Winners and losers from Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft

Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft has is in the books with the second and third rounds taking place on Friday.

Some teams were able to make smart moves on Day 2 while others made some head scratching decisions. Below, we’ll go over a few winners and losers for Day 2.

Day 2 Winners

Pittsburgh Steelers

After making a solid first-round pick with Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones at 14, Pittsburgh came back and had themselves a solid Day 2. They opened the second round by making a solid and sentimental pick in Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. at 32. Some projected the Steelers to take him in the first, so they got great value for him at the top of the second.

After adding more depth in the trenches with Wisconsin defensive tackle Keeanu Benton at 49, the team used its third rounder on Georgia tight end Darnell Washington at 93. Washington fell due to concerns over his knee injury but if he’s able to stay healthy, Pittsburgh could’ve gotten themselves a steal.

Green Bay Packers

Green Bay selecting using the No. 14 pick on Iowa defensive end Lukas Van Ness was somewhat of a headscatcher as some thought they’d use the pick on a weapon for new starter Jordan Love. Well they used Day 2 to do just that and did a good job.

They got picked up a pair of tight ends in Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave at 42 and South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft at 78. With the amount of multi-tight end personnels being used by offenses these days, these two could open up a new dynamic for the Packers offense. At 50, they selected an elite route runner in Michigan State wide receiver Jaylen Reed and his ability to get open will come in handy for a young starter like Love.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville made a few under-the-radar picks on Day 2 that may pay dividends for its offense later on. The Jags used its second rounder on Penn State tight end Brenton Strange at 61. The 6’3, 256” pound prospect could be an effective blocker and red zone target for Trevor Lawrence.

In the third, they took Auburn running back Tank Bigsby at 88. Travis Etienne broke out with a 1,000-yard season in 2022 and he’ll now be complemented with a bouldering force like Bigsby in the backfield. There’s depth on the offensive side of the ball in Duval County and that sets them up nicely for next season.

Day 1 Losers

Atlanta Falcons

I continue to question Atlanta for kicking the pass rush can down the road and the team didn’t address it until the third round when selecting Ohio State defensive end at 75. It’s not that Harrison can’t be a third-round sleeper, but they passed up on picks like Notre Dame’s Isaiah Foskey, LSU’s BJ Ojulari, and USC’s Tuipulotu. Instead, they opted for Syracuse offensive tackle Matthew Bergeron at 38.

Hopefully Harrison emerges on the defense because the poor pass rush is going to catch up to them sooner rather than later.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns are losers here simply because they didn’t make a selection until the third round. They forked over their first and second rounders in various trades centered around Deshaun Watson and Elijah Moore and were only able to select Oklahoma wide receiver Marvin Mims at 74 and Baylor defensive tackle Siaki Ika at 98.

The team can ill afford either of those picks not panning out. Otherwise, that’s lost opportunity at building depth.