The second day of the 2026 NFL Draft kept the intrigue level high Friday night.
The final player left in the “Green Room” overnight, Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald — well, he was allowed to go home and all — let the emotions flow while hearing his name early in the second round, all the while landing in an ideal spot with the Houston Texans.
A pair of brothers watched the draft together, learning in real time that they’re now not only teammates but likely the two starting cornerbacks for the Falcons, as Clemson’s Avieon Terrell joins his older brother A.J. in Atlanta.
Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead continued giving his coach Sean McVay anything but what his roster needed — a No. 3 wide receiver who can operate out of the slot.
A day after taking QB Ty Simpson, a potential successor to reigning MVP Matthew Stafford whenever he retires, at No. 13 overall, again bypassed solid WR options to instead draft a low-upside tight end for the future, Ohio State’s Max Klare. Never mind that the team has two proven veteran TEs already for 2026 in Colby Parkinson and Tyler Higbee.
Snead vs. Logic/McVay is in the running for best subplot of this draft.
The Arizona Cardinals, meanwhile, have locked themselves into a couple years of realizing they just drafted Spencer Rattler 2.0 — Miami’s Carson Beck — while stockpiling backup quarterbacks like families raid the store for milk and essentials before a storm.
The Cleveland Browns apparently underwent an organizational lobotomy and suddenly can’t miss on draft picks. More on that in a moment.
And Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, once projected as a first-round pick, remains undrafted through three rounds as far lesser CBs fly off the board. Unless McCoy’s medical report on his surgically repaired knee shows that he no longer has a knee then it’s absurd that no team has even taken a flier on him yet while drafting players at the same position with limited upside.
All the while, there were some excellent value picks made Friday who will outplay their draft slot.
With that, let’s highlight the best and worst picks from Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
10 Best Picks From Day 2 Of The 2026 NFL Draft
1. WR Zachariah Branch, Atlanta Falcons, Round 3 (No. 79 overall)
Atlanta didn’t have a first-round pick, and coming into Day 2 of the draft it’s most pressing need sure seemed to be wide receiver. The Falcons have Drake London locked in at WR1, but behind him it was a wasteland with Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus next on the depth chart.
In fact, our recommended pick for the Falcons in the second round was Branch, the lightning-quick and elusive Georgia slot receiver.
Atlanta instead went with Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell, which was honestly a great value and set up that special draft moment where he and his brother learned they’ll be teammates in the Falcons’ secondary.
Incredibly, though, Atlanta was still able to land Branch a whole round later.
The former five-star recruit who bounced from USC to Georgia and had his breakout season as a junior with 81 catches for 811 yards and 6 touchdowns probably hasn’t even hit his peak potential yet.
New Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski should be able to find creative ways to unleash Branch in the middle of the field, which paired with London, tight end Kyle Pitts and star running back Bijan Robinson makes this one of the more potent offenses in the NFL. Even with Tua Tagovailoa (or Michael Penix Jr.) at quarterback.
2. LB C.J. Allen, Indianapolis Colts, Round 2 (No. 53)
Many noted draft analysts projected Allen to be off the board early in the second round, and indeed we thought he was the obvious fit for the LB-needy Buffalo Bills at No. 35. They went with edge rusher T.J. Parker, also a fine pick, and Allen tumbled all the way to No. 53.
That was incredibly fortuitous for the Indianapolis Colts, who probably needed a linebacker more than any other team in this draft and yet traded back from No. 47 to No. 53 (picking up extra draft capital from the Steelers) and still were able to snag a Day 1 starter.
The Colts traded veteran linebacker Zaire Franklin to the Packers this offseason to save salary cap space, leaving former Cardinals and Bengals LB Akeem Davis-Gaither atop a perilously thin depth chart. Allen, an AP First-Team All-American from Georgia, which under coach Kirby Smart has a pretty good track record of developing NFL talent on the defensive side of the ball.
3. S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Cleveland Browns, Round 2 (No. 58)
Some thought McNeil-Warren had a chance to go late in the first round. Instead, he falls to the bottom of the second round, at which point the Browns pounced. They traded up from No. 70 to No. 58 (with the 49ers) and took safety out of Toledo.
McNeil-Warren is both a big hitter and ballhawk, totaling 5 interceptions and 8 forced fumbles the last three years at Toledo while 69 tackles a season.
Cleveland already had two solid safeties in place in Grant Delpit (graded 41st/98 safeties by PFF) and Ronnie Hickman (21/98), but both are free agents after this season. This was a shrewd move by the Browns for the future, and McNeil-Warren will no doubt get his opportunities to make an impact in 2026 as well.
4. OG Emmanuel Pregnon, Jacksonville Jaguars, Round 3 (No. 88)
It stood to reason Pregnon would be off the board by the mid-to-late second round, but instead the Jaguars get a steal midway through the third round.
A late bloomer who broke out at Wyoming and then started for two seasons at USC and one at Oregon, delivering lockdown protection and impactful run blocking year after year. PFF ranked him the No. 2 offensive guard in college football last season (out of the 686 they graded) while marking him for just 3 pressures and 0 sacks allowed and one penalty drawn all season. He was equally exceptional in pass protection and run blocking.
