Tank and Tez might both be too light to remain healthy. I read that Tez weighs 165 whereas Matthew Golden is 195.
Obviously free agency will affect how we draft and so will (obviously) our cap space. Our biggest need, far and away, is left guard. The consensus is that Tyler Booker is the best guard but I'm not so sure about that. To me the most battle-tested of the bunch is Donovan Jackson. If I had to pick right now, I'd pick Jackson at 25 (assuming available, of course) and consider left guard resolved. He'll immediately be our best IOL and one of the better guards in the league for years to come. And, because he's a rookie, we don't have to break the bank to resolve this massive need.
Every PFF draft sim I play with, he is one of the first WRs picked, easily in the top ten picks from all my sims. The one I just did he went number 3 to the Giants. I came away with RD1 DI Kennith Grant out of Michigan RD2 WR Tre Harris out of Mississippi because I saw the WR ranking graphic above (PFF did not like D) RD3 G Tate Ratledge out of Georgia Because I remembered we might need a guard PS I know nothing about any of these players
Zabel... He may not be the first Offensive lineman drafted this year, but 10 years from now, he will probably have the best career. I don't think he will be drafted to play Guard or Center. He is one of the best tackles in this draft.
Love Zabel, he's an IOL though, short arms. If he had to move out to OT he could probably do it, like Thuney for the Chiefs.
Agreed, bring Jackson home. He's going to test out very well at the combine. This isn't another Kenyon Green situation. I like Zabel as much as I like Jackson, but would pick Jackson over Zabel because he's more battle tested. If Jackson is the pick at 1-25 and Zabel is there at say 2-40. I'm trading up using 2-48 and 3-80 to move up and pick Zabel. Fix the OL. Sign Demarcus Robinson and TuTu Atwell in FA and draft a TE that can block. Draft another young WR late in the draft. (I like what I saw from Issac TesLaa at the senior bowl as a late rd guy or Ricky White from UNLV. Fix the offense.
I also like that Jackson can play tackle too. So I also have him ahead of zabel for “versatility” haha
There’s understandably a lot of focus on WR and Oline but I’m not opposed to building on a strength. I’d like to see them draft a DT and nickel corner/safety in the first 3 rounds. Ideally they trade down to get a 4th pick in rounds 2-3 so they could still get an olineman and receiver. I have a lot of confidence in their ability to select DBs. 2a. DB 2b. Oline 3a. DT 3b. WR/TE 4. RB 5. Oline 6. DB 7. LB
CJ needs more protection and outlets. If this doesn't get adequately addressed we may be looking for a new QB in next year's draft after CJ becomes a quadriplegic this season.
Banks probably wont be there. Jackson, who I like as much as an OG as Banks probably will be there. Both guys are super athletic and this is one thin the OL is really missing. If Banks fell he would be my pick. I would play him at LG next year and in 2026 cut Tunsil (You're going to need that money to pay CJ) and move Banks to LT.
I honestly think we're just a few players away from being able to win it all. I sure hope Nick makes the right moves!
I like Golden, but he feels quintessential boom/bust. After last year, we either need to have a really good, clear, WR fall into our lap or wait a bit. Someone like Egbuka or Bech have profiles of less flash but just reliable route runners with hands. That's what we need. If we miss on the next great receiver in skipping Golden, I'm probably ok with that given where are are in trying to mature this team. I like Golden and my bet is boom, but I could totally be wrong and we could repeat 2024 where our weapons are still lacking. The other wrinkle in picking an OL in the first....we have a terrible track record. We seem to overall just have a bad eye for OL talent. Maybe that's the outgoing coach, maybe it's Caserio, or maybe it's both. Regardless, I know we need OL but I'd rather them go after proven NFL talent via FA for the OL than draft another with a high pick. Compare teams without Mahomes at QB and how they've invested in weapons and then look at our drafts. We need actual high end talent at some point there or we'll just keep rinsing and repeating.
