Official 2025 NFL Draft Superthread | Prospect Discussion

[Boltnut]

Interesting take. If they can get a real starting C at the expense pf moving down a few spots, then I think it’s a good move.

Yeah, if Hampton and Loveland are gone @#22... moving back makes sense.
McGovern starts @center... James is the backup.
Zion starts @RG... Bozeman is the backup/competition.
That makes our IOL pretty good: Zion LG, McGovern OC, and Becton RG.

@#30 Edge Ezeiruaku
@#55 Best TE available (Orroyo or Fanin)
@#86 Best available RB (Martinez or Giddens)
@#125 Best available DT (Phillips/Farmer/West)
@#158 Best available WR (Prather/Bryant/Thornton)

[Fleet 1]

What pocket? He had a pocket last year?

Fix his IOL and he’ll be fine, imo

Did you not read the rest?

" just telling him to stand his ground in a collapsing pocket"

And when have i suggested the IOL was perfectly fine? You dont need to tell me what i already know. Sort of a weird take. I know their was no pocket. Its why i have routinely brought up the need to fix the IOL. And Becton was a huge upgrade.

[wu-dai clan]

Some of the folks that study draft real closely are saying that it's not so much on what to do at #1 but which areas drop off more in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. They say that ( not Jeany of course ) there is a lot of top RB in the draft and the drop of is not much between a lot of them. So you may still get a real good RB in round 2 or 3. This is why I think we should not invest a RB in the first round.
They also say that after the top 2 TE there is also a big drop off. SO if a top 2 TE is there at #22 you have to take him.
Of course, if team are smart then they will both be gone by then. THIS is where great GM's do there best work. Identifying what needs vs drop-off in later rounds.
Maybe a top dog DT or Edge or maybe even a Barron ( CB ) if he falls.

I respect your take, Icebolt. Most agree with you, including management and our draftnik superstars.

Here's an interesting exercise with maybe some relevance.

In the 2001 NFL Draft, 9 RBs were drafted in the first three rounds, highlighted by Michael Bennett @ #27 (MIN), Deuce McAllister @ #23 (NO), and LaDanian Tomlinson @ #5 (Chargers).

There was a mountain of difference, the difference between "good", "very good", and "makes you a Super Bowl contender".

Again, in our current circumstances, ie late round 5 + prospects at at PON, 2025 cap space, current roster, and late UFAs, I am confident we can build a solid, even excellent roster.

[Boltjolt]

Yeah, if Hampton and Loveland are gone @#22... moving back makes sense.
McGovern starts @center... James is the backup.
Zion starts @RG... Bozeman is the backup/competition.
That makes our IOL pretty good: Zion LG, McGovern OC, and Becton RG.

@#30 Edge Ezeiruaku
@#55 Best TE available (Orroyo or Fanin)
@#86 Best available RB (Martinez or Giddens)
@#125 Best available DT (Phillips/Farmer/West)
@#158 Best available WR (Prather/Bryant/Thornton)

Id trade up from 55 to get Taylor over those 2. Id really like to get one of the top 3 TEs. At 30 he is likely there but i think id maybe trade down a bit again for him....unless you think KC is a player to replace Kelce @ 31.

[Boltnut]

That’s interesting. Really interesting.
BUF also have a weird dynamic at another position as well. They have 2 TE’s and they both kinda weren’t very productive last year. Is Knox now the guy? If so, what’s up with Kincaid? BUF have a deep room at TE after these 2 as well. Supposedly Kincaids dealing with some undisclosed injury as well. Not sure if they’d trade one of those guys but I’d prod them on that position too. Find out what’s going on there…

Kincaid + #30 seems a bit steep (for BUF). If they offered, I'd take that trade.
Knox + #30 seems not enough... especially when there would be better options @#55 @TE.

What I really want is a better center.
The edge rushers become pretty shallow next year... when Mack and Dupree retire/move on.
A trade for #30 and McGovern helps us in both regards.

[Fleet 1]

Yeah, I'm on the "Sign Keenan After The Draft" Team as well. All he does is get open time and time again. Crafty Old Fox...
Having said that, I think they may have other plans for that $10-15m they have saved. I'm wondering if a draft day trade for a center...?

Loveland/Judkins with the 1st/2nd would be amazing!
Najee has been very durable to this point. But this is football... and now he plays for the snake-bitten Chargers.
The RB we draft must be a guy that can tote the rock 20-25 times per game... should Najee go down.

It's what makes Hampton so tempting @#22... he had 280+ carries in back-to-back seasons.
Judkins had heavy workloads while @Miss... so he's proven. There are very few RB's that carried the load Roman will ask of them.

After RB and TE... I think Edge is their biggest need.
If both Hampton and Loveland are gone @#22... I think edge-rusher could be the selection.
IMO, DT, WR, IOL, DB all finish 3rd-6th in the "need" department.

Absolutely cant miss a beat if Harris goes down. And thats assuming her does well for us. No run game we are screwed. We have to get back to that LT/Turner type scenario. I cant see Denver passing on either Hampton or Loveland. Hence the possible need to move up. I guess signing Engram backs them off Loveland somewhat.

My best mock drafts are starting with Edge in round 1. If both Hampton and Loveland are gone. The good news is that this draft is deep imo at all these positions. Im also a huge fan of Egbuka. I think he is sort of a combo of Wilson and JSN. I just think he is crafty with his routes and could be one of those guys thats always open. Everyone forgets that Ladd is a deep threat. Give Herbert enough time he will make that happen. Im not looking for deep threat at WR. Im looking for always open. And trust with Herbert. And those are route runners.

