The NFL Draft shakes up fortunes. He’s moving terrible franchises into Blue Blood™️ territory, with only one decent quarterback selection. The league is emphasizing the first round for television purposes, as it should. But the reality of football is that drafts are won on Friday (and sometimes Saturday) and generally lost on Thursday.
Every draft has its own style – this draft feels like a year where there is some top-tier talent and a bunch of really good players in the next 40, but the decline is going to be steep.
We can probably pin this on the Covid Bell Curve (also ™️) and what was done to change the makeup of these draft classes. If Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix can break into the top 12, anything is possible.
Let’s see who won and lost the most on 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 sooner than expected under Dan Quinn, we’ll likely be able to point the finger at Day 2 of the draft. Illinois defensive tackle Johnny Newton was a steal at No. 36 and only adds to the strength of this team. Michigan DB Mike Sainristil gives them some much-needed help at Nickelback. Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott could topple Zach Ertz and TCU offensive lineman Brandon Coleman gives them a quality pick at a position of need. Quinn’s draft picks were underrated when he was in Atlanta and he got off to a good start with Washington as well. Lots to enjoy for Commanders so far in 2024.
Los Angeles Chargers
I have made no secret of my love for Jim Harbaugh and the fact that he just WON. Well, he immediately got aggressive in building the Chargers to his vision with this draft and I love what he’s doing. With two picks on Friday, Harbs added one of my favorite wideouts of the entire class and an absolute lunch guy in Ladd McConkey. Chargers fans who are freaking out about not having weapons now have a perfectly good group, especially if Harbaugh gets the most out of Quentin Johnston. Herbert throwing missiles at Ladd is going to make me do something stupid with the Chargers this offseason. Then Los Angeles signed Junior Colson, a Harbaugh alumnus at Michigan, who can help get into the Chargers’ locker room and, even as a rookie, be a liaison to the head coach. He’s also a very good player who fits what the Chargers need. This team is going to be a problem next year.
Buffalo Bills
Everyone wanted to kill Buffalo for letting the Chiefs take their place and grab an offensive player. (Guilty as charged!) But I think Bill Belichick said it best, saying you can’t do anything but care about your own team. That’s exactly what the Bills did, moving back multiple times on Thursday and landing a slew of extra picks, including picks to move up from No. 32 to No. 33. That’s not a move you ever see! But the Bills came through and were able to land Florida State’s Keon Coleman, an underrated prospect in this class who can do weird things in traffic and could be a big beneficiary of the new kick rule. ‘sending. Later in the second round, the Bills added safety Cole Bishop from Utah, helping fill a massive need for the Bills. Sean McDermott’s defense in Buffalo has thrived on safety play and they are now starting to rebuild the position after the departure of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Dude, if you get Payton Wilson late in the third round, you’ll be on this list for me. Wilson will be an impact guy at worst, with just one contract. He’s a locker room guy that Mike Tomlin is going to love and he’ll make an impact on this defense in year one. The Steelers also took Michigan’s Roman Wilson 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 day two.
Losers
Minnesota Vikings
I don’t think it really sunk in how much the Vikings spent in mid-round draft capital until Friday night. They were able to land JJ McCarthy and Dallas Turner with two first-round picks on Thursday night. That’s great. This makes them winners. But the price they pay is substantial: Minnesota didn’t have a single pick on the second day of the draft, a day in which a ton of very good players were available over 100 picks. And it gets even worse, because the Vikings have a 2025 first-round pick and nothing else until the fifth round of this draft. It’s a franchise with very good offensive players (Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson) and an excellent coaching staff who will know how to get the most out of the defense. But they have a very thin line as to how they will construct the roster without these big picks.
Carolina Panthers
If you ask anyone who watched the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday and Friday which positions were devalued, they will tell you it was running back and linebacker. Naturally, the Carolina Panthers signed a running back and a linebacker on Friday. I thought Carolina did a great job trading up early in the second round, getting back a 2025 second round pick from the Rams (the Panthers don’t have one because of the Bryce Young trade, so good job ). But the Panthers overpaid to advance (after overpaying to advance from the first to the second round on Thursday, just one spot), which has been a theme in recent years. They signed running back Jonathan Brooks from Texas, a very good player, but who enters the season with injury question marks. If he is healthy, this is an excellent choice. If it isn’t, it’s a disaster. It was like lobbying to help Young. A linebacker on third down was very Dan Morgan. It has to hit.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons had an incredible start to the offseason and decided not to do the same in the first two days of the draft. I like that they addressed the defense on the second day of the draft, but they paid an insane amount of money – No. 43 and No. 79 to move up to No. 35 with No. 186 back – for go up and catch Ruke Orhorhoro. pretty expensive. Honestly, it’s hard not to consider the Penix angle here. Atlanta also added Bralen Trice from Washington, so the second round was designed to improve the defense. I can support the “plan” – take Penix, help the defense in the draft later – but the opportunity cost becomes pretty huge, especially when you factor in Terry Fontenot’s other first-round picks.
Tennessee Titans
Look, if you end up with just one pick on Day 2 and only come away with a defensive tackle twice, that’s a problem. T’Vondre Sweat is a very big man and could be a problem for interior offensive linemen. But he could also be a problem for the Titans: on draft night, it was reported that he was arrested for drunk driving and then went to visit the Titans the next day, which which they apparently enjoyed. This was the Titans’ only choice of the night and frankly doesn’t address any of their biggest needs.
