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If you as a prospect find yourself until the second or third round of the draft to hear your name called, there are reasons for that.
Maybe you're in a stacked position class, and you were on the wrong end of musical chairs in the first round. Maybe you have a lot going for you, but there are one or two legitimate dings that keep NFL teams from seeing you as transcendent. Maybe you went to a small school, and teams are worried about strength of competition — can you do what you did at the highest level of football? Off-field issues could mar your future. Or, maybe you're recovering from an injury, and there's a bit too much guesswork at this point.
Regardless of the reason(s), you can still succeed wildly in the NFL. That's up to you to a point, but it's also up to your NFL coaches to give you the best possible environment for success. Which means that the same people who put your name on the board are now responsible for maximizing your attributes, and minimizing (while ideally eliminating) your liabilities.
The further down you go in the draft, the more important it is that you're given the right place to prove all the naysayers wrong.
Yesterday, I wrote about my favorite player/team/scheme fits for the first round; here are the guys in the second and third rounds who lucked into the ideal places for their talents, and why this is the case..
© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Sometimes, an NFL team will bring a prospect on board in the draft who resembles a veteran currently on the roster. In my opinion, we saw this twice in the first round. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon with the 21st pick, and Harmon's game is quite a bit like Cameron Heyward. Then, the Atlanta Falcons selected Tennessee speed-rusher James Pearce Jr. with the 26th pick after trading up with the Los Angeles Rams. Pearce is a virtual close of Leonard Floyd, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract with Atlanta this offseason.
Now, the Texans have done something similar on offense by selecting Iowa State receiver Jayden Higgins with the 34th overall pick. Both Higgins and Nico Collins are bigger receivers (6-foot-4 1/8, 214 pounds for Higgins, 6-foot-4 1/8, 215 pounds for Collins) with a total understanding of the route tree and the nuances of the position, and the ability to get downfield more with technique than burner speed. Collins had to wait until the 90th pick in the third round of the 2021 draft to hear his name called, so maybe having one of those types of receivers made the Texans understand what their offense looks like when they don't.
Unfortunately, injuries have cost Collins a lot of time in his NFL career — he missed 563 snaps in the 2024 season, and was on the field for just 481 — so it's good for C.J. Stroud and an offense in transition to have another alpha receiver who can tie cornerbacks in knots both outside and in the slot.
By the way, the Texans also took Higgins' receiver mate Jaylin Noel with the 79th overall pick in the third round, and they already have Iowa State alum Xavier Hutchinson on the roster from their sixth-round pick in 2023. That's a Cyclone trifecta!
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald really made his way to the national radar as Michigan's defensive coordinator in 2021, which led to his hire as the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator in 2022. It took Macdonald a full season to put his schematic stamp on the franchise, but in 2023, there wasn't a better and more difficult to solve defense than the one Macdonald was running.
Beyond the front multiplicity, the key to Macdonald's acumen is to have at least one defensive back who can go all over the field and do just about anything. Dax Hill was Macdonald's guy at Michigan, and Kyle Hamilton was obviously that dude in Baltimore, as he still is. Not that 35th overall pick Nick Emmanwori has the chops to be multiple at Hamilton's level — Hamilton was my No. 1-rated player in the 2022 draft class — but the profile brings some similarities.
Like the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Hamilton, the 6-foot-3 1/8 Emmanwori is far more athletic than his size would indicate, and he can both cover and bring the boom from all over the field. Last season, Emmanwori allowed 24 catches on 38 targets for 200 yards, 73 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, four interceptions, three pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 37.1.
Mike Macdonald is a happier coach with a Swiss Army knife in his defense, and now he has one.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
It's unfortunate that Nick Chubb's career is now in question after the injuries that have limited him to just 10 games over the last two seasons, but that void created a clear need in the Browns' offense for a power back with versatility. And with the selection of Ohio State's Quinshon Judkins with the 36th overall pick, head coach and offensive shot-caller Kevin Stefanski has a plug-and-play guy for what Cleveland prefers to do on offense.
Last season, the Browns went away from their two- and three-tight end sets and power-blocking schemes because the thought was to cater to Deshaun Watson. That worked about as well as you would have expected. Judkins has the ability to succeed in any scheme — he's more agile than people think — but at his core, he's a perfect match for an offense in which everyone's blocking to hurt people, and the guards are pulling with evil intent.
Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
And here, we have another rookie/veteran cloning situation. Both DJ Moore, the Bears veteran who's already there, and Missouri's Luther Burden III, lead with hitch and out routes, with posts, overs, and dig routes as the secondary ideas. Moore might run more go routes than Burden's vertical seam routes, but the similarities are clear. Moore was my NFL comparison for Burden, and having both of these guys along with first-round tight end Colston Loveland and veterans Cole Kmet and Rome Odunze, gives new head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams all kinds of new options for the passing game.
(Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Never let it be said that Sean McVay will stick with his schematic priors. Two seasons ago, the Rams' head coach began a radical journey from inside and outside zone in the run game to more gap and power concepts, and it's gone very well.
Just as McVay was once known as the zone evangelist, he's also one of the foremost purveyors of 11 personnel — one running back, one tight end, and three receivers. And yes, the Rams were in 11 personnel 81% of the time last season, but that was the first season since 2020 that they did not lead the league in 11 personnel percentage. And when Matthew Stafford had two tight ends on the field last season, he completed 44 of 58 for 498 yards, 228 air yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions, and an NFL-best passer rating of 135.6.
So, the selection of Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson with the 46th overall pick — and the Rams' first pick in this draft — tells you to expect more 12 personnel, with a second tight end replacing that third receiver.
© Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
When he was the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator, Quinn became more and more about press coverage, because he had the cornerbacks to do it, leading with Trevon Diggs. Quinn tried to put his new cornerbacks in press in 2024 as the Washington Commanders' new head coach, but it did not go well at all. Washington had at least one cornerback in press coverage last season 158 times, and the defense allowed 105 catches and 14 explosive plays.
Which is why taking Ole Miss cornerback Trey Amos with the 61st overall pick in the second round was the thing to do. Last season, Amos lined up in press coverage 138 times, and he allowed six catches on 14 targets with one explosive play. Amos can also play in off coverage, and he has the match feet to win with whatever Quinn and his coaches want him to do, but this is the obvious reason for Amos' new home.
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Eagles were confident enough in their secondary this offseason to trade defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans for guard Kenyon Green this offseason, but that means that someone will have to replace Gardner-Johnson's six interceptions and six pass breakups from last season, primarily in the deep third. Perhaps the Eagles saw Gardner-Johnson as fungible due to the high variance in his play — he also allowed a ton of touchdowns — and that not something that defensive mastermind Vic Fangio likes.
So, to replace Gardner-Johnson as a primary deep safety, the Eagles selected Texas safety Andrew Mukuba with the 64th and final pick in the second round. Based on the tape, this is another grand slam for general manager Howie Roseman and his staff. Last season, Mukuba allowed 10 catches on 23 targets for 74 yards, 16 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, five interceptions, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 12.1.
If Mukuba can take that onto the field in an NFL sense, and given Fangio's track record with developing young defensive backs, there's no reason to assume he can't — the defending Super Bowl champs just made a like-as-like deal that could pay massive dividends over the next few years.
(James Snook-Imagn Images)
Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye has a great deep arm, but you wouldn't know it by the metrics in his rookie season. Maye completed just 10 of 30 passes of 20 or more air yards in 2024 for 320 yards, five touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 86.1. The lack of a deep passing game for the Pats was almost entirely due to a receiver corps that was entirely bereft of juice.
Washington State receiver Kyle Williams has all the attributes required to change that. Of all the receivers in this class, Williams may well be the best and most consistent accelerator from the line of scrimmage to the deep third, and that shows up both in the numbers and on tape. Last season for the Cougars, Williams caught 14 passes of 20 or more air yards for 454 yards and six touchdowns.
Any time you can get a guy at the top of the third round (69th overall) who has more deep receptions than your entire team, that's a pretty good way to improve things.
Continue reading...
Maybe you're in a stacked position class, and you were on the wrong end of musical chairs in the first round. Maybe you have a lot going for you, but there are one or two legitimate dings that keep NFL teams from seeing you as transcendent. Maybe you went to a small school, and teams are worried about strength of competition — can you do what you did at the highest level of football? Off-field issues could mar your future. Or, maybe you're recovering from an injury, and there's a bit too much guesswork at this point.
