2020 Post Draft Thoughts - Round 2

This is a continuation of my draft notes.  These notes provide context for the 2020 NFL draft picks - who was a reach, who was a value, and the scenarios that various teams had when they were making these picks.  Hopefully it will provide a handy reference point in future years. Here are the notes for Round 2:

33. Cincinnati Bengals - Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson. Brilliant pick by Cincinnati. Higgins was widely regarded as a Round 1 talent who slipped to Round 2 in this loaded receiver class. Cincinnati’s starting outside receivers, A.J. Green and John Ross, are not under contract with the team beyond 2020 (as of the time of this writing). Thus, it makes sense to draft a potential replacement for one of them. Higgins grew up a Bengals fan, and models his game after A.J. Green. He was tremendously productive in college, and came out of Clemson’s winning program. This is a kid who was a five star recruit coming out of high school, so he’s used to meeting high expectations. He has the ability to make perennial Pro Bowls as long as Joe Burrow is under center.

34. Indianapolis Colts - Michael Pittman, WR, USC. One of my favorite players in the draft lands with the team that is probably the best fit for him. For years, the Colts have had TY Hilton to take the top off of defenses, but no one to go over the middle and move the chains. Pittman is a 6’4” target who is a catch machine. He also played special teams all four years at USC, so he should be able to help in that facet of the game as well. When we look back on this draft in five years, it would not surprise me if he wound up being more productive than several of the receivers drafted ahead of him in Round 1.

35. Detroit Lions - D’Andre Swift, RB, Georgia. I had been predicting this as the Lions’ pick for months. GM Bob Quinn and HC Matt Patricia are Bill Belichick disciples, and Belichick loves using a stable of running backs. Kerryon Johnson has been a decent player but just cannot stay healthy, so another guy capable of carrying the load was needed. Sure, Swift has had his own injury bugaboos, but I suspect that splitting carries with Johnson will keep both backs healthy. Plus, Swift is a fantastic pass catcher, which is an element that is lacking in Johnson’s game. I had Swift rated as the top back in this class, so it is good value to get him in the second frame.

36. New York Giants - Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama. I have not understood the love for McKinney throughout the draft process. I think if he went to Iowa, rather than Alabama, you’re looking at a Round 3 pick, but he got the ‘Bama program boost to his draft stock. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice player. But I would have preferred several safeties ahead of him, including Antoine Winfield, Ashtyn Davis, Kyle Dugger, and Grant Delpit. Time will tell if Dave Gettleman was right in making him the first safety off the board.

37. New England Patriots - Kyle Dugger, S, Lenoir-Rhyne. Leave it to Bill Belichick to make a small-school guy his first selection in the draft. I know nothing about Dugger other than what I’ve read, but all of the scouting reports are glowing. Apparently he really showed he belonged during Senior Bowl week.

38. Carolina Panthers - Yetur Gross-Matos, DE, Penn State. New HC Matt Rhule is building his team from the inside out. The first two picks have been in the trenches, with DT Derrick Brown and DE Yetur Gross-Matos. Gross-Matos was a first round talent in what is a shallow defensive end class, so to get a guy with his pass rushing potential on Day 2 could be a steal. Solid pick by the Panthers.

39. Miami Dolphins - Robert Hunt, RT, Louisiana. I will be interested to see whether the Dolphins play Hunt at right tackle or right guard. When the commissioner announced the pick, he announced Hunt as a tackle, the position he played in college. If he stays there in the pros, he has the unenviable task of blocking for Tua Tagovailoa’s blind side. Hunt was widely viewed as the best guard in this class, but I’m not sure where he would rank if slotted in among the tackles.

40. Houston Texans - Ross Blacklock, DL, TCU. This is a good pick by the Texans. Probably the biggest hole on their depth chart was on the defensive line, so it was a stroke of good fortune that one of the top linemen in this class fell right into their laps. My assumption is that they will be having Blacklock, who was a defensive tackle in college, play opposite JJ Watt in their 3-4 defense, as I don’t think he projects well as a 3-4 nose tackle.

41. Indianapolis Colts - Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin. The Colts traded up for this pick, which tells you what they think of the player. It suggests that the Marlon Mack experiment in Indy may be coming to an end. Mack actually has been reasonably productive for the Colts over the past two seasons, rushing for nearly 2,000 yards and racking up 17 scores. However, he lacks the deep speed that Taylor possesses, which should provide a missing element to the Colts’ offensive attack. Taylor needs to cure his fumbling woes, though, or he won’t see the field.

