NFL Draft 2015: The Biggest Surprises from Day 2
On Thursday night, the first round of the 2015 NFL draft was relatively surprise-free. There was the Washington Redskins' decision to take guard Brandon Scherff fifth overall and the fall of guys like Landon Collins, Jalen Collins and Jake Fisher.
But apart from that, things basically went the way most of us expected them to, with only two fairly low-profile trades going down.
Most of the big names were, of course, off the board when Rounds 2 and 3 took place Friday night, but there was plenty of room for surprises. Here's what stood out to us.
No Love for the Quarterbacks
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Are Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota that much better than the rest of the quarterbacks in this year's draft class? After Winston and Mariota went first and second overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans, respectively, 72 players were chosen before the New Orleans Saints made Garrett Grayson the third signal-caller drafted in this year's class.
For the first time in a decade, no quarterbacks were selected in the second round.
It was the longest stretch without a quarterback pick in the first three rounds since 1994, when Trent Dilfer went sixth and another signal-caller wasn't selected until Perry Klein came off the board 111th overall.
Something similar happened in 1998, when Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf went first and second and no other quarterbacks were drafted until Charlie Batch was selected 60th overall. So maybe it's just about runs. Still pretty weird, because Grayson, Bryce Petty, Brett Hundley and Sean Mannion (who went 89th to the St. Louis Rams) are legit prospects.
Randy Gregory Slides to the No. 60 Spot
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Randy Gregory fell off a draft cliff before being caught, naturally, by the Dallas Cowboys near the end of the second round. But the slide itself was sort of ridiculous. The edge-rusher out of Nebraska failed a drug test at the combine, which hurt his stock. But that's a hell of a drop for a guy who many figured would be a first-round pick before his reputation took a hit.
But there were also reports this week that teams were concerned about Gregory's ability to mentally handle life in the NFL, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport and Albert Breer. And he himself said during an interview on ESPN, per Pro Football Talk, that he has "some issues" he's "taking care of."
It's also interesting that the Cowboys were the team that finally took a chance on Gregory, because Dallas made a splash by signing controversial veteran pass-rusher Greg Hardy earlier this offseason. That gives the team two edge-rushers with character questions, and Hardy is already facing a 10-game suspension to start the 2015 regular season.
One thing Gregory deserves credit for is the way in which he's handled this. He carried himself in a mature, honest way Thursday and Friday night and blamed nobody but himself for his falling stock. Maybe he was just doing what his agent told him to do, but the fact that he was able to keep things together during such a tumultuous time is promising. If he can stay on task, the Cowboys could have a major steal here.
The New York Giants Trade Up
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The Giants very rarely make draft trades, and they hardly ever trade up, especially as early as they did. In 12 drafts since Tom Coughlin came on as head coach in 2004, they've traded up just six times, and just three of those came in the first two rounds.
Friday night, the Giants sacrificed a fourth- and seventh-round pick in order to swap second-round selections with the Tennessee Titans so they could select safety Landon Collins. It was the earliest in the draft the G-Men have moved up since Coughlin and Co. traded up for quarterback Eli Manning at the top of the 2004 draft. And it was only the second time Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese had traded up in six years.
Collins was viewed by many as a first-round prospect, and the Giants have, like, nobody at safety. So it makes sense. But it's still surprising considering the Big Blue don't usually like giving away picks.
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Carolina Panthers Ignore Offensive Line
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The Carolina Panthers entered the 2015 draft with the offensive line as a major need. After all, we're talking about a unit Pro Football Focus ranked 26th in terms of pass-blocking efficiency last season, and the team did little to spruce it up in free agency (Michael Oher won't save the day).
That doesn't mean you have to draft an offensive lineman with your top pick, which is why some of us gave Carolina a pass when it selected back-seven defender Shaq Thompson late in Round 1 on Thursday night.
But it was extremely surprising to see the Panthers commit their entire second night to a tight end/receiver. Carolina did exactly that by sacrificing its third-round pick in order to move up 16 spots in Round 2 to draft Michigan's Devin Funchess.
That pick came despite the fact that they already have a Pro Bowl tight end in Greg Olsen and a rising young star at receiver in top 2014 pick Kelvin Benjamin.
It doesn't appear as though Carolina wound up with the best player available in either spot, and now the Panthers are down a Day 2 draft pick without having addressed any of their major needs.
Tennessee Titans Take a Problem-Child Receiver
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The Tennessee Titans made a killing by selling the top pick of the second round to the New York Giants, but it was strange and rather surprising to see Tennessee take yet another receiver—and a controversial one at that—with the 40th overall pick Friday night.
It's not as though Dorial Green-Beckham doesn't have a tantalizingly high ceiling, but the Missouri/Oklahoma product has twice been arrested on marijuana charges and was dismissed from Missouri after an incident in which he allegedly forced himself into an apartment and pushed a woman down several stairs.
Titans general manager Ruston Webster wasn't around when Tennessee took Kenny Britt in the first round in 2009, but you'd think he'd still use that as a cautionary tale. And since Webster's arrival in 2010, Tennessee has used early-round picks on receivers Damian Williams (77th overall in 2010), Kendall Wright (20th overall in 2012) and Justin Hunter (34th overall in 2013). The latter two guys remain on the roster, along with veterans Harry Douglas and Hakeem Nicks.
I understand the desire to give new quarterback Marcus Mariota as much support as possible, but considering that the Titans have some large defensive holes, this was a weird—and surprising—move.
The Jake Fisher Selection
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First, it was weird that Jake Fisher—whom many expected to be a first-round pick—slid all the way to the No. 53 spot. But that happens, especially at a strong, deep position. The real surprise, though, is that the Oregon product wound up with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Great value pick, but Cincinnati has holes to address on defense and at receiver. And not only do the Bengals already have two strong offensive tackles in Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith, but they also used their first-round pick on another offensive tackle: Cedric Ogbuehi.
Whitworth will be 34 in December and both he and Smith are entering contract years, but it was still shocking to see the Bengals use their top two picks on prospects who play the exact same position as those guys.
T.J. Clemmings Remains on the Board
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The trusted Mike Mayock of NFL.com had Pittsburgh offensive tackle T.J. Clemmings going 25th overall to the Carolina Panthers, while The MMQB's Peter King suggested on Thursday that the All-American could be a hot commodity for teams looking to trade into the back end of Round 1.
Most prognosticators figured Clemmings would be well off the board by the end of Round 2. So entering Friday, he was considered by most analysts to be one of the best players still on the board.
But here we are entering Day 3, and Clemmings' name has yet to be called. How did a seemingly NFL-ready tackle with a strong track record plummet out of the second night of the draft? Mayock suggested on the air Friday night that teams could be concerned about medical reports on the still-raw 23-year-old.
Regardless, it was very surprising to see him tumble all the way to Saturday.
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