The Bengals, who hold the first pick in the second round, are high on wide receiver Denzel Mims and defensive tackle Ross Blacklock, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.
Rapoport also notes several teams looking to move up/down in the order. The Jets, Jaguars, and Falcons are among the clubs interested in making a leap. Potential trade partners include the Colts (No. 34) and Dolphins (No. 39), who are willing to listen on offers to move back.
Cincinnati doesn’t necessarily need any immediate help at wide receiver, as the club boasts A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd, and John Ross as its top three options. However, Green and Ross haven’t been able to stay healthy, and each has just one year remaining on his respective contract (the Bengals hold a 2021 option on Ross that they’ve yet to exercise). Mims would add an explosive option for new quarterback Joe Burrow, and give Cincinnati a long-term asset.
Blacklock, meanwhile, was a draft riser in recent months and was viewed as a potential Day 1 pick. Instead, he’s likely to come off the board at the top of Round 2. The Bengals already have Geno Atkins and free agent acquisition D.J. Reader on the interior of their defensive line, but Blacklock would give them ample depth.
April 24th, 2020 at 12:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson
Before the Dolphins stuck at No. 5 overall and drafted quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, there were rumblings that Miami wanted to trade up not for a signal-caller, but for an offensive tackle. Had the Dolphins followed through with that plan, they would have been targeting Georgia’s Andrew Thomas, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Thomas ended up coming off the board to the Giants at No. 4, so Miami would have had to get to the third overall pick in order to have a chance. The Dolphins ended up finding an offensive tackle later in Round 1 with USC’s Austin Jackson:
Here’s more from last night’s action:
The Falcons were heavily linked not only to a potential trade up, but specifically to Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson prior to the draft. Atlanta did want to move up for Henderson, per Rapoport (Twitter link), but they couldn’t find a trade partner for a number of reasons. Both the Dolphins and Chargers wanted quarterbacks, the Panthers refused to trade within the division, the Cardinals were stuck on Isaiah Simmons, and the Jaguars wanted Henderson for themselves.
The Raiders were attempting to trade back from the 12th pick before selecting Alabama wideout Henry Ruggs, according to Vic Tafur of The Atheltic (Twitter link). Speculatively, Las Vegas may have been happy to land any of the top-three pass-catchers and figured it could move down, acquire more picks, and still find a wide receiver. Instead, the Raiders surprisingly went with Ruggs, who was widely viewed as the third-best WR behind CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy.
After trading DeForest Buckner to the Colts in March, the 49ers “quietly” tried to sign several free agent defensive tackles with no success, tweets Rapoport. Instead, San Francisco moved back one pick before adding South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link), Kinlaw was off at least one team’s board due to medical issues. Most clubs, however, deemed him only a “moderate” injury risk.
The Cowboys debated between Lamb and LSU edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson at pick No. 17 before ultimately deciding on Lamb, per Rapoport (Twitter link). Chaisson was a popular target for Dallas in many mock drafts, but when Lamb unexpectedly fell to the middle of Round 1, the Cowboys couldn’t pass. Dallas will now feature a superb three-WR set of Lamb, Amari Cooper, and Michael Gallup.
The Saints are looking to trade for an early second round pick, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (on Twitter). As of this writing, the Saints have zero Round 2 choices, so they’d likely have to deal from their 2021 stockpile to get something done.
Saints GM Mickey Loomis threw everyone a curveball at No. 24 last night with his selection of center Cesar Ruiz. The Michigan product was pegged by many as a second-round type and offensive line depth wasn’t thought to be the Saints’ top priority. Meanwhile, LSU linebacker Patrick Queen and cornerback Kristian Fulton were still there for the taking.
The Saints have a stacked roster, but there are still areas they could target early in Round 2. On defense, Fulton, Alabama’s Trevon Diggs, and Utah’s Jaylon Johnson would all make sense at cornerback. Linebacker could also be an area of need in New Orleans, and the Saints could target prospects like Willie Gay (Mississippi State) or Zack Baun (Wisconsin).
April 24th, 2020 at 11:51am CST by Dallas Robinson
Heading into Round 1 of the 2020 draft, three quarterbacks — Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, and Justin Herbert — seemed like near locks to be selected within the first 10 picks, while a fourth (Utah State’s Jordan Love) was viewed as a candidate to be drafted near the end of Round 1.
