

Offensive Linemen: Morgan Moses, Kelvin Beachum, Stone Forsythe, Laken Tomlinson, D.J. Humphries, Trey Smith, Bradley Bozeman, Aaron Banks, Jon Feliciano, Austin Corbett,

Defensive Players

Linebackers: Bobby Wagner, Drake Thomas, Tyrel Dodson, Erick Kendricks, Willie Gay, Denzel Perryman, Isaiah McDuffie, Zach Baun, Shaq Thompson

Edge Rushers: Khalil Mack, Uchenna Nwosu, Darrell Taylor, Josh Sweat, Dante Fowler, Chase Young, Deatrick Wise, Azeez Ojulari

Interior Defensive Linemen: Jarran Reed, Calais Campbell, Poona Ford, Morgan Fox, Folorunso Fatukasi, Javon Hargrave, Osa Odighizuwa, Milton Williams

Cornerbacks: D.J. Reed, Byron Murphy (MIN), Mike Jackson, Tre Brown, Artie Burns, Carlton Davis, Stephon Gilmore

Safeties: Jordan Poyer, Xavier Woods, Quandre Diggs, Tre’von Moehrig, Jaylinn Hawkins, Jordan Fuller, Justin Reid, Caleb Farley, Jevon Holland, Marcus Maye, Tony Jefferson, Harrison Smith

I’d imagine that if Peter has his way, the Silver and Black will sign a veteran, late round and undrafted defense with experience… The players in house have great potential, but Pete, John and crew may need to strengthen the stop-unit right down the middle. The idea is to have them compete to find the real dawgs (which Pete usually finds on defense); draft offense high to make the attack viable for a vet. QB (and mid-late round successor) and take pressure off of the defensive environment of evaluation.

He came back for a very team-friendly contract with incentives in 2023, then again in 2024 for the first year without Pete Carroll as head coach in Seattle since 2010. His numbers have not been bad since, but his QB Rating has fallen each season: 100.9 in 2022, 92.1 in 2023, and 90.5 in 2024. The Seattle Seahawks have, so far, been a 9-win outfit each of those years. This year’s figure ranks him 19th in the NFL this year… that’s Derek Carr territory .

You could blame some of this on the deterioration of the offensive line in Seattle: ranked bottom-5 in run-block win-rate (according to ESPN) and 2nd-worst in the league at allowing pressure (39.9% of drop backs). I think, however, the theme around Seattle over the last couple of years is frustration. Frustration at always being slightly better than average. Frustration at the same results over and over and over again. That consternated vibe carried Carroll out of the PNW and ushered in Mike Macdonald and his crew of cronies.

Mike Macdonald himself (partnered with John Schneider, no doubt) ha(ve)s been unafraid to let solid players go to seek the outstanding. Tyler Lockett got demoted, Stone Forsythe sat on IR, Zach Charbonnet finally got run, 6th and 7th round rookies (Sataoa Laumea and Michael Jerrell, respectively) were given a shot on the offensive line, Sam Howell was traded for, Darrell Taylor, Mike Jackson and Jerome Baker were all shipped out, Josh Jobe took Tre Brown’s job, Coby Bryant took Rayshawn Jenkins’ job, Riq Woolen was once again benched, and the Hawks’ leader in tackles (up until that point) in Tyrel Dodson was straight up cut. It’s a new era, and everyone has a shot to make some noise and prove something to the new head man. This isn’t just ho-hum try your best buds… every position will be evaluated.

I do believe that it is in the best interests of the team to bring back Geno Smith if you can get him on a relatively cheap contract. I mean, the man is 34 years old… a grandpappy in NFL eyes. Seattle already fired its offensive coordinator in Ryan Grubb, so a little continuity in another transition year couldn’t hurt. That’s also the reason I think the Hawks hire an experienced play caller this time around, but that may be an article for another day. Bring the offensive leader back at a figure that doesn’t break the bank, and if he can’t get it done, you have Sam Howell and hopefully some kind of draft pick as the contingency plans. You’ve got to believe all of the chemistry and good will Smith has banked in Seattle could lead him to offer a hometown discount at this point in his career as well. If the team around his is elite and cohesive next year, if he is not under constant siege in the pocket, he is a capable trigger man that knows his weapons.

