The 2020 NFL Draft continued Friday night, following Thursday night’s opening round with two more rounds of picks. Some teams were able to capitalize on players who fell out of Round 1, while others kept going down a confusing path.
Least surprising move: Cincinnati Bengals select WR Tee Higgins
The Bengals have cycled through numerous wide receivers to pair with star wideout A.J. Green. Most, if not all, have been a disappointment, or have underachieved to some extent. So it’s no surprise that they went for Higgins. Not only is it yet another attempt to find a true WR2 next to Green, who had the franchise tag placed on him but has neither gave any indication he’ll sign a multi-year deal to stay in Cincinnati nor put his name on the franchise tender. Plus, Cincy obviously want to put as many weapons around the top overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, quarterback Joe Burrow, who the Bengals took to kick things off.
Most surprising move: Philadelphia Eagles select QB Jalen Hurts
It wasn’t so much of an eyebrow-raiser that the Eagles took a quarterback. Starter Carson Wentz has had some trouble staying on the field and Philadelphia lost proven commodity Nick Foles before last season when he signed with the Jaguars. The only other QBs on the Eagles’ roster are Nate Sudfeld and Kyle Lauletta. What is surprising, however, is that Hurts was Philly’s guy.
Hurts comes in with as much pedigree as any college quarterback, given his run at Alabama and what he did last season with the Oklahoma Sooners. It’s highly unlikely that Hurts will push for the starting gig in training camp, but head coach Doug Peterson might use Hurts in some unique packages. If Wentz goes down, or if Hurts has a few big plays if Peterson gives him some snaps, things could get really interesting for the Eagles at the signal-caller position.
Big winners: New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals
Both these squads found excellent value and positions of need on Day 2. New Orleans gave their pass rush a boost by finding Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun in the third round. ESPN had Baun ranked as the second-best outside linebacker and 36th-best prospect overall. They then followed that up by getting Drew Brees, their 41-year-old quarterback, a big target in tight end Adam Trautman, a 6’5″, 255-pound product from Dayton. Both have tremendous upside.
Arizona, likewise, made great use of their lone Day 2 pick by ending offensive tackle Josh Jones’ slide. Prior to the draft, some had Jones a late-first rounder. The Cardinals needed to upgrade their protection of last year’s number one overall pick, QB Kyler Murray, and they found it with Jones.
Big losers: Green Bay Packers
Green Bay continued a head-scratching approach by using their first second-round pick on running back AJ Dillon of Boston College. Dillon is a bruising, 6-foot, 247-pound back that figures to help Green Bay’s short-yardage game and move the chains when given the chance, but after taking quarterback Jordan Love in the opening round, the Packers are operating like a rebuilding team trying to put a winner on the field three years from now, not like a team that is fresh off an appearance in the NFC Championship, which they are.
The Packers are seemingly trying to operate on multiple timelines, winning now while keeping one eye on the future. That’s a slippery slope to try and navigate. Granted, they did get franchise QB Aaron Rodgers a new toy in Cincinnati tight end Josiah Deguara, but you have to wonder if Green Bay feels like they missed an opportunity to get a difference-making wide receiver in a draft class that was loaded with them.
Highlights: Timing, flow, and presentation
There was rightly some trepidation about the league going about its business while there’s a global pandemic happening. And, to a lesser extent, experience a couple minor hiccups during a dry run earlier in the week.
However, Round 1 was a ratings bonanza, drawing in an estimated 15.6 million viewers. The format has continued to work very well, with almost no noticeable mishaps, which is pretty astonishing considering the logistics of getting an entire league to function under the limitations of social distancing and various stay-at-home orders.
Lowlights: Continually focusing on tragic stories
Look, capturing moments of adversity and shedding light on how athletes overcome those moments is the essence of the sports media. But the 2020 NFL Draft has taken that to a new high, or low. Some of these aspects feel forced, if not downright unnecessary.
Check out the last thing listed for the first pick of Day 2:
Off to a fast start. pic.twitter.com/XYa0TdjBEL
— Bougie Cousins ? (@fcan17) April 24, 2020
Did that really have to be included? I mean, really?