Well, that’s exactly what happened! Burrow went to the Bengals with the first overall pick, Tagovailoa and Herbert went off the board at back-to-back selections to the Dolphins and Chargers, respectively, and the Packers made a shocking trade up to No. 26 to nab Love.
But with Day 2 of the draft set to get under way tonight, there are still quarterback options available. Lets’s take a quick look at the top signal-callers that remain on the board (in no particular order):
Hurts, famously, took Alabama to the National Championship Game in each of his first two seasons as a starter before getting benched for Tagovailoa at halftime of the 2018 title game. An excellent locker room presence, Hurts handled that demotion in stride before transferring to Oklahoma for the 2019 campaign. He posted more than 3,800 yards passing and nearly 1,300 yards on the ground en route to finishing second to Burrow in the Heisman race.
Like Hurts, Eason was a transfer, spending parts of two seasons at Georgia before wrapping up his collegiate career at Washington in 2019. Eason, a physical specimen at 6’6″, 230 pounds, tossed 23 touchdowns against eight interceptions a season ago, but offered nothing on the ground (19 attempts for three yards). As draft analyst Ian Wharton has noted, Eason has the arm to be a deep passer but has typically stuck with underneath throws.
A three-year starter with nearly 1,000 career passing attempts, Fromm is viewed as a quarterback with great makeup and mental processing, but he may not have the physical tools to succeed in the NFL. Seth Galina of Pro Football Focus recently posted an excellent breakdown of Fromm, noting that he simply stopped being able to hit open receivers at some point during the 2019 campaign. Fromm can see the field as good as anyone, but whether he can get the ball to where it needs to go is an open question.
After starting his career at Bowling Green, Morgan transferred to FIU in 2018 and won Conference USA Newcomer of the Year honors in his first season. 2019 wasn’t quite as successful a year, but Morgan is still attracting NFL attention thanks in part to his performance at the combine and the East-West Shrine Game. So far, 11 clubs — including potentially QB-needy teams like the Patriots, Bears, Colts, and Raiders — have been connected to Morgan.
Could fellow Washington State alum Gardner Minshew‘s surprising 2019 rookie campaign help push Gordon up boards? It remains to be seen, but Gordon does have age working against him, as he’ll be 24 years when the 2020 season gets underway. Last year, Gordon completed 71.6% of his passes for more than 5,500 yards and 48 touchdowns in the Cougars’ high-flying offense.
So what do you think? Which of these quarterbacks is the best available on Day 2? Vote below (link for app users):
The Broncos were among the clubs trying to get back into the first round, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. Their target, according to Mike Klis of 9News, was LSU linebacker Patrick Queen.
The Broncos got their wish at No. 15, landing Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy, their top-ranked receiver. Had Jeudy not been available, they would have looked to trade back for either Queen or fellow ‘backer Kenneth Murray. After landing Jeudy, they tried to get back into the first round for Queen – instead, he went to the Ravens.
Elway wasn’t so sure that he’d be able to get Jeudy at No. 15, but he was pleasantly surprised with how everything turned out.
“It was probably less than 50 percent,” Elway said. “I think that when you look at it he was there a couple of times. We really kind of worked off our mocks with him not being there, and in the situation he wasn’t there, which direction would we go. It was a lot less than 50 percent and that’s why when he was there, we were thrilled that he was there.”
With four picks on Day 2, the Broncos have plenty of ammo if they want to move up for another linebacker. They could also use that artillery to address remaining needs, including cornerback and center. For now, the Broncos’ Day 2 party starts in the second round at No. 46 overall. After that, they have a trio of third-round picks – Nos. 77, 83, and 95.
The Panthers have been “consistently” receiving calls from clubs interested in wide receiver Curtis Samuel, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. So far, they haven’t been keen on the idea of trading Samuel, but Rapoport says it’s worth monitoring in case they get an offer that’s too good to pass up.
Right now, the Panthers seem intent on keeping Samuel and the rest of their primary weapons in place for new quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. At the same time, the former second-round pick is heading into his contract year, so the Panthers could be swayed if they’re skittish about the cost of his next deal.
Samuel is coming off of a career year with 54 catches for 627 yards and six touchdowns. He’s also an excellent bargain: This year, he’s slated to earn just $1.2MM in salary.
