DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk NFL Draft 2026 OL in the draft

Yea, I don't agree with pretty much all you stated.

Recruits care about (no particular order)
- Who will pay me the most NIL / best packaged NIL
- Who has a history of developing their said position
- Who gets players drafted at their positions
- Some players do care about highest paid in the NFL if it is current. Within a year - McLaurin signed a big extension, Garrett Willson signed a big extension, and now JSN just signed the current highest contract ever. That is an easy added selling point for Cortez Hankton.
- Tradition and making the playoffs/championships

Georgia gets talent due to: Tradition, known to develop players, living in a recruiting hot bed, the bagman (now it's NIL).

Kirby could put out a FU to everyone and still would get recruits, lol.

Why is Oregon getting top recruits? Because they pay whatever they want to get them to come. Why is Miami? Same reason. Why is Tennessee? Same reason...hell they offered around the same money OSU did, the reason they lost was buying a house and extras for the Offensive Tackle. The same for Kirby, it's freaking GA and they will pay for recruits.

MIchigan's Underwood was pretty much a given to LSU. Michigan paid him ridiculous money and all of a sudden, the #1 QB recruit is a Michigan player.

Yeah, I could say we could agree to disagree, but that would be way understated.

You are delusional if you think Kirby could come right out and say something like "Monroe Freeling isn't ready for the NFL and I told him he should have stayed for another year to try be more prepared" and it leaks leading up to the draft. That would plummet his draft stock and recruits would take notice. That shows that he cares more about the Georgia program keeping players longer than the players themselves. I can see where you can twist this to mean, he does care about the players by keeping it real and looking out for them, but the man would be directly wrecking a players chance to be drafted higher and thus lose money in the first 4 to 5 years of their professional career.

Salary slots for 2026 NFL draft picks:

10. $29.6M
15. $22.7M
20. $20M
25. $18.8M
33. $12.9M #20 to second round first pick loses $7M

I just looked it up Monroe Freeling's NIL was $148k, which was one of the highest for offensive tackles. It's a drop in the bucket of what he will be paid at the next level.


THAT ↑↑↑↑ Is way more than what they are going to get from NIL for non-QBs or the top .5% players in college. Their rookie deals are more than double what their NIL package is going to be, but more importantly, the sooner they get to the NFL, the sooner that second contract comes.

It sure as hell makes a difference where they are drafted.

I agree with you that second tier players want to go to a program where they will get development, see the tradition, etc... We aren't talking about those players, we are talking about blue chippers that have no choice but to spend 3 years at a school before hearing their name called on draft day. They are thinking about the draft from the first recruitment visit. If I have a coach at Ohio State that props up all of their players and gets 4 guys drafted in the top 7 picks of the draft, vs a school where a coach just said the statement above and a player projected to go in the top 20 is now drafted in the second round... IT WILL BE reflected in top recruits decisions.

Everyone is now dealing with NIL money, that is definitely going to be factors with all recruits moving forward. That's the world we live in now. But all things being equal, a coach that stands by their players entering their pro career vs a guy that states something negative will lose more recruits than they retain.

If Monroe Freeling wannabes see him fall in the draft because of something Kirby Smart said, Smart would lose a lot of the players he was hoping to get... Which is why Kirby is Smart enough to not say any such thing. He will be saying what everyone expects him to say which is "You are getting a kid that has all the talent to be a 10-15 year starter in the NFL and he is coming from the best coaches in college football prepared to play from day 1" -Even to his supposed good buddy Monken.

I never argued it mattered where they were drafted.

Regarding recruits, how many times have you heard recruits dropping b/c of their coaches' comments?


You are a GM, why the heck would you call a team's head coach to get their viewpoint if all they are going to do is bs you? You are really telling me that a coach is going to put his reputation on the line to bs a NFL GM or HC of his player? You can be critical of a player and still be praising them. Monroe has a ton of talent. He's excellent in: ____. However, he will need some development. You can also do all of this while having a private conversation without the ball boy hanging around, lol.



I 100% agree with you.

