LEBills

Yea I think the shift to move receivers dominating is a combination of the rarity of players who can excel at the X position and good offensive game planning. So the Shanahan/McVay line have done a good job of making offense from guys who excel at things like route running or run after the catch but would otherwise be swallowed up by the physicality of boundary corner play. But you still need to get someone who is at least proficient as an X - what Matt Harmon calls a “sacrificial X” - to make the offense work and keep space for those move receivers. So SF went and got Mike Evans this offseason, Green Bay had Doubs play the most snaps of any of their receivers, Jax needed JaKobi Meyers midseason for their offense to stabilize, etc. And yes if you can get a Nico or Tee or Pickens, their value is incredibly high because it is tough to get plus production out of that X spot in the NFL these days. I wouldn’t go drafting a WR from a lower tier because he fits the X-receiver mold better than a small higher ranked receiver. But I would probably take that smaller receiver and then later in the draft take someone who you think may be able to become an average, sacrificial boundary player. I write them all on my iPhones notes app, if you know a good free way to convert them to PDF from there I’ll send them to you

Yes we are fortunate to have such an engaged draft community on this board. I’ve always liked the draft due to growing up during the drought years, being able to have great discussions and excellent content from all those you shouted out prior, really makes the draft one of my favorite events of the year

Yea Thorn is the best in the business imo.

Good catch Gonzo

Idk, CJ Allen is a good run defender but he is missing the coverage and splash plays to be worth this pick imo. I guess I was imagining we would start adding bigger Linebackers also with the scheme change. Lawrence is pretty good at generating pressure but had a 22.4% missed tackle rate. We are also one Bradley Chubb injury he has so often away from Hoecht on one Achilles or Soloman being our only pass rusher available. Seems to be a question of taking the high floor or high ceiling guy.

Round 4 for Benson is too early and Murdock at 5 feels a little too early too but this draft will probably be weird in real life.

It’s a good trade down. Getting 3 extra picks for moving down 10 spots. We need extra picks to fill out the defense

Another very apt comparison for him. Though a supercharged version of DJ. Per Ryan Heath of fantasy points: Just 22 WRs have been drafted after facing a sub-25th percentile SOS in their final season; only Michael Gallup and Diontae Johnson relevant out of that group. Bell will be the 23rd WR drafted. https://www.fantasypoints.com/nfl/articles/2026/ryan-heaths-rookie-wr-rankings#/

Part of it is definitely the offense and QB. That QB was not great past those shorter throws and the offense tried to be methodical. Part of it was Bells drop rate was too high in 2024 when he ran many more deeper routes. They got him the easier, shorter catches so he could do work with the ball in his hand and voila his drop rate plummeted.

Trade back. If we can’t, then Boston or Cooper.

I am relatively high on him but I don’t see a path to him being a team’s primary receiver either. For the separation, I think he is pretty good there but you don’t see that quick separation you do with like KC. Physicality gives him a little bit of problems, so his separation comes later into his route when he is gets to his top speed and can weaponize his change of direction. Like Shakir, I think he is a better player versus zone where he can run and sit rather than dogfighting a corner throughout his route. I had originally comp’d him to a Zay Flowers type because how UConn used him reminded me of how Flowers-centric BC was. Matt Harmon gave a really good comp too in Ricky Pearsall (though he said he preferred Pearsall). It’s a good comp because their size and RAS are almost identical, both were older during their breakout seasons, and UConn and Florida used them all across the formation. I personally like Bell more than I did Pearsall though I did not go as in depth with the 2024 class as I did this year and last year. I think there is a bit more of a dog at the catch point than Pearsall had in him, but both had/have their struggles with physicality. I had him ranked much lower on the Bills adjusted ranking than I did my objective rankings because I do think he is going to be an off-LOS receiver at the next level and I assumed we wanted someone who could spell DJ at X. But I like players that have his athleticism (especially his deceleration on routes), ability to line up across the formation and take on a huge workload and production profile. 26 is too early to take him based on where he is expected to go, but if he is the top WR we draft this year I would be satisfied. If it’s say KC at 26 or Bell at 91, I will take the Bell scenario.

Their really haven’t been any except from KC. The closest would be Christen Miller, AJ Haulcy, Lee Hunter and Gracen Halton but those are all pretty likely day 2 picks. They had a private workout with Denzel Boston.

Yea him and TJ Parker are the two edge guys I would be good with at 26

With the 20th pick in the 2026 NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys select: Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State With Christian Parker coming over from stints with the Broncos and Eagles the Cowboys had some work to do. After getting McCoy at 12 to act as our Patrick Surtain or Quinyon Mitchell, we add a lynchpin in the center of the defense to be our Jordan Davis. After acquiring Quninnen Williams mid season our run defense drastically improved. This offseason our NT position was filled by rotational players. In adding McDonald, we finish the revamp of our run defense and DLine that we started when we traded away Parsons. He will also keep our linebackers free. Speaking of LB, it was considered but quickly forgotten as Allen, Hill and Rodriguez were not worth a first round pick. The Steelers and @Bill from NYC are on the clock.

Yea, I didn’t watch a ton of 2020 Panthers but I guess that would be the other place to look at. Between DJ, Robbie Chosen and Curtis Samuel none were really X receivers yet he got 1000 all purpose yards out of all of them. If we add a Bell or KC, that probably still leaves one roster spot available at WR so maybe they go after a more traditional bodied X receiver then. De’Zhaun Stribling could maybe be that type of sacrificial X receiver. I don’t think he has it in him to be special but he has good speed and may be the best blocker in this class.