2024 NFL Draft-Second Day Thoughts

Just my thoughts from day two (rounds 2 &3). 

• The Bills traded from the last pick of round one (#32) to the first pick of round two (#33) and stole the WR I wanted for the Patriots, Keon Coleman.  Coleman was the guy I mocked to the Bills in my early mock drafts in round one, apparently, they did like him.  He’s going to be good.
• Once Coleman was gone the Patriots moved down from 34 to 37 giving the Chargers a chance to move up to get the WR they wanted, Ladd McConkey.  He’s the perfect Jim Harbaugh WR, he’s tough but not flashy.  McConkey is a good player but I’m glad the Patriots passed, I think he might be redundant with Demario Douglas already in the slot. 
• The Falcons continue to boggle the mind by trading up in round two to take a DT but instead of taking Jer’Zhan Newton, they took Ruke Orhorhoro.  Newton is a plug-and-play guy and Orhorhoro is a project, also, this team has bigger needs than DT depth.  The Falcons are confounding. 
• Washington isn’t a team with a dire need at DT either with Jonathan Allen and DaRon Payne but at least they took Newton is was just too good to pass up.  Allen is also going to be 29 and is pretty expensive so Newton was great value and this team just needs talent. 
• The Patriots come around at 37 and take WR Ja’Lynn Polk, one of My Guys.  I love this pick.  There were a lot of WRs still available but I love Polk for Drake Maye’s sake.  Polk is a ball winner, he catches everything.  Maye won’t have to be perfect with his placement because Polk has a huge catch radius.  He’s not the biggest, or the fastest guy, he’s just a pure receiver.  He’s going to be a better pro than some of the WRs from round one. 
• The Titans took DT T’Vondre Sweat.  A guy who admitted he “used to” party too much but he was over that, and then got a DUI three weeks ago.  This isn’t going to end well.
• The Rams must have loved the Florida St. defensive line film because they took Jared Verse in round one and then traded up to take his teammate DT Braden Fiske.  He’s not great but he’s solid. 
• Finally, the Eagles ended the nightmare when they traded up and took Cooper DeJean with the 40^th pick overall.  They took CB Quinyon Mitchell in round one and moved up to get DeJean, clearly Howie Roseman wasn’t going to let the team endure the terrible secondary they had last season again.  DeJean is going to play all over Vic Fangio’s defensive backfield and Fangio is going to love DeJean’s football IQ.  Amazing value for the Eagles and I think a very good landing spot for DeJean.
• That pick started a run on CBs.  Kool-Aid McKinstry goes to the Saints, Kamari Lassiter to the Texans, and Max Melton to the Cardinals.  McKinstry gets a good situation with Marshon Lattimore as the #1 CB with Paulson Adebo entering the last year of his contract.  Lassiter is a small CB with slow timed speed but he’s a smart football player going to play for DeMeco Ryans.  If anyone gets the best out of Lassiter, it’s Ryans.  Melton looks the part of a good CB and he will get every chance to start because Arizona’s secondary is terrible.
• The Raiders steal Jackson Powers-Johnson and he’s an immediate starting guard for them. They followed that up with taking OT Delmar Glaze from Maryland in round three.  Glaze can compete to start at RT for them so they did a very nice job adding to the offensive line. 
• The Packers took uber-athlete Edgerrin Cooper to go with Quay Walker at LB, he’s raw but talented.  The also took S Javon Bullard from Georgia who can also help Xavier McKinney in the middle of the field.  Their choice of RB Marshawn Lloyd from USC in round three was great.  I like Lloyd as a better backup to Josh Jacobs than even AJ Dillon.  Lloyd does everything well. 
• The Panthers traded up to get RB Jonathan Brooks from Texas.  Brooks tore his ACL in November so it’s no guarantee he’s ready to go to start the season.  Once he’s healthy, he’s a great back but I’m not sure how much he helps this year.  They also took LB Trevin Wallace in round three, he’s going to have to sit and learn, he’s a great athlete with not great instincts. 
• The Giants took S Tyler Nubin in round two and CB Andru Phillips in round three, awesome job.  Those two will really help a secondary that needs it. 
• I gave Trent Baalke credit for getting Brian Thomas Jr. in round one, he was a steal.  Apparently, Baalke wanted to get back into my bad graces because he took DT Maason Smith, a good athlete but not a great player in round two and then CB Jarrian Jones in round three.  Jones is another athlete without any refined skills.  These guys aren’t difference makers. 
• The Bengals took DT Kris Jenkins from Michigan, he’s a going to be a more productive pro than he was at Michigan.  He’s good.  They also took NT McKinley Jackson, a true nose tackle to replace DJ Reader.  He’s a nice complement to Jenkins.  Between those picks they took a flyer on WR Jermain Burton. Burton is a supremely talented WR who has serious character issues.  The Bengals have never shied away from those guys but Burton can be a headcase on the field.  He’s been referred to as “uncoachable” by several different coaches. 
• Washington was a team with a ton of second day picks and they followed the Jer’Zhan Newton pick up with some really good football players.  CB Mike Sanristil is going to be one of the best nickel backs in the league.  The took TE Ben Sinnott who is just a tough, athletic guys who can play all over and will a tone setter.  OT Brandon Coleman is a big dude who moves well and has a legitimate shot at the LT job.  They finished off day two with WR Luke McCaffrey, Christian’s little brother.  He hasn’t been a WR very long so he’s still learning but he could fill the Curtis Samuel role on this offense and maybe even stay healthy long enough to play in actual games. 
