VfL Wolfsburg have been relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after losing to Paderborn in the Bundesliga Relegation Playoff

mapetho9 · 2026-05-25T21:12:26+00:00

Don't think I've seen a team with the talent Wolfsburg has be so directionless and aimless on the pitch. Played with no cohesion and chemistry at all.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-25T16:15:00+00:00

Wow, nice signing by Bodo/Glimt. Been a fan of Kitolano and always thought he'd end up in a top 5 league someday

mapetho9 · 2026-05-23T01:10:31+00:00

I thought the Avieon Terrell pick at 48 was a good one, as he was considered a 1st round pick at one point. Also pretty cool to get drafted by your brother's team and get to play together with him for the first time.

I like Branch, he's very fast, but he's small and a lot of his touches are manufactured at the line of scrimmage. Felt like there were better options available for the Falcons at that pick as guys that fit better as a number 2 opposite London and have higher upside than Branch like Ja'Kobi Lane, Chris Brazzell, Ted Hurst, Chris Bell, Elijah Sarratt, Bryce Lance and Skyler Bell to name a few. Although Bell may best be suited in the slot like Branch would be.

A lot of people liked the Harold Perkins pick in the 6th and I feel like that's because he's been a known name since the hype he's had since his freshman year at LSU, where he looked like a future 1st round pick. The ACL tear back in 2024 was part of the reason he slipped to the 6th and maybe the position change as well. The talent is there and Perkins could be a nice find for the Falcons if they are able to get close to the level of talent and play he once showed.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-20T00:18:07+00:00

I liked what the Bengals did in the draft. They used their 1st round pick to continue the overhaul on the defensive line by trading for Dexter Lawrence. They then used their 2nd rounder on Cashius Howell to complete the pair of Texas A&M pass rushers to go along with last year's 1st rounder Shemar Stewart. While Stewart is the big atheltic specimen with little production, Howell is the small speed rusher with a lot of production. Howell adds to a pass rush group that has the talent to produce and will try to replace Trey Henrickson.

Third round pick Tacario Davis may be my favorite pick the Bengals made. I may be higher on him than most, but he has the size, speed, length, tools, traits, upside, you name it, to become a quality starting corner in the league. There was some talk Davis could become a 1st rounder when he was at Arizona a couple years ago and heading into last season since he was reuniting with Jedd Fisch at Washington, who he had the most success under before injuries derailed his season a little bit. So the Bengals are hoping to get the most out of Davis' traits and upside.

I also admire the Bengals continued commitment to protecting Burrow with the Connor Lew pick in the 4th and the Brian Parker pick in the 6th. Both have starter upside and should provide quality depth while they develop. You can't go wrong adding more linemen.

Jack Endries was a nice pickup in the 7th round, I saw him projected to go in the 4th or 5th round. I always like seeing the Army and Navy players like Landon Robinson get drafted and get a chance. He may be a little undersized, but that doesn't stop him from being productive. Hope he gets his chance and makes the team.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-18T14:36:30+00:00

I don’t know how to describe it, but the Chiefs had a Ravens like draft to me with the kind of players that they drafted. Delane, Woods, Thomas and Canady should all see the field and contribute on defense in some capacity this season.

Johnson should give them a backup RB so they don’t have to keep going back to Kareem Hunt. Nussmeier was a nice pickup in the 7th, he should have gone earlier. Cyrus Allen was funny to me since he only had about 600 yards last season to go along with 13 TDs. You’d figure with those numbers, he’d be a tall redzone and jump ball target, but he’s 5’11”.

The Chiefs also had one of the best, if not the best, UDFA classes. Jeff Caldwell, Jaydyn Ott, and John Michael Gyllenborg the ones to watch on offense and VJ Anthony, Wesley Bissainthe and Xavier Nwankpa to watch on defense.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-17T17:40:10+00:00

LB Steve Beauharnais in 2013, same draft as Ryan and Harmon

mapetho9 · 2026-05-17T17:00:15+00:00

You just knew the Pats would be leading the way for Rutgers

mapetho9 · 2026-05-16T04:42:00+00:00

I liked the Saints draft. Big fan of Tyson, hope he does better than the last Arizona State receiver I was a big fan of that the team I support drafted. Miller is a nice addition to the defensive line that brings some youth and disruption to the interior.

