DL: 2026 Draft Class

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Max Iheanachor vs Malachi Lawrence in 2024 pic.twitter.com/Ff74IHBDq9

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) April 10, 2026

Damn Max whooped his ass

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:
Day 2/3 guy according to who? Because media has yet to watch and rank a player does not mean they are a lower-round prospect.

Most media just regurgitates whats popular at the time, so if the few people who actually do this full time have yet to watch Lawrence but rate someone like Peter Woods super high based off last year's notes, youre gonna see everyone and thekr mom have Peter Woods as a top 5 prospect and Lawrence as a day 3 dart throw.

We always highlight how people "shoot up draft boards after the combine," but thats cus certain players get bumped up the priority list of much watch prospects when they are such outliers athletically.

We dont act the same when someone randomly plummets down the draft board seemingly randomly. But both things happen for the same reason: new information = new rankings and we cant watch everyone at once.

I was probably the first to mention Lawrence on this board, and Barham too. I mocked them mid round because I could...consensus wasn't there yet. But I knew id be projecting them way too unrealistically late by the time of the draft. They were obvious high caliber prospects. We all do this, every year.

Lawrence to me is more Josh Sweat than Burns. And dammit, I loved Josh Sweat coming out of college.

https://www.nfl.com/news/daniel-jeremiah-s-top-50-2026-nfl-draft-prospect-rankings-1-0

DJ's top 50 1.0.

bleach report top 150 before the combine

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25384511-2026-nfl-draft-big-board-br-nfl-scouting-depts-post-senior-bowl-rankings

Listened to Nate Tice and Charles McDonald with four verts talking about all these pass rushers about a month ago. McDonald said he watched like half a game and knew exactly what type of rusher he is…Good get off, can get to the top of his rush and when it's time to cut, he just can't do it. He can't run the hoop. Stiff. Can still be a good player without the ability to bend, but they had him baked in with a bunch of edge guys in the 3rd rd. I just can't get on board with a 1st rd pick with him.

Do players truly plummet because of horrible testing numbers? I mean if a guy looks slow on film and runs slow we all agree the guy is slow. That gets baked into the draft grade….If the guy plays fast but didn't run a great 40, I don't think that player is gonna drop multiple rds.

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Max Iheanachor vs Malachi Lawrence in 2024 pic.twitter.com/Ff74IHBDq9

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) April 10, 2026

Damn Max whooped his ass

I mean Max is pretty darn good and now I'm thinking he will go higher than people think in a subpar OT class. Needed a little more than whatever that was from Lawrence

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Max Iheanachor vs Malachi Lawrence in 2024 pic.twitter.com/Ff74IHBDq9

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) April 10, 2026

Damn Max whooped his ass

I mean Max is pretty darn good and now I'm thinking he will go higher than people think in a subpar OT class. Needed a little more than whatever that was from Lawrence

Yeah on Lawence...

Give me Howell unless someone can show he got dominated like that last year by an OT.

SEC - 11 sacks

Lawrence 6 sacks in a weaker conference with weaker OTs.

Originally posted by Ezekiel38:
Yeah on Lawence...

Give me Howell unless someone can show he got dominated like that last year by an OT.

SEC - 11 sacks

Lawrence 6 sacks in a weaker conference with weaker OTs.

Howell I think ends up going outside the 1st all said a done. Personally I'd rather go a little later at DPR but I guess if all depends on how the board falls.

Originally posted by NYniner85:
I feel like we need a sub package DPR. Someone like Dee Ford or Huff (but better).

I don't care if you stink vs the run, your job is to get to the QB on 2nd/3rd and long. Someone like Heights/Thomas/barham/josephs/crawford..Howell (or even Lawrence) would be ideal, but using the 27th pick for someone that's gonna be on the field so little is meh.

Then there's Fred Dean.

Originally posted by Paul_Hofer:

Originally posted by NYniner85:
I feel like we need a sub package DPR. Someone like Dee Ford or Huff (but better).

