2026 Draft Boards, Position Rankings and Mocks

[Cowboysrock55]

Don't mind Delane at 12 but if this is the way things fall I'm trying HARD to trade down at 20 with the hopes of picking up Hyphen and getting a pass rusher on day two after adding a day two pick with the trade down.

Yeah based on that I'm happy to trade 20 down to the late first.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Don't mind Delane at 12 but if this is the way things fall I'm trying HARD to trade down at 20 with the hopes of picking up Hyphen and getting a pass rusher on day two after adding a day two pick with the trade down.

I like Hyphen Safety. Give me the corner, Hyphen after trading down, and Thomas and let's roll.

 

[Simpleton]

Brugler saying Thieneman "solidified himself in the mid first".

Taking him at 12 wouldn't be as crazy as most would initially think.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Brugler saying Thieneman "solidified himself in the mid first".

Taking him at 12 wouldn't be as crazy as most would initially think.

Seems to be a lot who think he could go as high as 18 now. 12 still feels rich but you may not be able to wait until 20 either.

If he isn't in the top 10-12 players on your board though, he is still a reach at 12. But maybe he is. I didn't think Booker would go as high as our pick last year. But he was safe and a good player. Theineman is safe and a good player with high upside.

 

[Simpleton]

Seems to be a lot who think he could go as high as 18 now. 12 still feels rich but you may not be able to wait until 20 either.

If he isn't in the top 10-12 players on your board though, he is still a reach at 12. But maybe he is. I didn't think Booker would go as high as our pick last year. But he was safe and a good player. Theineman is safe and a good player with high upside.

Yea the logic behind the picks would be similar, which is kind of what got me thinking about it in the first place.

But I also don't think there's much of a gap between Thieneman and the other defensive players we'd be considering at 12 assuming the top guys are gone.

 

[NoDak]

18.

Dillon ThienemanS Oregon

34.

Jacob RodriguezLB Texas Tech

44.

Brandon CisseCB South Carolina

65.

Gabe JacasEDGE Illinois

112.

Jude BowryOT Boston College
142.

Jaeden RobertsOG Alabama

157.

Michael TaaffeS Texas

176.

Cole PaytonQB North Dakota State

2027 MIN 2nd

 

[boozeman]

18.

Dillon ThienemanS Oregon

34.

Jacob RodriguezLB Texas Tech

44.

Brandon CisseCB South Carolina

65.

Gabe JacasEDGE Illinois

112.

Jude BowryOT Boston College
142.

Jaeden RobertsOG Alabama

157.

Michael TaaffeS Texas

176.

Cole PaytonQB North Dakota State

2027 MIN 2nd

That is a decent well-rounded draft. But you ruined it by manipulating it to get Payton, who would not shock me getting picked much earlier.

 

[NoDak]

That is a decent well-rounded draft. But you ruined it by manipulating it to get Payton, who would not shock me getting picked much earlier.

Yeah. It’s unrealistic.

I should have took him at 18.

 

[NoDak]

No trades draft.

12.

Caleb Downs S Ohio State
20.

Keldric Faulk EDGE Auburn
92.

Malik Muhammad CB Texas
112.

Harold Perkins Jr. LB LSU
152.

Kaleb Elarms-Orr LB TCU
177.

Trey Zuhn III OC Texas A&M
180.

Sam Roush TE Stanford
218.

Cole Wisniewski S Texas Tech

 

[Simpleton]

Solid but we definitely don't need another DB if we're taking one in the first unless it's some sort of outlier BPA situation.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Solid but we definitely don't need another DB if we're taking one in the first unless it's some sort of outlier BPA situation.

Kind of makes me feel gross in terms of pass rush. But I get it. you can't hit every desire in a draft. But I do have concerns that unless EZ makes a massive leap that this team is really going to struggle to create pressure. Faulk is going to be a slight help there but I don't think anyone can really look at him and predict he will create consistent pressure on passing plays.

 

[Simpleton]

Kind of makes me feel gross in terms of pass rush. But I get it. you can't hit every desire in a draft. But I do have concerns that unless EZ makes a massive leap that this team is really going to struggle to create pressure. Faulk is going to be a slight help there but I don't think anyone can really look at him and predict he will create consistent pressure on passing plays.