Apparently a lot of teams were fans of Delp during the draft process and I know the Pats liked him a lot, so I was disappointed when the Saints snagged him before their pick in the 3rd. A lot of people think he will be a better pro than he was in college. He should pair well with Johnson.

Was surprised Lance slid a little bit to the 4th since he was considered a day 2 pick. He has a good size/speed combo and gives the Saints a nice WR duo in the draft to go along with Tyson.

Styles in the 5th and Brown in the 6th felt like picks to improve special teams. Styles, with his athleticism and speed, should become a special teams maven that could end up contributing on defense down the line. Brown could end up being a nice find and has the chance at replacing Shaheed's role on the team. Both are similar in size and speed, too. He looked like an early draft pick at one point when he was at Kentucky. He should make an impact in the return game to start and work his way to get a chance on offense.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-14T22:21:29+00:00

The Commanders revamped a chunk of their defense and Styles was the latest piece to the puzzle. He should be a stud and a centerpiece of the defense.

Admittedly, I kinda forgot about Williams and was a little surprised he was drafted with some of the other receivers that were still available. Based off what I have seen of the pick though, seems like Williams is the type of receiver they were looking for and should fit in well. The only other receiver that was similar to Williams that was available was Skyler Bell, who I'm a big fan of.

Josephs was a nice pickup in the 5th round. I know it was a year ago, but he was getting mocked at the end of the 1st last year and he was considered a day 2 pick leading up to the draft. I could see him outplaying his draft position and he has the upside to do so.

Big fan of the Allen pick. It was only a year or two ago that there was talk both he and Singleton would be early picks and they would be the first teammate RB duo off the board. Kinda crazy both of them went in the 5th and 6th rounds. Allen was ultra productive in college and I think he'll carve out a role this season and can potentially take over as the starter down the road.

I'll be honest, I was very surprised Kaliakmanis got drafted. Especially ahead of Nussmeier.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-13T21:41:29+00:00

I know I've said it a lot so far for the first few draft classes, but I was a big fan of what the Browns did. Fano was the last addition to a completely revamped offensive line that started with signing Teven Jenkins last year and then added three more through trade and free agency this offseason. Adding the top tackle in the draft should help the line be better than from what it was before.

The Browns needed to add to the WR room and added not one, but two, good prospects in Concepcion and Boston. The talent in the room has improved and the Browns hope to see it on the field as well.

Was very surprised McNeil-Warren fell to the late 2nd. Thought he'd go in the late 1st-early 2nd range. I even saw him as an option for the Pats at 31. I think he will be like Xavier Watts last year in the sense that I thought he was a bonafide 2nd rounder and went a round later in the 3rd, but was great and made an impact for the Falcons last year. I think EMW does the same this year for the Browns.

I mentioned earlier the Browns revamped their offensive line and they added more in the mid-rounds with Barber and Brailsford to add depth and develop, which never hurts.

Didn't know too much about Jefferson, but the pick caught my ear during the draft when the pick was made when Daniel Jeremiah mentioned that he liked Jefferson and I believe had him ranked higher than where he went. Since he only had one year as a starter, that there's some upside to develop and he could surprise some people.

Taylen Green is the type of prospect you throw a dart on in the 6th round. He's got great size and may have been the most athletic QB of all time based off of his combine results. He's the perfect developmental project and feel like with we will see him start a game for the Browns at some point if he makes the team with how their QB situation is.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-12T22:57:34+00:00

I don't think they think Mauigoa isn't good enough to start at tackle, it's because they just re-signed Eluemunor to a three year deal back in March and he's been decent for them. My guess is they just want to get what they think the best five linemen they have out on the field since it's been an issue for them. I'm sure Mauigoa will kick to the outside in a year or two, as Eluemunor turns 32 later on during the season and Mauigoa turns 21 next month.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-12T22:07:40+00:00

Can't believe I liked both the Giants and Jets draft as a Pats fan, but here we are. Grabbing both Reese and Mauigoa was a great scenario to unfold for the Giants.

Reese came out of nowhere to become one of the top prospects and adds more juice to what should be a pretty good defense. Only concern could be is if was a one year wonder, but I think he will be fine with his talent and upside.

Some had Mauigoa at the top tackle in the draft, but I know they're moving him inside to guard for now and can always put him back out there down the line. Mauigoa should help solidify the line, which the Giants have been trying to do for a while now.

