2017 NFL Draft: Day 2 Thoughts

Round 2

• Kevin King starts off the second round, heading to Green Bay. Really love the fit there for both him and the team. An excellent, athletic corner that can start on the outside.
• The Cardinals get an absolute steal with Budda Baker. They love versatile defenders and Baker should be an excellent third safety or nickel corner there. He was a first round talent in my books.
• I miss Ryan Grigson a whole lot. I’m not a huge Malik Hooker fan, but landing him and Quincy Wilson was quite the early haul for new GM Chris Ballard. Wilson is a do-it-all corner. Big and strong enough to match up with some of the NFL’s best, but long and quick enough to stick with some of the faster receivers.
• I mentioned Raekwon McMillan last week as an underrated player. The Miami Dolphins sat back and had him fall right into their laps. All three of their selections so far have looked good on tape, despite not testing that well. Charles Harris, Cordrea Tankersley and McMillan provide a ton of young talent to the defensive side.
• Russell Wilson desperately needed some offensive linemen, but the Seahawks clearly had no interest in adding one early. They traded back twice, took Malik McDowell and then finally selected Ethan Pocic with the 58th pick in the draft. Pocic is a center, but he was announced as a tackle. The Seahawks have often moved players around on the line, but that one just seems really odd. I have given up trying to figure out Tom Cable’s thought processes.
• I really hate that I like the Houston Texans’ draft. Rick Smith finally went all in on a QB. Zach Cunnningham was solid value with the 57th pick. Add in D’Onta Foreman and they’ve filled some major needs on both sides of the ball. I’d expect them to add an offensive lineman in the fourth round. They need to check off as many boxes as possible this year, because next year’s draft should include a really long wait through two rounds.

Round 3

• John Lynch was hitting home runs left and right in this draft early on. Ahkello Witherspoon was a really solid choice at the top of the third round to complement the two defensive first-rounders. CJ Beathard is the big swing-and-miss though. He was a barely draftable prospect.
• If you can figure out the Saints’ offseason strategy this year, please let me know. They gave up high draft capital (2018 2nd-rounder) to move up for Alvin Kamara. I know Sean Payton will love Kamara’s skillset, but he is firmly RB3 on that roster right now and there are only so many snaps to go around.
• Taywan Taylor is such a great choice for the Tennessee Titans. Jon Robinson loves productive wide receivers. In two years as general manager, he has chosen three receivers: Tajae Sharpe, Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor. All three have at least two seasons with >1000 yards. Most importantly with the Taylor selection, it fits what the offense needed. Given the Brandin Cooks rumours, it was easy to see Mularkey wanted a speedy slot receiver. Taylor fills that role now. He is so, so fun to watch. Quick and shifty, he seems like an ideal slot receiver. The one negative about this move to me was the trade up to get him. With so many receivers on the board, the fourth round pick was a high price to pay.
• The Patriots moved to the Titans’ spot at 83 and still managed to get Derek Rivers. Does anyone have a better feel for how the draft will play out than Bill Belichick?. He managed to get a strong pass rusher with upside despite waiting 82 picks for his turn.
• Remember when Davis Webb was going to sneak into the first round? So much for that. He did land in a nice spot, having time to sit and learn behind Eli Manning in New York.
• A lot of fans expected a tight end for the Titans’ final third round pick. I’m not sure a lot expected it to be Jonnu Smith. Despite a four year college career, there’s plenty of room to grow. My guess is that we’re going to see very little of him this year as they groom him eventually to help take pressure off of Delanie Walker. For now, he lands on the depth chart firmly as TE3. That is bad news for those of us who wanted to see less of Phillip Supernaw this year.