On the interior I think he would, he's more of a Osa replacement than anything.

But our edge rush would be totally dependent on Ezeiruaku taking a step, which is 50/50.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

On the interior I think he would, he's more of a Osa replacement than anything.

I doubt as a rookie he can match the pressure rates Osa posted for us in the past. But the idea is he will be better as a run defender than Osa ever was. Maybe in a couple of years his pressure ability could come close to Osa. But ultimately the pass rush got worse when Osa walked out the door. The easiest way to fix that in my opinion is someone that specializes in creating pressure. A guy like Howell for example playing OLBer. But I digress.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I wonder if in Jerry's reptilian brain he wants an edge rusher early to sort of "replace" Micah.

Or, that same lizard brain could convince himself Eze is already that guy.

I hope it's the first because I want an athletic edge early and don't care what the motivation is.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I wonder if in Jerry's reptilian brain he wants an edge rusher early to sort of "replace" Micah.

Or, that same lizard brain could convince himself Eze is already that guy.

I hope it's the first because I want an athletic edge early and don't care what the motivation is.

I really want Malachi Lawrence. I don't know how to go about it but I really think he could become a dude in this defense. First round feels like a reach, pick 92 feels like he will never make it. But his athleticism, size and production just screams better than where he is currently being ranked.

I see him as one of these guys that 3 years from now may be one of the best pass rushers in this draft. The way you see a guy like Hunter go in the third round of the draft and become one of the best NFL pass rushers. Or Greenard who was also a third round pick.

Anyway, I don't know about hunting the next Micah. The only freaky athletic and physical guy in this draft I could see like that is Reese.

But I wouldn't be surprised if Jerry still has visions of Parcells implementing the 3-4 and the year we drafted Ware, Spears and Canty.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I really want Malachi Lawrence.

Hey, hands off, bub.

But I still wouldn't be surprised if he's an end-of-first guy. Or at least high second.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Hey, hands off, bub.

But I still wouldn't be surprised if he's an end-of-first guy. Or at least high second.

Yeah he is a guy that I'd have up there as a high second. But if you look at the lists and believe them he is more like a third. I may like him more than Thomas or Moore. I think he would be right below Howell for me and I really like Howell. Plus I like Lawrence's body type more just based on length for the position.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Yeah he is a guy that I'd have up there as a high second. But if you look at the lists and believe them he is more like a third. I may like him more than Thomas or Moore. I think he would be right below Howell for me and I really like Howell. Plus I like Lawrence's body type more just based on length for the position.

I'm kind of a RMT homer, but his testing wasn't great and he was only 240, so I'm thinking he might go lower than expected.

Like I was saying once, I want an edge that's quicker and more athletic than EZ and would try not to just draft a duplicate of what he already is.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I'm kind of a RMT homer, but his testing wasn't great and he was only 240, so I'm thinking he might go lower than expected.

Like I was saying once, I want an edge that's quicker and more athletic than EZ and would try not to just draft a duplicate of what he already is.

Yeah I love what the Broncos do with Bonitto and Cooper. I think EZ can certainly be a Cooper like player in this defense. But I don't know if he has the explosion to ever be like Bonnito. Of course Bonitto only had 1.5 sacks as a rookie, and then jumped to 8 in year two, so maybe I'm underselling the upside EZ still has.

I just love how they are so athletic at OLBer. And then they have Zach Allen at DE who is only a big meal bigger than Rashaan Gary.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I'm kind of a RMT homer, but his testing wasn't great and he was only 240, so I'm thinking he might go lower than expected.

I like him too. I like Derrick Moore from Michigan as well. Who is 6'4" 255 pounds. I like Romello Height who doesn't check the size boxes but go watch him play and you'll see it wasn't just Bailey at edge for Tech. So there are definitely other OLBer types I like.

But I think Lawrence is one of the few that sort of marries it all together. Height, weight, arm length, speed and really good in game play. He might be one of the most prototypical 3-4 OLBers in this draft outside of David Bailey and Arvell Reese.