All eyes will be on what Essendon will do with their Pick 1.
Arki Butler and Ethan Drever have emerged as the two favourites for Pick 1 in the most even open-pool Pick 1 race of a generation and there is a romanticism to both landing at the Hangar given they are lifelong Essendon supporters.
The unknown is whether Heath Mellody would also have more noise around going with this selection if he was Victorian, given how promising he has looked for Western Australia and Claremont at senior level. Gus Teixeira and Harry Van Hattum are now viewed as outsiders for that top selection.
Draft hand: 1, 17, 25, 80, 98
Essendon has a healthy draft hand and has seemingly done well with their early selections in recent years, and have been able to give them games which has been a positive in an otherwise bleak 2026.
As well as the picks outlined above, the Bombers will also receive an end-of-first round compensation selection provided, as expected, they put a bid on for Port Adelaide-tied Dougie Cochrane with their first selection.
List needs
Best available: Not a list need per se, but given they will have such a say in the top-end of the draft, it makes sense to take the best available given where the Bombers are in their list build
Scoring potency: Only Richmond scored less than Essendon in 2026 and while some of that is due to their inability to feed their forwards, the Bombers are also second last for shots on goal per inside 50 so are not getting enough out of their forwards, and the connection is letting them down, when they do get a look. Nate Caddy can only do so much and needs people at his feet who can capitalise if he can at least bring it to ground.
Key defender: Outside of Zach Reid, who has only just now found continuity in his body, there is not a whole lot to get excited about in this area of the field for Essendon. If Ben McKay can get back towards his best, it would help, but that is a big if given how low on confidence he looked in 2026. Lachie Blakiston is just a stop-gap option and the Bombers lost injury-riddled Jordan Ridley.
Potential targets
Arki Butler: Butler makes the most sense. The Bombers need an injection of scoring potency and Butler is AFL-ready. In a young forward line, Nate Caddy desperately needs help and while the likes of Isaac Kako and Archer May should take steps forward next year, a genuine x-factor player who in time can go into the midfield is the most important player in the game and the Bombers currently do not possess one of those. He also has the personality to handle the pressures and rises to the big stage. Arguably, they could not go wrong with Ethan Drever either - but having brought in a pair of big-bodied midfielders last year in Dyson Sharp and Sullivan Robey - notwithstanding Drever's speed gives him a point-of-difference - it is worth targeting another area of the ground. Expect a bid for Port Adelaide-tied Dougie Cochrane to come first regardless, though.
Clancy Snell: Snell could prove a good pickup with the Bombers' second selection if is still on the board. Another one who has grown up supporting Essendon, Snell is one of the best interceptors in the draft class and can crash and bash. He was viewed as a top 10 pick in the first half of the season, before a quieter finish has resulted in him dropping a touch but he should be a player of interest for a club looking for someone to build their backline around.
Blake Justice: Butler is the forward-midfielder archetype the Bombers could snaffle at the top, but Justice is another who would be a worthy addition in the same vein. The Essendon Next Generation Academy prospect may be one of the bargains of the draft given his injury limited him to just nine games this year. A clearance-winner with explosive speed, he has played mostly forward through juniors, but looked damaging when he got midfield exposure at Talent League level in 2026 and also played a Bombers VFL game.
