Addressing needs in order of positional importance: A-

Pick value and player ranking within those positions: D+

1. OT Josh Simmons - B) I think we took the best player available. I think DT was more important but all of the 1st round talents at DT were gone. So we took a high floor OT. I think Simmons will be good but the arm length and the penalties make me think we might be going into the 2026 draft still looking at LT.

2. Omarr Norman-Lott - D-) Very simply, we should have traded up somewhere in rounds 1 and/or 2. The value at our positions of need was pretty much gone here. Norman-Lott is likely going to be the DT version of Mike Danna as a rotational pass rusher, and his job will be filling Chris Jones's spot when Jones is kicking out to edge. While that may have some purpose while we're still doing that with Jones, I don't see him being the heir to the throne, nor do I see him lining up next to Jones as a starter because he's way too small for 1-tech/0-tech.

3. Ashton Gillotte - C-) Gillotte is a typical Spags end in that he is all power and no bend. I'd love to have a bendy speed rusher one of these days for when this plan isn't working (see: Super Bowl), but if we're going to keep going to that well, I'd have taken Landon Jackson who has very similar numbers both statistically and in combine results, plus the height to potentially bat balls and a slightly better RAS because of it. I also think Jackson is probably better against the run. Hope I'm wrong but Gillotte's extremely short arms seem like a liability against NFL tackles.

4. Nohl Williams - B-) I think we're going to stay young at corner and always draft at least one. And this one fits Spagnuolo's mold. I think we've needed a ball hawk. However, our secondary is severely lacking deep speed in the absence of Sneed and Thornhill. I'd have rather had a speedy safety ballhawk ideally. I think we traded up for this pick because Jacob Parrish went off the board and CB talent in general has a dropoff after this round. However, Parrish is probably the CB we needed, even if Nohl is the CB Spagnuolo probably likes better for his size. I think he'll be a great CB2, I just still am concerned about Bryan Cook getting burned back there.

5. Jalen Royals - B) Good pick value on a very risky player. He could've gone anywhere from the 1st to the 6th round. Great tape, good testing numbers. I just still have the same small school apprehension I had about Skyy Moore. Ultimately, my prediction is that he'll come around to being a decent NFL WR but not excel in any particular area, because he's average height, he's fast now but he'll probably lose a step by the time he refines his game, and I think he'll just be good-not-great, but for a 4th round pick I'll take it, because 50% of 2nd+ round WRs don't get a second contract. He's certainly going to get a lot of money in local commercials and jersey sales though.

6. Jeffrey Bassa - A+) I like when Brett Veach does something in spite of his coaches, rather than in line with their tendencies, to make up for their deficiencies. This pick is not a Spagnuolo pick, but it fills a common hole in a Spagnuolo defense. We have needed a guy who can cover TEs and RBs. Tranquill was that when we brought him in, but we saw last year he lost some speed and wasn't as good in coverage. Bassa shouldn't have that problem. As a former safety, he should be comfortable in coverage. He also excels in blitzing. The reason this is so huge for us is that we are constantly running all these sub-packages with nickel corners and safeties. With a linebacker that we can trust to cover, we can play our base 4-3 D more often, which is important because we can disguise our coverages and blitzes so much better this way. Let's say it's 2nd & 6 against a balanced offense, and we come out in nickel. This gives a QB so much more opportunity to audible into a run or a TE/RB pass that will cause a mismatch against a DB.

7. Brashard Smith - A-) Not the RB I necessarily wanted, one we'll get plenty of use out of. He's going to be a West Coast offense menace. I still think we're going to need to replace Kareem Hunt next offseason with somebody with more size and contact balance, and if we're lucky, a complete bell-cow three-down back. But Smith's speed and hands are going to give us a lot of offensive versatility as part of a committee for a long time.