For the second straight day, the biggest story at the NFL Draft continues to be Shedeur Sanders. It wasn’t a total shock to see him fall out of the first round on Thursday, but it was absolutely stunning to see him go undrafted on Day 2.
There were a total of 70 picks made on Friday, and although three of them were quarterbacks, Sanders’ name didn’t get called. Yes, the free fall is continuing for Sanders, but he’s not the only one who had a bad night. Let’s go over our winners and losers from Friday.
WINNERS
CJ Stroud. It seems like the Texans‘ only goal in this draft was to make life easier for Stroud. After trading out of the first round, the Texans didn’t get to make their first pick until Friday and they made the most of it. They gave Stroud two new receivers by adding former Iowa State teammates Jayden Higgins (34th overall) and Jaylin Noel (79th overall). Not only did he get two new weapons, but he also got a new left tackle in the form of Aireontae Ersery, who was selected with the 48th overall pick. After getting sacked 52 times last year, which was the second most in the NFL, Stroud was probably thrilled to see his team add an offensive lineman instead of getting rid of one like they did with Laremy Tunsil earlier this offseason.
Ben Johnson. The Bears new coach is slowly creating an offensive juggernaut in Chicago. After drafting Colston Loveland in the first round, the Bears followed that up by selecting receiver Luther Burden III in the second round. Johnson is a creative mind and he’s probably going to have fun calling plays in Chicago with these two new weapons. The Bears also continued the total overhaul of their offensive line by taking offensive tackle in Ozzy Trapilo with the 59th overall pick. It seems like Johnson is trying to re-create what he had in Detroit, and right now, he’s doing a pretty good job of making that happen.
Tight ends. The second day of the draft turned into a big day for tight ends. There were three tight ends taken in the second round, and if you combine that with the two that were taken Thursday, that means there were FIVE tight ends taken with the first 50 picks, which is tied for the most ever since the common draft era started in 1967. Colston Loveland (Bears at 10th overall), Tyler Warren (Colts at 14th overall), Mason Taylor (Jets at 42nd overall), Terrance Ferguson (Rams at 46th overall) and Elijah Arroyo (Seahawks at 50th overall) were all part of history. The Browns also took a tight end on Day 2 (Harold Fannin Jr. at 67th overall) to add to the tight end run.
Ravens. The Ravens were the only AFC team in the draft that landed TWO players who were both ranked in the top 20 of our 2025 draft prospect rankings here at CBS Sports. After landing Malaki Starks (ranked 18th) with the 27th pick on Thursday, the Ravens turned around and got Mike Green (ranked 11th overall) on Friday with the 59th overall pick. Green was widely projected to be a first-round pick, but he fell into the draft due to character issues. (He’s facing two sexual assault allegations that he denies.) The Ravens defense surrendered the second-most passing yards in the NFL last season, but they should be much better at stopping the pass after adding both Green and Starks.
Cardinals. The Cardinals were the only NFC team in the entire draft that landed TWO players who were both ranked in the top 20 of our 2025 draft prospect rankings here at CBS Sports
Ohio State. The Buckeyes have taken over the NFL Draft. After producing four first-round picks on Thursday, Ohio State also came up big on Day 2 by producing three of the first 13 picks in the second round. First, Quinshon Judkins went to the Browns at 36th overall and that was followed by TreVeyon Henderson going to the Patriots at 38th overall. The Colts then used the 45th overall pick on JT Tuimoloau. The Buckeyes produced seven of the top 50 picks, making them just the second school in NFL Draft history — along with Alabama in 2021 — to pull off that feat.
LOSERS
Shedeur Sanders. Things have gone from bad to worse for Sanders. After falling out of the first round, the expectation was that he would be taken in the second round, but that didn’t happen. At that point, it seemed like a given that he would be taken in the third round, but nope. The brutal part for Sanders is that every QB needy team passed on him MULTIPLE times. The Browns made four picks before they finally decided to take a quarterback at 94th overall (Dillon Gabriel). The Saints ended up taking a quarterback in the second round, but they decided to roll with Tyler Shough over Sanders. The Steelers had one pick on Friday at 83rd overall and they decided NOT to use it on Sanders.
Basically, all the teams that should have been interested in Sanders weren’t interested in him, which makes it almost impossible to predict where he might end up.
Steelers QB room. The Steelers had the chance to take a quarterback with the 83rd overall pick, but they decided not to add anyone at the position, which means Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson are still the only quarterbacks on the roster. It seems like the Steelers are content with putting all of their eggs in the Aaron Rodgers basket even though that’s not necessarily the best basket to have all your eggs in.
Steelers owner Art Rooney did mention Friday that he thinks Rodgers will end up in Pittsburgh.
“We’re still kind of getting the same signals we’ve been getting recently that he does want to come here,” Rooney said on Steelers Nation Radio, via Steelers Depot. “I do think we may get word soon.”
If the Steelers had taken Shedeur Sanders OR ANY OTHER quarterback, that player could have sat behind Rodgers for a year. The Steelers could still take a quarterback on Day 3 of the draft, but right now, that feels unlikely.
Browns QB room. The Browns did draft a quarterback, but they probably don’t feel much better about their QB room than they did before the draft. Going into Friday, they already had Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett on the roster, and yes, they added Dillon Gabriel in the third round of the NFL Draft, but they definitely still have one of the worst QB rooms in the NFL. If the Browns’ Week 1 starting QB is currently on their roster, that means it will be Flacco, Pickett or Gabriel. If that’s the case, it could be a long season in Cleveland.
Quinshon Judkins. If there’s one thing every player remembers from draft day, it’s the phone call they get when they’re finally selected. Unfortunately for Judkins, he didn’t get to take a draft day phone call because he WASN’T in the room when the Browns called to draft him. Instead, Judkins’ mom had to take the call, and it seems that she had a nice conversation with Browns general manager Andrew Berry before handing the phone over to her son.
Judkins might go on to be a great player, but he broke the first rule of draft day: You never leave the main room at your draft party, but if you have to, you always take your phone with you.
Broncos draft board. I’m starting to think the Broncos’ misread their draft board. They had two big reaches on Day 2 with the first one coming when they selected RJ Harvey with the 60th overall pick. The UCF running back was ranked as the 106th-best prospect on the CBS Sports big board, so it seems the Broncos took him a little early. The Broncos actually traded back TWICE before taking him, so it seems like they knew they were reaching and they probably could have afforded to trade back at least one more time before taking him.
When it comes to reaching, they did it again in the third round when they took Pat Bryant with the 74th overall pick. The Illinois receiver was ranked as the 181st-best prospect on our big board here at CBS Sports. ESPN had him at 163 while PFF had him at 158. Then there’s NFL Media, where he was projected as a sixth-round pick.
The Broncos could have almost certainly waited until Saturday before taking him.
That being said, if you’re wondering why the Broncos made the pick, it’s pretty simple: Sean Payton seems to love him.
The Bryant and Harvey picks could both certainly end up working out for the Broncos, but if they don’t, this draft could end up being a black eye for the front office.
This news was originally published on this post .
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