I don't care if you stink vs the run, your job is to get to the QB on 2nd/3rd and long. Someone like Heights/Thomas/barham/josephs/crawford..Howell (or even Lawrence) would be ideal, but using the 27th pick for someone that's gonna be on the field so little is meh.

Then there's Fred Dean.

And a DPR being on the field for 12-16 snaps a game will still have a bigger impact on the games than a rookie WR.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Ezekiel38:
Yeah on Lawence...

Give me Howell unless someone can show he got dominated like that last year by an OT.

SEC - 11 sacks

Lawrence 6 sacks in a weaker conference with weaker OTs.

Howell I think ends up going outside the 1st all said a done. Personally I'd rather go a little later at DPR but I guess if all depends on how the board falls.

I've opened my mind more to several positions including skill positions from where I was just a month ago at 27. Overall I don't hate Lawrence at 27 because this is just one of those drafts that lacks blue chip talent imo. True second day talent will get pushed up because of this. At least I see a guy with Lawrence who has traits that translate with NFL success and I see effort. Id be ok with the pick considering.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Ezekiel38:
Yeah on Lawence...

Give me Howell unless someone can show he got dominated like that last year by an OT.

SEC - 11 sacks

Lawrence 6 sacks in a weaker conference with weaker OTs.

Howell I think ends up going outside the 1st all said a done. Personally I'd rather go a little later at DPR but I guess if all depends on how the board falls.

It's tough...I sort of agree with you even though I want a super talented EDGE.

Because we didn't lose to SEA due to lack of pass rush.

We lost because we could only score 9 points total on offense in two freaking games. Because we had no WRs that could get open and no running game and no TEs that could do anything. We don't know what Kittle is going to be like and he is getting injured more often - and Tonges is ok but not a difference maker esp in the run game.

The offense cost us those games. So the idea of grabbing a WR that can get open at #27 - any of the top 3 guys is fine with me (KC/Cooper Jr/Boston) and a TE like Oscar Delp at #58 who ran a 4.44 at his pro day and is a great blocker and get YAC who Georgia criminally underutilized in the passing game same as Iowa underutilized Kittle. Delp = Kittle 2.0 watch a few of his youtube vids! Then grab a G with our first pick in the 4th.

#27. KC / Cooper Jr / Boston WR (if took Boston or Cooper Jr both add a lot of run game value with their blocking)
#58. Oscar Delp TE (Kittle reincarnated)
#127. Farmer / Fa'amoe / Stephens G
#133. Romello Height / Keyron Crawford / Nadame Tucker / Max Llewellyn EDGE
#138. Landon Robinson / Zane Durant / Kaleb Proctor / Chris McClellan / Dontay Corleone DT
#139. Devon Marshall / Devin Moore CB

I still like Lawrence if we are picking an EDGE early he is one of the most explosive EDGE in the class and has a variety of moves. he needs a bit of coaching on the little things he had a high missed tackle rate but got an absurd amount of pressures just needs to work on finishing a bit he was top of class in Vertical jump broad jump and 40 yard dash and one of the top in 10 uard split. And on top of that he has the technique to back it up. I dont think there is a pass rusher in the draft who has more pass rush moves than he does and has a better plan when rushing the qb and on top of that he has the physicality to back it up. He just needs to get better at the little things.

Howell is good i wouldbe be upset at all but you have to take him out of the game in multiple situations Lawrence can hold his own and be on the field in all situations

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:
Day 2/3 guy according to who? Because media has yet to watch and rank a player does not mean they are a lower-round prospect.

Most media just regurgitates whats popular at the time, so if the few people who actually do this full time have yet to watch Lawrence but rate someone like Peter Woods super high based off last year's notes, youre gonna see everyone and thekr mom have Peter Woods as a top 5 prospect and Lawrence as a day 3 dart throw.

We always highlight how people "shoot up draft boards after the combine," but thats cus certain players get bumped up the priority list of much watch prospects when they are such outliers athletically.

