2026 NFL Draft Gameday Thread

[JoeyFlex5]

it's not even about wide open
but he'd rather throw to guys who are separators than throwing into contested spaces

he's not gonna throw a jump ball just because everyone's covered
he's going to try and create and have guys get open late or make a play himself with his legs - if the big guys on the outside want the ball, they're still going to have to uncover

what we should be using more is short quick throws on early downs (quick outs and slants) - i think sarratt will be great in helping achieve that

still not sure what jakobi's role will be other than to be the sacrificial x to clear space by running verticals

What I mean by wide open is separators. Guys aren’t always gonna separate and in do or die situations you’re gonna have to throw a highpoint ball sometimes. You can try to avoid it all you want but eventually if you wanna win close games against good defenses you won’t have a choice.

You don’t have to emphasize it in your gameplan but you still have to be prepared to do it

 

[Simba]

did your guy say anything about ja'kobi lane and how they envision him - that's still the guy i'm probably most confused about

Sarratt and Hibner make so much sense
Rivers makes sense albeit i dont see much of a route to playing time for him anytime soon
Cuevas i didnt agree with in terms of quality but i can at least see the vision
Eckley and Benny need no explanation either
Beertsen i understand too

lane i see the talent but i just dont really see the vision with Lamar and the offence - i guess i was wondering if your guy had any more detail on the process behind that player/pick

Nothing to that level. Just that they really liked him and believe there's some really high upside there. WR coaches in particular were really excited to get him, so I'm guessing they really believe in the projection of what he can be.

also @Simba - do we know who the safety they gave up on was?

im guessing keionte scott or genesis smith? or maybe kamari ramsey?

I'm reading between the lines but I think if we had stayed put and Sarratt was not on the board...

Hibner goes at the original 4th. Sounds like they still take the 3 guys they did take in the 5th, but unsure if any move up in the order or stay where they picked them in this theoretical. That means Taaffe, Kilgore, Styles, and maybe Wheatley would have fit the bill there.

 

[Latentluv]

Sarratt and Randall are my 2 favorite picks.

I will have unrealistic expectations for both.

Keenan Allen 2.0

Eddie George 2.0

#SIIE

Keenan allen 2.0 and Eddie George 2.0

 

[Davesta]

Keenan allen 2.0 and Eddie George 2.0
View attachment 8173

Lane & Sarratt​

 

[All_black_everything]

Nothing to that level. Just that they really liked him and believe there's some really high upside there. WR coaches in particular were really excited to get him, so I'm guessing they really believe in the projection of what he can be.


I'm reading between the lines but I think if we had stayed put and Sarratt was not on the board...

Hibner goes at the original 4th. Sounds like they still take the 3 guys they did take in the 5th, but unsure if any move up in the order or stay where they picked them in this theoretical. That means Taaffe, Kilgore, Styles, and maybe Wheatley would have fit the bill there.

I really hope the WR coaches were able to see past their USC biases when scouting Lane. I’m glad we were able to add Sarratt to challenge him along the way.

 

[All_black_everything]

Found this in the athletics article. There is some interesting details on the Randall pick and other things: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/72...medium=social&utm_campaign=nfltw&source=nfltw

With three enticing options, DeCosta was willing to trade back — and he thought he had a deal worked out with a team (which he declined to name) that would keep the Ravens picking in the teens and allow them to pick up extra fourth-round picks in each of the next two drafts. Once on the clock, however, the trade fell through. This time, it was not DeCosta’s doing. “We had something on the table, but inexplicably they told us they’d changed their mind,” he said Friday morning. “They changed the deal (and made another offer that wasn’t as good), and we passed.”

In making his choice, DeCosta gave a lot of weight to the desires of Minter and his assistants. “Jesse had a really strong opinion (about wanting Ioane),” DeCosta said. “That really resonated with me.”

 

[redrum52]

The people who follow closely, did you feel a different approach this year than in previous? As far as player builds or athleticism (outside of wr)

 

[Deebo813]

I really hope the WR coaches were able to see past their USC biases when scouting Lane. I’m glad we were able to add Sarratt to challenge him along the way

If lane not better than ted hurst or whoever responsible for the pick should never have say so again lol

 

[JoeyFlex5]

The people who follow closely, did you feel a different approach this year than in previous? As far as player builds or athleticism (outside of wr)

guard at 14 is pretty un-EDC like, but obvious reasoning to why.

Zion at 45 was a no brainer but also isn’t the edge profile we seem to look for, where we usually look for the linebacker type, we took a guy who’s a legit trench-built edge defender. That’s the one that feels like a new approach suited for how Jesse minter likes to build his defense

 

[gtalk12]

I think that is the honest expectation. I think a few things...