Regardless of the reason(s), you can still succeed wildly in the NFL. That's up to you to a point, but it's also up to your NFL coaches to give you the best possible environment for success. Which means that the same people who put your name on the board are now responsible for maximizing your attributes, and minimizing (while ideally eliminating) your liabilities.
The further down you go in the draft, the more important it is that you're given the right place to prove all the naysayers wrong.
Yesterday, I wrote about my favorite player/team/scheme fits for the first round; here are the guys in the second and third rounds who lucked into the ideal places for their talents, and why this is the case..
Jayden Higgins, WR, Houston Texans: Pairing Nico Collins with... Nico Collins
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© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Sometimes, an NFL team will bring a prospect on board in the draft who resembles a veteran currently on the roster. In my opinion, we saw this twice in the first round. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon with the 21st pick, and Harmon's game is quite a bit like Cameron Heyward. Then, the Atlanta Falcons selected Tennessee speed-rusher James Pearce Jr. with the 26th pick after trading up with the Los Angeles Rams. Pearce is a virtual close of Leonard Floyd, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract with Atlanta this offseason.
Now, the Texans have done something similar on offense by selecting Iowa State receiver Jayden Higgins with the 34th overall pick. Both Higgins and Nico Collins are bigger receivers (6-foot-4 1/8, 214 pounds for Higgins, 6-foot-4 1/8, 215 pounds for Collins) with a total understanding of the route tree and the nuances of the position, and the ability to get downfield more with technique than burner speed. Collins had to wait until the 90th pick in the third round of the 2021 draft to hear his name called, so maybe having one of those types of receivers made the Texans understand what their offense looks like when they don't.
Unfortunately, injuries have cost Collins a lot of time in his NFL career — he missed 563 snaps in the 2024 season, and was on the field for just 481 — so it's good for C.J. Stroud and an offense in transition to have another alpha receiver who can tie cornerbacks in knots both outside and in the slot.
By the way, the Texans also took Higgins' receiver mate Jaylin Noel with the 79th overall pick in the third round, and they already have Iowa State alum Xavier Hutchinson on the roster from their sixth-round pick in 2023. That's a Cyclone trifecta!
Nick Emmanwori, DB, Seattle Seahawks: Hoping for the next Kyle Hamilton
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Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald really made his way to the national radar as Michigan's defensive coordinator in 2021, which led to his hire as the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator in 2022. It took Macdonald a full season to put his schematic stamp on the franchise, but in 2023, there wasn't a better and more difficult to solve defense than the one Macdonald was running.
Beyond the front multiplicity, the key to Macdonald's acumen is to have at least one defensive back who can go all over the field and do just about anything. Dax Hill was Macdonald's guy at Michigan, and Kyle Hamilton was obviously that dude in Baltimore, as he still is. Not that 35th overall pick Nick Emmanwori has the chops to be multiple at Hamilton's level — Hamilton was my No. 1-rated player in the 2022 draft class — but the profile brings some similarities.
Like the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Hamilton, the 6-foot-3 1/8 Emmanwori is far more athletic than his size would indicate, and he can both cover and bring the boom from all over the field. Last season, Emmanwori allowed 24 catches on 38 targets for 200 yards, 73 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, four interceptions, three pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 37.1.
Mike Macdonald is a happier coach with a Swiss Army knife in his defense, and now he has one.
Quinshon Judkins, RB, Cleveland Browns: The return of Intelligent Smashmouth
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Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
It's unfortunate that Nick Chubb's career is now in question after the injuries that have limited him to just 10 games over the last two seasons, but that void created a clear need in the Browns' offense for a power back with versatility. And with the selection of Ohio State's Quinshon Judkins with the 36th overall pick, head coach and offensive shot-caller Kevin Stefanski has a plug-and-play guy for what Cleveland prefers to do on offense.
Last season, the Browns went away from their two- and three-tight end sets and power-blocking schemes because the thought was to cater to Deshaun Watson. That worked about as well as you would have expected. Judkins has the ability to succeed in any scheme — he's more agile than people think — but at his core, he's a perfect match for an offense in which everyone's blocking to hurt people, and the guards are pulling with evil intent.
Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears: Adding DJ Moore to DJ Moore
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Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
And here, we have another rookie/veteran cloning situation. Both DJ Moore, the Bears veteran who's already there, and Missouri's Luther Burden III, lead with hitch and out routes, with posts, overs, and dig routes as the secondary ideas. Moore might run more go routes than Burden's vertical seam routes, but the similarities are clear. Moore was my NFL comparison for Burden, and having both of these guys along with first-round tight end Colston Loveland and veterans Cole Kmet and Rome Odunze, gives new head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams all kinds of new options for the passing game.
Terrance Ferguson, TE, Los Angeles Rams: This one goes to 12!
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(Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Never let it be said that Sean McVay will stick with his schematic priors. Two seasons ago, the Rams' head coach began a radical journey from inside and outside zone in the run game to more gap and power concepts, and it's gone very well.
Just as McVay was once known as the zone evangelist, he's also one of the foremost purveyors of 11 personnel — one running back, one tight end, and three receivers. And yes, the Rams were in 11 personnel 81% of the time last season, but that was the first season since 2020 that they did not lead the league in 11 personnel percentage. And when Matthew Stafford had two tight ends on the field last season, he completed 44 of 58 for 498 yards, 228 air yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions, and an NFL-best passer rating of 135.6.
So, the selection of Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson with the 46th overall pick — and the Rams' first pick in this draft — tells you to expect more 12 personnel, with a second tight end replacing that third receiver.
Trey Amos, CB, Washington Commanders: Letting Dan Quinn press play
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© Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
When he was the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator, Quinn became more and more about press coverage, because he had the cornerbacks to do it, leading with Trevon Diggs. Quinn tried to put his new cornerbacks in press in 2024 as the Washington Commanders' new head coach, but it did not go well at all. Washington had at least one cornerback in press coverage last season 158 times, and the defense allowed 105 catches and 14 explosive plays.
Which is why taking Ole Miss cornerback Trey Amos with the 61st overall pick in the second round was the thing to do. Last season, Amos lined up in press coverage 138 times, and he allowed six catches on 14 targets with one explosive play. Amos can also play in off coverage, and he has the match feet to win with whatever Quinn and his coaches want him to do, but this is the obvious reason for Amos' new home.
Andrew Mukuba, Safety, Philadelphia Eagles: Filling the CJGJ role from Day 1
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Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Eagles were confident enough in their secondary this offseason to trade defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans for guard Kenyon Green this offseason, but that means that someone will have to replace Gardner-Johnson's six interceptions and six pass breakups from last season, primarily in the deep third. Perhaps the Eagles saw Gardner-Johnson as fungible due to the high variance in his play — he also allowed a ton of touchdowns — and that not something that defensive mastermind Vic Fangio likes.
So, to replace Gardner-Johnson as a primary deep safety, the Eagles selected Texas safety Andrew Mukuba with the 64th and final pick in the second round. Based on the tape, this is another grand slam for general manager Howie Roseman and his staff. Last season, Mukuba allowed 10 catches on 23 targets for 74 yards, 16 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, five interceptions, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 12.1.
If Mukuba can take that onto the field in an NFL sense, and given Fangio's track record with developing young defensive backs, there's no reason to assume he can't — the defending Super Bowl champs just made a like-as-like deal that could pay massive dividends over the next few years.
Kyle Williams, WR, New England Patriots: Giving Drake Maye some vertical juice
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(James Snook-Imagn Images)
Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye has a great deep arm, but you wouldn't know it by the metrics in his rookie season. Maye completed just 10 of 30 passes of 20 or more air yards in 2024 for 320 yards, five touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 86.1. The lack of a deep passing game for the Pats was almost entirely due to a receiver corps that was entirely bereft of juice.
Washington State receiver Kyle Williams has all the attributes required to change that. Of all the receivers in this class, Williams may well be the best and most consistent accelerator from the line of scrimmage to the deep third, and that shows up both in the numbers and on tape. Last season for the Cougars, Williams caught 14 passes of 20 or more air yards for 454 yards and six touchdowns.
Any time you can get a guy at the top of the third round (69th overall) who has more deep receptions than your entire team, that's a pretty good way to improve things.
Related: 2025 NFL Draft: Best Available Players for Day 3
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