This year has been very difficult to put in the time for player analysis like I usually do, on top of that I feel like the lack of combine has made things harder still. I have done a bit of research here and there but it is going to be tough to get as in depth as previous years. Due to that I am taking a more numbers and analytical approach compared to me watching loads of tape and interviews.

In addition to this I will be doing a day by day analysis. In separate posts I will do an open thread while I watch each draft day (not live due to work) and I will make my picks as I go. At the same time I will update this page with candidates overall and potential players for each day. I know from the experience from past years that players who you might not expect can really slide so I am not going to say “with this pick this guy” in advance. Lets look at that day by day. below that you will find a group of other players I find interesting, some of who still need to be evaluated and are therefore subject to change.

Day 1 (round 1)

Strategy : Overall there are three key positions that I am targeting for the draft: CB, LB and OT. On top of that, picks in round one are special. For me a first round pick is a player who can come in on day 1 and make an impact, or is so much of a talent, that even if he does not have an impact you have relative certainty that he will develop into a player who is a perennial pro-bowler.

QB – Trey Lance. I believe that he will get drafted in the top 5, but if he drops to 12 I would not hesitate to pull the trigger. I feel like he could be a top 10 QB in the future, I love his attitude and his deep ball is beautiful. At the moment he is still very raw and takes a bit too long to get the ball out, but I believe that he will greatly upgrade my QB room, and would sure me up at a pivotal position.

TE – Kyle Pitts. Another player who will not last, but an outstanding player. He is about as sure a thing in this draft as there is, so I would be overthinking it if I do not take him at 12. He is a ridiculous combo of athleticism, catch-radius and instincts. Like I said though, he will not make it that far.

CB – Jaycee Horn. I love his badass attitude and his composition for a CB, no doubt in my mind that he will be a successful CB in the league, he is a playmaker on the ball. What I don’t like: dodgy tackling and his play isn’t clean enough which will = flags. for that the 12th spot is just too high.

LB – Micah Parsons, Zaven Collins, Jeramiah Owusu-Koramoah. Three linebackers, all of who I have a first round grade on. Parsons will probably be picked in the top half of the draft, Collins and JOK will go in the second half. All three are playmakers and could be seen as one of the best LB classes of the future. The likely scenario is that I move back in the draft a couple of times, the key is going to be to move back so that I do not miss out on all three. Ideally I would move back to build up enough capital to then move back up and draft two of these players. The ceiling is that all players go in the top 20, if I am lucky then Parsons drops to the bottom of the top 20, JOK goes after that and Collins falls into the second round. A quick breakdown on each player:

Micah Parsons: modern, explosive LB profile similar to isaiah simmons and jeremy chinn last year, a bit heavier and while those two can do more in the safety direction, parsons can do more as a passrusher. my main concerns with him are personality related and I don’t know if I want to look past that. He will probably start outside and then move inside later on.

Zaven Collins: LB2, maybe he should even be LB1 because you just do not have athletic profiles like him. He is huge (similar to Brian Urlacher, retro) but athletic. Big presence at the line but can also drop into coverage. Mike and Will capability. The concern with him is his lateral movement and his tackling at times.

JOK: Fast, hard thumper. A little undersized, but the modern day hybrid linebacker who is almost S size. Can match RBs, TEs and even some Slot receivers.

Trade downs: multiple trade downs are an option to pick up extra draft capital. I will cover that in the open thread which I will prepare now.

Day 2 (round 2-3)

Strategy: As it stands I have 6 picks on day 2, having picked up an extra second rounder in a trade down: 2 in the 2nd and 4 in the 3rd. My main targets for these rounds – with relation to building my roster – are OL and CB, my main target when it comes to best position available is DL. There are also a couple of interesting players at offensive skill positions, but this is not something I will consider until day 3.

OT – Dillon Radunz, Sam Cosmi

OG – Quinn Meinerz

CB – Benjamin St Juste

Day 3 (round 4-7)

Strategy: very simply to get as much as possible out of these rounds. My idea is to go Safety first, CB last and see what falls in between.

WR demetric felton (RB) tj vasher

CB tay gowan

S Ardarius Washington

[picks were deleted as they went off the board]