42. Jacksonville Jaguars - Laviska Shenault, WR, Colorado. DJ Chark is a nice player, but Dede Westbrook isn’t the answer on the other side. The Jaguars had to get more weapons for Gardner Minshew, and grabbing Shenault is a great start. He’s one of the most explosive players in the draft. A wide receiver in a running backs’ body, Shenault is the sort of rugged, jack-of-all-trades weapon that this offense has been lacking. If he can stay healthy, he could really improve this team’s offense.

43. Chicago Bears - Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame. Cole Kmet, in my view, is a souped-up Kyle Rudolph. A good comparison might be that he’s a faster Jason Witten. I think this guy will play in the league for at least a decade. He’s just a really, really good player. Unfortunately, the landing spot isn’t ideal. The Bears have 9 other tight ends under contract. Jimmy Graham will start out ahead of Kmet on the depth chart, so there isn’t a realistic expectation for meaningful snaps. If he does crack the starting lineup, he’ll have to try to corral passes from Mitch Trubisky, who is probably the worst starting quarterback in the league. Good luck catching passes that are seven yards off-target, kid.

44. Cleveland Browns - Grant Delpit, S, LSU. Delpit was considered a potential first round pick heading into the 2019 college football season . . . and then he forgot how to tackle. Rumors are that the kid was playing hurt, so maybe that explains the drop in production. The talent is certainly there. Still, as a Bengals fan, I don’t hate that this pick was made by the Browns. I would have been much more intimidated if Cleveland had selected the next guy off the board . . . .

45. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Antoine Winfield Jr., S, Minnesota. Baller. This dude is a FLAT. OUT. BALLER. Loved his dad, love him. He’s a 5’9 human missile. He can play the run, tackle, and is a ballhawk. If it wasn’t for his size and injury history, he would have been a top 15 pick. Assuming he can stay healthy, he should be a perennial Pro Bowler. He’s a one-inch-shorter version of Earl Thomas.

46. Denver Broncos - KJ Hamler, WR, Penn State. Meh. I don’t get terribly excited about 5’8 slot receivers who have a penchant for dropping the football. I like Denver’s strategy in this draft - give Drew Lock as many weapons as possible to make him comfortable - but I just am not impressed with the player. Could be wrong, and he could be a star. But you win more than you lose betting against undersized receivers who are limited to the slot and struggle with drops.

47. Atlanta Falcons - Marlon Davidson, DL, Auburn. I’m not sure whether they intend to play him at tackle or at end, but they need help at both spots. I thought Davidson would have been a better fit for a team running a 3-4 defense.

48. Seattle Seahawks - Darrell Taylor, DE, Tennessee. Classic Seattle, taking a guy in Round 2 that everyone else had projected in Rounds 3-4. Taylor looks the part, though, and he should certainly have an opportunity to earn a starting role right away, given the state of the depth chart.

49. Pittsburgh Steelers - Chase Claypool, WR, Notre Dame. This pick hurt my heart. I’m a huge Notre Dame fan, and have been one of the people pounding the table for Chase Claypool for months. But I’m an even bigger Bengals fan, so I loathe this pick. Claypool brings the size that has been missing from the Steelers offense for quite some time. He’s an outside receiver that can win at every level of the field. Don’t buy into all this “he’ll have to play tight end in the NFL” crap. He’s a true outside receiver, that has tremendous speed for his size. It sickens me what a good player the Steelers got here.

50. Chicago Bears - Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah. Many pundits projected Johnson as a late-first round prospect, so Chicago has to be ecstatic to get a potential starter here with their second Day 2 pick. There is an opening on the depth chart opposite Kyle Fuller.

51. Dallas Cowboys - Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama. See commentary on Johnson, above. Several analysts thought that Diggs could be the third corner off the board in Round 1, and projected him to Dallas in that frame. The Cowboys’ secondary is probably the team’s biggest weakness, so Jerrah & Co. had to be thrilled to get him in Round 2.

52. Los Angeles Rams - Cam Akers, RB, Florida State. I wonder if the Rams understand the concept of positional value. They’re always down premium picks, and they have an aging - ok, old - left tackle in Andrew Whitworth. Selecting Houston’s Josh Jones or Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland as Whitworth successors would have been the wise plays here. Instead, they grab another running back (albeit a talented one) when they could have just as easily gotten a running back later in the draft. Akers was a five star recruit when he went to Florida State but the entire program collapsed around him. He may be one of those rare players who is actually a better pro than collegiate player. And i understand that the Rams felt they had to do something at the position after releasing Todd Gurley. But isn’t that why they traded up for Darrell Henderson last year in Round 3? Have they given up on Henderson already? It seems that they didn’t maximize the value of this pick, although I really do like Akers’ prospects as a pro.

