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While the young nucleus of the team is already taking shape, Essendon\u2019s recent list turnover has been extraordinary.<\/p>\n
The Bombers have heavily prioritised the draft in recent seasons, with eight top-10 picks in the past six seasons. Two of those \u2013 Ben Hobbs and, most recently, Elijah Tsatas \u2013 are no longer on the list.<\/p>\n
Tsatas was delisted on Tuesday<\/a>, alongside Matt Guelfi, Jade Gresham, Saad El-Hawli and Liam McMahon. As pointed out by CODE Sports reporter Jon Ralph on X, it means the Bombers, who finished on the bottom of the ladder this year with just two wins, have now turned over 44 players across the past five seasons.<\/p>\n Nate Caddy\u2019s recommitment until the end of 2031 was arguably Essendon\u2019s biggest win this year, while Isaac Kako, Sullivan Robey, Jacob Farrow and Dyson Sharp have not only been exposed to ample senior footy, but have also proven why they\u2019re the foundation of the Essendon rebuild.<\/p>\n Now comes the next major call at the top of this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n Foxfooty.com.au assesses the options for the Bombers at Pick 1 \u2013 and who they could target.<\/p>\n Andrew Welsh, Mark McVeigh and Tim Roberts of the Essendon Bombers. Picture: Quinn Rooney\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n TO BID, DOUBLE BID \u2026 OR NOT BID AT ALL?<\/p>\n Like previous years, several club-tied players are viewed as prospects at the pointy end of the draft class. <\/p>\n But unlike previous years, these young guns might be too good to overlook at Pick 1.<\/p>\n The most recent club-tied player to attract a bid with the first pick of a draft was Jamarra Ugle-Hagan in 2020, with Adelaide forcing the Western Bulldogs to match at Pick 1 before taking Riley Thilthorpe with Pick 2.<\/p>\n Since then, the likes of Sam Darcy (Pick 2, 2021), Nick Daicos (Pick 4, 2021), Will Ashcroft (Pick 2, 2022), Jed Walter (Pick 3, 2023) and Levi Ashcroft (Pick 5, 2024) have all been overlooked at Pick 1. Last year, four club-tied players \u2013 Zeke Uwland, Harry Dean, Daniel Annable and Dylan Patterson \u2013 were selected in the top six, but West Coast took Willem Duursma with their first selection.<\/p>\n The Bombers have every right to take the same attitude this year. Clubs in the past have used the first pick to back in their open-draft player and declare \u2018you\u2019re our man\u2019 in a statement to the competition.<\/p>\n But sources spoken to by foxfooty.com.au believe it\u2019d be a major surprise if the Bombers used Pick 1 this year to take an open-pool player. <\/p>\n The AFL in April confirmed a significant shake-up of its draft bidding system from this year onwards, with a new compensation provision within the draft designed to ensure a \u201cfairer price\u201d when paying for top-end talent tied to father-son, northern Academy and NGA pathways.<\/p>\n Does Butters deal ‘pass the pub test?’ | 01:04<\/p>\n Clubs will only be able to use two picks in the current draft to match any bid up to \u2013 and including \u2013 Pick 36, therefore limiting the ability for clubs to bundle later selections and accumulate draft points to match bids. Teams, however, that finish in the bottom-five on the ladder will be awarded second-round compensation picks if their first-round pick is pushed down the order by a matched bid \u2013 as long as they still use that selection on a player.<\/p>\n The awarding of compensation picks, therefore, makes it more enticing for clubs to bid early on club-tied players.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because Port Adelaide NGA prospect Dougie Cochrane is still widely regarded as the best player in this year\u2019s draft class \u2013 despite barely playing in 2026.<\/p>\n SA Under 18 coach Tony Bamford earlier this year said Cochrane, the son of former Port Adelaide and North Melbourne utility Stuart Cochrane, had \u201call the tools you\u2019d want in a modern AFL player\u201d. The 196cm utility has great athleticism, a high footy IQ, strong marking ability, great running capacity and neat kicking skills, while he has the size and versatility to play across all thirds of the field.<\/p>\n Some scouts spoken to by foxfooty.com.au believe there is a significant enough gap between Cochrane and the rest of the class that\u2019d make it hard to overlook him at Pick 1. Whether Essendon has that same view remains to be seen.