2025 nfl draft thread

[clyde21]

if we can get 10 sacks out of the kid he's a star, even if his average is like 8 he'll be good because he's so good everywhere else already

[Jikkle]

I'll say this with the caveat of it's going to depend on who is on the board at the time but if this team is serious about trying to contend next season IMO FS and OG are the two biggest positions that they can upgrade right now.

We do need LB and DT but I feel like they can get those pieces in rounds 3 and 4. With LB Saleh is pretty good at sniffing that position out and DT it would be nice to have studs there but man just give me a couple of guys that can plug holes and eat double teams.

But I just don't know if Kyle will be able to resist taking a WR of some kind.

[Jikkle]

updated list of draft attendees, most likely 16 of the 32 first round players that will be selected

Off the top of my head I think Milroe and Johnson were the only ones not drafted.

Though Campbell and Simmons had to sweat it out till the bitter end.

[RIPskaterdude]

Prediction for Day 2

DB
DT
RB

[wco81]

few notes from Lynch/Kyle presser:

- they tried trading up for Mykel a few spots up
- they emphasized that he's only 20 years old, they liked that
- still looking to address DL more and early

I know that the NBA is big on drafting young players, guys as young as 18 years old.

But is it as much of an advantage in the NFL? Don't players who stay at least a couple of years in college have a chance to add more muscle?

Still he's 6-5 260? Not a pure speed rush OLB then?

Hope he can set the edge on run defense, beat most TEs, as well as edge pressure on passing downs.

[Pattersonca65]

few notes from Lynch/Kyle presser:

- they tried trading up for Mykel a few spots up
- they emphasized that he's only 20 years old, they liked that
- still looking to address DL more and early

I know that the NBA is big on drafting young players, guys as young as 18 years old.

But is it as much of an advantage in the NFL? Don't players who stay at least a couple of years in college have a chance to add more muscle?

Still he's 6-5 260? Not a pure speed rush OLB then?

Hope he can set the edge on run defense, beat most TEs, as well as edge pressure on passing downs.

I don't know that drafting someone younger in any sport is an advantage. It often carries more risk even in the NBA because some players aren't as polished at the college level and you are drafting a player based more on potential than what they've actually done. But the NBA allows players to enter the NBA that young so teams don't want to pass on such a talent when so many players come out young.

[Pattersonca65]

I can't say I am excited about this pick. But more of a wait and see. He hasn't produced sacks at the college level and from what I've read he needs to develop those skills at the pro-level. Over the years I've seen alot of physically gifted athletes with high upsides fail to become effective pass rushers. If he fails to become an effective pass rusher than he would become another Solomon Thomas. I guy that can set the edge and stop the run put can't generate a pass rush on passing downs. I hope this player reaches his potential for the teams sake. And according to Lynch the team tried to trade up for this guy, WTF? Why do they continually have to reach and potentially give up assets for a player they covet? Why not just go to plan B if your guy doesn't fall to you?

[Harry Palmer]

updated list of draft attendees, most likely 16 of the 32 first round players that will be selected

Off the top of my head I think Milroe and Johnson were the only ones not drafted.

Though Campbell and Simmons had to sweat it out till the bitter end.

Shadeur dropping was not a surprise, but not being invited? That was.

[clyde21]

few notes from Lynch/Kyle presser:

- they tried trading up for Mykel a few spots up
- they emphasized that he's only 20 years old, they liked that
- still looking to address DL more and early

I know that the NBA is big on drafting young players, guys as young as 18 years old.

But is it as much of an advantage in the NFL? Don't players who stay at least a couple of years in college have a chance to add more muscle?

Still he's 6-5 260? Not a pure speed rush OLB then?

Hope he can set the edge on run defense, beat most TEs, as well as edge pressure on passing downs.

I don't know that drafting someone younger in any sport is an advantage.

of course it's an advantage, and an advantage on multiple front. Mykel is 20, in many cases going up againt guys the are 2 and 3 years older than him, in this age bracket it's a difference. it's not as big as the basketball when you have 19 year old prospects but it matters. the development you see in young men 18-25 years old physically is huge.

the other way it matters is Mykel will only be 25 by the next time his next contract is due. to put that in perspective, Tyler Warren will be 28. you're just squeezing way more value out of these guys long term if they hit. Colston Loveland is also 2 years younger than Warren which is why he probably went ahead when it was all said and done among other other fit factors.

