2026 Free Agency and Draft: ILB

[JimmyinSD]

Well of course free agency happens before the draft, but let's take your guy Chanel for instance. If you know (and you do) that this is a loaded linebacker draft crop where you are highly likely to land a quality player that you'll have under a rookie contract for 4 or 5 years, or pay Chanel nine million a year when you are up against the cap....which option are you taking? Without question I'm investing in the draft where I've identified linebacker as a position of strength and depth. You can't keep playing free agency roulette every offseason.

You get off that merry go round after you start drafting better,  not before.  If you hit on players in the draft,  then next year you can cross those positions off and let weaker free agents walk,   but until you have depth at positions you have to address the holes in FA,  but still look to fill the role long term through the draft.

[supafreak84]

You get off that merry go round after you start drafting better,  not before.  If you hit on players in the draft,  then next year you can cross those positions off and let weaker free agents walk,   but until you have depth at positions you have to address the holes in FA,  but still look to fill the role long term through the draft.

Agreed. My original point was though, you have to maneuver the salary cap every year and it behooves a team to identify the strengths of a draft and where they can land help, whether that's a starter or a heavy contributer, without dipping into the free agency pool to fill those needs and overpaying for veterans. It's exactly how we ended up with one of the older teams in the league. But agree, it all starts with drafting better.

[JimmyinSD]

Agreed. My original point was though, you have to maneuver the salary cap every year and it behooves a team to identify the strengths of a draft and where they can land help, whether that's a starter or a heavy contributer, without dipping into the free agency pool to fill those needs and overpaying for veterans. It's exactly how we ended up with one of the older teams in the league. But agree, it all starts with drafting better.

I just think you never assume a drafted player will fill a hole year one,  no matter how good they looked in college,  way to many variables, especially drafting outside the top 10,  unless you think any of the top 5 guys at a position will fill your needs then maybe.  Just safer to bite that bullet, fill it short term in FA,  but still view it as a long term need and target it in the  draft accordingly.  I think if its a position of need but is loaded in the draft,  I only look for a 1 year FA assuming I am going to target the position early,  if its a need with a weak draft class,  I look to go multi year deal to a FA that I like.

[MaroonBells]

I just think you never assume a drafted player will fill a hole year one,  no matter how good they looked in college,  way to many variables, especially drafting outside the top 10,  unless you think any of the top 5 guys at a position will fill your needs then maybe.  Just safer to bite that bullet, fill it short term in FA,  but still view it as a long term need and target it in the  draft accordingly.  I think if its a position of need but is loaded in the draft,  I only look for a 1 year FA assuming I am going to target the position early,  if its a need with a weak draft class,  I look to go multi year deal to a FA that I like.

This. As we've seen, free agents aren't foolproof, but they hit at a much higher rate than draft picks, because they've proven they can play in the NFL. Even the best and highest of draft picks don't come with that guarantee. For example, 2022 was probably the best class for corners we've seen in decades. There were nine CBs taken in the top 50. Sauce, Stingley, McDuffie...and if you avoided signing a CB in free agency because "it was a good year for CBs" in the draft, you may have ended up with Kaiir Elam or Andrew Booth, who just couldn't play at the next level.

[supafreak84]

I think if its a position of need but is loaded in the draft,  I only look for a 1 year FA assuming I am going to target the position early,  if its a need with a weak draft class,  I look to go multi year deal to a FA that I like.

And that's why you evaluate the strengths of a draft and navigate the salary cap and free agency accordingly. Build through the draft, not free agency. Supplement the roster through free agency. You also have to take into account draft position in every round and project where you can find contributors. If you feel good you can find linebacker help, whether as a starter or contributer through the first three rounds of a draft, then I'm not going into free agency looking to spend big bucks on a free agent linebacker

[dadevike]

If I'm the Vikings (and playing this smart), this is one of the better linebacking draft crops in a while and I'd take advantage of that and not continue dipping into free agency to try filling a need. My guy is still Anthony Hill Jr from Texas. Covers, blitzes, tackles sideline to sideline...really does it all at 6'3"/240 pounds. If we took him at #18 there would be zero complaints from me.

https://youtu.be/3CtJip4m8g8?si=dbA7_ae9ObxchFbz

I like Hill, but not in the first. If Sonny Styles falls to 18 then I can see taking a LB there. Otherwise, I think we have bigger needs than LB in the first.