When the story of this class is written, it opens with Dominic Zvada at slot 257, a reach of 44 spots that the board flatly disagrees with. The board rewarded a patient, disciplined weekend with a A-.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Hurst. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. A whole weekend of picks and running back is somehow still a want.
Few war rooms will sleep better than this one tonight.
Pick-by-Pick
R2.17
· Pick 49
· Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
· S
· rank 51
They paid sticker price for Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in pick No. 49, and that is fine. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R2.29
· Pick 61
· Keith Abney II
· CB
· rank 43
They will replay Keith Abney II at Round 2, Pick 29 for years; that is how good the value is. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
R4.26
· Pick 126
· Ted Hurst
· WR
· rank 89
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Ted Hurst in pick 126, plain and simple. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R4.33
· Pick 133
· Jude Bowry
· OT
· rank 129
Jude Bowry at the Round 4 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R5.23
· Pick 163
· Jaeden Roberts
· OG
· rank 150
They let Jaeden Roberts come to them and pounced at slot 163. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R5.25
· Pick 165
· Malik Benson
· WR
· rank 145
Somehow Malik Benson was still sitting there in No. 165, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R6.15
· Pick 196
· Taylen Green
· QB
· rank 188
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Taylen Green in slot 196. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R6.26
· Pick 207
· Keyshaun Elliott
· LB
· rank 219
They liked Keyshaun Elliott enough to skip the value, taking him in the Round 6 slot. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
R7.4
· Pick 220
· Jalen Stroman
· S
· rank 202
Jalen Stroman at pick No. 220 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R7.16
· Pick 232
· Kaden Wetjen
· WR
· rank 223
A slide stopped in the 232nd pick, with Kaden Wetjen worth more than the price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R7.35
· Pick 251
· Miles Kitselman
· TE
· rank 225
They robbed the room for Miles Kitselman here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The roster fit checks out.
R7.36
· Pick 252
· Andre Fuller
· CB
· rank 235
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Andre Fuller at No. 252 is the proof. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
R7.41
· Pick 257
· Dominic Zvada
· PK
· rank 301
Dominic Zvada in pick 257 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.