53. Philadelphia Eagles - Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma. A number of people were bashing this pick, and I don’t understand why. Philadelphia has long placed a premium on backup quarterbacks (remember Nick Foles winning a Super Bowl?) and they did not resign Josh McCown after the 2019 season. Jalen Hurts is not a threat to Carson Wentz’s job security. Wentz just signed a $128M contract last season. Rather, Hurts gives them a young, cheap backup option with considerable starting experience in the event that Wentz gets hurt. And over the course of his career, Wentz has been hurt quite a bit. This is a really savvy move by Howie Roseman, and should give Doug Pederson a fun player to use on gadget plays a few times a game as well.

54. Buffalo Bills - AJ Epenesa, DE, Iowa. Wow. Just wow. This might be the best value of the second round. Prior to the combine, there was talk that Epenesa could go in the first half of Round 1. To get a player of his caliber at one of their biggest positions of need, at this point in the draft, was an absolute coup for the Bills - who, remember, traded their first round pick to the Vikings in the Stefon Diggs trade. The Bills now boast a defensive line that features Jerry Hughes, Ed Oliver, Star Lotulelei, and Epenesa, with Vernon Butler, Mario Addison, and Trent Murphy rotating in. Not too shabby. Epenesa’s lunchpail approach is going to quickly endear him to Bills Mafia.

55. Baltimore Ravens - J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State. Anyone surprised that the Ravens drafted a future replacement for 30-year-old Mark Ingram? Me neither. Dobbins is probably the best back in the class in pass protection, which means he could see snaps as early as Year 1. Could emerge as a top-20 fantasy football pick by Year 2.

56. Miami Dolphins - Raekwon Davis, DL, Alabama. Davis is a guy who is immensely talented but hasn’t really shown up on tape since his sophomore year in Tuscaloosa. It looks like Brian Flores is seeking to be more multiple, as Davis has the ability to play in a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme. Given the picks they had made up to this point in the draft, it was nice to see the defensive line get some attention. Still, I question who is going to provide the outside pass rush for this team.

57. Los Angeles Rams - Van Jefferson, WR, Florida. I was one of the bigger Van Jefferson fans you could find due to his route running savvy, but this is way too high for a guy that never recorded a 1,000 yard season in college. The guy should have been an early Day 3 pick. Again, the Rams are eschewing their offensive line, particularly their growing need at left tackle, and just look who went with the next pick.

58. Minnesota Vikings - Ezra Cleveland, LT, Boise State. Minnesota continues in its never-ending quest to find offensive linemen. I really like the value and the fit here. Hopefully, Cleveland can take over for left tackle Reilly Reiff sooner rather than later.

59. New York Jets - Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor. Sam Darnold is a happy man. In Round 1, the Jets selected Mekhi Becton as his blindside protector, and in Round 2, they chose the only wide receiver in college football to have at least 8 touchdowns in each of the past three seasons. Darnold finally has a legitimate target at wide receiver, as well as complementary pieces in Jamison Crowder and Breshad Perriman. Good get by the Jets, especially after trading back.

60. New England Patriots - Josh Uche, LB, Michigan. Billy Belichick trades up to fill his biggest need on defense. This will probably look like being a really smart pick in hindsight. It took Uche to really turn it on at Michigan, but he was dynamite his final season.

61. Tennessee Titans - Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU. How in the world was this guy on the board? The former five star recruit shut down some of the biggest names in college football last season. When facing Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, and Tee Higgins in 2019 - receivers who were all taken within the first 33 picks of the 2020 draft - Fulton gave up just three catches for 39 yards and no touchdowns. He was the third-best corner in the class, in my view, and the guy the Falcons should have taken at 16 instead of A.J. Terrell. Great, great pick by the Titans.

62. Green Bay Packers - AJ Dillon, RB, Boston College. Do the Packers even have a plan? In the most loaded receiver draft in recent memory, they spend a first round pick on Jordan Love and a second round pick on a guy who will sit behind Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams in 2020. This was a curious pick. Dillon had a great combine, but the speed didn’t always show up on tape. This pick suggests that the Packers (a) don’t intend to re-sign Aaron Jones after the 2020 season, and (b) believe that Dillon will be a better pro than he was a collegiate player. I do not understand why they continue to waste Aaron Rodgers’ dwindling prime. Brian Gutekunst should lose his job over this draft, plain and simple.

63. Kansas City Chiefs - Willie Gay, LB, Mississippi State. Ehhhhhh. I get the physical gifts, and I get that the Chiefs need linebackers. But I can’t get behind spending a premium pick on a guy with character issues who started only 6 games in college.

64. Carolina Panthers - Jeremy Chinn, S, S. Illinois. Carolina trades up to make the final pick of the Round. Chinn was widely regarded as one of the top safeties in this class, and Carolina had a huge hole on their depth chart at this position. Carolina continues its overhaul under Matt Rhule by reshaping the defense.