After another day of excitement and intrigue, Day 2 of the 2016 NFL Draft is in the books. While it may be jumping the gun to grade out winners and losers on prospects who have yet to hit the field, we can look at the teams who appear to have hit the mark filling their needs, and those who fell short losing the day. We continue our look into the winners and losers of Day 2.
Winners
Jacksonville Jaguars: After contemplating choosing between Jalen Ramsey or Myles Jack with their first round pick, the Jaguars ended up selecting both, how crazy lucky is that. Jack was selected with the 36th overall pick, and although there are some concerns in regard to his knee, the Jaguars came away drafting arguably the two best defensive players in the entire draft.
Moreover, they continued their defensive theme adding edge defender Yannick Ngakoue from Maryland with the 69th overall pick. Although Ngakoue may have gone a bit sooner than expected, he definitely fills a need as the athletic explosive Leo edge rusher the Jaguars would like to have depth in.
Houston Texans: After drafting the the speedy vertical threat in Will Fuller in the first round, the Texans honed in on filling a big need in the middle, drafting one of the best centers in all of college football in Notre Dame's Nick Martin with the 50th pick. Martin helps solidify an offensive line that was hit with free agency losses in Brandon Brooks and Ben Jones. Adding a few extra pieces to the OL will help, but the center position was a glaring need Martin will fill day one.
With their 85th pick, the Texans providing an additional weapon for Brock Osweiler in drafting the athletically talented and explosive wide receiver from Ohio State, Braxton Miller. Although a bit raw, Miller's eye-popping on-field athleticism and elusiveness will make any Texan's fan giddy with enthusiasm. And apparently, the addition of the new receivers on the squad is making someone happy. Deandre Hopkins' tweet after the Miller selection, "Ain't no more double teams baby!"
Seattle Seahawks: Although it pains me to put the Seahawks in the winners category, their selections on Day 2 were very impressive. I still take solace in the fact the 49ers swooped in ahead of the Seahawks in the first round to snag up Joshua Garnett from their clutches. Nevertheless, the Seahawks started the day trading up in the second, from 56 to 49, and selected a fantastic run stuffer in Alabama's defensive tackle Jarran Reed. Reed, many assumed a first round talent, gives tremendous value for the Seahawks, especially for an interior defensive line position lacking presence. With the loss of Brandon Mebane, and Jordan Hill on the final year of his contract, Reed provides a much needed addition to a very talented defense.
Seattle finished off the day with a bevy of selections on the backend of the third round, selecting running back C.J. Prosise from Notre Dame with the 90th pick, tight end Nick Vannett from Ohio State with the 94th pick, and offensive guard Reese Odhiambo from Boise State with the 97th pick. All excellent value picks, and most importantly, picks that fill needs.
Losers
Dallas Cowboys: For Dallas, it seems like the Jerry Jones road show extravaganza production is in full tilt. The Cowboys were set up with premier high draft picks in each round, and instead of drafting the two best players available at the spot in hopes to fill a potentially contending roster heading into 2016, they drafted for headlines. The Cowboys bypassed arguably the best player in the draft in Jalen Ramsey to select Ezekiel Elliott, and continued on Day 2 drafting the injured linebacker Jaylon Smith from Notre Dame with their 67th selection.
Jaylon Smith was definitely an emotional feel good pick, and I am hopeful he is able to fully recover, but the pick was a very risky move, especially considering it was a pick early in the second round. Myles Jack and Reggie Ragland were still on the board, and although both of those prospects have their own health concerns, they both can play this year with certainty. I did enjoy watching two defensive line prospects the Cowboys coveted in Emmanuel Ogbah and Kevin Dodd, get drafted right before their selection, but in the end, the Cowboys ended the day with a solid selection of Maliek Collins from Nebraska with the 67th pick. Collins provides a disruptive penetrating force in the middle to aid a lackluster group of Cowboy defensive tackles.
Connor Cook: Coming into the the 2015 college football season, Cook was destined to become a first round draft selection. Unfortunately, as the season progressed, Cook's expected high draft selection fell, and it is still falling. So far the expected quarterbacks of Jarred Goff, Carson Wentz, and Paxton Lynch were drafted ahead of Cook, but surprisingly, Christian Hackenberg, Jacoby Brissett, and Cody Kessler were selected before him as well. We know Cook has some accuracy issues at times, but surely, on talent alone, Cook is better than the last three quarterbacks selected before him. So what is causing this fall from grace? Could it be the Bo Callahan effect? As funny as it sounds, it's likely the right answer. It is apparent teams are none too keen on quarterbacks with personality, character, and leadership issues hounding around Cook like a bad odor.
What about the San Francisco 49ers:
I give the 49ers an incomplete grade on this one, somewhere in between winners and losers. I completely respect the opinion of NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah, and he believes, if not for Will Redmond's injury, he'd likely sneak into the later part of the first round. So yes, no doubt Redmond is definitely talented for sure and completely worthy of a winners designation. However, I am not all convinced Redmond will be fully healthy and ready to go by training camp as Trent Baalke, as well as Redmond himself, have assured us. I mean, if this was our first rodeo in the whole drafting team ACL, well then, I would be giddy as I was when Marcus Lattimore was drafted, but we are all well traveled along that road, and for the most part, those roads have detoured us to dead ends.
Therefore, if Redmond ends up as a redshirt for the 2016 season, then I'd move the pick to the loser category. Don't get me wrong, I love the talent Redmond displays, but we are no longer in a position to collect future potential, we need the potential now. But if he is good to go for training camp, winner category hands down.