2020 NFL Draft Winners and Losers: Day 2

Winners and Losers – Day 1 | Winners and Losers – Day 3

By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell
April 29, 2020



Winners

Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens had an excellent second day of the 2020 NFL Draft with a superb second-round pick and then four selections in the third round that were generally very good. Baltimore has been one of the best drafting teams in the league over the past couple of decades, and this year continued the organization’s trend of finding good talent at value spots.

The Ravens’ second-round pick of Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins was a superb selection and a fantastic value late in Round 2. Dobbins is a fast back who has a strong build. He is a threat to rip off long runs on any carry with the speed to run by defenders and strength to break tackles. Dobbins will be a great fit in the Ravens’ offense as the No. 2 back to Mark Ingram, and in a year or two, Dobbins could take over as their feature back. Dobbins is a natural receiver who runs good routes and has soft hands. He has Pro Bowl potential and was a steal for the Ravens.

Baltimore led off the third round with Texas A&M defensive tackle Justin Madibuike, who has a late first-round skill set. He is a dangerous interior pass rusher and disruptor. The only reason Madibuike fell to the third round was character concerns. After Madibuike, the Ravens landed a good rotational and shot receiver in Devin Duvernay, a developmental guard in Tyree Phillips, and a linebacker in Malik Harrison, who could form a good tandem with Patrick Queen. This was a great draft by the Ravens and an excellent haul on Day 2 that will really fortify their roster.



Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys had the steal of the first round with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, and they did that again in the second round with Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs. He was in contention to go in the first round and was an option for Dallas in Round 1. Diggs has a No. 1 corner’s skill set, so to land him in Round 2 was sheer robbery for the Cowboys.

After Diggs, Dallas went back to Oklahoma for defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, who was another wise pick. Gallimore is a dangerous interior pass rusher who has speed to get upfield and cause disruption in the backfield. He could form a nice tandem with Gerald McCoy for a year or two and then take over as a starter for Dallas. Gallimore could have gone a round higher, so he continued the Cowboys’ streak of getting good value for their picks.

New York Giants
The Giants had an excellent second day of the 2020 NFL Draft, starting be landing the top safety in the draft during the second round. Getting Alabama’s Xavier McKinney at the 36 pick was a phenomenal value, as McKinney had the tape and production of a top-25 pick over his last two seasons at Alabama. McKinney can do it all in coverage while being a good tackler and very helpful in run support. He is pro ready and could hit the ground running in the NFL.

In the third round, the Giants landed a sleeper steal in Connecticut offensive tackle Matt Peart. He has good size, quickness and athleticism for the next level. With his skill set, Peart has a ton of upside, and with the Giants, he can learn behind Nate Solder for a year or two before forming a tandem with first-round pick Andrew Thomas. Peart could be the Giants’ long-term starter at right tackle and also could kick inside to guard. In the short term, he should offer good depth for the Giants as a swing tackle or guard backup. The organization had a very good draft with excellent choices on Day 2.



Buffalo Bills
The Bills were without a first-round pick, but they made up for it with some astute selections on Days 2 and 3. In the second round ,they landed a good value in Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa. He is a good scheme fit to be a sturdy left defensive end to take on power right tackles. With his strong frame and size, Epenesa will be a good run stuffer who also can contribute in the pass rush. After a stellar career at Iowa, Epenesa could have been a late first-round pick and nobody would have said it was an awful reach, so this was a very good value for the Bills at pick No. 54.

In the third round, the Bills continued to get steals with their selection of Utah running back Zack Moss. The power back is a physical force who is faster than expected and a dangerous receiver. He could form a dynamite tandem with Devin Singletary and provide Buffalo with a workhorse back. Moss has the skill set of a first- or second-round pick, and he only slid because of medical concerns, which is surprising because he was durable at Utah. Late in the third round, Moss was a steal, and Buffalo was fortunate to land both him and Epenesa on Day 2.



Losers

Philadelphia Eagles
As Walt highlighted in his video with Kenny and in our draft wrap-up show, the selection of Jalen Hurts was horrible and a notoriously bad pick for the Eagles. If everything goes to plan for the Eagles, Hurts will never see the field, so from the very outset this pick is flawed. Carson Wentz is signed to a long-term contract topping $100 million and is a young quarterback entering his prime with a decade or more before retirement. It makes no sense to take his backup with a second-round pick when the team could sign a veteran in free agency or draft a backup on the third day. That would have allowed the Philadelphia to use its second-round pick on a wide receiver like Denzel Mims or Van Jefferson, a linebacker like Willie Gay, a cornerback like Kristian Fulton, or a defensive lineman like A.J. Epenesa. All those players were better prospects than Hurts. To make matters even worse, the Eagles could have used this second-round pick to move up for CeeDee Lamb in the first round, but they passed on doing that deal and instead saw him land with Dallas, their arch-rival.

Hurts is not a good quarterback entering the next level, as he is a one-read-and-run signal-caller who does not see the field well and is not naturally accurate. Other teams had him graded as a mid-rounder. Sources also said that the staff at Oklahoma was happy to see Hurts leave, plus he transfer from Alabama after being beaten out for the starting job. Thus, Hurts may not take well to a backup role over time.

In the third round, Philadelphia drafted Colorado linebacker Davion Taylor. The Eagles needed help at linebacker, but Taylor was a reach on the second day of the draft. The pick wasn’t as bad as the Hurts selection though. The Hurts selection could go down as one of worst selections in Philadelphia’s draft history, and definitely makes the team a second-day loser.



Green Bay Packers
I think the Packers also made one of the worst picks in the history of their franchise with their trade up for Utah State quarterback Jordan Love in the first round, but they followed it up with a disappointing second day. It began at the end of the second round, where they selected Boston College running back A.J. Dillon, who is a backup at best to veteran Aaron Jones. Instead of Dillon, the Packers could have selected offensive line help like Josh Jones or wide receiver help in the form of Lynn Bowden or Bryan Edwards. Any of those three would have offered a more immediate contribution than Dillon.

The next selection was receiving tight end Josiah Deguara. While Deguara wasn’t a terrible pick, he was a third-day prospect and a slight reach in the third round. Once again, some better options were available, including Missouri tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, who has a better skill set than Deguara but comes with off-the-field issues. There also were some worthy offensive line prospects like Connecticut offensive tackle Matt Peart (Giants), TCU offensive tackle Lucas Niang (Chiefs), LSU offensive tackle Saahdiq Charles (Redskins) and Georgia guard Solomon Kindley (Dolphins). All of them would have been good picks for Green Bay.

The Packers entered the 2020 NFL Draft needing help at wide receiver, offensive line, and linebacker. To come out of the first two days of the draft with nothing to show at those positions is problematic to their efforts to advance next season. The 2020 NFL Draft looks like a wasted opportunity to help the Packers win another Lombardi trophy with Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback.

Go to Winners and Losers – Day 3

Back to Winners and Losers – Day 1




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