Another crazy day highlighted by plenty of trades, big swings, and exciting moments for the next class of NFL rookies.
No quarterbacks went in the second round, but a flurry of wide receivers and defensive linemen kicked off Friday’s action.
Let’s get into the most noteworthy picks and moments from Day 2.
Favorite Pick
63. Kansas City Chiefs: OT Kingsley Suamataia
Patrick Mahomes must love having a GM like Brett Veach.
Not only did the Kansas City Chiefs give Mahomes another Tyreek Hill-caliber speedster in Xavier Worthy in Round 1, but they got him another offensive tackle in the next round in BYU’s Kingsley Suamataia.
Truthfully, I wouldn’t have been shocked to see the BYU kid land in the first round. He’s a smooth mover that showed flashes of technique and ability with limited playing experience. He has the chance to be a legitimate starter on a Chiefs offensive line looking for more young talent.
Sleeper Pick
70. New York Giants: CB Andru Phillips
The New York Giants have been slowly rebuilding their secondary the last few years, adding guys like Jalen Mills, Deonte Banks, and even Tyler Nubin in this year’s draft.
Andru Phillips was the perfect plug-and-play piece this late into the draft for New York. He has inside-out versatility and a relentless mentality when on the field.
There are some athletic and physical shortcomings, including his length. However, his experience playing all over the field and aggressive nature will have him finding reps at the NFL level.
Riskiest Pick
98. Pittsburgh Steelers: LB Payton Wilson
There were a lot of draft analysts who were very high on Payton Wilson.
I was not one of those people.
The size and athletic profile are certainly exciting. But Wilson just turned 24 years old and has dealt with multiple torn ACLs and a season-ending shoulder injury. On top of that, his arm length is in the 6th percentile for off-ball linebackers, which is a massive red flag for being able to take on blockers and disengage.
To make matters worse, Ian Rapoport revealed on the NFL Network broadcast that Wilson no longer has an ACL in one of his knees.
A late third-round pick may not seem like a big deal for such a productive player for N.C. State. Still, there’s a chance Wilson doesn’t have much more football left in him with his age and injury history.
Howie Roseman Is a Super Villain
How does the rest of the NFL keep letting Howie Roseman get away with this?
The Philadelphia Eagles had Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell fall into their lap in the first round, but Roseman wasn’t done fixing his secondary there. He traded up on Friday to take Cooper DeJean out of Iowa, presumably to play safety in Philly’s secondary.
The pick itself is a very good one, especially at 40 overall. However, it’s the fact that the Eagles traded up to get DeJean, when the Packers were sitting with the 41st pick expecting the Iowa DB to fall to them one pick later.
Howie knew exactly where he needed to move up, and he got his guy.
Let Brian Gutekunst Cook
The Acme Packing Company crew had been high on two players as second-round picks throughout the entire pre-draft process. The Green Bay Packers took both of those players in Edgerrin Cooper and Javon Bullard.
Green Bay could have panicked after DeJean went off the board a pick before they were in the clock. Instead, they traded back a few spots to take Cooper, then landed Bullard with their second Round 2 pick.
Both players should be immediate impact starters at positions of need. Running back MarShawn Lloyd will also provide an exciting home run threat and change-of-pace back behind Josh Jacobs.
Brian Gutekunst may be addicted to draft picks, because he has EIGHT MORE to work with on Day 3.
A true masterclass from the Packers GM (let’s not talk about the Ty’Ron Hopper pick).
Sound Bite of the Day
Chris Ballard HAMMERED the anonymous reporting surrounding AD Mitchell’s character and coachability in his press conference on Friday night.
It’s rare to see Ballard this upset in a presser, especially using this kind of language to talk about it.
But it’s an important reminder that these are still just kids working on maturing into young men, and these anonymous reports about them can have a drastic impact on their careers.
I’m sure Mitchell appreciates Ballard being in his corner.