Biggest Day 2 Winners And Losers In The 2023 NFL Draft

Matt Fitzgerald4/29/2023 3:30 PM

The second day of the 2023 NFL Draft frankly had me in a bit of a tailspin because I felt like GMs were trolling us with the amount of trades that went down. It had to be some kind of record. When you research for that type of information, the stuff that pops up is all about the "biggest" trades in draft history and so on. Nothing about Day 2 quantity specifically. Felt like a lot.

Giphy Images.

I ain't gonna lie my brain is COOKED at this point from draft-related things. Among the Day 2 winners, though, I count myself as one:

Here we goooooo let's dive in. And below you can find the Day 1 edition of this exercise.

Winner: Will Levis (DUH)…and maybe the Titans?

So the Will Levis slide ended in abrupt fashion after only two picks. Cool to see. Started to feel for him when the cameras cut mercilessly to him so often during Thursday's first round. Now it's all over.

I wonder if Ryan Tannehill gets traded before the season. Doubt it. Then Tennessee still has 2022 third-rounder Malik Willis in the QB room. What a fucking group LOL. Tannehill fighting for his career as a starter, Levis' weird ass and Willis who looked like he barely knew he was on a football field whatsoever as a rookie.

Anyway, yeah. Levis' hardo ass in Nashville with Mike Vrabel's hardo ass. Can't wait to see what happens — even if I think the Titans are losing the AFC South young QB arms race to the Jags (Trevor Lawrence), Colts (Anthony Richardson) and Texans (CJ Stroud).

Loser: The Broncos for making this trade

Oh well. At least it was for Iowa cornerback Riley Moss, who may convert to safety in the NFL if you believe lazy folks who don't actually watch his film.

S-tier reaction here btw:

Winner: Colts GM Chris Ballard, who keeps shoving my face in it

The Colts have had my favorite draft and it isn't particularly close. With the pick number at the start and my big board ranking for each prospect in parentheses, Indy has acquired these DUDES through two days:

4. QB Anthony Richardson (2)
44. CB Julius Brents (28)
79. WR Josh Downs (39)

DAMN, Chris Ballard. Go off!!! Mad props sir. Maybe you'll be rightfully crowned Preseason Executive of the Year this time around.

If you come at me with, "no one cares about your big board, dummy!" allow me remind you how well much of the Seahawks' potentially historic 2022 class stacked up in my rankings:

9. LT Charles Cross (15)
40. EDGE Boye Mafe (25)
41. RB Kenneth Walker III (66)
72. RT Abraham Lucas (69)
109. CB Coby Bryant (68)
152. CB Tariq Woolen (33)

Giphy Images.

Loser: Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia

I cannot belieeeeeeeeeeeve my beloved Bengals were on the clock and they traded out of the 92nd pick, only to watch Washington go to the AFC North rival Steelers right after that at No. 93. Ambiguous medical concerns caused Washington to tumble down draft boards. Umm…isn't this 6-7, 264 behemoth of a man who runs a 4.64 40 pretty much indestructible!?

Washington was one of my favorite prospects to dive into this year. Crazy-big frame. Plus run blocker. Untapped receiving potential due to being in the shadow of the 2024 draft's TE1 Brock Bowers. So much to like.

While Washington lost a lot of money — he was thought to have an outside shot at going in the first round — he did land in a decent spot in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, Pat Freiermuth is the clear guy atop the Steelers' depth chart at Washington's position. I assume the rookie was looking for more of a lead role after playing second fiddle to Bowers in college. Alas.

Winner: The Lions for sheer entertainment value

I literally can't track how many trades the Lions made. Brad Holmes is a MADMAN. They moved up multiple times and moved back multiple times. I haven't been this confused about something sports related since having to write a flagship cricket preview back in the day.

You know how draft picks that have trades are listed as like, "Lions (via Panthers)" or whichever team? Today I swear it was like "Lions (via Bears, from Browns, by way of Rams, in accordance with Texans)."

