Carlton fans wouldn't have placed much attention on the draft until the home stretch of the season, having parted with their opening two selections via last year's trade period.
Their play for 2024 Pick 3 selection Jagga Smith was an aggressive one, and one that could pay off should he reach the potential he gave glimpses of prior to his cruel ACL injury.
The catch has been their fall out of finals contention, ending their campaign in 11th to see Hawthorn hold their first and second-round selections, which currently sit at Picks 8 and 26 respectively.
What has turned the focus among Blues fans toward this year's crop of future AFL stars, outside of their disappointing on-field efforts, has been the future of free agent Tom De Koning and the rise of father-son prospect Harry Dean.
Dean entered the year as a promising key defender on the outside of first-round calculations. His year with the Murray Bushrangers and Vic Country as a dominant intercept and lockdown tall has seen his value rocket into the realm of a top five pick come November's intake.
As is the case with a highly-rated priority access prospect, Carlton will get direct access to one of the best players in this year's draft class, but will need to pay a decent price to secure Dean's services.
That transaction looked difficult at the midway mark of the year as Dean's stocks began to rise, with the Blues not holding a selection until the end of the first round for this year's draft. They were relying on a late first-round bid to come for Dean to have the points required to match a rival's move for the son-of-a-gun.
But Dean's emergence hasn't stopped at just a night one selection, he could now fetch interest early into the draft and force Carlton to pay big.
What has worked in favour of the Blues' draft plans is the expected band one compensation they'll receive for Tom De Koning. That pick will fall at ninth overall in the current order, which doesn't include any other added free agency outcome picks.
The twist that could follow is the likely timing of a rival club's bid for Dean, which, assuming the Blues slot into the ninth spot in the queue, will most certainly come prior to that selection.
It was the case for Essendon at last year's draft. Had the Bombers held onto their first-round pick, it was strongly assumed that a rival would place a bid on NGA talent Isaac Kako before then, forcing the Bombers to cough up that pick, and potentially more.
A trade deal with Melbourne saw the Bombers move out of the first round and attain the Demons' opening selection for 2025, which now sits at Pick 5. There's an acceptable thought that with that pick swap, the Bombers delayed a bid for Kako, which eventually came at Pick 13, given they had less valuable selections to package in their matched bid.
Carlton face a similar fate this year, but whether they trade into 2026 - a draft that includes highly-rated father-son talent Cody Walker - or look to move up this year's order will be the question.
Moving back won't make much sense, but it will give the Blues insurance to acquire Dean and potentially move back into the draft queue at another stage. It's worth keeping in mind that NGA duo Jack Ison and Ty Gresham will also be in their calculations at the later stages of the draft.
A move up the draft board to get ahead of the Dean bid could be on the cards, with Gold Coast, Richmond and Essendon all potential suitors.
The Suns will be the most willing to trade back, given their riches of Academy talent in this year's class that will cost them a mountain of points, but whether their best selection of Pick 6 is early enough will be the question.
The Tigers and Bombers are less likely to move from their posts, and will be asking for a decent return, which the Blues might not be able to package.
What can sweeten any draft deals will be the outcome of the Jack Silvagni free agency compensation, with a band two return likely. If the deals get done early enough into the free agency period, that selection would start at Pick 19.
Offering Picks 9 and 19 might be enough to turn the head of Gold Coast, Richmond or Essendon, and with some later picks that help the Blues' bid for Dean being another part of a desired deal.
Carlton's current hand of Picks 35, 44 and 62 only equates to 505 draft points, which would be good enough for a bid on Dean at Pick 26. They'll be hesitant to trade 2026 selections given Walker's standing as a potential Pick 1 prospect, placing a premium on selections this year that will help move the needle.
