DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk NFL Draft 2026 Its Draft Week-

Since we are heading into the week of the draft-I started the thread for news about the draft; and the first one is pretty big


Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
Draft week blockbuster: The Giants are trading three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals in a deal that will include the 10th overall pick going to New York, per ESPN sources.

The Giants now head into Thursday night with the 5th and 10th overall picks.

Wow!

Dude will be 29 this year, seems like a pretty steep price. I thought he was a bit unhappy, did a little digging to see that was true. Most Giants fans seem to be over the moon. "10th pick for an overweight malcontent screaming for a new contract and coming off his worst season? I'll take it! Stupid move Bengals!"


Some posts from the Bengals Board (mixed bag there):

I saw a video earlier today that the Browns had made the best offer for Lawrence. We were looking to give up our second round pick, but I don’t know if we had the cap room to even do that. Lawrence was supposed to make 20 mil this year and wanted a restructure

First reaction was that this wasn't a great deal for the Bengals - but reading some articles and comments, I can see why they did this. Burrows window is closing and the Achilles heel for the Bengals has been there D for many many years now. This excerpt from the Athletic mentions the other upgrades and FA signings the Bengals have made along the DL. Clearly they are swinging for the fences.

Cincinnati’s stunning deal for Lawrence was arguably the most out-of-character, big swing in recent franchise history and indicates the urgency toward changing the face of a defense that’s doomed the window of quarterback Joe Burrow. Lawrence becomes the third significant veteran addition to the Bengals’ defensive line and invigorates a previously dead pass rush. This move makes the rest of the pieces around Lawrence make sense with Boye Mafe, Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart filling out the edges, and B.J. Hill and Jonathan Allen a solid, veteran duo next to the double teams he will draw.

If this move hits, it could deliver a Super Bowl considering the star power on the other side of the football. — Paul Dehner Jr., Bengals beat writer

Agree. And if his physical well-being is the window, his temperament is the shade he's about to pull down. He's had it with the excuses and he's tired of getting beat up.

Imagine if the Bengals FO knew the Browns were bidding? The 'Gals would know they had virtually no choice. Nobody would want to face Joe if he woke up to find out MG has a new buddy on the DL.

A lot of people were carrying on about how much the Browns could get in a trade for Myles. I thought they were greatly overestimating the return the Browns could get for him. If this trade is any indication of what the market would bring for Myles with him being a much more highly rated and productive player it appears they may very well be right.

They probably had to do something like this just to get back to where they were with Hendrickson. That D is still in desperate need of upgrades, likely across the position groups if they are really trying to get it up to snuff to contend.

I don't think that this was a good trade for Cincy-There would still be a couple of the top 12 left when they were picking. I kept hearing Downs was going to be their pick

I also keep hearing that the Cowboys want Sonny Styles really bad-they want to trade us 12 and 20 for 6 and 24-I don't think that is a good trade for us. The latest I heard is that they would throw in a 2 next year or I saw a rumor that they would trade us 12 and 20 for #6 and 39. I still don't know if I like it but it would give us (3) first round picks this year.

Regarding trades....

I can understand the logic behind trading down in this draft. If the Browns think the value is outside of the top half of the first round, then they'll want to trade down.

The force that's working against that is Haslam. We are stacking losing seasons, and Berry has largely ran out of people to throw in front of the firing squad. He has to show significant improvement to the roster (specifically the offense) to keep his job for another 365 days.

By the way….is anyone going to go to pukesburgh.
Traffic is really going to be bad.

Everyone we talked to in our office or other contractors/engineers are all being told to work at job sites out of the city or at home

I think the trade down (may) works because the draft is top heavy with talent on the D. Mendoza is going 1. Love may go in the top 5 - the rest of the elite players based on what we know today is universally considered on the defense. The exception to that was at DT which is why the Bengals made the trade they did. Glad we only have to wait another 40 hours or so.