Jacksonville has left guard Ezra Cleveland set to be a free agent after the season while right guard Patrick Mekari was one of the lower-graded guards in the NFL by PFF (68th/81) and is a free agent after 2027.
5. WR Chris Bell, Miami Dolphins, Round 3 (No. 94)
This was the exact right player for the exact right team.
Unfortunately, Bell’s prolific 2025 season at Louisville — 72 catches for 917 yards and 6 TDs in 11 games — was cut short by a torn ACL. Once considered a potential first-round pick, the injury may have given pause to teams that need immediate production from their Day 2 picks, but the Miami Dolphins are at the very beginning stages of a total rebuild and won’t be competing for anything this year except the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
That means they can be as patient as needed with Bell, with the potential that they landed a WR1 by the time he’s ready to be fully unleashed (even if that’s not until 2027). However, he’s apparently ahead of schedule on his rehab.
We couldn’t love this pick more for a team that came into the draft with the weakest WR depth chart in the league (Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell) and has now added Bell and fellow third-round pick Caleb Douglas (114 catches for 1,723 yards and 13 TDs over the last two seasons for Texas Tech).
6. WR Denzel Boston, Cleveland Browns, Round 2 (No. 39)
This is where we reiterated that no team has had a better draft so far than the Cleveland Browns, though the New York Jets are in the running. What a time to be alive!
Cleveland came into the draft badly needing help at wide receiver with Jerry Jeudy the only notable weapon on the depth chart. When the Browns opted to go offensive tackle at pick No. 9 (after trading back from No. 6) with Utah’s Spencer Fano, we wondered how they’d be able to address this need.
But fear not, the suddenly savvy Browns had a plan. They landed Texas A&M speedster KC Concepcion late in the first round and then circled back early in the second round to grab Boston — another prospect many draft analysts thought had a chance to go on Day 1.
The big 6-foot-3, 212-pound Boston had almost identical productive seasons the last two years for Washington with receiving lines of 63-834-9 and 62-881-11.
Suddenly, a WR corps of Jeudy and Boston on the outside with Concepcion causing havoc out of the slot, with an almost totally revamped offensive line providing protection, and it’s easy to see the Browns taking off in 2026.
7. DT Kayden McDonald, Houston Texans, Round 2 (No. 36)
The aforementioned McDonald was the only player left in the “Green Room” at the end of Round 1, but he came back to the draft to have his moment walking across the stage Friday night.
In terms of draft slot, this wasn’t necessarily an incredible value for the Houston Texans, but just a shrewd pick as they moved up two picks in a trade with the Raiders to make sure they got McDonald while he was still on the board.
The 6-foot-2, 326-pound All-American was one of the anchors up front for the best defense in college football at Ohio State, and he had a case to be the first DT selected in this draft. Instead, he’s the third off the board after Florida’s Caleb Banks (No. 18 to the Vikings) And Clemson’s Peter Woods (No. 29 to the Chiefs).
Perhaps he is a value after all if he landed 18 picks after Banks.
As we noted in previous stories, the Texans really had no pressing needs, so they were just adding potential upgrades/future replacements in this draft. With Sheldon Rankins, Tommy Togiai and Logan Hall, they already had a nice top of the depth chart on the interior of the defensive line. But it got stronger Friday night. Also, Togiai is a free agent after this season.
8. WR Ja’Kobi Lane, Baltimore Ravens, Round 3 (No. 80)
This is one of our favorite picks in the draft so far. Lane isn’t a slam-dunk sure thing as maturity issues at USC undermined him at times, but talent-wise, it’s all there.
The rangy 6-foot-4, 200-pound receiver has a top-tier catch radius, is an almost impossible matchup on 50/50 balls in the air and has a knack for making incredible catches.
His USC career never hit its full potential, though. After finishing his sophomore season strong with 43 catches for 525 yards and a whopping 12 TDs, he got usurped by teammate Makai Lemon in 2025 while finishing with a still-solid 49-745-4 line in 11 games.
Baltimore needed help at wide receiver and gets a great value here on a player who could easily greatly exceed his draft slot — if he puts it all together.
9. TE Oscar Delp, New Orleans Saints, Round 3 (No. 73)
Delp was the seventh tight end drafted and has the potential to turn into one of the top 3 TEs in this draft class.
He was curiously underused at Georgia, posting near identical lines the last three seasons while never topping 24 catches or 284 yards. That could be a red flag, especially with how much the Bulldogs utilized his predecessor Brock Bowers, and yet … then there’s the film.
Delp is 6-foot-5, 245 pounds and is blazing fast for the position.
We love the upside with this pick.
10. S Bud Clark, Seattle Seahawks, Round 2 (No. 64)
One of the most productive safeties in college football going to one of the best defenses and defensive coaches in the NFL — what’s not to like?
Clark had 15 interceptions and 201 tackles over the last four seasons for TCU. He spent six years in college, so he’s probably at his ceiling of development, but it’s a solid ceiling if he can transfer that playmaking ability over to the NFL.
The Seahawks lost safety Coby Bryant, leaving Julian Love and Ty Okada (a reserve for most of his career) atop the depth chart. Clark should get plenty of opportunity as a rookie.