[Harry Palmer]

I can't say I am excited about this pick. But more of a wait and see. He hasn't produced sacks at the college level and from what I've read he needs to develop those skills at the pro-level. Over the years I've seen alot of physically gifted athletes with high upsides fail to become effective pass rushers. If he fails to become an effective pass rusher than he would become another Solomon Thomas. I guy that can set the edge and stop the run put can't generate a pass rush on passing downs. I hope this player reaches his potential for the teams sake. And according to Lynch the team tried to trade up for this guy, WTF? Why do they continually have to reach and potentially give up assets for a player they covet? Why not just go to plan B if your guy doesn't fall to you?

Thomas wasn’t even all that athletically special, not like Williams (or Green or Stewart). He was closer to a Graham type, though not quite so productive and a little more toolsy. At least that’s my recollection; most of the Niners explanation revolved around character, leadership, motor, etc. rather than rare physical gifts. I know Jon can’t talk about any player without at least occasionally mentioning what a great person they are, but with Thomas it seemed to comprise the bulk of the discussion.

[Pattersonca65]

I can't say I am excited about this pick. But more of a wait and see. He hasn't produced sacks at the college level and from what I've read he needs to develop those skills at the pro-level. Over the years I've seen alot of physically gifted athletes with high upsides fail to become effective pass rushers. If he fails to become an effective pass rusher than he would become another Solomon Thomas. I guy that can set the edge and stop the run put can't generate a pass rush on passing downs. I hope this player reaches his potential for the teams sake. And according to Lynch the team tried to trade up for this guy, WTF? Why do they continually have to reach and potentially give up assets for a player they covet? Why not just go to plan B if your guy doesn't fall to you?

Thomas wasn’t even all that athletically special, not like Williams (or Green or Stewart). He was closer to a Graham type, though not quite so productive and a little more toolsy. At least that’s my recollection; most of the Niners explanation revolved around character, leadership, motor, etc. rather than rare physical gifts. I know Jon can’t talk about any player without at least occasionally mentioning what a great person they are, but with Thomas it seemed to comprise the bulk of the discussion.

I wasn't trying to compare the two players or say they were the same. Merely that Thomas was good at playing the run on the edge but was not effective at rushing the passer which is somewhat what Williams would be if he cannot develop his pass rush skills at the NFL level. Yes, he does possess at lot of phsyical talent and has a high upside but there have been other players drafted high with such upside and physical traits that didn'tt ever develop the pass rush skills. I am not saying he won't, but it isn't a slam dunk either.

[clyde21]

non OL/DL 2nd round targets:

Trev Henderson
Luther Burden
Kyle Williams
Kevin Winston Jr.


OL/DL 2nd rounder targets:

Wyatt Milum
Tate Ratledge
Shemar Turner
Alfred Collins

[Harry Palmer]

I can't say I am excited about this pick. But more of a wait and see. He hasn't produced sacks at the college level and from what I've read he needs to develop those skills at the pro-level. Over the years I've seen alot of physically gifted athletes with high upsides fail to become effective pass rushers. If he fails to become an effective pass rusher than he would become another Solomon Thomas. I guy that can set the edge and stop the run put can't generate a pass rush on passing downs. I hope this player reaches his potential for the teams sake. And according to Lynch the team tried to trade up for this guy, WTF? Why do they continually have to reach and potentially give up assets for a player they covet? Why not just go to plan B if your guy doesn't fall to you?

Thomas wasn’t even all that athletically special, not like Williams (or Green or Stewart). He was closer to a Graham type, though not quite so productive and a little more toolsy. At least that’s my recollection; most of the Niners explanation revolved around character, leadership, motor, etc. rather than rare physical gifts. I know Jon can’t talk about any player without at least occasionally mentioning what a great person they are, but with Thomas it seemed to comprise the bulk of the discussion.

I wasn't trying to compare the two players or say they were the same. Merely that Thomas was good at playing the run on the edge but was not effective at rushing the passer which is somewhat what Williams would be if he cannot develop his pass rush skills at the NFL level. Yes, he does possess at lot of phsyical talent and has a high upside but there have been other players drafted high with such upside and physical traits that didn'tt ever develop the pass rush skills. I am not saying he won't, but it isn't a slam dunk either.

Sorry, misunderstood. Wasn’t he more of a DT, though? Kind of a tweener in that respect? Tried to block out my Solomon Thomas memories, so maybe I’m wrong. But anyways, yeah, I agree that Williams most likely career trajectory is a monster run defender with limited pass rush, but obviously the Niners think that they can teach what’s missing a lot more easily than acquire his traits. He definitely has a motor, though to be fair his minutes were so limited it’d be unusual if he wasn’t playing his ass off in there. Maybe they have seen his medical and think he was playing hurt a lot and have concluded that that was a major factor. I will say that ankle flexion (lack of) was specifically cited as one of the major causes (bio mechanically) of his limited pass rush success in scouting vids I watched, and the ongoing injury was an ankle, so maybe something there.