The Panthers want to hold on to Samuel, but they haven’t let sentimentality get in the way this offseason. They’ve also got other receivers behind D.J. Moore, thanks to the signings of Robby Anderson, Seth Roberts, and Pharoh Cooper.
The Vikings are still in the mix for Trent Williams, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. Earlier this month, the Vikings offered up a Day 3 pick to the Redskins, Cronin hears. Heading into Day 2 of the draft, the Vikings still have the draft capital in place to put a package together, so a deal remains possible.
Of course, it all comes down to what the Vikings are willing to offer for Williams – who would require a sizable contract extension upon arrival – and what the Redskins are willing to accept. Throughout the offseason, they’ve indicated they wanted at least a second-rounder for the multiple-time Pro Bowler.
To our knowledge, no one has met that asking price. But, after several suitors and potential suitors found left tackle help in the first round, the Redskins will have to dial back their expectations. The Browns were the frontrunners for Williams; they took Alabama standout Jedrick Wills Jr. with the No. 10 overall pick. The Jets, who were never willing to send a second-round pick for Williams anyway, grabbed Louisville’s Mekhi Becton at No. 11. The Buccaneers almost traded tight endO.J. Howard for Williams earlier this year, but they moved on and likely slammed the door shut with their move up for Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs.
The market for Williams has shrunk and chances of a reconciliation seem remote, so the Vikings could get one of the league’s premier protectors for pennies on the dollar.
In one of Thursday night’s biggest surprises, the Cowboys landed wide receiver CeeDee Lamb at No. 17. The Eagles tried to catch him as he fell by trading up to the Falcons No. 16 pick, Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears, but they were unable to get a deal done.
Few expected the Cowboys to go WR in the first round, but Jerry Jones took advantage of the opportunity that fell into his lap. And, some say, he came away with the best receiver in a class chock full of exceptional talent. Meanwhile, the Eagles stood pat at No. 21 and nabbed Jalen Reagor, who offers phenomenal speed backed by his sub-4.3-second 40-yard-dash time.
Most prognosticators and insiders believed that Lamb would not be available beyond the Raiders’ No. 12 pick. The Jets, at No. 11, were also a prime landing spot for the 2019 consensus All-American. When Gang Green opted for the braun of Mekhi Becton and the Raiders chose Alabama speedster Henry Ruggs instead, Lamb was left to wait nervously in his living room.
It’s not clear what the Eagles were offering the Falcons to slide back five spots, but it wasn’t enough for them to risk losing out on A.J. Terrell. Eagles fans may be a little extra grumpy about the Cowboys’ big score after learning of the trade attempt, but the Birds can’t be too mad about “settling” for the blazing speed of Reagor.
Lamb finished last season with 62 catches for 1,327 yards and 14 touchdowns. That was Lamb’s second consecutive season with at least 1,000 yards and 10+ scores.
The Lions stayed at No. 3 overall last night and came away with their top target in cornerback Jeff Okudah. They tried to trade back and still grab the Ohio State star but, ultimately, there wasn’t much of a market for the pick.
“We had a lot of conversations,” GM Bob Quinn said late Thursday night (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “We never got a firm offer. No team put anything on the table. Had multiple conversations with multiple teams. They were kind of fishing around and we were open for business as you guys know, and nothing was ever put out in front of us to evaluate.”
The Dolphins, at No. 5, were a prime candidate for a swap, but they were intent on acquiring the No. 3 pick without giving up their No. 5 overall choice. Whatever the ‘Fins offered didn’t move the needle for Quinn & Co. – there was no chance of landing Okudah or any of their preferred targets later on in the first round. The Dolphins didn’t up their offer, either, because they were ultimately comfortable with Tua Tagovailoa and confident that he’d still be available with the fifth pick. They were right and, besides, their imagined Godfather offer of the No. 3 + No. 5 wouldn’t have convinced the Bengals to pass on Joe Burrow.
“The few teams that showed a little bit of interest, just ultimately as we got to [Thursday], for whatever reason, decided to stay put,” Quinn said. “And I think looking back, they probably got the guys they probably would have taken at three. So it takes two teams to tango and, listen, we feel good about it…Ultimately, looking back at it, it really didn’t mean much because nothing happened.”
