The NFL Draft flips fortunes upside down. It moves terrible franchises into Blue Blood ™️ territory, with a single correct quarterback selection. The league emphasizes the first round for television purposes, as it should. But the reality of football is drafts are won on Friday (and sometimes Saturday) and usually lost on Thursday.
Each draft has its own style — this draft feels like a year where there’s top-end talent and a bunch of really good players in the next 40, but the drop-off is going to be steep.
We can probably pin that on the Covid Bell Curve (also ™️ ) and what it’s done to change the makeup of these draft classes. If Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix can go top 12 anything is possible.
Let’s look at who won and lost the most in the second day of the draft.
Winners
Washington Commanders
Obviously the highlight of this draft class will be Jayden Daniels, but if the Commanders return to prominence earlier than expected under Dan Quinn, we can probably point to the second day of the draft. Defensive tackle Johnny Newton from Illinois was a steal at No. 36 and only fortifies a strength for this team. Michigan DB Mike Sainristil gives them much needed help at nickleback. Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott might unseat Zach Ertz and TCU offensive lineman Brandon Coleman gives them a quality pick at a position of need. Quinn’s drafts were underrated when he was in Atlanta and he’s off to a great start with Washington as well. A lot to like for the Commanders so far in 2024.
Los Angeles Chargers
I’ve made no bones about my love for Jim Harbaugh and how he just WINS. Well, he’s immediately been aggressive about building the Chargers in his vision with this draft and I love what he’s doing. With two picks on Friday, Harbs added one of my favorite wideouts in the entire class and an absolute lunchpail guy in Ladd McConkey. Chargers fans freaking out about no weapons now have a perfectly good group, especially if Harbaugh gets the most out of Quentin Johnston. Herbert throwing p— missiles to Ladd is gonna make me do something silly with the Chargers this offseason. Then L.A. snagged Junior Colson, a former pupil of Harbaugh’s at Michigan, who can help come into the Chargers locker room and, even as a rookie, be a conduit from the head coach. He’s also a really good player who fits with what the Chargers need. This team is gonna be a problem next year.
Buffalo Bills
Everyone wanted to kill Buffalo for letting the Chiefs move up into their spot and grab an offensive player. (Guilty as charged!) But I think Bill Belichick put it best, saying you can’t do anything other than worry about your own team. The Bills did just that, moving back on Thursday multiple times and landing a slew of extra picks, including picks to go from No. 32 to No. 33. That’s not a move you ever see! But the Bills pulled it off and managed to grab Keon Coleman out of Florida State, an underrated wideout prospect in this class who can do some freaky stuff in traffic and might be a big beneficiary of the new kickoff rule. Later in the second round, the Bills added Cole Bishop, a safety out of Utah, which helps fill a massive need for the Bills. Sean McDermott’s defense in Buffalo thrived as a result of safety play and now they’re starting to replenish the position after Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer left.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Buddy if you land Payton Wilson late in the third round you are going to be on this list for me. Wilson will be an impact, single-contract guy at absolute worst. He’s a locker room guy who Mike Tomlin will love and he will impact this defense in the first year. The Steelers also nabbed Roman Wilson out of Michigan in the second round, a necessary move with the offseason trade of Diontae Johnson. Picking up Zach Frazier from WVU in the second round is another smart need/value combo for the Steelers on the second day.
Losers
Minnesota Vikings
I don’t think it really hit home just how much the Vikings spent in midround draft capital until Friday evening. They were able to land J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner with two first-round picks on Thursday night. That’s great. It makes them winners. But the price they’re paying is substantial: Minnesota didn’t have a single pick on the second day of the draft, a day in which a ton of really good players were available over the course of 100+ picks. And it gets worse, because the Vikings have a first-round pick in 2025 and nothing else until the fifth round of that draft. This is a franchise with some very good offensive players (Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson) and a great coaching staff that will get the most out of the defense. But they have a very thin line in terms of how they’re going to build out the roster without these important picks.
Carolina Panthers
If you ask anyone who watched the 2024 NFL Draft over Thursday and Friday what positions were devalued, they would tell you it was running back and linebacker. Naturally, the Carolina Panthers took a running back and a linebacker on Friday. I thought Carolina did a great job trading back early in the second round, picking up a second-round pick from the Rams in 2025 (the Panthers don’t have one because of the Bryce Young trade, so good job). But the Panthers overpaid to move up (after overpaying to move up from Round 1 to Round 2 on Thursday, just a single spot), which has been a theme over the last few years. They took a running back in Jonathan Brooks out of Texas, a very good player, but one coming into the season with injury question marks. If he’s healthy, he’s a great pick. If he’s not, it’s a disaster. It felt like pressing to help Young. A linebacker in the third was very Dan Morgan. It needs to hit.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons had an incredible early portion of their offseason and decided to not do the same on the first two days of the draft. I like them addressing the defense on the second day of the draft but they paid an insane amount — No. 43 and No. 79 to move up to No. 35 with No. 186 back — to move up and grab Ruke Orhorhoro is pretty expensive. It’s hard not to factor the Penix angle in here, honestly. Atlanta added Bralen Trice out of Washington as well, so the second round was designed around improving the defense. I can get behind the “plan” — take Penix, help the defense in the draft later — but the opportunity cost is getting pretty huge, especially when you factor in Terry Fontenot’s other first-round picks.
Tennessee Titans
Look, if you end up with a single Day 2 pick and only come away with a two-down defensive tackle, it’s a problem. T’Vondre Sweat is a big, big man and could be a problem for interior offensive linemen. But he could also be a problem for the Titans: during draft night it was reported he got pulled over for a DUI and then still went to visit the Titans the next day, which they apparently appreciated. This was the Titans’ only pick of the night and it frankly doesn’t address any of their biggest needs.
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