The draft is behind us and we are about to enter a long period of quiet in the NFL world. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to talk about.
Which draft pick was a statement about your new team’s future?
One of the biggest stories of the NFL offseason has been that the Philadelphia Eagles are trading AJ Brown. It has gotten to the point where several media outlets refer to it as inevitable and discuss it that way.
As inevitable as it may be, to date there has been no hard or concrete evidence of this becoming a potential reality. This certainly changed during the first round when Philadelphia moved up to select USC wide receiver Makai Lemon.
It appears the dawn of a new future for the Eagles offense has officially begun. It can be argued that no one signaled more about his future than the Eagles in this regard. Maybe the Rams with Ty Simpson, but that’s it.
The Rams using a first-round pick on Ty Simpson was certainly a surprise to me. He may have been the second best quarterback in this class, but he was also a very weak quarterback class. I mean, they needed to go all out for one more season if 2026 really is Matthew Stafford’s last ride before he retires. Instead, they drafted his replacement and used the rest of the picks on players who I don’t see making much of an impact next season.
It was a really strange year for the Rams, when they are normally pretty knowledgeable about their picks year after year.
Who took your favorite player?
The Chargers needed to address their offensive guard spots in this draft and hopes were high that they could land one of several impact guards on either Day 1 or 2. Instead, the Cardinals took my favorite guard prospect in Texas A&M’s Chase Bisontis very early on Day 2 before the Chargers were even close to picking.
The Bolts came back and took Florida center Jake Slaughter, who never played guard in college. I don’t know how that solves the big problem for Los Angeles, but it was very difficult to see the Bisontis leave so early when I was convinced he could have been in play at #55.
THE DALLAS COWBOYS DRAWED CALEB DOWNS AND I’M STILL LEVITATING.
Everything about the Cowboys’ selection of Caleb Downs will have me flying until further notice. He’s a defensive superstar, a perfect prospect in every way, and has all the makings to be the team ambassador that Dak Prescott is. That is a high-level company.
What’s more, Downs is a defensive back and the Cowboys just hired someone who is a wizard in that space to run their defense in Christian Parker. This is like in Harry Potter, when the wizards went to Ollivander’s and got a wand that perfectly suited who they were, what made them unique, and so on.
This is magical in every way.
Did a team seriously change its fortunes?
It feels strange not to have a new generation of franchise quarterbacks floating around the league after the draft. Only the Las Vegas Raiders fit perfectly with Fernando Mendoza.
This feels like a new life for the Raiders, one they so desperately needed. I can firmly believe that they are not entirely in the basement anymore, although it will take me some time to get up to the attic.
One team that can finally surprise and perform better than their expectations thanks to their 2026 draft class is the New York Jets. They got four starters with their first four draft picks (three in the first round) and all are in important positions on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
If Geno Smith actually makes a mistake again, it won’t matter, but the Jets did what they needed to make the team around him as talented as possible with the resources they had.
What team would you like to take on in Madden?
My cousin and I share a Madden franchise where each of us runs a different team. We have certain rules because of how we relate to each other, but this is the general premise that matters for this discussion.
Many times my cousin and I start over following the current NFL Draft and use rosters that awesome people on the internet have stocked with new rookies. It’s always fun for him and I to discuss which teams are best to take over after the draft for Madden purposes.
The answer to this question depends on how someone likes to play Madden. If you’re someone who wants an incredible team that has its final piece, then you might feel like the Eagles make sense. Maybe you want to be the Rams and trade Matthew Stafford. You can argue that the Texans roster drafted a few guys.
I like the idea of taking charge of the Titans. I have all these young pieces on offense and the opportunity to make the team in my own image. Carnell Tate will be a lot of fun, I imagine he’ll be a popular pick in dynasty leagues as well, and while I’m thinking this out loud, the New Orleans Saints with Jordyn Tyson also makes sense.
I like the idea of taking over a team with young, exciting players at several important positions to use in Madden. If the quarterback is boring, you need elite weapons, or at least elite in certain stats like Speed, to make up for it with your own schemes and play designs.
If I had to start a new Madden franchise, I’d probably pick the New York Jets because they just drafted super-athletic tight end Kenyon Sadiq and pass rusher David Bailey. Those are two players you could use early on to help make your team great. Sadiq offers a very quick option at a position that is easy to openly scheme on offense and Bailey gives your defense a notable pass rush monster who can go to work while you “use” linebacker Demario Davis behind him.
To begin with, it seems like a very solid foundation that should improve every year.
