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NFL teams made their franchise tag decisions on March 7. While the Giants were able to finalize a deal with Daniel Jones, allowing them to tag Saquon Barkley, the Ravens were stuck where they’ve always been with Lamar Jackson, forcing them to use the tag on him.
In addition, Raiders RB Josh Jacobs, Cowboys RB Tony Pollard, Jaguars TE Evan Engram, and Commanders DT Daron Payne were all tagged, eliminating immediate offseason needs. Although these teams don’t need to find a replacement for their star players this season, they may want to draft future replacements.
So after the franchise period, and with free agency going full blast, what might the second round of the draft look like now? Let’s take a quick look.
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Teams Whose First Pick Is In The Second Round
The Rams, Saints, Browns, 49ers, and Dolphins all have no first-round pick, so their picks in the second round will be all the more important. The Browns and 49ers, who got Deshaun Watson and Trey Lance, respectively, must be disappointed with the hauls they got for giving up their firsts. But the Rams have a Super Bowl, and the Saints have Chris Olave and Trevor Penning. The Dolphins have nothing whatsoever because they were caught tampering.
I have the Rams drafting Ohio State tackle Dawand Jones. They didn’t do enough to replace their departing tackles last season, and the result was they had the 25th-best offensive line in PFF’s final rankings.
The Saints need to beef up their edge rush, and they did that with LSU’s BJ Ojulari, whose brother Azeez plays outside linebacker for the Giants. Ojulari is an all-around technically-sound pass rusher who can use all kinds of techniques to win. At 250 pounds, he needs to add some muscle.
Bold Second-Round Predictions For The 2023 NFL Draft
- Bijan Robinson lasts until the second round. NFL franchises aren’t willing to invest in an expensive first-round running back anymore, and this year’s strong RB class encourages teams to wait.
- The Ravens trade back into the second to pick a quarterback. They want to get ahead of Carolina, who was unable to take one of the top four signal callers, to poach Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, so they make a deal with the Jaguars to acquire pick No. 56.
- Drew Sanders is the first mike linebacker taken. David Long and Zach Cunningham are free agents. The Titans need a complete teardown and rebuild. So at No. 41, Tennessee selects raw talent from Alabama, a blitzing LB who has made 11 sacks and 39 pressures in one season.
Full Second-Round Results
No. 32: Steelers: Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland
No. 33: Texans: Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina
No. 34: Cardinals: Broderick Jones, T, Georgia
No. 35: Colts: Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson
No. 36: Rams: Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State
No. 37: Seahawks: Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M
No. 38: Raiders: Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
No. 39: Panthers: John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota
No. 40: Saints: BJ Ojulari, EDGE, LSU
No. 41: Titans: Drew Sanders, LB, Arkansas
No. 42: Browns: Josh Downs, WR, UNC
No. 43: Jets: Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi State
No. 44: Falcons: Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson
No. 45: Packers: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama
No. 46: Patriots: Felix Anundike-Uzomah, EDGE, Kansas State
No. 47: Commanders: Sydney Brown, S, Illinois
No. 48: Lions: Jaelyn Duncan, OT, Maryland
No. 49: Steelers: Gervon Dexter Sr., DT, Florida
No. 50: Buccaneers: Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa
No. 51: Seahawks: Cody Mauch, OT, North Dakota State
No. 52: Dolphins: Garrett Williams, CB, Syracuse
No. 53: Chargers: Keion White, EDGE, Georgia Tech
No. 54: Bears: Adetomiwa Adebawore, EDGE, Northwestern
No. 55: Lions: Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M
No. 56: Ravens (trade with Jags): Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee
No. 57: Giants: Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State
No. 58: Cowboys: Siaki Ika, DT, Baylor
No. 59: Bills: Darius Rush, CB, South Carolina
No. 60: Bengals: Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee
No. 61: Panthers: Tanner McKee, QB, Stanford
No. 62: Eagles: Nathaniel Dell, WR, Houston
No. 63: Chiefs: Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia
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