Oh be ready for that if they take Sam Williams.

Agree with all of the above. Those are probably my top 4 "realistic" prospects.

Why? He's like the athletic opposite of Speaks.

He's more like Justin Houston in that he's only ranked where he is because of off-field.

The dude is a top-15 talent. He may very well run a 40 in the 4.4s and has the production to boot.

If Veach and Co feel comfortable with what happened with the titty grab or whatever it was, then he could very well be on the table in round 1.

Because most idiots will just see that we traded up in the 2nd round for a DE and scream that it’s speaks all over again.

Or if we draft Pickens in the 2nd that it’s Hardman 2.0.

Because idiots will look at the team and the position and make a lazy comparison.

Cameron Thomas.

And if either of those remaining DE’s slide to us in the second or even within trade up range with one of our 3rds, I take him as well and smile.

Maybe I’m just not in a proper headspace right now but there’s damn near no limit to the attention I’d give the defensive line. It’s absolutely killing us. And if those early season struggles on defense contributed to plays from Mahomes that shook his confidence, then those are issues we never truly cleared.

Fix the DL, dammit.

I've really been warming up to Ebiketie lately. He feels a lot like Melvin Ingram, but with longer arms.

I think Ebiketie has 34 inch arms on his 6'2 frame while Thomas measures in about an inch shorter.

I think Ebiketie could emerge into one of the best pass rushers in the league and would be a top 15 pick if he were 2 inches taller.

What I like about Thomas is the physicality and the type of build. He just looks like a born SDE.

Ebiketie is a little longer, a little more angular in his build. He just seems less likely to be a true 3-down guy. I do think he has a little more pass-rush potential than Thomas and perhaps a higher ceiling, but I see a super high floor on Thomas as well as a more versatile, if perhaps not as dynamic, as a skill-set.

But that's why I said take Thomas AND either Ebiketie or Sanders. Because those are just outstanding complementary talents. Throw Thomas at SDE and either of the other 2 at weakside and you could really have some exciting shit long-term.

But if I had to pick one or the other, I'd go with the guy who I think can translate well to SDE and then if necessary take a more explosive hybrid type, shift to a 4-3 Under front and send the hybrid guy out into space or rush him as needed.

I think Thomas and one of Sam Williams, Boye Mafe, Drake Jackson, or Nik Bonitto would be a nice pairing as well.

And just for the record - I think Thomas will be a riser. As more and more teams get eyes on his tape and they see his versatility, he's gonna sneak into the top 20. What will set him apart in some ways is scheme versatility. A 3-4 team can use him as a 3-tech in either a 2-gap or 1 gap scheme. A 4-3 team can use him at a 5 tech or even pop him inside as an under-tackle in pass-rushing downs.

I don't know that he's QUITE bendy enough for a real 7/9 technique, but I'm betting he can do the job in a pinch.

When literally every team in the draft can find a way to use him, one of them is going to pull the trigger sooner than we think.

Absolutely. Same idea - take the SDE in the first and a real twitchy guy to play the LEO.

I just can't figure out if that's something Spags has any interest at all in these days. He certainly hasn't given any indication of it since he got here.

That’s where we get back to it becoming a numbers game. If that happens, I feel a lot better about Walker, Karlaftis, or Johnson possibly falling to us.

Somehow I've spent the last two weeks convincing myself I like Thomas more than Karlaftis.

This is the kind of shit that happens when you don't have anymore football to watch. I think I'm being a bit too cute there.

But yeah, someone's gonna be there at Edge that I like. I just don't see it getting picked that clean.

Where would you rank Jermaine Johnson and Cameron Thomas?

We go through this every year. Some teams are going to take guys we don't think they should and one of our guys (or more than 1) is going to fall to us.

It's a straight numbers game to start with and then you add in weird shit like the Raiders taking Leatherhead and moving the entire board down.