Ok - it's far too early for a mock, but we do have a good idea on potential needs. Just look at the 20 free agents currently on the roster.

QB - Howell. we have Kyle McCord in the wings. NO NEED, MAYBE AN UDFA

RB - AJ Dillon. The Tank Bigsby acquisition is big. NO NEED

WR - Dotson and Metchie. Waller will be coming back from IR and Cooper could be ready to step into dotson's role. PROBABLY A DAY 3 PICK

OL - Pryor and Big Fred. Hinton could replace one of them, but we still don't have Lane's replacement. 2ND DAY PICK

TE - Goedert, Calcaterra, and Granson are all FA's. 2ND DAY PICK

Edge - Ojulari, Uchi, Okoronokwo - Resign 1 fo them, sign 1 FA. 1ST OR 2ND ROUND PICK

DT - No FA's NO NEED

LB - Dean & Patrick Johnson. DAY 3 PICK

CB- Adoree' Jackson - 1ST OR 2ND ROUND PICK

S - Blankenship and Epps. Have to resign Reed in-season. DAY 3 PICK

SUMMARY -

1 Edge or CB

2 Edge or CB

3 OL

3 TE

3 Edge

4 TE

4 WR

5-6-7 S, CB

We be talkin 2026 draft, so we have already resigned our own or other team's free-agents. We can hope/pray, but we can only speculate at this junction (September 2025). Salary cap will play a major role in what decisions are made leading up to the 2026 draft. Your initial post touches on some of those open issues. It's really too early to dive in to this topic too deeply, but let me take an initial stab.

Round #1: Of course, we always want our first round pick to be a future star, but we also expect them to be capable of starting during their rookie season. To me, I presently see "Edge" and CB as the most immediate needs. I consider 2 PSU players as viable candidates... A J Harris and Dani Dennis-Sutton. We likely will be picking near-last (32). Either choice might require a move up closer to mid-round. I believe we will need at least one rookie to step in as a starter next season. Both positions would be be costly to fill via free agency. Moreover, late first-round picks usually are not as outstanding as the first dozen, or so picks. We can't always expect to be as lucky as we were last year and this.

BTW: Who is Waller? Also, by definition, free agents CAN'T be on our current roster.

11 hours ago, Crazy Legs said:

BTW: Who is Waller?

Meant Wilson, brain fart on my part.

11 hours ago, Crazy Legs said:

I consider 2 PSU players as viable candidates... A J Harris and Dani Dennis-Sutton. We likely will be picking near-last (32).

I'm completely with you on these.

My biggest worry is thight end. All 3 of our guys are free agents, the draft class doesn't look as good as 2025, and the pending free agents don't float my boat. IF there had bee a really good one I'd have considered a 1st round pick.

Of our own FA's I see Blankenship and Mann as givens. Beyond that I think it's mostly a crap shoot.

Would you consider re-signing Za'Darius, Dallas and/or Nakobi when their contracts expire?

13 hours ago, Crazy Legs said:

Would you consider re-signing Za'Darius, Dallas and/or Nakobi when their contracts expire?

Yes on Goedert.

Maybe on Za'Darius depending on how he holds up late in the year. If he does, it would make sense since Uche, Ojulari, and O are all FA's

Maybe on Dean - depends on the price and if there's competition for him.

BTW - there are 3 sites that have a pretty comprrehensive ranking of draft prospects.

Dani Davis Sutton: Drafttek 21st, Walterfootball 2nd'3rd round, and profootballnetwork 17th rated player

AJ Haarris: Drafttek 29th, Walterfootball 3rd to 5th round, and profootballnetwork 36th rated player

Walterfootball is an outlyer. Looks like a 1 and a 3 could get us up to Dennis-sutton and a 2 and 3 to be able to get Harris.