<\/p>\n One scenario we haven\u2019t seen since the AFL introduced a bidding system in 2015 is consecutive bids at Pick 1 and 2. So could the Bombers bid on both Cochrane and Cody Walker?<\/p>\n The likelihood has diminished as the season has progressed, but it\u2019s something that still can\u2019t be ruled out.<\/p>\n Cody Walker training at Carlton. Picture: Quinn Rooney\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n Walker is tied to Carlton under the father-son rule, as his dad Andrew Walker played 202 games for the Blues and was their leading goalkicker in 2011. Andrew was taken with Pick 2 in the 2003 draft \u2013 and there\u2019s still a chance Walker is selected with the same pick 23 years later. <\/p>\n Blues fans have been able to track Walker\u2019s progression closely this year, with the on-baller playing seven games for Carlton\u2019s VFL side and impressing with his inside ball-winning, low centre of gravity, elusiveness and evasiveness.<\/p>\n Despite their trickier draft hand \u2013 due to their own shock rise up the ladder this year and the progression of Sydney, which gave Carlton its first 2026 pick as part of the Charlie Curnow trade \u2013 the Blues are expected to make it work at the trade table, if needed, to land Walker. It\u2019s what they did last year for Dean, who attracted an early Pick 3 bid.<\/p>\n After all, Walker formally agreed to join the Blues as a 2026 father-son selection in July last year \u2013 around 15 months before the nomination deadline.<\/p>\n But the sense among scouts surveyed by foxfooty.com.au in the past few weeks is the Walker bid could slide, especially if the Bombers forced Port Adelaide to match for Cochrane at the start of the draft. The Cochrane bid would automatically trigger second-round compensation for the Bombers, so there\u2019s not as much incentive from that perspective to ask Carlton to match for Walker. Plus some recruiters firmly believe Walker isn\u2019t a clear No.2 player in the class.<\/p>\n THE TOP FIVE OPEN-POOL PROSPECTS<\/p>\n Whether the Bombers bid or not to start the draft, they\u2019ll eventually be taking a non-club-tied prospect.<\/p>\n And while it\u2019s still regarded as an open race, GWV Rebels on-baller Ethan Drever is now firmly in the mix to be the first open-pool player taken.<\/p>\n Ethan Drever of the Rebels. Picture: Lachie Chugg\/AFL PhotosSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n Drever has stepped up at all levels in 2026 and produced one of the most consistent and impressive draft years of all top-end candidates. He took out Vic Country\u2019s MVP award and was named in the Under 18 All-Australian team after a dazzling national carnival, while he took out the Rebels\u2019 best and fairest award.<\/p>\n Drever\u2019s all-round profile makes him one of the most complete open-pool prospects. He\u2019s strong and agile in the contest, versatile, aerobically powerful, clean with ball in hand and has a penetrating kick \u2013 traits that have seen him draw comparisons to Giants star Finn Callaghan. Like Jagga Smith and Sam Walsh in their respective draft years, Drever would provide a sense of security and reliability to the club that ultimately picks him.<\/p>\n That profile is why multiple sources believe Drever is firmly in Essendon\u2019s thinking at Pick 1. And considering the acquisitions of inside bulls Robey and Sharp last year, Drever would complement the Bombers midfield nicely.<\/p>\n But another midfielder, Heath Mellody, has come with a rush off the back of a Larke Medal-winning national carnival, followed by a brilliant WAFL league stint.<\/p>\n Mellody ended up as the No.1 ball-winner of the Under 18 champs to claim the Larke Medal as the competition\u2019s best player, as well as WA\u2019s MVP award and the All-Australian captain title. He\u2019s also played the past five WAFL league games for Claremont, booting four goals and averaging 20.8 disposals.<\/p>\n Mellody showed how classy, balanced, athletic and efficient by foot he is as a rebounding defender earlier this year. But his move into the midfield highlighted his centre bounce craft and ability to stand up in contests.<\/p>\n It\u2019s very hard now to see Mellody slipping past West Coast\u2019s first pick on draft night, but don\u2019t discount him going earlier than that, either.<\/p>\n Then there are three Vic Metro prospects who\u2019ve been in the top-end mix all year.