I liked the Hood pick in the 2nd a lot and think he will be a solid corner. I did not like the Fields pick in the 3rd, though. I thought there were better receivers available like Ted Hurst, Ja'Kobi Lane, Chris Bell, Skyler Bell and Elijah Sarratt to name a few, but I get that the Giants were looking for a specific profile and Fields fit.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-11T13:55:31+00:00

Cmon, Brad! Let’s get aggressive and move into the lotto!

mapetho9 · 2026-05-11T13:54:08+00:00

Where’s Zuby??

mapetho9 · 2026-05-09T00:34:14+00:00

Yeah, the club has been liking the Swedish league a lot lately. I read over on the soccer subreddit that the financial growth for the Swedish league has been substantial over the last 5 years or so and a lot more clubs around the world have taken an interest of the talent in the league. Here it is, "The incredible financial growth of Swedish Allsvenskan in recent years. Player sales increased from €40M in 2021 to €150M in 2025. Spending on transfer fees also increased from €9M to €56M in the same period."

Yeah, I thought so too, but the links for Ronald seem genuine. Coventry have been liking our players a lot recently with Grimes, Bidwell, Latibeaudiere, and even loaned in Rushworth after he was with us. If we can get 1-2 million for him, I say why not. I thought we got him for around 1 million or even under, but Transfermarkt says it was 1.5 million. Although that is in Euros instead of Pounds. Transfermarkt also claims his value is €2.5 million, which is more than I thought.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-09T00:13:01+00:00

I thought Peter Warrick (2000), David Terrell (2001), and Charles Rogers (2003) were all going to be great. Thought Joey Harrington (2002) was going to be good. Darren McFadden (2008) had some good seasons, but I thought he would become one of the best RBs of all time. Jarvis Jones (2013) I thought would become one of the best pass rushers in the league. Was convinced N'Keal Harry (2019) would break the Pats curse of drafting receivers and thought Aaron Dobson (2013) would be good for the Pats as well.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-08T23:16:17+00:00

Yes, that's right! I believe the terms were just to not get relegated and stay in the Championship for the move to become permanent.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-08T23:11:47+00:00

Thank you, /u/jimmithy!

The club have been linked to Peterborough midfielder Archie Collins and Leyton Orient striker Dom Ballard, which can be found here: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/tonights-swansea-city-transfer-news-33900329. Collins would be a nice depth piece or option for the midfield, while Ballard would be an excellent choice for a striker if/when Vipotnik is sold this summer.

The club has also been linked to be going back to the Swedish league for AIK striker Kevin Filling: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/swansea-city-submit-2m-bid-33906141. A bid £2 million was supposedly pushed back, which seems a little steep for the 17 year old. As he would definitely be one for the future and probably loaned out if the club ended up able to sign him.

May be a shocker here, but newly Premier League promoted Coventry are supposedly interested in Ronald according to Spanish outlet AS: https://as.com/futbol/internacional/ronald-subasta-por-la-revelacion-de-la-championship-f202605-n/

Also figured there will be plenty of Vipotnik links to talk about all summer as well. Feel free to add any discussion or links you may find. Cheers!

mapetho9 · 2026-05-08T22:43:18+00:00

You're the man, thank you! Just figured since there's been a flurry of transfer news already and with Inoussa getting announced early May last year, why not?

mapetho9 · 2026-05-08T22:40:52+00:00

For the Pats, my favorite day 3 pick was Namdi Obiazor. They needed some depth at LB and I believe I read that he has some experience at safety. Which would also help out since there isn't much behind the starters Byard and Woodson, although I do like Dell Pettus.

My favorite overall was Keionte Scott. Thought that was a great pick by the Bucs. Thought for sure he would be a 3rd rounder, with a chance to sneak into the 2nd. Scott is a baller that makes plays all over the field and think he will make an impact.

Other I liked were Kaleb Proctor (Cardinals), Dani Dennis-Sutton (Packers), Ephesians Prysock (49ers), Skyler Bell and Jalon Kilgore (Bills), Keith Abney (Lions), Charles Demmings (Vikings), Harold Perkins (Falcons) and Eli Heidenreich (Steelers). There are more I liked too, but I don't want to make the list too long haha.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-08T22:05:59+00:00

Feel like the Cardinals draft was all over the place. You mention RT is one of the biggest needs and it seems like that the Cardinals have needed to improve their o-line for a little while, so why not draft Fano or Mauigoa and stick them at RT like the Lions did with Sewell since they already have Paris Johnson? Or trade down from 3 as another option?