Having that been said, let’s dive into the possible destinations that could beckon to Geno Smith, if the Seahawks ring of trust disagrees with me and wants to do a clean sweep. If Smith winds up parting with Seattle as a part of the next steps of the Mike Macdonald era (which Kenneth Arthur seems pretty convinced will happen), there should be demand for a capable passer. Maybe not from former teams in the Jets and Giants, but there will be a market for his services. Wherever he goes (especially be it in Seattle), I’ll wish him success.

In Alphabetical Order:

Carolina Panthers

• This is an absolute wild card to start with, but the QB coach for Geno during his breakout year is now the HC in Carolina. Smith could be very attracted to playing in a similar system that he found a lot of success in, proving that it’s his surroundings and not his age that’s responsible for regression. Los Panteras invested in the offensive line this past offseason, signing OG’s Robert Hunt and (former Seahawk teammate) Damien Lewis. Dave Canales know the value of this, as the team he just left his post as OC for (the Buccaneers) have the 4th-ranked line (according to PFN) going into Week 18. Think Smith disagrees with the Seattle GM’s stance on guards after this season of hell behind John’s joke of a line? This would also be the locale with the shakiest hold on the job, as Bryce Young has shown a bit of improvement late in the season.

Cleveland Browns

• What if there is a true competition with Deshaun Watson? Watson has been underreported as the worst trade of all-time… don’t give that to Russ! Watson has been bad, even despite Cleveland’s OL being 11th in pass block win rate, according to ESPN. Our guy G. would pray for line play that solid. The Browns chose the wrong guy, seeing Baker Mayfield (who they basically said wasn’t a grown up (lol)) advance to the playoffs with the Bucs once again. There are a couple of Seattle boys on the line there as well, and Cedric Tillman could come to life as a downfield threat once again. Divisional matchups against Russ, ladies and gentlemen?

Indianapolis Colts

• This one could make a lot of sense. Indy has a strong tradition of very good offensive line performance (something Geno should covet at this point in his career), stout defense and is chock-full with playmakers. Sounds like the kind of environment that Russell Wilson got at the start of his career! Ok, enough about him, this is #7 we are talking about. Anthony Richardson is physically astounding, but 38 out of 38 qualifying quarterbacks in QB Rating this year. That’s bad, and Shane Steichen is coaching for his job this year… Flacco ain’t gonna cut it.

Las Vegas Raiders

• Edit: Removed the New Orleans Saints here, replacing the Black and Gold of NOLA with the Silver and Black that now colors the desert. Pete Carroll is back and he will rise again! (Ok, maybe a LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO HOME there ) The man known to chew gum, rock Nike Monarchs and find elite DB’s everywhere he goes could look for a little help from one of his “all-time favorite guys“! The new head man of the Raiders is an enjoyer of savvy vet QB’s on cheap deals who can take care of the ball and rally the troops. Or cheap rookies… but the team may be too far off from the top of the draft to go the young route. G-Money rolling the dice down the seams in Sin City could bring some needed excitement to town.

Tennessee Titans

• The Titans finally benched the mayo man, Will Levis. There are a lot of similarities between the offenses and defenses of both Tennesse and Seattle, so the transition could be eased down in Cashville. The Seahawks even conducted joint practices with the Titans this past offseason, getting intimate with an opposing squad in a hostile environment. Coach Callahan brought his POPS in to help fortify the offensive trenches and may prefer a more traditional pocket passer than what he has in Levis.

You don’t want to go to these teams Geno, what can we do to make this thing work for one more year?!

It would be a treat to see Geno Smith back with a commiserate contract. We’ve seen him play at a high level, he can navigate pressure well, he is a respected leader and he’s still hungry. Worst case scenario, if Father Time has him in his clutches and his play sinks next year… maybe you roll with him until the wheels come off and put you in position to draft a young prospect. That or Sam Howell saves the day… J.J. McCarthy? Joe Milton??? One thing is for sure: Seattle won’t be able to properly evaluate the effectiveness of any quarterback until they fix the offensive trenches and blocking schemes.