<\/p>\n Heath Mellody of Western Australia. Picture: Janelle St Pierre\/AFL Photos\/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n Northern Knights\u2019 Harry Van Hattum has been touted as a \u201cgenerational\u201d ruck talent by some scouts. An athletic, hard-working and skilful 204cm prospect with a brilliant vertical leap and impressive stoppage craft, he looms as a big man who\u2019ll thrive at AFL level with the new ruck rules introduced in 2026.<\/p>\n As one recruiter pointed out to foxfooty.com.au this week, if it clicks for Van Hattum at AFL level, he has all the talent, athletic traits and upside to be the best player of this draft class. But whether he\u2019s the standout open-pool prospect \u2013 and whether a club would be prepared to use such an early pick on a ruck, albeit one with huge upside \u2013 remains a point of contention in the industry.<\/p>\n The Bombers lost Sam Draper 12 months ago, so relied on the combination of Nick Bryan, Peter Wright, Lachie Blakiston and Vigo Visentini as their rucks throughout the year, with Bryan \u2013 clearly the club\u2019s preferred big man \u2013 missing the early part of the season due to injury. Wright and Blakiston, however, were pinch-hitters as they usually roam the forward and defensive arcs respectively.<\/p>\n Visentini just turned 21 and Bryan turns 25 next month, so there\u2019s still hope the duo can emerge into reliable AFL rucks. But Van Hattum has them both covered for talent.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s two forward-midfielders out of the Sandringham Dragons with ample X-factor: Arki Butler and Gus Teixeira.<\/p>\n Butler, the grandson of 250-gamer and 1966 premiership Saint Allan Davis, is a tantalising prospect. He has freakish talent, athleticism, clean hands, class and a strong goal sense, while his ability to play above his 183cm height has seen him draw comparisons to Giants star Toby Greene.<\/p>\n Butler isn\u2019t the complete player yet, but if the club that drafts him can help him live up to his full potential, they\u2019ll be greatly rewarded via his on-field output.<\/p>\n Arki Butler of Victoria Metro. Picture: Jordan Sacchetta\/AFL PhotosSource: AFL Photos<\/p>\n Like Butler, Teixeira has great goal sense and strong marking ability, but it\u2019s his speed, powerful kicking skills and vision that give him a point of difference. Scouts believe he\u2019ll likely start his AFL career as a forward that pinch-hits in the midfield, but he showed off his on-ball potential for Vic Metro, both during trial games and at national championships level, this year.<\/p>\n WHY TRADE CURVEBALL IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY<\/p>\n The prospect of a club trading Pick 1 is seemingly raised with the usual posturing: \u201cWe\u2019ll consider it… all options are on the table… you\u2019ve got to be open to everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside of the famous Hawthorn-Fremantle trade in 2001 \u2013 which saw the Dockers land Trent Croad and the Hawks use Pick 1 to draft a 185cm prospect out of Colac named Luke Hodge \u2013 the No.1 pick has only been traded one other time this century. That was in 2022 when Pick 1, as well as five other first-round picks, Jason Horne-Francis and Willie Rioli, was involved in a ridiculous four-club mega trade<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Bombers could listen to offers and take an open-minded attitude heading into the trade and draft season. <\/p>\n But trading Pick 1 this year would be more unlikely than ever before.<\/p>\n That\u2019s primarily because the Bombers would lose access to a bid-related second-round pick, as a club would only receive that compensation if their natural pick is moved \u2013 not a traded selection.<\/p>\n Considering the Bombers\u2019 need to acquire as much young talent as possible mid-rebuild, losing a second pick would be unwise.<\/p>\n The Bombers have plenty to weigh up, but the picture is starting to become clearer. And while there\u2019s still plenty of time for their plans to change, their approach to the top-end of the draft could shape the next phase of their rebuild.<\/p>\n Current AFL Draft top 10 (pre-trade period)<\/p>\n 1. Essendon<\/p>\n 2. Richmond<\/p>\n 3. West Coast Eagles<\/p>\n 4. Port Adelaide<\/p>\n 5. North Melbourne<\/p>\n 6. Melbourne (via Gold Coast Suns)<\/p>\n 7. GWS Giants<\/p>\n 8. St Kilda<\/p>\n 9. Collingwood<\/p>\n 10. Melbourne<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Essendon has landed the most coveted pick in the AFL draft. 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