2026 draft stuff

[nicksaviking]

2 minutes ago, Danchat said:

He's #327 on my board, legitimately a kick return-only player. Not even a good college WR.

And then the 49ers blow yet another mid-round pick on a bad RB prospect in a bad RB class, maybe RB10-12 in this class. Every year they spend a significant pick on RB in round 3-5 and never use the guy. It's so bizarre.

Yeah, surprised by Black. But 2026 is scheduled to be a McCaffery-gets-injured year, so it's either going to be Black or Jordan James who they drafted last year. I don't think they have another RB on the roster.

[nicksaviking]

5 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

Mike Wasington and Sam Hecht?

I remember a few weeks ago Paul Allen talking about how he liked Emmett Johnson, which probably means someone in the Vikings front office likes Emmett Johnson which means PA is contractually obligated to also like Johnson.

[Vanimal46]

6 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

Mike Wasington and Sam Hecht?

Gotta find a starting caliber C very soon. 

[DocBauer]

First off, this is not the way I would have drafted.

1] I would traded down and probably still been able to get Banks. Is it possible the Vikings had information someone else was looking to grab him? Forget rankings, IF Banks is healthy, he was the best DL in the whole class. I still wouldn't have made him the #1, but the upside is very, very good.

2] Golday has good size and is a good athlete. And with a pair of 30yo ILB that could, potentially, both be gone in 2027, they needed young talent at the position. I don't dislike this pick.

3] I thought they might draft 2 DL, but I thought the 2nd would be a later selection as a development type. I wouldn't have picked a 2nd DL this early, and I'm not crazy about Orange, but he's got potential. And I have a hard time not embracing the buildup of BOTH lines at any time.

4] I don't like the Grenard trade. I wanted at least a 2nd rounder THIS year. I guess the 3rd in 2027 is a bit of a bonus instead as that draft is supposed to be better and deeper?

[Vanimal46]

1 minute ago, nicksaviking said:

I remember a few weeks ago Paul Allen talking about how he liked Emmett Johnson, which probably means someone in the Vikings front office likes Emmett Johnson which means PA is contractually obligated to also like Johnson.

Him in the 3rd is a reach but that seems to be how this draft is going. 

[DocBauer]

Sorry, but I don't understand an OT at this point. They aren't desperate for OT depth and projection are they? Really weird pick IMO.

[nicksaviking]

4 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Him in the 3rd is a reach but that seems to be how this draft is going. 

After Love, I haven't seen any RB draft rankings at all similar. Talent wise, I'm not sure if the next ten or so guys are really any different. 

[Vanimal46]

We're leaving day 2 without a center picked to compete against Brandel... The story of the night to me is selling Greenard at a rock bottom price. Brutal. 

[Danchat]

15 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

Yeah, surprised by Black. But 2026 is scheduled to be a McCaffery-gets-injured year, so it's either going to be Black or Jordan James who they drafted last year. I don't think they have another RB on the roster.

They spent a 2024 4th on Isaac Guerendo, who had something like 5.5 YPC in 2024 and then inexplicably didn't use him in 2025 (traded for Brian Robinson!). It's comical how much RB talent they squander (look up Trey Sermon, Ty Davis-Price, Joe Williams, etc).

[Danchat]

Tiernan is a good value in the late 3rd, seems to imply they are planning on letting RT O'Neill leave in FA next year. They just gave Ryan van Demark 1/$4.2M deal to be the swing tackle, so I thought tackle wouldn't be an option yet. Interesting.

I don't like the Thomas pick, there were at least 5 better safeties on the board. I need to do more homework on him, but they missed out on some good DBs in this class.

[nicksaviking]

I hadn't read anything on Thomas, but after going through several scouting reports, the 'negative' aspects the mention are pretty light. The Vikings have reached plenty, but my 15 minute research on this guy actually has me liking the pick.

Also, all of his 'positive' comments reference his excellent blitzing instincts. You don't read a ton about blitzing on safety profiles. So, yeah, pretty clear what it was about him that Flores wanted!

[nicksaviking]

5 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

We're leaving day 2 without a center picked to compete against Brandel... The story of the night to me is selling Greenard at a rock bottom price. Brutal. 

Now that Greenard's contract is off the books, I bet the Vikings will finally fix the salary cap and the first thing they do is sign Graham Glasgow who's still a free agent. And the fact that he's still unsigned really feels like he already has a handshake agreement in place.

[DocBauer]

I had 4 safeties I liked, which I could stretch to 5. Thomas was never a consideration.

I knew we couldn't get everything in a single draft, even with a trade down or two. But this draft has me absolutely befuddled at this point. I'm just seeing very little logic in most of the picks.

[Danchat]

7 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

I hadn't read anything on Thomas, but after going through several scouting reports, the 'negative' aspects the mention are pretty light. The Vikings have reached plenty, but my 15 minute research on this guy actually has me liking the pick.

Also, all of his 'positive' comments reference his excellent blitzing instincts. You don't read a ton about blitzing on safety profiles. So, yeah, pretty clear what it was about him that Flores wanted!

Not particularly fast, not a good tackler, only a one year starter (plus a second year at Middle Tennessee), though that one year was really good. Doesn't look like the profile of a future starter to me. Safeties I have rated above him include Kamari Ramsey, Genesis Smith, Zakee Wheatley, Michael Taaffe, Javon Kilgore, and VJ Payne.

[nicksaviking]

19 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

Sorry, but I don't understand an OT at this point. They aren't desperate for OT depth and projection are they? Really weird pick IMO.

They are if Darrisaw still can only play 60% of the snaps.

And I'm not sure they're brining back O'Neill next year. He's getting old, expensive, and he definitely took a step back last year.

[Danchat]

4 minutes ago, nicksaviking said:

They are if Darrisaw still can only play 60% of the snaps.

And I'm not sure they're brining back O'Neill next year. He's getting old, expensive, and he definitely took a step back last year.

They outbid the Bills on T Ryan van Demark on a 1/$4.2M deal, so I imagine he's the one playing LT if/when Darrisaw misses games in 2026. My guess is Tiernan is going to start out as a weekly inactive.

[Mike Sixel]

So, a backup LB and backup OT.... And they still have no center and only two WR..... Good luck to the QBs....

[flpmagikat]

4 hours ago, Danchat said:

He's #327 on my board, legitimately a kick return-only player. Not even a good college WR.

And then the 49ers blow yet another mid-round pick on a bad RB prospect in a bad RB class, maybe RB10-12 in this class. Every year they spend a significant pick on RB in round 3-5 and never use the guy. It's so bizarre.

Rb depth has been one of our strong suits lately, but somewhat valid.