2012 NFL Draft Grades: Biggest Steals in Round 2

Round 2 of the 2012 NFL Draft was fast-paced and full of surprises. There were some major steals, too, as players were taken far lower than their grades would dictate.

Players take tumbles down the draft board every year, and it's always fascinating to watch how it happens. Teams fall in love with players that other teams wouldn't even consider selecting as high as they are picked.

This allows other teams to gleefully turn in their cards knowing they just stole a first-round player in the second round.

Here are the biggest steals from the second round.

Buffalo Bills Select Cordy Glenn with Pick No. 41

Glenn is good enough to have gone in the top 20, and nobody would have batted an eyelash if he had been taken that high.

Instead, the Bills watched him slide all the way down to them towards the middle of the second round—a major value pick and an absolute steal.

Glenn will compete for the starting for the open spot that Demetress Bell used to occupy, and I expect him to be the starter in Week 1.

He is a huge man, at 6'5" and 348 pounds, but Glenn moves as well as most tight ends. He is a major addition to the Bills' offensive line, and I continue to be impressed with the way they're building their team.

Grade: A

New York Jets Select Stephen Hill with Pick No. 43

The Jets took major strides to fix their lackluster offensive production by landing one of this year's most electric phenoms at the wide receiver position.

Most mock drafts had Hill being going to either the Houston Texans at No. 26 or the San Francisco 49ers at No. 30.

The fact that they had to give up a couple of late-round picks to do it shouldn't detract from the excellent value he represents in the middle of the second round.

As a comparison, the Cowboys stole Morris Claiborne by moving up to the No. 6 spot, also trading up to do it.

Hill will open things up significantly for Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense, and taking him was the right move for the development of their still-young quarterback.

Grade: A

Atlanta Falcons Select Peter Konz with Pick No. 55

Talk about a steal!

The Falcons couldn't pass up the opportunity to take the draft's best center—not to mention that he could have easily gone in the bottom of the first round.

It's also a pick that makes perfect sense. The Falcons have a terrific center currently on their roster—Todd McClure—but he's 35 years old and won't be playing much longer.

They can develop Konz behind him for a year or two, and once McClure's gone there won't be any drop-off in talent. If anything, Konz could be even better.

Grade: A+

New York Giants Select Rueben Randle with Pick No. 63

This is an example of the rich getting richer. After losing Mario Manningham via free agency to the San Francisco 49ers, the Giants won't miss a beat. 

Randle was projected to go as high as the bottom of the first round. At worst, I didn't think he'd slip past the top-10 picks in the second round.

Instead, the Giants laid back and waited for him to drop right into their laps, and Randle couldn't have fallen into a better situation.

He will be the third receiver on their depth chart behind Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. That takes all the pressure off of the young man, but he'll still have plenty of opportunities to contribute when the Giants go with a three-man set—which is often.

The Giants walk away from the second round with one of the biggest steals of the entire draft thus far.

Grade: A++

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