[Bolt4Knob]

McGovern is only 27....so if we are trading 22 for 30 and we get McGovern for doing it, im in. Cut Pipins, that helps our cap hit a bit. McGovern has a void for 2026 but if we dont excercise it, his cap hit is only 4.8 mil. Unless the void is his option. His PFF grade was 69.8

I had the wrong McGovern -my mistake

I would still rather have a rookie than this guy - he is a FA after this year so you are going to have to pay a helluva lot more for McGovern than what a 2nd round pick will make. or a player draft in later rounds.. not giving up 8 spots in the first round to overpay for a guy next year.

note - quit writing aboiut the cap. you get it wrong too often . and you got it wrong again with your note about void years...

[CanadianBoltFan]

Now, of course it will be a draft day decision -- but I like the idea of trading back. Bills might be a good trade-up team with those two 2nd round picks. Heck the Bills might package their First and 2 2nds to move way yup

The Chargers have ten picks -- my hope is that instead of 4 picks in the first four rounds, that becomes 5. So your trade of 22 for 30 and 62 gets that done
And next they use two of those sixth rounders to move up from their own 5th and the NE early 6th rounder

So that might be 9 picks total -- trading back and getting an extra pick but using two 6th rounders to move up and into Round 5
So now, 5 picks in Rounds 1-4; the two 5th rounders and still the comp picks in Rounds 6 and 7

Do it Joe, do it !!

EdIT: Missed they would lose a 4th round pick in this trade. But I still might think about doing it to get another second rounder. Again, all depends on who is on the board

Cleveland at 33 , coming up for a QB is another trade down that coud work

[CanadianBoltFan]

Buffalo is an interesting trade partner. Interesting because they are only $5.2m under the cap.
It seems they need relief to be able to sign their draft class and have a little mid-season cap space.

The Bills drafted C Sedrick Van-Pran last draft... a guy I actually liked for us.
But he sits because Connor McGovern is their starter. Connor McGovern's contract is interesting. It has void years on it.
A re-structure occurred last year to create space. I believe they can save about $6m in cap space by trading him.

Chargers #22 is valued @780
Bills #30 is valued @620
A difference of 160. The Chargers #86 pick is valued @160.
Connor McGovern was chosen @#90 by the Cowboys.

Weird that the Chargers have been looking at prospects (Taylor/Ezeiruaku) that fit right around #30....

Would you trade #22 for #30 and Connor McGovern...? Maybe this is what we're saving that cap space for...?

Sounds good in principle though i dont know much about McGovern. What do they do with Andre James though? He is pretty much only a center, has never played guard.

[Charge!]

Absolutely cant miss a beat if Harris goes down. And thats assuming her does well for us. No run game we are screwed. We have to get back to that LT/Turner type scenario. I cant see Denver passing on either Hampton or Loveland. Hence the possible need to move up. I guess signing Engram backs them off Loveland somewhat.

My best mock drafts are starting with Edge in round 1. If both Hampton and Loveland are gone. The good news is that this draft is deep imo at all these positions. Im also a huge fan of Egbuka. I think he is sort of a combo of Wilson and JSN. I just think he is crafty with his routes and could be one of those guys thats always open. Everyone forgets that Ladd is a deep threat. Give Herbert enough time he will make that happen. Im not looking for deep threat at WR. Im looking for always open. And trust with Herbert. And those are route runners.

Agree... that is why Loveland would be the perfect addition to the offense..... Lovelands greatest strength is getting open against any type of coverage..... he would be the center of the offense and the guy who keeps the sticks moving.....getting more first downs will allow us to run the ball more and score more points, helping the offense and the defense and helping to keep Herbert healthy.....

There is lots of depth in this draft at DL, RB, and IOL..... there are only 2 elite cant miss every down TE's..... I could also see us drafting 2 of the young talented RB's in this draft to rotate with Harris and add explosiveness.....

Loveland will likely go higher than our pick, but the question is how high we need to trade up to get him.... its also possible he drops to us because TE's and safeties tend to drop..... lower than they should be taken.....

[Boltnut]

I had the wrong McGovern -my mistake

I would still rather have a rookie than this guy - he is a FA after this year so you are going to have to pay a helluva lot more for McGovern than what a 2nd round pick will make. or a player draft in later rounds.. not giving up 8 spots in the first round to overpay for a guy next year.

note - quit writing aboiut the cap. you get it wrong too often . and you got it wrong again with your note about void years...

If they trade for McGovern, they would sign and trade. They would only do it if the terms were fair... and they thought McGovern was a 3-year starter. James and Bozeman are 1-year stop-gaps. Zion has 1 more year on his rookie contract. Potentially, you must replace 3 players next draft. Additionally, the OC you draft (in a weak class) is only potential... whereas, you already know what you have in McGovern. Who is your draft center...?

I'm no cap expert, but it looks like the Bills could save themselves $6.5m in cap space (base+roster+workout) and move up 8 spots.
To make payroll, they have 2 options... trade McGovern or cut James Cook. Most of their other cuts would cost them money... restructures. They are over-leveraged in their quest for a SB... and have a replacement @center already.

[dmac_bolt]

Lynch does have a ring. Jeanty trucks ya too. See Boise State vs Oregon and Jeanty at Pro Day.

If NYG go Carter in Hunter and NE does not take Jeanty to pair up with Rhamondre, I make an offer they can't refuse to Jags.

Lance will get us a round 3 eventually lol.

Jeanty doesnt truck like Beast Mode. few to none ever have or will.