• The Steelers might just be acing this draft.  After taking Troy Fautanu in round one they got C Zach Frazier in round two.  Now Fautanu is clearly staying at OT because Frazier is going to be a day one starter at center and he’s going to be the perfect Steelers’ center.  WR Roman Wilson in round three is highway robbery.  This team regularly drafts day two WRs who are awesome, Wilson will continue the trend.  Finally, they took LB Payton Wilson, an incredibly athletic LB with great speed and a questionable medical history.  He may not have long career but he’ll be a good ILB for the Steelers and they need more than just Patrick Queen there. 
• The Colts took the risk on Adonai Mitchell who fell to 52^nd overall.  It’s a risk worth taking for a guy whose skillset complements Michael Pittman and Josh Downs.  If he hits, he can be a true #1 WR, if not, they still have Alec Pierce.
• The Dolphins followed up the Chop Robinson pick in round one with a raw OT prospect Patrick Paul from Houston.  He could replace Terron Armstead someday. 
• Dallas took Tyler Guyton late in round one, a worthy choice.  In round two they took DE Marshawn Kneeland at 56 and he could be a steal, even if he isn’t a star someday, he’s a nice pickup.  Then they got Cooper Beebe in round three.  Beebe mostly played guard but I think there is a good chance he wins the center job next season and if he does, they just got two starting offensive lineman, that’s really good for them.  The choice of LB Marist Liufau was terrible, that was a massive reach, he’s more like a 6^th round pick. 
• Tampa Bay took DE Chris Braswell, he fits their scheme well.  S Tykee Smith is a solid nickel back for their defense.  Then they took one of my other favorite guys WR Jalen McMillen.  It’s a little unfortunate for him because they have Chris Godwin in the slot so McMillen won’t get a lot of playing time right away but if they have to move off of Godwin for salary purposes at some point, they have a great replacement. 
• The Texans were part of the run on CBs earlier with Kamari Lassiter but they followed up with OT Blake Fisher and then S Calen Bullock in round three.  Fisher has some talent and with RT Titus Howard hurt so often Fisher is a nice addition, he could take Howard’s job if Howard misses too much time.  Bullock missed a lot of tackles at USC but USC’s defense was atrocious and he has a ton of physical skill.  Maybe DeMeco Ryans teaches him how to take the correct angle and actually wrap a guy up and Bullock becomes a much better player. 
• The Lions followed up their great Terrion Arnold pick in round one with another CB Ennis Rakestraw in round two.  I’m not a big Rakestraw fan but he’s a scrappy player who plays with an attitude and he just went to the perfect team for him.  He won’t have to be a starter in Detroit and his mentality fits right in.  If Rakestraw is going to be a good pro, it’s because he’s going to the right place. 
• The Ravens came back around in round two and found their starting RT.  Roger Rosengarten wasn’t talked about much because he was overshadowed on an amazing Washington offense in college but he’s a good RT.  He protected Michael Penix’s blindside since Penix is a lefty.  Rosengarten will be fine starting immediately.  They also took edge rusher Adisa Isaac, the Penn St. pass rusher who was actually a good pass rusher, imagine that.  I expect Isaac to have more sacks in Baltimore next season than Chop Robinson has in Miami. 
• I hated the Chiefs trade up for WR Xavier Worthy in round one.  I love their trade up for Kingsley Suiamataia in round two.  He’s not a finished product but playing for Andy Reid and playing with Patrick Mahomes will be the best thing for him. 
• The Jets started off round three with WR Malachi Corley.  He’s the perfect complementary piece to Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams, the question is; will Aaron Rodgers ever look to him?  He’s a really good run after the catch player, that offense could use that. 
• The Cardinals had a crapload of picks after their two first rounders.  After CB Max Melton, who came in the run of CBs, they took; RB Trey Benson, G Isaiah Adams, TE Tip Reiman, and CB Elijah Jones. I love the Benson pick.  He’s a perfect pairing with James Connor.  Benson isn’t an every down back but he has the speed and burst to take any carry to the house, unlike Connor who’s a grinder.  Isaiah Adams can start immediately at guard and he makes their line better.  TE Tip Reiman is a big, physical blocking TE, the perfect player opposite Trey McBride.  Jones isn’t a guy I would think could start for a team but this is the Cardinals secondary we’re talking about, he’s at least going to play. 
• The Chargers finally fulfilled the Jim Harbaugh connection by drafting LB Junior Colson in round three.  Colson is a steal in round three because he’s an immediate starter at LB and he’s almost assuredly the play caller on defense.  He already knows the defense after being the MLB for Jesse Minter’s defense at Michigan last year.  He’s the best LB on the team and they need his tackling to sure up their weak run defense.  Outstanding pick and he might be my early frontrunner for defensive rookie of the year. 

That’s my wrap up of day two.  The third day of the draft will bring some fun players into the NFL and some good stories.  I expect P Tory Taylor, DT Logan Lee, and TE Erick All to be drafted from the Hawkeyes.  I wouldn’t mind seeing the Patriots double up at WR by drafting Troy Franklin or Devontez Walker to get some deep speed on the team and then they can cut Tyquan Thornton and JuJu Smith-Schuster to make room. They can also grab another OT like Christian Jones and I wouldn’t complain. They should take a TE to backup Hunter Henry because he gets banged up and I don’t trust Austin Hooper.  Ja’Tavion Sanders has slipped or Erick All would be a nice pickup late. 

Some of the guys I’m watching to see where they go today because they are good or interesting players.  CB TJ Tampa, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Spencer Rattler, QB Michael Pratt, WR Malik Washington, WR Brenden Rice, and RB Cody Schrader.  I’ll get to my team break downs as soon as possible after the draft concludes.