Recap: Day 2 of NFL Draft
SECOND ROUND
1 (33). Cleveland: Austin Corbett, OT, Nevada
The Browns got some protection for top overall pick Baker Mayfield by grabbing a clean prospect in Corbett.
Cleveland already has a solid defense, and just added the top corner in the draft in Ohio State's Denzel Ward last night, so I'd expect them to go heavy on the offense for the duration of this draft.
2 (34). New York Giants: Will Hernandez, OG, UTEP
3 (35). Cleveland: Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
Well, there goes one of the Lions possible targets in the second round. Like I said earlier, the Browns are going to go heavy on the offense.
4 (36). Indianapolis: Darius Leonard, LB, South Carolina St.
5 (37). Indianapolis: Braden Smith, OG, Auburn
6 (38) .Tampa Bay: Ronald Jones II, RB, USC
That's another running back option gone by the wayside. At this point, if Lions fans really want a running back in the second round, they'll probably have to hope Derrius Guice to continue his slide.
7 (39). Chicago: James Daniels, C, Iowa
8 (40). Denver: Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU
9 (41). Tennessee (from Oakland): Harold Landry, DE, Boston College
The Titans traded with Oakland to move up and select Landry, a guy a lot of Lions fans were screaming for at No. 20 last night.
Landry has huge upside, but injury concerns were reported to be the reason for his slipping more than 20 spots past were the Lions selected.
For their troubles, the Raiders picked up the No. 57 and No. 89 picks tonight.
10 (42). Miami: Mike Gesicki, TE, Penn State
11 (43). Detroit (from New England): Kerryon Johnson, RB, Auburn
The Lions have their running back, and it isn't Derrius Guice. The Lions traded up with the Patriots (of course) to select Johnson (5'11", 213 pounds). Johnson rushed for nearly 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Tigers in 2017.
There will be some questions why the Lions didn't take Guice, but Johnson is now the sixth tailback off the board before Guice, and the Lions paid to get him, sending the 51st overall pick (obviously) and their fourth round selection (117th overall) to the Patriots.
The announcement of the pick was made by former Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson, who sported a Beverly Hills Cop style jacket on stage before dedicating the pick to the "hard-working people of Michigan."
12 (44). San Francisco (from Washington): Dante Pettis, WR, Washington
The 49ers moved up for the right to select Pettis.
13 (45). Green Bay: Josh Jackson, CB, Iowa
14 (46). Kansas City (from Cincinnati): Breeland Speaks, DE, Ole Miss
The Chiefs jumped up, giving up the 54th and 78th overall picks for this 46th overall selection and the 100th pick, which is the last of the night.
15 (47). Arizona: Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M
16 (48). Los Angeles Chargers: Uchenna Nwosu, LB, USC
17 (49). Philadelphia: Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota St.
18 (50). Dallas: Connor Williams, OL, Texas
19 (51). Chicago: Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis
So, the Bears jumped up and traded for this pick after the Lions traded it to New England.
With the pick, they added an offensive weapon, something that second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky desperately needs. The Bears must have really like Miller because they traded away next year's second round pick to get him. And, if we're being honest here, that's probably going to be an early second round selection.
20 (52). Indianapolis: Kemoko Turay, DE, Rutgers
21 (53). Tampa Bay: M.J. Stewart, CB, UNC
22 (54). Kansas City: Jessie Bates III, DB, Wake Forest
23 (55). Carolina: Donte Jackson, CB, LSU
24 (56). New England: Duke Dawson, CB, Florida
The Patriots traded the 63rd and 117th overall picks to Tampa Bay for the right to make this selection.
25 (57). Oakland: P.J. Hall, DT, Sam Houston State
26 (58). Atlanta: Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado
27 (59). Washington: Derrius Guice, RB, LSU
Guice is finally off the board just minutes after NFL Network's Mike Mayock reported that there could be an ongoing issue with the first round talent that has yet to come to light. Everyone will tell you he's a first round talent, but his immaturity was a big red flag.
28 (60). Pittsburgh: James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State
29 (61). Jacksonville: DJ Chark, WR, LSU
30 (62). Minnesota: Brian O'Neill, OT, Pittsburgh
31 (63). Tampa Bay: Carlton Davis, DB, Auburn
32 (64). Indianapolis: Tyquan Lewis, DE, Ohio State
I'm just going to jump in here real quick before the third round and note that Michigan's Mo Hurst, one of the most talented defensive tackles in the draft, continues to slide. This is most likely due to teams being scared about a supposed heart issue that came up at the combine. As it turned out, Hurst had been cleared for this issue while at Michigan, and was again cleared of this issue by multiple doctors he saw following the combine. Whoever gets Hurst is going to get the steal of the draft.