Time to load up on anti-anxiety meds so I don't the bust the TV with the stupid coverage. Every year I know the coverage is going to be worse than they year before, yet every year I keep screaming at the TV when it is. Hey NFL how about we actually talk about the guy being drafted in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th round instead of regurgitating the same crap about the top 10 or 12 players drafted in round one over, and over, and over. I want video and conversation on EACH pick. I don't need to see the Browns making their 5th round pick, while the NFL shows video of Fernando Mendoza eating his favorite breakfast cereal when he was 3 years old.

↑↑↑↑↑↑ THIS!! It has become almost unwatchable on Saturday. I find myself having it in the background and just following Twitter to get results.

The first two nights, talk about the pick that JUST happened for as much of the time on the clock that isn't commercial. Then, be back from commercial in time to see the live pick. ALL THREE ROUNDS are fun for the fans to watch, otherwise it wouldn't be in prime time.

I would be OK, with a "little" drifting on Saturday, as long as they showed every pick and at the very least had a 60 second tribute to that pick to pull up. They basically ignore the draft going on behind them so they can get screen time about what they consider the best and worst picks from day 1. I don't give a crap about your opinions on three rounds ago at this point. I can read about those on Sunday if I haven't had draft overload by then.

**Also, FYI, pay attention in the first round. Due to the late drafts the past few years, they have changed the first round pick clock from 10 minutes to 8 minutes per pick. So the Browns pick/trade will happen before 8:48, not 9:00.

I could see a world where Berry just loves defensive players and covets LB Sonny Styles from Ohio State at #6. Our shiny new coach could very well be in love with Jeremiyah Love to try and replicate what he did in Baltimore. Jimmy Haslem is always about the shiny new QB and might be in Berry's ear to move up to get the only one worth taking in this draft, meanwhile, Monken thinks he can get the best year out of the Browns offense by using Desaun Watson, despite his past injury issues, all indications are he is in the best shape of his career after seeing his off season workouts.

Late tonight, early tomorrow morning, don't be surprised if the Saints trade up from #8 to #2 with the Jets, Chiefs trade up from #9 to #3 with the Cardinals to get their pass rushers. Then, Berry makes a call to Oakland and they actually accept our #6 and first rounders in 2027 and 2028. They need more pieces than any other team in this draft. They aren't ready for a QB.

Come draft night, I think Berry gets cold feet and takes Sonny Styles anyway because he is so enamored with the young man. Which is unbelievable with Mendoza sitting there. Haslem threatens to fire him. But then, the Saints and Chiefs just made moves up for their pass rushers, they don't need a QB, so Mendoza slides down to #4. Titans just took Cam Ward and need to keep him on his feet, so they take Mauigoa to play left guard in their system and plug a major hole. The Giants come on the clock and heck, they just took Jaxon Dart. Their biggest needs have a lot of strong candidates, but lower in the draft. Berry on the hot seat recognizes this and calls up Joe Schoen. He offers them pick #24, #39 and the Browns 2027 2nd rounder. He sees the value for his needs and pulls the trigger. Meanwhile the Raiders are so giddy in their war room, the owner group and the fanbase, they have no idea what is going on. They are celebrating the fact they just got (3) first round draft picks and are STILL going to get Fernando Mendoza at #6.

Berry, then calls up Spytek and instead of congratulating him, he bursts the whole rooms bubble. Now, the Browns name comes up on the clock because of the trade and everyone that originally wanted Mendoza is pounding the table to do what ever it takes to get him, despite what had transpired throughout the day. So, Mark Davis steps in and they give the Browns back #6, and both first round draft picks in 2027 and 2028 for the #5 pick (Mendoza) and Raheim Sanders.

At #6, Berry takes Jeremiyah Love to appease Monkin and that is how the first round of the 2026 draft starts.

I also look forward to the draft every year and enjoy watching it. I agree that now it's up to AB. He had a good FA period and IMO if he has another good draft like last year, we will be able to contend this season. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Yes, at the very least show the announcement of all picks and give trade details immediately. I am curious who the Shedeur of this draft will be, not necessarily a player falling far back, but the one player these experts just can't shut up about.

