Some quick notes based on what I’m hearing before Round 2 of the NFL draft kicks off …
• After Thursday night’s blockbuster trade, the Cleveland Browns sit positioned as Friday’s power player, with four picks in the second and third rounds—33rd, 36th, 67th, and 94th—including the next pick coming.
Along those lines, one name I’ve heard consistently connected to the Browns over the course of Friday is Ohio State tailback TreVeyon Henderson (though it’s less clear if it’d be at 33). If a quarterback wound up in play, word is that coach Kevin Stefanski really took a liking to Louisville’s Tyler Shough, though I’d heard the brass would at least have a discussion on the availability of Shedeur Sanders.
It also would not be a surprise to see Cleveland move either 33 or 36, based on some of the trade conversations that were happening before the draft.
• The Browns and Houston Texans, the teams with the first two picks in the second round, were in discussions on trades with the teams at the bottom of the first round Thursday night—and the belief is their mutual target was Oregon OT Josh Conerly Jr.
Obviously, any hope of that dissipated when Conerly was taken 29th by the Washington Commanders, but it does inform you on the chance that either team targets the position tonight.
It had to hurt for both teams not to get him, with the dropoff that’s apparent at tackle after five went in the first round. The next group includes Boston College’s Ozzy Trapilo, who’s considered a low-risk, high-floor type of player, as well as Minnesota’s Aireontae Ersery and NC State’s Anthony Belton, both of whom carry some football-character concerns.
• How far will Sanders fall? Right now, I’d say the Browns and New Orleans Saints would be more likely to take Shough (though, Cleveland will probably at least have a conversation about Sanders). After that, it’s hard to find a home for him—the Pittsburgh Steelers, who at least kicked around the idea of picking him, don’t pick again until 83, deep into the third round. I wouldn’t be stunned if Shough and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe get selected in front of him.
• I’d expect Houston to be in the receiver market at some point, too. The Texans made late efforts to trade up Thursday night, and there’s a belief that their target was Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka, who went 19th to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Tennessee Titans (whom I’ve heard connected to Missouri’s Luther Burden III) and the New England Patriots are also looking at receivers, which could push guys up a little, with Burden, Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, TCU’s Jack Bech and Savion Williams, and Washington State’s Kyle Williams in play tonight.
• Tennessee, at 35, would definitely be a trade-back spot—with a belief the Titans would like to pick up a third-rounder after trading theirs for L’Jarius Sneed last year.
• There’s good value at tight end with LSU’s Mason Taylor and Miami’s Elijah Arroyo likely to go in the second round. I’d see the New York Jets, Saints and Browns—if they trade down—all potentially looking at tight ends tonight.
• South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori is still available, and I think the Chicago Bears could be a sneaky fit, with Jaquan Brisker’s concussion concerns lingering. Chicago is at 39 and 41, and Emmanwori could fit into a Malcolm Jenkins–like role for new Bears CB Dennis Allen.
• I’d expect the Las Vegas Raiders to continue with strong football-character guys, and there are connections to make here where Vegas would know what it’s getting. Both Tom Brady and GM John Spytek are ex-Michigan players, and there’s a good one of those, CB Will Johnson, on the board. And UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger—a walk-on-turned-playmaking machine for the Bruins—was with Raiders OC Chip Kelly in Westwood for three seasons.
• Johnson’s fall, as we’ve said, is mostly because of longevity concerns, with a knee condition that has some teams believing he might be only a one-contract player. Meanwhile, Marshall’s Mike Green is another first-round talent still undrafted, with his fall due to a pair of sexual assault accusations he was later cleared of (though he was cleared, teams worry about players who continually wind up in these situations).
• East Carolina CB Shavon Revel Jr. is a very interesting name to watch as well. Had he stayed healthy, there are teams that believe he’d have been the first pure corner (i.e., if you take Travis Hunter out of it) selected in this draft. A long, sticky cover man, one exec compared him to Philly’s 2024 first-rounder, Quinyon Mitchell. Revel tore his ACL in September and his rehab hasn’t gone quite as hoped, but there’s optimism now that he’ll be cleared for full football activity at some point during training camp.
• One of the fun stories from Thursday came from my buddy Pete Thamel at ESPN—he mentioned that Patriots first-rounder Will Campbell knocked Mike Vrabel on his behind while Vrabel held a bag for him during a private workout last week. I’m told that workout happened April 17, and New England had Vrabel, execs Eliot Wolf, Ryan Cowden and Matt Groh, and assistant OL coach Jason Houghtaling on campus in Baton Rouge to conduct it. It also was not the first time Vrabel had made a special trip to see Campbell.
I got a couple other interesting nuggets on the pick. One was that New England line coach Doug Marrone, who tried to recruit Campbell to Alabama in 2021, was a champion for him in the building. Another comes from Campbell’s 30 visit. When he arrived, Vrabel brought Campbell into a room of Patriots staffers, and asked the staffers to introduce themselves. They went around the room and at the end, Vrabel asked Campbell, “You got that?” Campbell responded by repeating the staffers’ names, and what they’d said, to the room.
So, yeah, the affection Vrabel showed for Campbell on Thursday night was real.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Day 2 NFL Draft Notes: Browns Could Have Eyes on Ohio State Running Back.
