DL: 2026 Draft Class

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Ezekiel38:
Watch for the Christen Miller DT surprise at #27 too. Lynch never shuts up about the DL being the foundation and Miller is a lean 6'4 320lb beast against the run and has pass rush upside. Mykel's best friend. They could still go EDGE at #58 and grab Mason Thomas or get a G and TE. It would match their philosophy and I do like Miller the player even if I wouldn't go DL with our first pick.

But im mentally prepared for it. If we traded back to 30-35 id be totally fine with Miller as the pick as he is being sleeped on. Maybe cuz his name is so bland and not memorable ... Christen Miller.

Trade with AZ for their 103 and 183 and a 2027 4th

#35. Christen Miller DT
#58. Keylan Rutledge G
#103. Oscar Delp TE
#104. Jaishawn Barham / Josh Josephs / Derrick Moore EDGE (trade two 4ths)
#133. Kendrick Law WR
#138. Keyron Crawford EDGE (double up at EDGE)
#183. Travis Burke OT

Could work.

Rutledge, Delp, and Law all great and willing blockers so helps the run game vs SEA and matches our run first philosophy. Delp and Law are also fast (Law 4.42 40 and Delp 4.44 40 as a TE...) and specialize in YAC and Shanahan specializes in creating space for YAC. And we get two EDGEs that are both DPRs that have talent and can compete hard against the other to see the field along with another blue chip top talent to add to the DL rotation. I mean do we think West and Collins have shown they are going to be dominant stars? I like them both but they haven't proven anything like that yet and we need to keep drafting top young talent to add to the group.

If there's one thing I can guarantee it's SF isn't taking DT in the 1st.

In that scenario above Miller was taken in the 2nd

Originally posted by Ezekiel38:
In that scenario above Miller was taken in the 2nd

I can guarantee you they will not be taking a DT with their first pick in this draft.

lol Donte Whitner on his podcast comparing Caleb Banks to Deforest Buckner and saying Reuben Bain should be available when we pick. It was recorded before the Bain news came out. He also said CJ Parker was an undersized DE. Maybe he should look at TJ Parker. Donte should just not talk about the draft he clearly isn't even watching highlights of these kids. Just reading names and guessing.

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
lol Donte Whitner on his podcast comparing Caleb Banks to Deforest Buckner and saying Reuben Bain should be available when we pick. It was recorded before the Bain news came out. He also said CJ Parker was an undersized DE. Maybe he should look at TJ Parker. Donte should just not talk about the draft he clearly isn't even watching highlights of these kids. Just reading names and guessing.

yo, how did you link a youtube short??

I saw Hitner talking about this...I had to turn him off. I love you as a player, but I'll pass on your talent eval skills.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Ezekiel38:
In that scenario above Miller was taken in the 2nd

I can guarantee you they will not be taking a DT with their first pick in this draft.

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:

Man, Khalil Mack had stupid levels of power. He dominated with just his bullrush and longarm, and didn't need anything else. One of my favorite players ever. An absolute bull through contact that didn't need to get cute.

That's not what I saw from Malachi. I thought he was going to say Demarcus Lawrence. Malachi is already more surgical with his hand and rush plan than Khalil Mack was coming into the league, but he definitely is missing that insane power that Mack had. To be fair, very few players in the history of the NFL have had that.

Originally posted by Heroism:
Man, Khalil Mack had stupid levels of power. He dominated with just his bullrush and longarm, and didn't need anything else. One of my favorite players ever. An absolute bull through contact that didn't need to get cute.

That's not what I saw from Malachi. I thought he was going to say Demarcus Lawrence. Malachi is already more surgical with his hand and rush plan than Khalil Mack was coming into the league, but he definitely is missing that insane power that Mack had. To be fair, very few players in the history of the NFL have had that.

Mack was completely out of left field haha.

But we draft him and he turns into the next Danielle Hunter imma be so happy. I don't think hes ever gonna look as jacked tho...

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:

Originally posted by Heroism:
Man, Khalil Mack had stupid levels of power. He dominated with just his bullrush and longarm, and didn't need anything else. One of my favorite players ever. An absolute bull through contact that didn't need to get cute.

