Trades, RBs, DBs, but no QBs early in Round 2
By BARRY WILNER
AP Pro Football Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Both players of the year from the Big 12, a standout receiver from an FCS powerhouse, and more trades marked yet another dizzy and busy round at the NFL draft.
Quarterbacks in the second round Friday? Not yet — the first time since 2000 only one QB, Kenny Pickett of Pitt to the Steelers, went in the top 40 picks.
The round began Friday with Houston defensive tackle Logan Hall going to the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay, under new head coach Todd Bowles after Bruce Arians retired last month, owned the spot after trading with Jacksonville the previous night. Bowles’ background is on defense, so Hall seems a natural choice. He goes 6-foot-6, 275 pounds and is known for his relentlessness. He comes off elbow surgery and missed the Senior Bowl.
“We need D-linemen,” said Bowles. “We like depth. We play a lot of people down there and platoon a lot of people, so it has no bearing on the other guys.”
Green Bay began another bevy of trades by moving up to the second spot to at last help Aaron Rodgers with a highly drafted rookie receiver. Rodgers famously has sought more input into Green Bay’s drafts, and the Packers didn’t select a wideout in the first round with their two picks because the top prospects were gone. But they used the second slot in the second round to grab North Dakota State’s Christian Watson, who averaged 20.4 yards per reception in his career. The Packers drafted his father, former Howard defensive back Tim Watson, in 1993.
Yes, Watson comes from a FCS school, but the Bison are as close to FBS as you can get, perennial championship contenders on their level, winning nine of the past 11 national titles. It’s the fourth consecutive year a North Dakota State player has been drafted.
The Packers traded their All-Pro receiver, Davante Adams, to Las Vegas this offseason.
“Obviously being able to catch passes from one of the best to ever do it is something I’m definitely excited about,” Watson said. “I feel like I’m going to be able to learn and grow a lot through not just him but all the other receivers and everyone else in the organization as well. I definitely couldn’t be more excited to go at it with Aaron Rodgers.”
Ten teams didn’t select on Thursday, when the Jets got three players. On Friday, they made another deal, with the other New York team. Getting the fourth position in the round from the Giants, the Jets not only took the first running back, two-time All-American Breece Hall of Iowa State, but the first player from the Big 12, the only Power 5 conference blanked on the opening night.
Hall was the top offensive performer in the Big 12 last season, and one spot later, the defensive player of the year, safety Jalen Pitre, went to Houston.
“A three-down back,” Hall said when asked what New York is getting by adding him. “A guy who can catch the ball, make people miss, run you over and somebody that plays hard. A person who’s just as good off the field as he is on the field, so a guy who’s going to impact the community and just be more than a football player.”
Kyler Gordon, one of four invitees not chosen on Thursday, got his time onstage when the Washington cornerback went to Chicago at No. 39 — the Bears’ first selection of the draft.
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