BTW

There will be some change between sites (247 sports I'm using)


2026 Top recruits and their commitments

#1 U of Houston
#2 Vanderbilt
#3 Tennessee
#4 LSU
#5 USC
#6 U of Miami
#7 USC
#8 LSU
#9 Notre Dame
#10 Maryland
#11 Michigan
#12 Tennessee
#13 Texas
#14 Bama
#15 South Carolina
#16 Texas A&M
#17 Texas Tech
#18 Bama
#19 Nebraska
#20 Bama

Those Senior High Schoolers are really thinking about the draft.

Just talking about Ohio State - last cycle there were at a few blue chippers that loved OSU either publicly verbal or silent and ended up picking other schools. The reason....money. Your point about Monroe isn't a point regarding high school Seniors. Also, if they are a highly regarded OL, their price tag hovers closer to 1M. Generally HS Seniors just want that bag. They don't get developed in a year or two? Portal




Please name me all these coaches going on record that their player sucks, lol.


As of January 2026, 29 Ohio State football players entered the transfer portal following a period of significant roster turnover. Ryan Day is one of the best coaches in college football. You are going to have players enter the portal either b/c of playing time or wanting more NIL. College football has become a business. Your top players want money.

Look at all of the top draft picks drafted out of OSU. They are after money. NFL money.

I think the facts Irish laid out override your feelings.

Your point was all about college money. OL players aren't making big college money. But they make big NFL money if they're drafted high enough. By far the players in college that make the most money are high ranked skill position players. That's not a large group of players.

This is an OL thread. The conversation was about highly ranked players in the draft at the OT position. They don't get a lot of money in college. They're thinking about the future in terms of the NFL.

I won't talk much more about this however you all are missing some key points here.

One - a HS senior and a JR/SR going into the draft are two different things. Which most of my previous points were about HS seniors

Two - this whole thing about Kirby or any other College coach possibly degrading their player is way overblown.

Why? Like I said name me these instances where the HC talks bad about their player. Most...not all instances a player drops in the draft is b/c of concern over an injury, attitude, or they have some negative background (example: smoking some weed through a gas mask, crazy driving and killing someone, etc)


Also....scouts are evaluating these players through video tape, attending games throughout the season, doing background checks , they are calling their HS coaches, talking to their positional coaches. They are attending practices, they are talking to random staff memebers/people at practices. The Staff (in general) are attending the NFL combine, having personal interviews with the player. What exactly is Kirby Smart going to say that is so different than all the information these scouts and the GMs are going to hear?

Kirby - he's terrible at run/pass blocking. OK, the scouts can verify the positives and negatives from game film and it's the scouts/FO staff to see if they can work with their skills.
Kirby - he's uncoachable. Ok. Well the staff/scouts should have talked to many of different sources. It's up to them to make a decision from lots of different sources. This could be a valid point, however is it the same as the OL coaches (and others) view of the player? It would be easy to see the contradiction.

I am not using feelings, my facts before were regarding HS seniors. Which that information is true. Blue Chippers expect to be drafted in 3 or 4 years no matter what college they choose. A high percentage of the blue chippers will go to any college that will be the highest bidder. Like I said, David Sanders JR went to TN b/c they gave him a huge bag and a house for his family. The OT that went to Colorado (the year before), he picked them over Ohio State b/c of a huge bag. The blue chippers that went to Oregon that were committed to OSU. They decommitted b/c Nike gave them a big bag and their own shoes. This scenario is different than a JR Monroe Freeling and which round he gets picked.

Question to anyone who watches Clemson football:

I have heard multiple podcasters call Blake Miller a true left tackle.
I haven't seen much Clemson football, but I thought he played right tackle.

He did play right tackle.. his entire career, that’s why we can’t listen to podcasters. They have a deadline to get content for their shows. They hear it from “a source”, which is usually another podcaster, because they just regurgitate each other for content.

Blake Miller will be that middle of the pack RT that had a 12 year career starting for 5 different teams. Hes solid, but they are going to say the team signing him overpaid him ever time.

So then it would be your contention that a high school player whose intent is to be an NFL player would choose to go to the University of Montana Western where they will never be televised and NFL scouts would never recruit if they offered him 100k more than OSU?

Just one more thing to consider. It's not simply about what the schools pay. There are opportunities for players that go to schools like OSU those same players would never get if they chose smaller, lesser known schools such as........