We dont act the same when someone randomly plummets down the draft board seemingly randomly. But both things happen for the same reason: new information = new rankings and we cant watch everyone at once.

I was probably the first to mention Lawrence on this board, and Barham too. I mocked them mid round because I could...consensus wasn't there yet. But I knew id be projecting them way too unrealistically late by the time of the draft. They were obvious high caliber prospects. We all do this, every year.

Lawrence to me is more Josh Sweat than Burns. And dammit, I loved Josh Sweat coming out of college.

https://www.nfl.com/news/daniel-jeremiah-s-top-50-2026-nfl-draft-prospect-rankings-1-0

DJ's top 50 1.0.

bleach report top 150 before the combine

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25384511-2026-nfl-draft-big-board-br-nfl-scouting-depts-post-senior-bowl-rankings

Listened to Nate Tice and Charles McDonald with four verts talking about all these pass rushers about a month ago. McDonald said he watched like half a game and knew exactly what type of rusher he is…Good get off, can get to the top of his rush and when it's time to cut, he just can't do it. He can't run the hoop. Stiff. Can still be a good player without the ability to bend, but they had him baked in with a bunch of edge guys in the 3rd rd. I just can't get on board with a 1st rd pick with him.

Do players truly plummet because of horrible testing numbers? I mean if a guy looks slow on film and runs slow we all agree the guy is slow. That gets baked into the draft grade….If the guy plays fast but didn't run a great 40, I don't think that player is gonna drop multiple rds.

Im sorry. But im not following how your post relates to mine.

I cant say for sure, but its entirely possible that DJ and whoever does DL for bleacher report didn't watch Lawrence before releasing these publications.

McDonald said it himself, he watched half a game and made a sweeping proclamation. And now your basing a players value off of a value someone else assigned having watched one half of a game.

The McDonalds of the world dont have time to watch every snap of every game of every player. So they watch a few plays, a few highlights, maybe a few games even, and move on to the next player.

Thats my point entirely. The combine comes around, and all of a sudden this player that they watched half a game of and wrote in their notes "probably JAG" tested as one of the best athletes at the position of all time. Now they're thinking hmm, this is a player that maybe isnt JAG. Lets go back and watch more. And then they realize, "hey, I put too much stock into half a game from 2024 before he put on 10 lbs of muscle, hes actually pretty good." So they watch more. And all of a sudden, a day 3 player gets put on one guy's list as a top 50 player. Then everyone sees that and says "hey, I must have missed something. Am I too low on this player?" Before you know it, dude is a consensus top 50 player, "just because of athletic testing." Except, it wasn't because of athletic testing. The combine just got people's attention and got people watching the player.

Also, I didn't say players randomly plummet because of poor testing. I said players randomly plummet after new information. Players are listed 1st round in every "way too early mock draft," until they're not. Case in point, Arden Key. 1st round prospect until he wasn't. Because people updated their grades, because people went back to watch more for one reason or another. And we say "oh well, it happens, player didn't develop like we thought when we went back to the tape" But we dont apply the inverse logic of "wow, player developed more than we thought when we went back to the tape." We just say "fast 40 is the reason he got bumped up."

Specific to Lawrence: he has enough bend. He isnt Gumby, but hes not a complete stiff. But he has the burst to get to the corner first, he has the hand fighting and footwork to make a short corner for himself. He doesnt need to be Von Miller.

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
And a DPR being on the field for 12-16 snaps a game will still have a bigger impact on the games than a rookie WR.

I agree with that, however I do believe someone like KC would see playing time and would start as our punt returner. he's kinda the only WR I'm good with at 27.

I just think we can get a DPR later.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
And a DPR being on the field for 12-16 snaps a game will still have a bigger impact on the games than a rookie WR.

I agree with that, however I do believe someone like KC would see playing time and would start as our punt returner. he's kinda the only WR I'm good with at 27.

I just think we can get a DPR later.

