2023 NFL Draft: What We Expect on Day Two
With the first round in the books, it is time to start prepping for the second day of the draft. This is where the money can be made in our rookie drafts. We have a good idea of who will get selected in the first round. As we get deeper into the second and third rounds of the draft things start to get more ambiguous. We are going to see a lot of running backs come off the board along with a huge run at the tight end position. The draft is going to start to taper down at wide receiver while getting ready to draft some developmental backup quarterbacks. Let’s take a look at what might be in store for us on Friday night.
QUARTERBACK
It wasn’t a surprise when Bryce Young was drafted first overall by the Carolina Panthers. The next player that came off the board was CJ Stroud getting drafted by the Houston Texans. Again, not a surprising pick. Most mock drafts had these two selections throughout the draft process. Both Young and Stroud should remain at the top of the rookie quarterback rankings as we head into rookie drafts.
With both of the top quarterbacks off the board, it was time to see when the next tier of quarterbacks was going to get selected in the draft. We didn’t have to wait too long. The Colts stepped up at fourth overall and drafted Anthony Richardson. This is a very good landing spot considering he will have Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman to lean on while he develops. Richardson officially has top-tier draft capital and he got drafted into one of the best situations possible. This makes a three-way debate at quarterback this year.
The story of the night was Will Levis falling out of the first round. We got to watch a close-up of him in the green room before every pick. It’s safe to say the NFL does not value his talent. He is a very risky prospect. His decision-making skills are very suspect and his overall college production doesn’t scream first-round draft pick.
We shouldn’t expect much from the quarterback position tonight. Levis has to eventually get drafted. I would expect a team to eventually pull the trigger on him. Hendon Hooker was in the first-round discussion leading up to the draft. There’s a good chance that he gets drafted early on day two. There’s even a chance Hooker gets drafted before Levis.
We might see some other quarterbacks get drafted in the third round. In this range, we will be looking at developmental backups like Tanner McKee, Jake Haener, and Stetson Bennett. All of them have a chance of getting selected late on day two. If not, we should see them get drafted on Saturday.
TOP AVAILABLE ROOKIES
Will Levis
Hendon Hooker
Jake Haener
Tanner McKee
Stetson Bennett
RUNNING BACK
At eight overall, we saw Bijan Robinson come off the board to the Atlanta Falcons. This was a destination many people projected him to go to. The surprise of the draft was the Detroit Lions getting extremely excited in the war room to draft Jahmyr Gibbs at 12th overall. He was projected to either get drafted late in the first round or early in the second round. The reach by Detroit lets us know they really wanted him and they are planning to give him every opportunity to succeed.
With only two running backs coming off the board in the first round, we should expect a ton of running backs to get drafted on Friday night. The meat and potatoes will be served on day two as we get a better feel of what will be available to us in rookie drafts.
Expect Zach Charbonnet to come off the board soon. He’s the next best running back on the board. Somewhere between the middle of the second round and the middle of the third round, we will see a run of running backs get selected. I believe this run will shape our rookie drafts and deliver our prime targets.
Other running backs I expect to get drafted on Friday night are Devon Achane, Tyjae Spears, Tank Bigsby, Roschon Johnson, Israel Abanikanda, and Zach Evans. Watch for Sean Tucker. He has a reported health issue that prevented him from competing at the NFL Combine. If that’s a factor, we could see him fall deep into day three. His talent level says he’s a day-two prospect, but we don’t know the extent of his health concerns.
TOP AVAILABLE ROOKIES
Zach Charbonnet
Devon Achane
Tyjae Spears
Tank Bigsby
Roschon Johnson
Israel Abanikanda
Zach Evans
Sean Tucker
WIDE RECEIVER
There was a big run on wide receivers late in the first round where we saw four straight receivers come off the board. This run started when Jaxon Smith-Njigba was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks at 20 overall. He was then followed by Quentin Johnston getting drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers and Zay Flowers getting selected by the Baltimore Ravens. The Minnesota Vikings finished the run on wide receivers by getting Jordan Addison.
There’s still some talent left on the board at wide receiver as we head to day two but it’s starting to tier off. With that being said, expect the next wide receiver to come off the board early in the second round as teams are jockeying positions to get their guy.
Josh Downs and Marvin Mims are the darlings of the fantasy community. Both of them have good production metrics along with the athleticism and traits to get the job done at the NFL level. They both were pegged to get drafted in the second round before the draft.
Jalin Hyatt was mocked in the first round more times than anyone can count. It was also very likely that he would fall to the second round. He is a speedster that can stretch the field. It’s easy to see a team drafting him to be their deep threat.
Before the draft, Jonathan Mingo and Cedric Tillman were getting a lot of buzz. This year’s draft doesn’t have much size at the wide receiver position and both Mingo and Tillman are bigger receivers who have a lot of potential. Look for both of them to get selected on day two.
As we get deeper into Friday night, the likelihood we see a couple of surprise wide receivers come off the board will increase. We see this every year. Candidates to get drafted higher than expected are Tyler Scott, Jayden Reed, Nathaniel Dell, and Trey Palmer. This isn’t a prediction, as many of these wide receivers are likely to get drafted on Saturday, but it’s important to note that the draft is going to start getting more ambiguous as we get deeper into the third round.
Keep an eye on Kayshon Boutte. He might get drafted on Friday night. He’s also a candidate to fall in the draft. He would have been a first-round selection if he would have remained on the same trajectory during his freshman and sophomore seasons. It’s been a steep decline since then, but somebody is going to take a chance on him.
TOP AVAILABLE ROOKIES
Josh Downs
Marvin Mims
Jalin Hyatt
Jonathan Mingo
Cedric Tillman
Rashee Rice
Jayden Reed
Trey Palmer
TIGHT END
Fantasy gamers were shocked only one tight end was drafted in the first round as Dalton Kincaid got selected by the Buffalo Bills at 25th overall. That was possibly one of the best landing spots for him. Considering he has first-round draft capital and has one of the best quarterbacks in the league, we should expect his value to levitate in rookie drafts.
The beloved Michael Mayer is falling to the second round after being pegged as a top-tier tight end in mock drafts all draft season. Look for him to get scooped up early Friday Night. We should see a run on tight ends as Darnell Washington, Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, and Sam LaPorta are all still on the board.
Keep an eye on the Dallas Cowboys. This is the prime landing spot for one of these tight ends. They lost Dalton Schultz in free agency and their offense likes to feature the tight end. One of these tight ends could make a big impact in fantasy at this landing spot.
TOP ROOKIES AVAILABLE
Michael Mayer
Darnell Washington
Luke Musgrave
Tucker Kraft
Sam LaPorta
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