1. If we noticed this about Lamar, so has the league.
2. If the league noticed, so did Minter.
3. If you don't throw those throws, you do limit some plays.
4. I think we will ask Lamar to reduce his weaknesses by doing it.

If you think about it defensively, we do telegraph what we will do by what we won't do. And Minter has said he wants to bring out the best in Lamar. I definitely think this is something Lamar could do better, and it seems that's what we are getting ready to do (just a hunch)

The insistence on simply NOT trying to throw or run certain plays has been an issue for me. This goes back to the Roman era, we actually practiced certain plays and throws and simply did not do it in game. I believe it was Dez or Odell who helped shed some light on that.

I still think there is another bar for Lamar to reach. Play calling has held him back in certain regards IMO which is why I put such a heavy emphasis on coaching plays and players up for certain moments.

 

[gtalk12]

guard at 14 is pretty un-EDC like, but obvious reasoning to why.

Zion at 45 was a no brainer but also isn’t the edge profile we seem to look for, where we usually look for the linebacker type, we took a guy who’s a legit trench-built edge defender. That’s the one that feels like a new approach suited for how Jesse minter likes to build his defense

Did you see what EDC said about that pick?

Minter pushed him to take Vega because he was looking to trade down and grab more 4th round picks.

 

[gtalk12]

The people who follow closely, did you feel a different approach this year than in previous? As far as player builds or athleticism (outside of wr)

It felt different. Not as safe IMO.

There is also a departure of a certain style of drafting that I can't put my finger on. EDC is EDC but it's clear that Minter and the staff have a different vision than that of the typical Ravens football.

 

[All_black_everything]

Did you see what EDC said about that pick?

Minter pushed him to take Vega because he was looking to trade down and grab more 4th round picks.

I shared the details of that above. The trade fell through otherwise they probably would have traded back a few spots. My guess is it was with the Jets and we had Vegas, Bain and Sadiq graded similarly and would have taken the last one available

 

[gtalk12]

I shared the details of that above. The trade fell through otherwise they probably would have traded back a few spots. My guess is it was with the Jets and we had Vegas, Bain and Sadiq graded similarly and would have taken the last one available

Not gonna lie, ending up with more 4th round picks and Sadiq would have REALLY pissed me off.

I have seen nothing but great things said about Vega and his tape is crazy

 

[Simba]

I shared the details of that above. The trade fell through otherwise they probably would have traded back a few spots. My guess is it was with the Jets and we had Vegas, Bain and Sadiq graded similarly and would have taken the last one available

I believe they still felt confident that they’d get Ioane after the trade back. They weren’t going back too far and felt good about the teams behind them sticking and picking.

 

[All_black_everything]

Not gonna lie, ending up with more 4th round picks and Sadiq would have REALLY pissed me off.

I have seen nothing but great things said about Vega and his tape is crazy

I agree that scenario would have been less than ideal but if New York was coming up for Sadiq, Bucs likely would have taken Bain still and then we still get Vega and extra 4th round picks. I would have loved that

 

[UPennChem]

The fact that Minter wanted Vega is such a good sign imo. I think Eric gets way too high brow about things and Minter seems highly practical

 

[rossihunter2]

I really hope the WR coaches were able to see past their USC biases when scouting Lane. I’m glad we were able to add Sarratt to challenge him along the way.

i think they're going to be playing 2 different positions

Zay's zay
but i think sarratt's going to come in and challenge Bateman for his role
and i think the hope for Lane is that he either pushes or supersedes Tez Walker as that vertical "x"

so in a way i dont think sarratt and lane are competing against each other

 

[rossihunter2]

The people who follow closely, did you feel a different approach this year than in previous? As far as player builds or athleticism (outside of wr)

i cant point to an individual pick but if you look at the draft as a whole - the offensive pieces definitely paint a different picture in terms of usage and scheme and skillset to what we've had in the past

a real focus on physicality and ball-winning

 

[rossihunter2]

guard at 14 is pretty un-EDC like, but obvious reasoning to why.

Zion at 45 was a no brainer but also isn’t the edge profile we seem to look for, where we usually look for the linebacker type, we took a guy who’s a legit trench-built edge defender. That’s the one that feels like a new approach suited for how Jesse minter likes to build his defense

zion is the edge profile we used to prioritise and have ended up moving away from
i partly think picking him was opened up to us by having picked mike green and signed trey hendrickson

to me young seems like less a new approach and more a course correction back to what has historically been successful for the franchise - with the general understanding that all NFL pass rush is predicated on power not speed - very few EDGE guys in the NFL can succeed through pure explosion if they dont have the ability to win with speed-to-power and can't bend through contact - recently we've strayed away from guys who play with power and focused on guys who win in college with burst, skill and speed and that's not paid off - albeit im bullish on mike green