They turned it into a made for tv production to get the casual fan more interested. Unfortunately for the true football fans like us all this fluff ruins what was once an awesome viewing event.

I get it. I really do. But I have come to an understanding that I'm not happy about, but if I keep it in mind it makes things like this much easier to deal with.

I have to admit as it applies to myself, after the way things have gone since 1999 and the signing of watson, I'm somewhat more apathetic about the Browns in general but still am an avid NFL fan in general. And we've both been around since Jesus was a Corporal. Back in the day NFL coverage and the draft was most certainly much more concentrated around the player stats and the teams. They didn't have the technology they have now which could make that product much better if they so chose to do so.

But as with anything money changes things. Just look at all of the media attention even during coverage of the games on TV that surrounded Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey. It was just crazy. But that's where we are now. The NFL understands that us old timers who were, and for me at least to some degree still are students of the game are dying off. We're the old guard. They're catering to the younger crowd because they are now the ever increasing percentage of their viewership. They are now also catering to the female audience. And to them there's nothing better than a great human interest story.

Today we live in the world of pay sites and sports betting. If you want to get the best information it will cost you. Why should they give it to you for free when people will pay for it? One thing to always keep in mind that no matter what anyone thinks of Haslam, he was 100% dead on the money when he said in his first presser after purchasing the Browns..... "It a marketing world."

Legendary kicker Phil Dawson to announce Browns' selections at 2026 NFL Draft

https://www.news5cleveland.com/spor...unce-browns-selections-at-2026-nfl-draft

It's starting to get cray.....

If I’m being honest, it makes more sense than Ty Simpson.

AMEN Jester

Honestly - I think every poster on this board has better more solid takes than MKC. Mind boggling.

Just thinking out loud on the day of the draft.

Berry has not got a good history of hitting on WR late in the draft. Even though the draft is supposed to be deep at good WR - is Berry going to find the right choices in rounds 2 and later? Do we need to go all out on WR early to avoid the chance of missing later. Yes - the OL has issues. But we've scored so few points for 2 years straight - a large part of that is QB play coupled with WR ability/options. While we shouldn't draft for need - maybe we need to add more weight than usual to the WR position because of the history of the bad picks coupled with need?

If the top OT in this draft are generally graded / expected to be better at RT or moved inside - do we forget about LT until the mid rounds and take our best shot at a true LT that needs to develop?

Based on Monken's history with dynamic TE - is Shadiq a play? Or another receiving TE who is rated later rounds because of a lack of blocking ability?

I get the feeling that no-one on the board firmly believes that we have the QB of the future on our roster. Do we need to sell out to get a trade done that includes another 1st round pick next year? If we only drop to the early or mid teens, we'll have to also lose another decent pick to get that trade partners 2027 1st round pick. Is Berry safe enough to defer another high pick to next year?

I'm playing golf today - a good distraction to pass some time while I wait for tonight. As ever, looking forward to the draft and seeing what our future might look like.

I like it. Also, don't drag things out. For all intents and purposes, the first two picks should already be made. The Jets know who the Raiders are selecting, so they should already know who they are going to pick. If the Jets wanted to trade the 2nd pick, they have had weeks to work that out. The first 2 picks should take a total of maybe 2 minutes.

But, I get it. Commercials have to be sold and teams want their brand plastered on the TV screen as long as possible.

What ever you think is going to happen... probably not going to happen, lol.

I am going to enjoy our Super Bowl though bone! Going to a draft party and took tomorrow off to lick my wounds and fix my hangover.

I think it's easy, but then there is the majority disagreeing with me.

We can't win games without scoring points. The Defense was top 3 in the NFL last year, didn't lose players, but lost the coordinator. We know what the ROSTER is capable of. That's the easy part...

O-line was a BIG reason for not scoring points, but we already signed (3) replacement pieces on the O-Line to improve that issue. We need weapons, I don't think there is another position group so lopsided in the lack of talent than the WR room. They will have their choice of WR, BTW consensus shows there are (3) WRs worthy of a top ten pick. For everyone saying tackle or bust... it is a lot more complicated than that, what we are really talking about is LT or bust. There is by no means a consensus LT in this draft that anyone considers top ten for any other team than the Browns. It is classic over reach/over draft for need.

