The first round of the NFL draft ended with a few players still left in the green room at AT&T Stadium Tramon Williams Jersey , including an All-American
Heading into the second round of the draft Iowa All-America cornerback Josh Jackson, Texas offensive lineman Connor Williams and LSU running Derrius Guice remain available. All three are safe bets to be selected some time Friday, when rounds two and three are completed. It probably won't take too long.
The NFL also invited UCF's Shaquem Griffin to the draft. It was no surprise the linebacker who lost his left hand to amputation as a child did not go in round one. He is one of the draft's biggest wild cards after putting on a show at the combine. It would not be shocking if a team called Griffin on Day 2.
Six more intriguing players likely to come off the board Friday:
Mason Rudolph, QB, 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, Oklahoma State
There was some talk that Rudolph could slip into the first round and make it a record tying six quarterbacks taken. Instead, he'll look to become the first selected on Day 2. He could be a nice value. Rudolph is a big guy, with a good arm who throws a nice deep ball. The Giants own the second pick of the second round. Maybe he's the guy they can groom to take over for Eli Manning. Denver at 40 could be a possibility along with Miami (42) and New England (43).
Will Hernandez, OG, 6-2, 345, UTEP
Six offensive linemen were taken in the first round, including two centers that could play guard and a tackle that could slide inside. Nobody bit on Hernandez, a powerful run blocker with quick feet. With Cleveland and the Bears among the first to pick in the second round, Hernandez should not have to wait too long to be picked. He might be the best offensive lineman left, though Iowa center James Daniels could be in that discussion Kendall Fuller Jersey , too.
Harold Landry, OLB/DE, 6-3, 252, Boston College
Landry was one of the best pass rushers in the country as a junior, but his senior year was wrecked by injuries. He might have to learn a more traditional linebacker's role in the NFL after mostly playing as a defensive end at BC. But he is the best edge rusher left so he probably won't have wait long into second round. The Colts at 36 and 37 could use a boost to the pass rush, but will he fit their new 4-3 defense? The Giants need pass rushers, too. A similar player to watch for is LSU's Arden Key, who was being talked about as a possible top-10 pick before he had a poor and injury plagued 2017 season.
Ronald Jones II, RB, 5-11, 200, Southern California
The darting, slashing runner who always seems to fall forward. Jones is similar to Guice in style but not quite as big and strong. Georgia's Nick Chubb is also still available after three running backs (Saquon Barkley, Rashaad Penny and Sony Michel) went in the first round. Jones, Guice and Chubb could all be up for consideration for Cleveland (picks 33 and 35) and Tampa Bay (38) early in the second round. All should be off the gone by the end of round two and provide good value.
Maurice Hurst, DT Ryan Fitzpatrick Jersey , 6-2, 282, Michigan
Hurst is an undersized tackle with some health concerns, but he was probably the most productive interior defensive lineman in the country last season. Scheme fit will likely be key, but defenses that need tackles who attack gaps and look to be disruptive in the backfield could find a day two steal in Hurst.
Christian Kirk, WR, 5-10, 200, Texas A&M
Only two receivers were selected in the first round (Calvin Ridley and DJ Moore). Next up could be Kirk, who also brings with him some serious skills as a kick and punt returner. He returned seven punts and kicks for touchdowns at A&M. His size might relegate him to slot receiver. If a team is looking for a bigger target, SMU's Courtland Sutton, who is 6-5, is also left.
When Geoff Swaim glances around the film room at his fellow tight ends with the Dallas Cowboys, he doesn’t see Jason Witten anymore.
As for what’s showing on the screen, Swaim can’t help but see familiar No. 82 because the franchise leader in games was on the field nearly every snap for 15 years before his sudden retirement to go into broadcasting last month.
”Well, it’s hard to watch film and not have Witt in the film. You know what I mean?” Swaim said with a chuckle Wednesday after the final voluntary offseason practice before mandatory minicamp next week.
”I don’t know what tape you can bring up of the Cowboys in any sort of relevant way that Witt’s not on the field. It’s always him. It’s always him. It’s always him. And it’s that way for a reason.”
Swaim is the team’s oldest tight end at 24 with nine regular-season catches and 94 yards to show for his first three years in the league. That’s nine catches and 94 yards more than any of the other four – and 1,143 catches and 12 Russell Bodine Jersey ,354 yards fewer than Witten, the club leader in both.
The next-oldest tight end? Rico Gathers, the former Baylor basketball standout who hadn’t played football in nearly a decade when the Cowboys drafted him two years ago. He’s 24, but four months younger than Swaim.
Next is Blake Jarwin, a second-year player who got in one game last season after the Cowboys activated him from the practice squad. Rookie Dalton Schultz, a fourth-round pick in April, was 6 when the Cowboys drafted Witten in 2003. The fifth tight end is undrafted rookie David Wells.
”Everybody has to start a game at some point in time, or play a first play at some point in time,” new tight ends coach Doug Nussmeier said. ”I don’t look at it as a negative.”
The Cowboys had some experience besides Witten after last season, but James Hanna beat the 11-time Pro Bowl player to retirement by a couple of weeks. The 28-year-old Hanna had persistent knee issues.
The player most likely to do a double take was Swaim, a seventh-round pick out of Texas in 2015. In a matter of days, he went from understudy still building his resume to the only Dallas tight end with one.
”It was sort of overnight,” Swaim said. ”But again you have to adjust and move on. That’s how everyone approached it, `Wow, OK, here’s what’s in front of us now.’ It doesn’t do me any good to look in the past. It doesn’t do me any good to go, `What’s going on?”’
Gathers missed all of last season with a concussion after an impressive preseason that raised hopes about his development. It was a significant setback for someone with little football background who chose the NFL over the NBA because he thought it was his best shot at a pro career.
Now Phillip Dorsett Jersey , though, Witten’s retirement has left the position wide open for the 6-foot-8, 285-pound Gathers, who hasn’t played in the regular season yet.
”There’s really no major opportunity to really do anything of growth from as far as expecting to play, expecting to take snaps from him because he’s not supposed to let that happen,” Gather said. ”It opens up windows for everybody to be able to come in and prove themselves.”
Schultz, who played at Stanford, saw reports of Witten drawing interest from the networks the way longtime friend and teammate Tony Romo did a year earlier when the former Cowboys quarterback decided to retire rather than play for another team after losing his job to Dak Prescott.
It’s only natural for draft prospects to ponder the idea of replacing a franchise icon such as Witten, who was days from turning 36 when he retired. It just doesn’t get much past the pondering.
”It’s all speculation, right?” Schultz said. ”I think people try to do their best at like, hey, there’s a potential fit. But in reality, you’re going to go to whoever you’re going to go and that’s just how it’s going to be.”
Now the question is who says how it’s going to be in the tight end room for the Cowboys. And if anyone says it’s automatically Swaim, he would disagree. He has a new favorite word for how that leadership grows: organic.
”We’re figuring things out together,” Swaim said. ”There’s no need for me to be in there yelling at somebody who’s a year younger than me. That doesn’t make sense. That wouldn’t be right.”
Just as it doesn’t seem right for him to glance around the room and not see Witten.
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