The opening 2 days of the 2024 NFL Draft featured plenty of surprises and a flurry of movements. Quarterbacks flew off the board at record pace in the first round. The second round saw 4 more wide receivers join the 7 that were taken on Day 1, but defense finally had its day, with 20 of the second-round selections going to defensive players. The third round saw 3 of the 4 running backs taken thus far come off the board.

You can read about our winners and losers from Day 1 here. My winners and losers from the second day of the draft are below.

Winner: Philadelphia Eagles

“When the late-season collapse happened (1-5 after a 10-1 start), the secondary fell apart. In the 32-9 Wild Card loss to Tampa Bay, Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns. During those final 6 losses to end the year, quarterbacks averaged 278 yards through the air with 14 total touchdowns and only 2 interceptions against the Eagles’ secondary.

“The secondary needs some youth. The best way to get young and better is through the draft. Philly hasn’t drafted a corner in the first round since 2002, but it needs to this year.”

I wrote that on Thursday ahead of the first round. Then, with its first 2 picks in the draft, Philadelphia snagged the 2 best corners in the class. The Eagles got Toledo wrecker Quinyon Mitchell at No. 22 — the first CB off the board and a player they did not have to trade up for. Then they got Iowa playmaker Cooper DeJean at No. 40 — a player some people thought they would have to trade up for to get in the first round. Yes, Philly had to make a move to get up to 40 to take DeJean (Nos. 50, 53, and 161 for Nos. 40, 78, and 152) but that kind of pick flip is worth it for a guy with a first-round grade at a position of need.

The Eagles clearly wanted to get better in the secondary, and they accomplished that goal with great success.

Then, GM Howie Roseman traded down twice in the third round (No. 78 for Nos. 86 and 123, then No. 86 for Nos. 94 and 132) and came away with Houston Christian edge Jalyx Hunt. The 6-foot-4, 252-pound defender is a draft-and-develop kind of prospect, but he has the tools to blossom as a pass-rusher. He was a late bloomer physically and that necessitated a move from safety to edge rusher, so he’s still raw. But the potential is encouraging.

Loser: Tennessee Titans

Tennessee has had a rough draft. The Titans spent the pre-draft process hoping and planning to slot Joe Alt at left tackle, then watched the Chargers take him 2 spots ahead of them and had to settle for Alabama’s JC Latham. “Settle” might not be the best word as he’s a perfectly deserving top-10 pick, but Alt played all 2,178 snaps of his Notre Dame career at left tackle and Latham spent his last 2 years as a right tackle. Titans GM Ran Carthon expressed “all the confidence in the world” that Latham can be their answer at left tackle.

Which is entirely possible. That selection on its own isn’t a problem. But when you miss on your top guy and follow that up with 1 selection on Day 2, you have to nail that pick. And Tennessee did not nail its pick.

The Titans took T’Vondre Sweat with the 38th overall pick in the second round. A former Texas standout, Sweat is a 2-down defensive tackle with concerns about his conditioning and a DWI arrest from earlier this month. Braden Fiske, Maason Smith, and Kris Jenkins were all still on the board. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler gave Sweat a fourth-round grade and had him outside his top 100 overall prospects. The Titans took him 38th. And then didn’t make another pick the rest of the day.

Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers

Payton Wilson is exactly the kind of player you expect to see in a Pittsburgh Steelers defense. He’s a worker, a 4-down player, and a locker room guy that coach Mike Tomlin will love. A 4-year starter, Wilson put together his best season in 2023 and piled up the awards. He earned the second-best tackling grade and the sixth-best coverage grade of any qualified FBS linebacker last season, per Pro Football Focus. Pittsburgh will use him all over.

The Steelers also landed Roman Wilson out of Michigan at No. 84 in the third round. Brugler had Wilson as a second-rounder, and ranked higher than 6 of the receivers taken ahead of him.

Loser: Troy Franklin

Franklin is a top-line guy in most of the “best available players for Day 3” stories you’ll read because he’s a Day 2 talent. The 6-foot-2 receiver out of Oregon has explosive play potential with great release quickness and a knack for creating distance between him and his defender. And his drop to Day 3 isn’t a product of receivers sliding as teams placed value elsewhere; Ricky Pearsall and Xavier Legette were first-round picks. He ran a 4.41 40 at the Combine with a 6.9 3-cone time. The internet would have us believe a slender frame and a zig-zaggy gauntlet drill at the Combine are reasons to doubt Franklin, but turn on the tape and you find a 1,400-yard, 14-touchdown receiver with as many 100-yard games last fall as the No. 4 overall pick. Someone is getting a quality receiver on Day 3.

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Winner: Ladd McConkey

The former Georgia wideout was not a first-round pick, but one could argue he wound up in a better spot than several of his peers. With the Los Angeles Chargers, McConkey has a clear path to playing time in a demolished receiver room and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL throwing him the football. McConkey feels like the kind of player who can instantly become a favorite target for Justin Herbert. He’s crafty, he’s exceptional with his releases, and he’s polished as a route-runner. Despite a woeful rookie season, the Chargers can’t give up on Quentin Johnston quite yet after he was the 21st overall pick in the 2023 draft. In a perfect world, McConkey is the No. 2 option who can be moved around the formation while Johnston mans the outside. The Chargers are still waiting on Johnston to figure it out, which just makes it all the more likely Herbert falls in love with McConkey early.

Loser: Atlanta Falcons

I like Bralen Trice as a third-round edge rusher, but the Falcons have reached on all 3 of their draft choices thus far. Enough has been written about Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8. No matter how you feel about Ruke Orhorhoro’s developmental ability, giving up your third to move up 8 spots and take him over Jer’Zhan Newton is a pretty sizeable gamble. He’s a gifted athlete, but pass-rush is a question mark.

Winner: Indianapolis Colts

Adonai Mitchell ran a 4.34 40 at the Combine, and posted the best broad jump (11’4) of any receiver. He had 11 touchdowns on 55 receptions last fall for Texas. He can take the top off any defense. Concerns during pre-draft interviews caused him to slip all the way down to No. 52 in the second round, where the Colts happily scooped him up. In Indy, he’ll line up opposite Michael Pittman Jr. as an immediate contributor in the Colts offense. He helps the Colts, providing the kind of game-breaking speed the offense has been missing, and he helps Pittman, who might finally find some more space underneath to operate within. At certain points in the draft, you just take a talent and sort the rest out. Mitchell is a player many thought would go in the first round. That he lasted until the 20th pick of the second round caught folks by surprise. Indy’s gain.