That's not what I saw from Malachi. I thought he was going to say Demarcus Lawrence. Malachi is already more surgical with his hand and rush plan than Khalil Mack was coming into the league, but he definitely is missing that insane power that Mack had. To be fair, very few players in the history of the NFL have had that.

Mack was completely out of left field haha.

But we draft him and he turns into the next Danielle Hunter imma be so happy. I don't think hes ever gonna look as jacked tho...

Yeah I listened to that yesterday, I can see the Hunter comp if I squint hard enough. The Mack stuff made no sense to me. They're built different and like Hero said, the power is on a different level.

D Lawrence might make more sense. I think Morris is really gonna like him and I won't be shocked if he's the pick

Strength will never be otherworldly, but if he improves his first step to take advantage of the explosiveness he shows in his closing speed, he will be able to win regularly with power against all but the strongest of tackles.


Second clip, run block drill, just completely gets under the lineman, halts his momentum immediately, full extension, shed.

4th clip, TE help, RT vertical set. Lawrence hits the inside hand long arm, pushing off the outside foot and controls the RT rather easily

5th clip, some good upper body strength. You see shock on contact. Definitely has some knock back power in his hands.

6th clip, OT tries to catch him, but Lawrence has way too much momentum and OT goes for a ride.

Man I love him hahaha. He completely threatens the tackle as a high side rusher, but if he sees them vertical set, hes very consistent to hit the long arm with his inside hand and go under them. Then of course we've all seen the hands, the swipes, the chops, the rips.

I may have talked my self into officially putting him ahead of Mesidor

I like Mesidor because hes extremely skilled. But its a traits based position. He doesnt have the speed to threaten as a high side rusher. He doesnt have the length or power to feel confident in winning through the middle of an OT. Hes old, which i dont care about from a production stand point, but I do care about from the perspective of hes not just gonna continue to develop these missing traits at his age.

He was extremely productive but he got so many pass rush opportunities. He definitely has 1 on 1 wins, but a lot of his production was on stunts and slants. And he was clearly sack hunting on these plays, prioritizing sack production over gap integrity. That wont fly in the NFL. So how much does technique and motor help him in the absence of strength and athleticism when he gets to the NFL? Itd be a major outlier. Still a gamble id be willing to take, but probably not over lawrence.

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:
Strength will never be otherworldly, but if he improves his first step to take advantage of the explosiveness he shows in his closing speed, he will be able to win regularly with power against all but the strongest of tackles.

Malachi Lawrence looking like the best edge rusher at the Shrine Bowl so far is no surprise

Top 50 talent on my board, looking forward to watching him tonight pic.twitter.com/3OYA0TjIQG

— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 27, 2026

Second clip, run block drill, just completely gets under the lineman, halts his momentum immediately, full extension, shed.

4th clip, TE help, RT vertical set. Lawrence hits the inside hand long arm, pushing off the outside foot and controls the RT rather easily

5th clip, some good upper body strength. You see shock on contact. Definitely has some knock back power in his hands.

6th clip, OT tries to catch him, but Lawrence has way too much momentum and OT goes for a ride.

Man I love him hahaha. He completely threatens the tackle as a high side rusher, but if he sees them vertical set, hes very consistent to hit the long arm with his inside hand and go under them. Then of course we've all seen the hands, the swipes, the chops, the rips.

I may have talked my self into officially putting him ahead of Mesidor

I like Mesidor because hes extremely skilled. But its a traits based position. He doesnt have the speed to threaten as a high side rusher. He doesnt have the length or power to feel confident in winning through the middle of an OT. Hes old, which i dont care about from a production stand point, but I do care about from the perspective of hes not just gonna continue to develop these missing traits at his age.

He was extremely productive but he got so many pass rush opportunities. He definitely has 1 on 1 wins, but a lot of his production was on stunts and slants. And he was clearly sack hunting on these plays, prioritizing sack production over gap integrity. That wont fly in the NFL. So how much does technique and motor help him in the absence of strength and athleticism when he gets to the NFL? Itd be a major outlier. Still a gamble id be willing to take, but probably not over lawrence.

You're selling Lawrence more and more to me. I need to reset my expectations overall with this draft and where we're picking. In an ideal world we could move down a couple spots (I keep tossing NE out there) and still landing someone like Lawrence and a late 3rd.

