In our second round mock, we won’t bombard you too much with an explanation of every pick, just a quick paragraph after every five picks on what went down.
Enjoy!
Second Round:
32. Cleveland Browns – Myles Jack, LB, UCLA
33. Tennessee Titans – Von Bell, FS, Ohio State
34. Dallas Cowboys – Kevin Dodd, DE, Clemson
35. San Diego Chargers – Jalen Mills, S/CB, Louisiana State
36. Baltimore Ravens – Noah Spence, DE, Eastern Kentucky*
The round starts off with some of the best remaining players going off the board immediately (no Broncos targets). Both Cleveland and Dallas were rumored to be trying to trade back into the bottom half of the first round to get Paxton Lynch, it’ll be interesting to see if they go with another quarterback here or stick to the board and add defensive help. After passing on Ramsey the Chargers get a similarly skilled (while less talented) player who could help at both replacing Weddle and on the outside at corner. The Ravens have their choice of best edge rusher remaining and go with the troubled but talented Spence.
37. Kansas City Chiefs (from SF) – Mackensie Alexander, CB, Clemson
38. Jacksonville Jaguars – Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State
39. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Shilique Calhoun, DE/OLB, Michigan State
40. New York Giants – Su’a Cravens, OLB/S, Southern California
41. Chicago Bears – Jason Spriggs, OT, Indiana
John Fox and the Bears steal the first big Broncos target who was left on the board, in the raw but talented left tackle from Indiana. The Chiefs would have one of the steals of the entire draft with Alexander at this spot, he’d be perfect as a sideline defender playing man like Sean Smith used to, Alexander and Peters could form a dangerous pair. Tampa finally gets their edge rusher after passing on one early in the first (I don’t love the pick, but Calhoun fits their 4-3). The Jags are undecided between a coverage linebacker and an edge rusher and opt for Ogbah. While the Giants also manage to finally get themselves a linebacker in Cravens who has cover skills too, making him more appealing. Almost all of these players have first round talent or upside, the talent pool is still very deep.
42. Miami Dolphins – Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama
43. Tennessee Titans (from LA via PHI) – A’Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama
44. Oakland Raiders – KeiVarae Russell CB Notre Dame
45. Tennessee Titans (from LA) – Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State
46. Detroit Lions – Chris Jones, DT, Mississippi State*
I’m not sure Henry is a Gase type back, but he’s a good value and they’re desperate at the position. He’d also give Tannehill a bit more pass protection in the backfield.
The Titans pick twice here (with the Rams picks) and already make their third and fourth picks in the draft, it’s very likely they move down or trade out of one of these picks to add future 2017 selections. With the wealth of picks, they decide to forget needs and go after some high-end talent in the defensive trenches and add another weapon for their QB. The Raiders add another talent to their secondary and the Lions couldn’t be happier as they passed on defensive tackle in the first and still get a first-round talent here in Jones (another Broncos potential target in the round). Ragland has fallen far enough, ok he isn’t a modern cover backer, but he’s a great fit in Rex Ryan’s defense, and with Lawson gives two significant front-7 upgrades.
47. New Orleans Saints – Kamalei Correa, EDGE, Boise State
48. Indianapolis Colts – Jarran Reed, DT, Alabama
49. Buffalo Bills – Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama
50. Atlanta Falcons – Deion Jones, OLB, Louisiana State
51. New York Jets – Jacoby Brissett, QB, North Carolina State
It’ll be interesting to see if Correa is a fit in the Saints defense. He’s by far the best edge rusher remaining and could, in time, be a great replacement for Junior Galette. After adding help on the o-line yesterday, the Colts reinforce the defensive front with a great run defender, who could also stay on the field on third down, taking up linemen and opening up room for others. After deciding to go safety yesterday, the Falcons find the coverage linebacker they need in Jones, Jaylon Smith could also be a consideration here. I doubt the fourth quarterback drops this far and we could see some trade action earlier than this. The Jets need a starter under center and decide to go with Brissett instead of Cook, who’s off-field/personality red flags might see him fall a bit lower.
52. Houston Texans – Cody Whitehair, OT/G, Kansas State
53. Washington Redskins – Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor
54. Minnesota Vikings – Le’Raven Clark, OT, Texas Tech
55. Cincinnati Bengals – Tyler Boyd, WR, Pittsburgh
56. Seattle Seahawks – Jonathan Bullard, DE, Florida
This pick really hurts as a Broncos fan, because a Lynch/Whitehair first two picks would be an absolute coup in this draft. Washington gets another outstanding value pick at the d-line and brings home two first-round talents with their top two selections. The Vikings are known to value upside and athletic testing more than most and should be intrigued by Clark’s potential. The Bengals after robbing the Steelers of a prime corner pick last night, finally get a receiver that fits the characteristics they covet. The Seahawks already addressed their o-line and now pick a defensive tackle who fits them to a tee.
57. Green Bay Packers – Kyler Fackrell, OLB, Utah State
58. Pittsburgh Steelers – Darian Thompson, S, Boise State
59. Kansas City Chiefs – Sterling Shepard, WR, Oklahoma
60. New England Patriots – Javon Hargrave, DT, South Carolina State
61. New England Patriots (from ARI) – C.J. Prosise, RB, Notre Dame
62. Carolina Panthers – Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
Green Bay needs an inside linebacker but doesn’t need to reach for one here. Their outside linebackers (aside from Matthews) are lacking a bit in talent as well, the Utah State player is a perfect fit in the Packs defense. The Steelers double up on defensive backs and get a nice safety that could play in the box and also as a single high safety. The Chiefs already added a CB in this round, now they add another weapon in the passing game and a great fit in Reid’s west coast offense. Another heartbreaking pick here, as Hargrave would be a perfect Malik Jackson replacement, he’s also a great replacement for Dominique Easley, the former first-round pick who the Pats just cut. Prosise is still new to the running back position but has good size to run downhill and is a former receiver with great hands, making him an ideal fit in New England’s offense. The Panthers could very easily ignore the corner need for a few more rounds as they clearly don’t draft for immediate needs but have an eye towards the future and stick to the positions they value and know they can develop. Fuller was a lock to go in the first-round in September but dropped due to injuries and uneven tape. He’s an ideal fit in the zone-heavy cover schemes they use in Carolina and would be a decent value pick at this point.
63. Denver Broncos – Maliek Collins, DT, Nebraska
We’ve seen some really great players go in this round who would have fit the Broncos perfectly at this spot. Especially the two o-linemen Spriggs and Whitehair would be ideal fits in Denver’s zone-block, as would several of the d-linemen who were amazingly still around in the round. There are a few cover linebackers that would have looked nice as Trevathan replacements also.
None the less, the Broncos have lots of options, there’s still some real talent left at the interior d-line and you couldn’t go wrong there. At linebacker, Jaylon Smith becomes an extremely intriguing option. I recently featured Alex Lewis the Nebraska left tackle, he’d also be a nice fit in the Broncos system and an okay value here. My top three running backs are all gone at this point but there’s still some very nice talent remaining at the position. I’ve also had Hunter Henry, the top tight end, drop all the way down here as the position wasn’t a big need for anyone and he’d also present a nice option with some good value.
In the end, the Broncos just can’t pass up the talent on the d-line which has seen several players already go in this round. Collins has a similar skill set to Sheldon Rankins and is a slippery interior penetrator. His 2014 tape with Bo Pelini as his coach was better than what he showed in 2015. His ability as a run defender will have to be developed but his ability as an interior rusher is undeniable and could make him a high-level starter.
