1. NFL's saddest guy in Round 2? Adofo-Mensah
The saddest face in Round 2 of the NFL draft had to belong to Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. The guy who made six trades as a rookie GM last year had to sit and watch eight second-round trades unfold. NFC North foes Detroit, Green Bay and Chicago each made two picks and were involved in four trades, including one between the Packers and Lions that resulted in Detroit taking Alabama's Brian Branch, one of seven cornerbacks selected in Round 2, while the Packers picked up a fifth-rounder to drop three spots. The Lions also traded the 55th pick — the one they got from the Vikings for T.J. Hockenson — to Kansas City, which then picked SMU receiver Rashee Rice. Even Denver got involved in Round 2, making Oklahoma receiver Marvin Mims Jr. the first pick of the Sean Payton era after the Lions gave the Broncos the 63rd pick and a sixth-rounder for the 68th pick and a fourth-rounder.
2. Levis picked after packing up and leaving Kansas City
Every mock drafter alive bought the biggest smokescreen of the 2023 draft, which was how Kentucky QB Will Levis and his cannon arm were rocketing upward to the No. 2 pick while Ohio State's C.J. Stroud — the more accomplished and better player — was plummeting because he suddenly didn't have the brainpower worthy of a top-two pick. Both ended up as No. 2 picks. Stroud went No. 2 overall to the Texans. Levis went No. 2 on Day 2 to the Titans. Apparently Levis was too miffed to stick around the green room for his welcome-to-the-NFL hug from Commissioner Roger Goodell. Both he and cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who went to his dad's old team, the Steelers, with the first pick of the round, packed up and left K.C. Friday morning. Cheer up, Will. The Titans traded up eight spots to get you to replace Ryan Tannehill in 2024. Do your job and you'll be battling Stroud for AFC South titles in no time.
3. Vikings watch as corners, corners, corners are picked
The Vikings needed a receiver to replace Adam Thielen, so USC's Jordan Addison sounds pretty good with the 23rd pick. But Adofo-Mensah had better hope his young, unproven and injury-prone group of cornerbacks come through sooner rather than later because that position of significant need for the Vikings was the most popular position leaguewide from No. 24, when the Giants jumped on Deonte Banks, through the end of the second round. Of the top 60 picks, 11 were cornerbacks. The Lions weren't the only team in the division to trade up for a corner. The Bears traded up from 61 to 56 to take Miami's Tyrique Stevenson. The Dolphins' first pick of the draft (51st overall) was a cornerback, South Carolina's Cam Smith. The Steelers resisted heavy temptation to trade the first pick of the day, knowing they'd lose Porter Jr. if they went too far down the board.
4. Lions GM couldn't care less about your mock drafts
The best quote of the draft might have come from Lions GM Brad Holmes explaining first-round moves that had the analytics crowd blowing gaskets. "I get it that they're not guys that everybody had in their mock drafts and all that stuff," he said. "But, frankly, we don't care." Beautiful. Holmes started the draft by trading out of the top 10 to take a running back 12th. He doubled down by taking a middle linebacker 18th. He tripled down with the 34th pick, taking a tight end — Iowa's Sam LaPorta — whom the draftniks say isn't as good as Notre Dame's Michael Mayer, who went to Vegas with the next pick. Holmes' next three picks — Branch, Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker (68th) and Western Kentucky's massive nose tackle Brodric Martin in a trade up to No. 96 — probably were more popular. But, either way, Holmes doesn't care what you think. And that's kind of refreshing to hear.
5. From Mauch in Tampa to 'Money Mooney' in San Fran
Many of the game's grunt workers were busy coming off the board on Friday. Seven offensive linemen were taken in the second round. All but one enters the league as an interior player or is projected to move inside. One of the latter is North Dakota State tackle Cody Mauch. Tampa Bay liked the 6-5, 302-pounder well enough to trade up two spots with the Packers to take Mauch 48th. That was nine spots ahead of Gophers center John Michael Schmitz. Meanwhile, the 49ers finally got some at-bats in the third round. They entered the draft armed with 11 picks, none higher than No. 99. A trade with the Vikings brought a safety at No. 87. At 99, they took Michigan kicker Jake Moody. "Money Moody" became the highest-drafted kicker in school history, the first kicker drafted by the 49ers in 21 years and the league's highest-drafted kicker since the Bucs took Roberto Aguayo 59th in 2016.