For me, I have envisioned them needing just a DPR only time of rusher (which this draft has a ton of) and wouldn't require a 1st rd pick to get. Totally get the idea or ML here though.

Mesidor while fun to watch as a pass rusher has me hesitant for a couple things, the age should be a concern because he didn't blow up until he was 24 playing against kids. The injuries are a thing. Like you said he was put in some pretty + spots to get after the QB and run D just wasn't there. I hope someone takes him before he gets to us.

Originally posted by adrianlesnar:
Strength will never be otherworldly, but if he improves his first step to take advantage of the explosiveness he shows in his closing speed, he will be able to win regularly with power against all but the strongest of tackles.

Malachi Lawrence looking like the best edge rusher at the Shrine Bowl so far is no surprise

Top 50 talent on my board, looking forward to watching him tonight pic.twitter.com/3OYA0TjIQG

— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 27, 2026

Second clip, run block drill, just completely gets under the lineman, halts his momentum immediately, full extension, shed.

4th clip, TE help, RT vertical set. Lawrence hits the inside hand long arm, pushing off the outside foot and controls the RT rather easily

5th clip, some good upper body strength. You see shock on contact. Definitely has some knock back power in his hands.

6th clip, OT tries to catch him, but Lawrence has way too much momentum and OT goes for a ride.

Man I love him hahaha. He completely threatens the tackle as a high side rusher, but if he sees them vertical set, hes very consistent to hit the long arm with his inside hand and go under them. Then of course we've all seen the hands, the swipes, the chops, the rips.

I may have talked my self into officially putting him ahead of Mesidor

I like Mesidor because hes extremely skilled. But its a traits based position. He doesnt have the speed to threaten as a high side rusher. He doesnt have the length or power to feel confident in winning through the middle of an OT. Hes old, which i dont care about from a production stand point, but I do care about from the perspective of hes not just gonna continue to develop these missing traits at his age.

He was extremely productive but he got so many pass rush opportunities. He definitely has 1 on 1 wins, but a lot of his production was on stunts and slants. And he was clearly sack hunting on these plays, prioritizing sack production over gap integrity. That wont fly in the NFL. So how much does technique and motor help him in the absence of strength and athleticism when he gets to the NFL? Itd be a major outlier. Still a gamble id be willing to take, but probably not over lawrence.

I like Mesidor a lot but that was a huge negative for me too. He has the ability to be a great run defender but i think this was more attributed to the system and he was thought to jsut rush the passer. The reason i like Mesidor is he is pro ready and he didnt win by just being faster/stronger he won by being more technically sound. If we are in the position of needing a Batman i would agree Mesidor isnt the pick. I would like a guy who i think can win 1:1 and i do think Mesidor (other than Bailey and Bain) could do that the best. Im with you on Lawrence i do think he is worth a first round pick and i wouldnt even call it a reach i would be surprised if he is not selected in first 5 to 10 picks of 2nd round.

I think there are only a handful of players who has the potential to be a "sack master" and get 12+ sacks over multiple seasons
The top of the list are
Bailey
Lawrence
Joseph

Other guys are either DPR who wont see enough snaps (Howell) or need to develop significantly more moves to be consistant sack artists (Jucas Faulk Moore). Bain is extremely good and i think he is worthy of the top pass rushing spot but i dont think he has the length to be a 12+ sack guy he will be more of a disruptor imo but no way he falls to us)

Here's how I have it:

Tier 1: Worth monitoring for a draft day slide, with potential for a small trade up.

1 Reuben Bain, Miami

Tier 2: Run the card up at 27

2 Malachi Lawrence
3 Akheem Mesidor

Tier 3: Trade down targets. This one is interesting, as I have Howell ranked higher, but id draft Bailey before him, especially at 27. Bailey has the higher potential to be a 3 down player, which id feel is super important for a 1st round pick, but I dont trust his ability to reach that potential, and if they're both DPRs, I like Howell more

4 Cashius Howell
5 David Bailey

Tier 4: Second round selection

6 R Mason Thomas
7 Jaishawn Barham

Tier 5: we some how picked up a 3rd

8 Joshua Josephs

Tier 6: 4th round and we still need a pass rusher

9 Gabe Jacas
10 Romello Height

I feel like NFL teams are going to like Moore a lot more than draftniks. Power is king, especially when the games matter most. He feels like a Seahawk to me.