Yeah factoring in Special Teams for sure you can get good use out of KC. And I also understand that WR will have a larger impact when Kirk and Evans will be gone. I'm just completely traumatized at how horrifically bad our pass rush was last year. I knew it was bad opposite of Bosa I just didn't know it was that bad until Bosa got hurt. If I was the GM I would take 2 edges and 2 pass rush DTs in this draft.

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:
Im sorry. But im not following how your post relates to mine.

I cant say for sure, but its entirely possible that DJ and whoever does DL for bleacher report didn't watch Lawrence before releasing these publications.

McDonald said it himself, he watched half a game and made a sweeping proclamation. And now your basing a players value off of a value someone else assigned having watched one half of a game.

The McDonalds of the world dont have time to watch every snap of every game of every player. So they watch a few plays, a few highlights, maybe a few games even, and move on to the next player.

Thats my point entirely. The combine comes around, and all of a sudden this player that they watched half a game of and wrote in their notes "probably JAG" tested as one of the best athletes at the position of all time. Now they're thinking hmm, this is a player that maybe isnt JAG. Lets go back and watch more. And then they realize, "hey, I put too much stock into half a game from 2024 before he put on 10 lbs of muscle, hes actually pretty good." So they watch more. And all of a sudden, a day 3 player gets put on one guy's list as a top 50 player. Then everyone sees that and says "hey, I must have missed something. Am I too low on this player?" Before you know it, dude is a consensus top 50 player, "just because of athletic testing." Except, it wasn't because of athletic testing. The combine just got people's attention and got people watching the player.

Also, I didn't say players randomly plummet because of poor testing. I said players randomly plummet after new information. Players are listed 1st round in every "way too early mock draft," until they're not. Case in point, Arden Key. 1st round prospect until he wasn't. Because people updated their grades, because people went back to watch more for one reason or another. And we say "oh well, it happens, player didn't develop like we thought when we went back to the tape" But we dont apply the inverse logic of "wow, player developed more than we thought when we went back to the tape." We just say "fast 40 is the reason he got bumped up."

Specific to Lawrence: he has enough bend. He isnt Gumby, but hes not a complete stiff. But he has the burst to get to the corner first, he has the hand fighting and footwork to make a short corner for himself. He doesnt need to be Von Miller.

you asked me who and I provided just a couple quick answers.

You don't think DJ watched anything on Lawerance prior? I mean that's kinda his job. Currently has him ranked 47th on his big board.

Yes McDonald who's knows wayyyyy more than you or I regarding DL said what he said. Nate Tice watched 4 games and came away with the same conclusion.

Bleacher currently has him right around 50th on their big board.

I'm purely talking about the combine, you clearly aren't. I said no one was calling this kid a 1st rd talent until he all of a sudden put up great numbers. His film didn't magically change after he put up those numbers.

I never said he had to be Von Miller as far as bend goes, he is high wasted and stiff imo. He has enough burst length and a pash rush plan, how much better can he get if he can already do that…That's debatable. He beat up on some bad Big 12 OTs and when he played legit guys like Max, not so great.

I don't hate him as a prospect, 27th overall is too rich for me. I think he's closer to that 58th pick or at the very least do whatever you can to move down, gain more picks and get him.

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
Yeah factoring in Special Teams for sure you can get good use out of KC. And I also understand that WR will have a larger impact when Kirk and Evans will be gone. I'm just completely traumatized at how horrifically bad our pass rush was last year. I knew it was bad opposite of Bosa I just didn't know it was that bad until Bosa got hurt. If I was the GM I would take 2 edges and 2 pass rush DTs in this draft.

Oh I'm usually team draft edge early almost every yr….for me I'm not head over heels with the options at DE at pick 27 (those 3 down guys Parker/young/mesador and I guess you can toss Lawrence in there) and I'm not sure it worth drafting a guy who's always gonna be your DPR at pick 27 as well. I think this DT class as a whole stinks. I like Proctor on day 3 if we want another rushing IDL with Osa.

End of the day if it's EDGE/WR or I kinda like IOL I can live with it. In an ideal world unless someone drops and sort of trade back would be amazing.