But I agree the most apparent cause is his almost complete lack of pass-rushing technique. Fortunately that IS an area where coaching can make a huge difference, unless he is intellectually or emotionally unable to learn. I’d think Saleh must have signed off on this, so he at least thinks the solution is tangible. But yeah, most ‘developmental’ players don’t, and we should for now at least think of him as an edge setter with great tools and pretty good defensive awareness against the run who will probably be fairly easy for most tackles to neutralize on passing downs.

[Samurai]

I'm hoping for a DT and an OT today. I like Collins as a massive DT and Sanders is a bit small but a good run defender; I'm tired of watching our defense get gashed by big runs up the middle.

[RIPskaterdude]

I'm hoping for a DT and an OT today. I like Collins as a massive DT and Sanders is a bit small but a good run defender; I'm tired of watching our defense get gashed by big runs up the middle.

I'm going to guess OL doesn't get picked until Day 3

[clyde21]

I'm hoping for a DT and an OT today. I like Collins as a massive DT and Sanders is a bit small but a good run defender; I'm tired of watching our defense get gashed by big runs up the middle.

I'm going to guess OL doesn't get picked until Day 3

Which OL would you even want here early in the 2nd?

[Pattersonca65]

Thomas wasn’t even all that athletically special, not like Williams (or Green or Stewart). He was closer to a Graham type, though not quite so productive and a little more toolsy. At least that’s my recollection; most of the Niners explanation revolved around character, leadership, motor, etc. rather than rare physical gifts. I know Jon can’t talk about any player without at least occasionally mentioning what a great person they are, but with Thomas it seemed to comprise the bulk of the discussion.

I wasn't trying to compare the two players or say they were the same. Merely that Thomas was good at playing the run on the edge but was not effective at rushing the passer which is somewhat what Williams would be if he cannot develop his pass rush skills at the NFL level. Yes, he does possess at lot of phsyical talent and has a high upside but there have been other players drafted high with such upside and physical traits that didn'tt ever develop the pass rush skills. I am not saying he won't, but it isn't a slam dunk either.

Sorry, misunderstood. Wasn’t he more of a DT, though? Kind of a tweener in that respect? Tried to block out my Solomon Thomas memories, so maybe I’m wrong. But anyways, yeah, I agree that Williams most likely career trajectory is a monster run defender with limited pass rush, but obviously the Niners think that they can teach what’s missing a lot more easily than acquire his traits. He definitely has a motor, though to be fair his minutes were so limited it’d be unusual if he wasn’t playing his ass off in there. Maybe they have seen his medical and think he was playing hurt a lot and have concluded that that was a major factor. I will say that ankle flexion (lack of) was specifically cited as one of the major causes (bio mechanically) of his limited pass rush success in scouting vids I watched, and the ongoing injury was an ankle, so maybe something there.

But I agree the most apparent cause is his almost complete lack of pass-rushing technique. Fortunately that IS an area where coaching can make a huge difference, unless he is intellectually or emotionally unable to learn. I’d think Saleh must have signed off on this, so he at least thinks the solution is tangible. But yeah, most ‘developmental’ players don’t, and we should for now at least think of him as an edge setter with great tools and pretty good defensive awareness against the run who will probably be fairly easy for most tackles to neutralize on passing downs.

Thomas was a DT but due to a lack of options the 49ers tried playing Thomas at end. He was good at setting the edge but could never generate a pass rush from the end position. I think when they drafted him they thought he could end up being a Michael Bennett type player but it never happened.

I have faith in the coaching staff they will get everything out of Williams possible. We just don't know what that is going to be

[clyde21]

also Thomas just ended up being too small for a guy that couldn't generate enough pass rush, dude came on at the combine as a 6-3, 273 lb DT...hindsight 20/20 of course because I actually liked that pick (doh)

[RIPskaterdude]

Thomas would have been fine for end of 1st/2nd round player, he just couldn't live up the hype for a top 3 pick as a DL. Agreed he should have started at DT, but DTs don't sell tickets

[Pattersonca65]

also Thomas just ended up being too small for a guy that couldn't generate enough pass rush, dude came on at the combine as a 6-3, 273 lb DT...hindsight 20/20 of course because I actually liked that pick (doh)

Thomas actually looked better rushing the passer from the inside than the outside but the problem was because of his lack of size was just getting blown up on running plays.