The simple choice is whomever you have as your top WR... Mine is Tate, but Monken knows what he wants to do with this offense. Between he and Berry, they should have a pretty solid idea of which one they think will work best and they are also a good value pick at #6 or even a slight trade down... Though, you are definitely running the risk of losing your top choice(s) to Washington and/or New Orleans if that is what you choose to do, even if it is a slight trade down.


We can throw out all conventional wisdom if their main goal is to get draft capital for 2027 for a QB. I don't think that is the way to run a franchise and it sends a terrible message to the guys you have in the locker room, but it is what it is. The only team I would be considering a trade down with is Miami. I think there is a world where both teams can get proper compensation and the odds are a lot higher that the 2027 first round pick will actually have value in 2027 than the talk of trade down with KC or LA Rams... it might as well be a second round pick from Oakland, most likely the 2027 first from either of these teams will be back in the mid to late 20's. There is no certainty, but you still need to factor the laws of averages.

Not just commercials, the Jets will have trade considerations. I agree with the Raiders, but if nothing else, Mark Davis has a flair for drama. He likes the limelight, so he wants to see the Raiders on the TV screen as long as possible.

I’m just glad we will have real and actual play - our players - to talk about, instead of the pile of speculation that we all happily add to.

I have no predictions either because there are more than a few ways we can go. AB knows what has to be done and I'm sure he wants to build on what he did with last year's draft. He started off well in FA and another good draft will make this team very competitive IMO. No doubt he hears everything being said about him and the team, so I'm sure he is very motivated to succeed. It will be nice after tonight to finally know whom we drafted and begin to discuss that instead of speculating who the players might be.

I'm torn on Tate. Feasting on lesser corners while teams shadow Jeremiah with their number 1 and bracket Smith with a safety is different than WRs that get shadowed by other teams' number 1 corners. What Tate did is good. What he frequently faced isn't what he's going to see at the next level. It complicates the evaluation for me. Smith is/was the "gravitational" player at Ohio State. He's the one attracting all the eyes and pulling defenders towards him.

I like Tate. I don't love him for us at 6. The situation would be much different, and I don't think it's one he'd thrive in. Great complementary piece, but I don't know that he can be "The Guy."

Looking at what Monken did in Baltimore, Tate feels more like the Bateman WR in that offense. I wouldn't take Bateman at 6.

...So we're probably taking him.

When all is said and done we are pretty much on the same page. IMO there is no way any LT in this draft worthy of the #6 pick. I'm one of those people who have been watching the draft since 1980 when it first aired on national TV via ESPN. That doesn't make me any kind of draft expert but it certainly makes it easy to see the tendency how teams near the top of the draft operate.

I understand there are a lot of people who say you draft strictly according to BPA. I understand that line of thinking. But there is more than one single thing that makes a player the BPA for "your team". Need is one of those important ingredients. That's not saying you reach as I think it would be if the Browns drafted a OT at #6. But you look to line up need with value. I think most fans would agree that our greatest needs are QB, LT and WR.

Mendoza will be gone first. That's a given. That leaves no other QB even close to worthy of the #6 pick. As for myself there is no OT anywhere close to being worthy of the #6 pick.

That only leads to one conclusion. WR. It's the only position of great need where the value lines up with the pick.

Of course if there's a trade down all of that flies out the window. There's no telling which direction that pick would be in terms of position or player.

I also understand what you're saying about setting yourself up for next years draft by trading so far down you could get a first in next years draft for a QB. I understand that may not send such a great message to the team. But I think the biggest responsibility of any owner and GM in the NFL is to have a long range vision. That while this season is always important, if you don't set yourself up for long term success you will always end up falling short in the long run.

I liken it to the difference between people who spend what they make every week which results in living paycheck to paycheck verses someone that invests a portion of their income to achieve their long term goals.