THIRD ROUND
1 (65). Oakland: Brandon Parker, OT, N.C. A&T
2 (66). New York Giants: Lorenzo Carter, LB, Georgia
3 (67). Cleveland: Chad Thomas, DE, Miami
4 (68). Houston: Justin Reid, S, Stanford
5 (69). New York Giants: B.J. Hill, DT, N.C. State
6 (70). San Francisco: Fred Warner, LB, BYU
7 (71). Denver: Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon
We're nearly 40 picks into Day 2 at the NFL Draft and we've yet to see a quarterback taken since Lamar Jackson went with the 32nd overall selection to Baltimore. That drove the QB count up to five for the first round.
Mason Rudolph, Luke Falk and Mike White were pegged as guys that could be taken in the second and third rounds.
8 (72). New York Jets: Nathan Shepherd, DT, Fort Hays St
9 (73). Miami: Jerome Baker, LB, Ohio State
10 (74). Washington: Geron Christian, OT, Louisville
11 (75). Kansas City: Derrick Nnadi, DT, Florida State
12 (76). Pittsburgh: Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State
And there it is. We have our first quarterback off the board on Day 2 of the NFL Draft.
This is a depth pick for the Steelers, who still have Ben Roethlisberger and Landry Jones. But Rudolph is intriguing, as he throws one of the prettiest deep balls you've ever seen. It will be interesting to see him and Jones battle it out for the backup spot.
13 (77). Cincinnati: Sam Hubbard, DE, Ohio State
14 (78). Cincinnati: Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas
15 (79). Arizona: Rasheem Green, DE, USC
16 (80). Houston: Martinas Rankin, OT, Miss State
17 (81). Dallas: Michael Gallup, WR, Colorado State
18 (82). Detroit: Tracy Walker, DB, Louisiana Lafayette
The Lions went with to the defensive side of the ball for the first time in this draft, but it's not along the defensive line, and that's going to make some people unhappy.
Walker is 6'1", 206 pounds and is a very good tackler that can make a lot of plays on the football. He's likely to play safety for the Lions, though it's hard to see how he starts in 2018. Upon making the pick, Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia were celebrating with enthusiasm in the Lions' draft room.
Meanwhile, Michigan defensive tackle Mo Hurst is still on the board thanks to a heart issue that it appears a lot of team doctors won't sign off on, despite the fact that many other physicians have cleared him to play. A lot of chatter around town zeroed in on the Lions taking Hurst in the second round, but it's become apparent that he's probably not even on their draft board because getting him in the third round could have been the steal of the draft.
That said, I'm not a professional football GM like Bob Quinn. Neither are you. I've learned not to overreact to the draft because none of us know anything. Let it play out.
19 (83). Baltimore: Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma
20 (84). Los Angeles Chargers: Justin Jones, DT, N.C. State
21 (85). Carolina: Rashaan Gaulden, DB, Tennessee
22 (86). Baltimore: Mark Andrews, TE, Oklahoma
23 (87). Oakland: Arden Key, LB, LSU
24 (88). Green Bay: Oren Burks, LB, Vanderbilt
25 (89). Los Angeles Rams: Joseph Noteboom, OT, TCU
26 (90). Atlanta: Deadrin Senat, DT, South Florida
27 (91). New Orleans: Tre'Quan Smith, WR, UCF
28 (92). Pittsburgh: Chukwuma Okorafor, OT, Western Michigan
Okorafor was taken by the Steelers near the end of the third round, right about where a lot of scouts had him pegged. Okorafor is a big, strong dude, but naysayers thought his tape was underwhelming. He's a great run-blocker, but he's got some work to do when it comes to pass blocking.
Okorafor, who is from Southfield, is first player selected from the Mid-American Conference in this year's draft.
29 (93). Jacksonville: Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama
30 (94). Tampa Bay: Alex Cappa, OL, Humboldt State
31 (95). San Francisco: Tarvarius Moore, S, Southern Miss
32 (96). Buffalo: Harrison Phillips, DT, Stanford
33 (97). Arizona: Mason Cole, C, Michigan
Cole is the first selection from Michigan or MSU, going to the Cardinals at No. 97. He's actually just the second player selected from any college in Michigan, as Chukwuma Okorafor of WMU went to Pittsburgh five picks earlier.
Cole (6'4", 307 pounds) is a solid lineman that will have a chance to compete for playing time in his rookie season. He's got some flexibility, as well, as he started for two years at left tackle for the Wolverines.
34 (98). Houston: Jordan Akins, TE, UCF
35 (99). Denver: Isaac Yiadom, CB, Boston College
36 (100). Kansas City: Dorian O'Daniel, LB, Clemson
NFL DRAFT
When: Thursday through Saturday
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Format: Rounds 2-3 start at 7 p.m. Friday; Rounds 4-7 start at noon Saturday
TV: NFL Network and ESPN; on Fox on Friday
Lions: They have six picks: No. 20 (first round), No. 51 (second round), No. 82 (third round), No. 117 (fourth round), No. 153 (fifth round), No. 237 (seventh round).
MORE COVERAGE
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'It starts up front': Lions draft Arkansas OL Frank Ragnow
Niyo: Quinn focuses on finishing Lions' O-line overhaul
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Recap: Day 1 of 2018 NFL Draft