Labeling all of Detroit's picks reaches until Alabama DB Brian Branch (45th overall) and Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker at (68th) would've been a fair assessment according to the consensus mocks and big boards. Didn't seem to bother the Lions at all. They moved up for Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta at 34. A clear position of need, yet Notre Dame's Michael Mayer was widely viewed as the TE1 of this class.

Anyway have fun trying to figure out how the fuck the Lions got the picks they got. I'm lost. Sometimes you have to know when to throw in the towel. Good news is, I think I've come around on this Detroit class so far. They seemed like a Day 1 loser. Now especially with D'Andre Swift trade rumors flying about, the Jahmyr Gibbs pick isn't as nutso.

I don't exactly agree with the above tweet but it's an interesting point nonetheless. If you swapped out "Sam LaPorta" for "Dalton Kincaid" at 18 and put Jack Campbell at 45, then maybe!

Loser: Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State

Not ashamed at all to say I wouldn't have minded the Bengals taking him at 28th overall and plugging him in as the starting right tackle. Whatever red flags have popped up or concerns about Jones playing to the 374 pounds he weighed in at during the Combine, Cincinnati has the culture and organizational infrastructure to keep him on the right track.

Unless Dawand interviewed so piss-poorly with teams and turned them off that hard, it's hard to fathom a tackle with these physical tools sliding so far. He declined to do drills or weigh in at Ohio State's pro day. That may have something to do with his sinking stock as well.

Sucks to see. Because for real, what a talent Dawand Jones is.

Winner: Packers gonna Packer (Part II, Vol. 2 — Don't Call It A Comeback)

Fuck it, man. There are no rules. We're ending with three winners. Trying to stay positive here.

Hilariously, Green Bay stuck by its credo of not drafting offensive weapons in the first round, instead opting for Iowa EDGE Lukas Van Ness at No. 13. THEN, that slick son of a bitch Brian Gutekunst whips around on Day 2 and drafts Michigan State wideout Jayden Reed, along with pass-catching tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft from Oregon State and South Dakota State respectively. Good for you, Jordan Love!

Why the weird-ass title at the top of this subsection? Well, for the second year in a row, the Packers brass neglected a passing game target in Round 1, only to draft one the next day. That's how we got to Christian Watson. That turned out pretty well. Green Bay also picked up Romeo Doubs on Day 3. I suspect the rest of their draft will be less spicy picks. Guess we'll see!

Winner: Mike McDaniel's general being

I'm sure the Miami Dolphins head coach wanted a tight end at Pick 51. Oh well. Cam Smith is a fine addition to the secondary. He should be pretty jazzed about getting the ex-South Carolina Gamecock.

But Devon Achane? Running back from Texas A&M. I wanted him. Didn't have enough with DJ Turner's 4.26 speed. Needed Achane's 4.32 in the backfield too! Miami stepped in and rendered that an impossibility.

Mike McDaniel still the man, though. As per usual.

Winner: The Rams…? Doing draft stuff and things…!?

For a franchise that has said "fuck them picks" for a long while, they're due to have EIGHT PICKS on Day 3. That's more than a full draft class' worth. LA GM Les Snead traded back on Friday night.

To quote Vince Lombardi, what the hell's going on out here?? The selections the Rams did make were surprisingly sensible. A guard-center versatile o-lineman in TCU's Steve Avila, and a couple intriguing additions to the front seven. Kind of a historic sweet spot where the Rams drafted Avila, by the way:

Wake Forest defensive tackle Kobie Turner could start right away next to Aaron Donald and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. Then you have Tennessee EDGE Byron Young who blew up the Combine and is all but guaranteed to start in Week 1.

Will LA wheel and deal draft assets for an established vet? Move up in the order for guys they really love? Or will they make most of those eight picks? Hard to say, but I'm so much more intrigued than I should be to see how their 2023 rookie class pans out. Imagine if the Rams hit on a bunch of these Day 3 guys and vault right back into NFC contention. That it's even a possibility is what makes the draft so interesting even on the last day

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Matt Fitzgerald4/29/2023 3:30 PM