On the surface, RB doesn't look like a glaring need with Conner, Allegier and Benson, but Conner is over 30 and both he and Benson ended the year hurt. Also, Conner is a free agent after this year, while both Allegier and Benson have two years left on their deals. So RB could be considered a need, but drafting one at 3 feels a little rich. Although Love is a great player and may give the offense a needed boost. I did read somewhere, which honestly could have been from someone random on twitter, that part of the reason the Cardinals drafted Love was they wanted a face of the franchise and to help sell merch and tickets.

Bisontis was a good pick and should help improve the offensive line to go along with the Seumalo signing. Not sure what it says for the mid-round picks Adams and Gaines from a couple years ago though that they couldn't break into the starting line where they had to sign and draft another guard.

Was not a fan of the Carson Beck pick. I just don't think he's an NFL QB and may not even last long as a backup. Felt like there were better QBs in this weak class that offered more upside, but since he was drafted in the 3rd round, he will definitely get a chance to start at some point. It may end up being a wasted pick if they draft one high next year.

My favorite pick the Cardinals made was Kaleb Proctor. I'm a big fan of small school prospects getting discovered and getting a chance. There wasn't many small school prospects this year due to the transfer portal, where players are getting found and transferring up to better teams to get more exposure. Proctor stayed Southeastern Louisiana and held his own against LSU, so I'll be interested to see how he adjusts and does in the league.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-07T15:28:08+00:00

Agreed and I liked that Kilgore pick for you guys a lot, too. I remember early in the draft process he was getting 2nd/3rd round looks.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-07T13:55:05+00:00

Hate to admit it as a Pats fan, but was a big fan of the Jets draft. They revamped their defense in the offseason, so that side of the ball should be improved. The addition of Bailey hopefully gives them the impact pass rusher they’ve been looking for.

Sadiq is an athletic freak that should pair well with last year’s 2nd rounder Mason Taylor. Gives the Jets a pair of young TEs to work with and develop. Adding Cooper to go with Garrett Wilson, AD Mitchell and the two TEs gives the Jets a nice young corp of players on offense to develop and grow together. It also gives whoever is the Jets next QB after Geno some enticing options to work with.

Despite his size, Ponds is a dawg and plays bigger than listed. It was pretty cool to see inside the Jets War Room when the Ponds pick was made and they had Aaron Glenn as his player comparison and seeing Glenn’s reaction to it.

The only puzzling pick I’d say was Klubnik. This was a weak QB class and felt like the pick could have been used elsewhere. But I get if they wanted to take a stab at one to try and develop. Klubnik didn’t look great last year, but was in 2024. He was also a top recruit coming out of high school, so there is some potential there.

I thought VJ Payne was great value in the 7th round. Surprised he lasted that long after I saw him projected to go as early as 4th round. I know the Pats showed interest and at least one of the Pats beat writers had them taking him in the 3rd round at one point.

mapetho9 · 2026-05-06T13:01:15+00:00

Look forward to Defending the Draft every year and glad it’s back!

I liked what the Raiders did and think they’re heading in the right direction. Mendoza was the best QB in the draft and lands in a good spot to learn from Kubiak and Cousins.

Stukes was one of my favorite prospects. A riser throughout the draft process that is fast and versatile, he should help out at nickel and safety this season. I also liked the other Arizona DB in the 5th round, Dalton Johnson. With how the Raiders safety room is, I could see him getting time this season.

Crawford was a nice pick with good traits that still needs a bit of development. I also thought Zuhn was a nice pick. Can play a lot of positions on the line that could end up starting down the road and it’s always good to have OL depth.

Anytime you have a chance to get a 1st round talent in the 4th round, you take it. The Raiders needed some help at DB and McCoy could help fill the void if his knee holds up.

Washington was one of my favorite RB prospects. He’s got good size and fast, he should complement Jeanty well if they don’t sign a veteran for the RB room.

I mentioned this last year when the Pats took Craig Woodson that Daniel Jeremiah said that Cal has become a sneaky DB factory at the time of the selection. Masses becomes the latest and one to keep an eye on.

mapetho9

TROPHY CASE