NFL Draft: Winners & Losers of Days 2 & 3

Friday we posted our Winners & Losers of Day 1. Now here are our winners & losers of Days 2 & 3:

WINNERS:

1. Houston Texans:

The Texans started a great day 2 with drafting Safety DJ Swearinger and pretty much went all the way thru the end of day 3. The got some high upside offensive line talent in Brennan Williams and David Quessenberry. Pass rushers Same Montgomery and Trevardo Williams will help JJ Watt by giving another dimension to their pass rush.  And late round pick Chris Jones has great potential and high late round value.

2. Cincinnati Bengals:

The Bengals hit some homeruns on days 2 & 3 of the draft. Getting both RB Giovani Bernard and DE Margus Hunt in round 2 was a tremendous haul for them, with getting a solid safety in Shawn Williams in round 3. Day 3 they got great value in Sean Porter and I love the offensive line picks of Tanner Hawkinson and Reid Fragel. Not to mention, they doubled down on the runningback position by picking  up an intriguing prospect in RB Rex Burkhead.

3. Baltimore Ravens:

Another AFC North team was a big winner on days 2 & 3 of the NFL Draft. The Ravens do what the always do best, stay patient and make smart value picks and fill key needs. LB Arthur Brown in 2nd round was a steal and fills a big need. The NT Brandon Williams also fills a need and gives depth to the position. DE John Simon can be a replacement for what Paul Kruger did as a situational pass rusher. And they added great offensive line, secondary and WR depth late in the draft that should help this year and beyond.

4. San Francisco 49ers:

A) They filled all their needs (not that they had many) and helped depth dramatically. B) Crazy good value across the board. Cornellius Carradine, Vance McDonald, Corey Lemonier, and Quinton Patton were all homerun picks with great value and talent.. And they’re bringing in this crazy talent to an already very talented roster. A lot to be excited about if you’re a 49ers fan. Also the pick of RB Marcus Lattimore is a perfect situation. They don’t need to rush Lattimore and he could prove to be very valuable in a year or two.

5. Green Bay Packers:

I loved that they doubled up on the running back position, which was a weakness for them. Both RBs Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin are very talented and steals where they drafted them respectively.  Investing 2 picks in the offensive line was very smart to help protect your new running backs and your big investment in QB Aaron Rodgers. I also thought they got good value late in the draft. I was a big fan of the CB Micah Hyde pick and think he good be successful with them.

6. San Diego Chargers:

On day 2 the Chargers got 2 big names in ILB Manti Te’o and WR Keenan Allen. I had 1st round grades for both of these players so I think they got tremendous value on day 2. I think both of these guys are going to be long-term stars for the Chargers.  On day 3 they got some intriguing prospects. CB Steve Williams, who I think has high upside and can also help them on special teams. And DE Tourek Williams could be a good pass rusher for them.

7. Philadelphia Eagles:

You have to like what Chip Kelly & co. did in their first draft together, by bringing in a couple more guys on days 2 & 3 to help add to OT Lane Johnson to give an identity to their offense. TE Zach Ertz and QB Matt Barkley were valuable picks in their respective spots and could be stars together. I wasn’t as high on Barkley as most, but you can’t deny the value the Eagles got getting him in the 4th round.  Some question the QB situation in Philly, but I think Kelly sees a QB who’s capable of running his offense and he got some potential offensive stars in this draft.

The rest of the draft on days 2 & 3 focused on defense and they got a lot of picks I love, including DT Bennie Logan, S Earl Wolff, and CB Jordan Poyer. This defense has let them down a lot recently and these could be three guys to help right that side of the ball. I especially love the value of the Jordan Poyer pick, as I had a 3rd round grade on him and think he’ll be a balhawk and a leader.

LOSERS:

1. Minnesota Vikings:

The Vikings were on our day 1 “losers” list by trading away so many picks and drafting risky players. Day 2 & 3 didn’t do much to redeem them and overall it was a poor & risky draft for the Vikings. While not having any picks on Friday night, they didn’t make any picks Saturday that I really loved. In fact, drafting a punter in the 5th round when you didn’t have any 2nd or 3rd round picks was a head scratcher when they needed to get some value. And ILB Michael Mauti is another risky pick as he has injury issues that could keep him from seeing the field.

2. New England Patriots:

The Patriots made our day 1 winners list for trading back to stockpile picks for the midrounds in this deep draft. The problem is on day 2 and 3 they reached on most their picks and S Duron Harmon was drafted about 4 rounds too early. Its one thing to reach for a pick a round early if you really like a guy, but this was a huge reach. One thing is for sure, they like their Rutgers defensive players.

3. Cleveland Browns:

I didn’t hate their draft, I just don’t think they took advantage of their draft position as much as they should or could have. While its nice to get some future picks, I would have liked to see them add some more talent in this draft. And the players they picked on Friday and Saturday won’t add as much impact as they need this year.

Check back Sunday for Undrafted Free Agency Winners in the morning and Draft Grades for all 32 teams tomorrow night!  Hope you enjoyed the 2013 NFL Draft!