Who’s on your “Do not draft “ at 9?
I'm all for trading back. Id rather turn number 9 and even our 2nd rounder into multiple top 100 picks. We need 6 or 7 good starters/rotational players in this draft, and there's no guaranteed blue chips at the top of the first round.
A lot of good answers in this thread about who not to take with the 9th pick, but... what if we cant find a trade partner? If the media/fans are right about this class being a weak and thin at the top of round one, id think most teams would either stay put or try to trade back themselves.
In that case we would have to pick somebody, and positional value kinda gets thrown out the window. So why not take a OG if you think he's a long term starter? A productive OT with short arms? A big bodied WR that would be a 2nd rounder in most draft classes? A safety that won the combine? A RB or TE? A developmemtal QB with some elite traits? A DE with question marks? A DT thats more of a late first round prospect? Etc...
If forced to use pick 9, and no player is graded that high, you still have to pick somebody. At that point Id be cool with adding an immediate starter that upgrades a position and hope he proves worthy of that draft slot eventually. What else you gonna do?