Key Players and Endorsement Deals (2024-2026)

Jeremiah Smith (WR): Signed with Adidas, Battle (accessories), and has deals with Nintendo and Epic Games.

Caleb Downs (S): Endorsement deal with Rhoback clothing.

TreVeyon Henderson (RB): Partnered with FTX.

Will Howard (QB): Deals with Grippo's Chips.

Arvell Reese (LB): Partnered with Adidas Football.

Carnell Tate (WR): Partnered with Adidas Football.

OL starts about half way through.

Dan Brugler's top 10 OT.

OT1 Spencer Fano Utah
When Utah needed a yard, it ran behind No. 55; he projects as an immediate starter.

OT2 Francis Mauigoa Miami
A durable blocker whose best NFL role may be as a guard rather than right tackle.

OT3 Monroe Freeling Georgia
A young, ascending prospect with real work to do, but the future looks bright.

OT4 Kadyn Proctor Alabama
Boasts an exciting foundation, but needs his discipline and technique to catch up.

OT5 Caleb Lomu Utah
Needs more strength, technique and grit, but NFL teams are intrigued with his upside.

OT6 Blake Miller Clemson
Has the physical traits, football IQ and toughness that NFL teams will bet on every time.

OT7 Max Iheanachor Arizona State
Fluid athlete for his size, but may need a year of development before being NFL-ready.

OT8 Caleb Tiernan Northwestern
A refined pass blocker whose run-game consistency needs work; may be best at guard.

OT9 Travis Burke Memphis
A towering prospect with a nasty disposition who is worth drafting in the middle rounds.

OT10 Markel Bell Miami
A towering, top-heavy blocker with an engulfing wingspan; has NFL starts in his future.

Joe was one of the best LT's I've ever seen play. But in regards to scouting and predicting OT's translating to the NFL I haven't seen anywhere he's qualified to do that.

Tate and Procter would be a great first round!

Tate and Procter would be a great first round!

I mean, I have to believe an 8 time All Pro at his position has more insight into what it takes to make it in this league than anyone outside of tenured offensive line coaches. I think Warhop is more than capable of figuring it out without Joe’s help, but if they are friends, getting his second opinion sure as hell couldn’t hurt.

I know he’s way more qualified than myself and every other draftnik out there that thinks they know what they are talking about. If he would speak, I would listen.

Agreed, JT has a little knowledge of the position! I would take his opinion.

That I certainly agree with. However at the same time, there are scouting departments and evaluation processes that are strictly paid for and developed which is their entire career to be experts in. It's their entire profession and expertise.

I'm pretty sure they wouldn't make great LT's either.

I would just like to clarify my post somewhat. I'm not saying Joe Thomas opinion should just be ignored. I'm just saying that in the grand scheme of things the weight of those who have spent years and in some cases decades doing it as their profession should carry more influence.

We will just agree to disagree on this one. I agree 100% that the scouting departments are usually top notch and they are trained to look for extra little things that make for a lower probability of failure. But I don't agree that any scout that hasn't played multiple years of D1 level would have more knowledge on what it takes as an offensive lineman to make an impact in the NFL. There are only a couple of handfuls of players that have done at a level beyond 99% of their peers and Joe Thomas is one of them.

If we were talking about Jed Wills, I would be in full agreement. It's about a specific person and in this case Joe probably has more insight than 50% of the offensive line coaches in the league. I don't think Warhop falls in that side of the 50/50, but his insight would be invaluable. I know he studies game film, or at least he did when he was starting his online/onscreen aspirations. He used to have some really good breakdowns of players coming out in the draft, but I haven't seen any the last couple of years. I'm not sure if that was something that has died down, or maybe he is focused more on his cattle ranch? When he sits down and studies though, the man can point out things that I still can't see while he's explaining them.

Yet all 32 NFL teams spend millions of dollars every year on scouting departments and analytics to make these decisions. It seems they have chosen to disagree with you. For some reason I think I'll side with 32 NFL FO's. You can agree to disagree all you wish but if this were true NFL teams would be making their draft picks based on nothing but former star players at each position. That's not how any of this works.

You are absolutely right that that's not how it work
However, with as many draft mistakes as are made, maybe it wold be a better, more reliable system

If it were do you think out of all 32 NFL teams none of them would have figured that out by now?