Ten thoughts from watching Day 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft
1. Roger Goodell needs a break. I mean, by the end, he looked like my grandpa after the 4:45 Early Bird and an extra piece of pie. I do cut the guy some slack. After all, he did have to enunciate almost seventy-five names over the course of five hours. That’s actually speaking fifteen names an hour. You try it. Early on, it was charming – like when he pronounced Yetur Gross-Matos’ last name as if it rhymed with “comatose.” But by the end, when he promoted a Day 3 appearance by “Leslie Odom Judor,” it was just sad.
2. I was so certain – so damn certain – that when Minnesota traded back their compensatory pick at the end of the third, it was the Redskins moving up to grab TE Adam Trautman. So certain. Well, I got half of it right. Right player. Wrong team.
3. Somebody buy Trey Wingo a thesaurus. He needs a couple synonyms for “interesting.” Might I suggest “fascinating,” “intriguing,” or “compelling.” After I have coffee, I’ll come up with a few more.
4. The Patriots traded out of the first round (big surprise there) and selected Kyle Dugger from D2 Lenoir-Rhyne. Though Dugger is not the first LR Bear to be drafted, he has a good chance of becoming their most famous football grad – an honor currently held by actor Burgess Jenkins, who played a racist tight end in 2000’s Remember the Titans.
5. Andy Reid proved once and for all that wearing a hideous Hawaiian shirt before winning a Super Bowl makes you kind of weird and sad. Wearing one after getting the Lombardi Trophy makes you the coolest guy on the Zoom call.
6. Philly? Jalen Hurts? Really? I know Carson Wentz is fragile, but there was quality defensive help available.
7. Giants? Matt Peart? Really? Look, like Ken Beatrice before me, I don’t have the budget to scout. I just read up and watch some film after the fact. Seems to me this guy has a lot of Geron Christian in him. Why is anyone taking developmental players in the third round? That’s Day 3 fodder.
8. Cowboys? Trevon Diggs? Once again, Trevon is breaking my heart. First he turns down Maryland for Alabama. Then he plays so well that Dallas takes him (I guess I can’t really blame him for that). Diggs is a local Montgomery County product who followed his coach Tyree Spinner from Wooten HS to the tiny private school Avalon after – I want to say – his sophomore year. He was an All-Met WR back in 2015. The All-Met QB that year? A guy named Haskins.
9. Antonio Gibson’s name didn’t register for me right away. What registered was that the “commish” referred to him as a running back. I went ballistic. A running back! As if BryceGuice McPeterson Barber wasn’t enough for the Redskins. I quickly calmed down when I realized that Gibson is more of a hybrid WR/RB/KR who can actually help out in an area of need.
10. But I still wanted Trautman.
Five picks today, including two fourth-rounders. Let’s hope some offensive line help is coming. Don’t get me started on Trent Williams.