One thing that I have always loved about the NFL Draft is that every single day of this event, is just as exciting as the first. There's always an incredible story or twist to keep the fans engaged and day two of this year's draft proved that point right once again. It was an evening filled to the brim with surprises and stories and here are some of the best ones from Rounds Two and Three of the NFL Draft.

Day Two of the Draft was all about Defense.
Defense wins championships. It's a phrase that rings true, even this past year and clearly the rest of the league gets that message as well. Because while a few offensive players went here and there during Rounds Two and Three, the majority of players picked were on the defensive side of the ball and it was simply incredible to watch so many linemen, linebackers and cornerbacks disappear off the board in succession. Even the defending champions picked up two defensive players to reload some of their free agency losses and one has to wonder if this trend will continue for the final day of the draft.  

Myles Jack finally found a home in Jacksonville. 
It was a tough first night for Linebacker Myles Jack. Once considered to be a top ten prospect, in fact I saw several Mock Drafts attach his name to the New York Giants at number 10; Myles went into free fall mode, never once hearing his name called in the first round. It cannot be easy for any player to see their draft stock diminish like that but Myles was well aware concerns about his knee came into play but he handled it all with class and grace and finally heard his name called at 36th Overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. It may have helped that news broke earlier in the day that his knee wouldn't require microfracture surgery, but in the end all that matters is that the talented Myles Jack finally found himself a home in Jacksonville.

How far will Connor Cook continue to slide?
Speaking of players whose draft stock is falling, Connor Cook continues to find himself waiting for a phone call from an NFL team and well, it has to be a little concerning for him now. After all, there are some seriously QB needy teams out there, yet no one has bothered to call the young man and welcome him to their team with open arms. There have been grave concerns about his character throughout the pre draft process and it's clear those concerns are being exercised by teams that scouted him. It's hard to say exactly how far Connor will continue to fall in the draft but if he doesn't find himself going to a team by the fifth round...there is a chance he could go un-drafted and that would be quite the drop for a QB who was once considered to be a potential first round pick.

What happens to Ryan Fitzpatrick now that the Jets drafted a QB?
The Jets and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick have been playing a game of contract chess all offseason long and well, the Jets may have just reached checkmate at last by drafting Christian Hackenberg last night. Hackenberg may not be ready to go as a day one starter, but his selection speaks volumes to the fact that New York is tired of playing the waiting game with Fitzpatrick. There is still talk that this could somehow open a window for Fitzpatrick to return to the Jets on a one year deal, but I think they're ready to move on and start over rather than overpaying their former starter. The bigger question going forward for the Jets right now...is who will start under center come September and don't be surprised if it turns out to be either Bryce Petty or the relatively unpolished Hackenberg.

The Tennessee Titans are quickly putting together one quality team.
Let's be honest. The Titans are a team that most of the league has forgotten about until the last couple of years. They haven't had a stout defense in ages. Their run game disappeared right after Chris Johnson broke 2,000 yards and their newly minted franchise quarterback missed a couple of games due to injury after taking a beating thanks to a porous offensive line. The good news is however, Tennessee actually recognizes these issues and they are quickly reloading the roster to address them. In the past two days, they've picked up a new Tackle in Jack Conklin to protect Mariota; added a Safety, DE and DT as well to strengthen the defense and to top it off...they snagged Heisman Trophy winning running back Derrick Henry to compliment DeMarco Murray in the run game. These are some impressive moves to say the least and if these young men are coached just right...the Titans and their fans may be in for one incredible season.

In many ways, the NFL Draft is just as exciting to watch as any NFL game, simply because of the mystery and surprises surrounding any given pick. You simply have no idea what a team is going to do when they are on the clock and this year's Draft is no exception to that rule. So with Rounds Two and Three awaiting us tonight, let's look back at the first night of the Draft and discuss what we learned from Round One. 

​The Rams and the Eagles found their Franchise Quarterbacks.
Perhaps the first real surprise of the draft, is that everything went as expected, with Jared Goff and Carson Wentz going number one and two respectively in the draft. There was no drama here, just two franchises going after a quarterback of the future. I think it's safe to say we can expect Goff to be the day one starter in Los Angeles come kickoff weekend but Wentz has an interesting road ahead of him before taking the field. He'll compete with Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel out in Philadelphia and the competition in Philly will be the one to watch because while the Eagles brass are pleased as punch with this move, Bradford is as angry as they come, and that should make the battle to be the starter a little more heated come Training Camp. Either way, the Rams and the Eagles have their man, gave up the farm to get him and here's to hoping both QB's pan out for their respective franchises.

The San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys dropped a pair of surprise picks last night.
The Chargers are a team in need of an offensive overhaul. The Cowboys are a squad desperately in need of offensive depth. So imagine my surprise when I hear Joey Bosa's and Ezekiel Elliott's names called at picks three and four respectively. Considering how bad the Chargers were on offense last year and the fact that the Cowboys need a quality backup QB behind Tony Romo one would think that O-Line and QB would have been the picks here. I'm not saying either team made a poor choice here, since defense does win championships and a solid run game will take pressure off of Romo, I'm just simply surprised that both of these teams decided to roll the dice in this fashion, and I am certain any surprise or concern around these picks will fade away the instant Bosa makes a game changing sack or Elliott takes it to the house because both of these players are extremely dynamic and will make an impact right away. 

Laremy Tunsil had one strange night...to say the least.
Normally the stories that find incredible focus on draft night are the ones involving the unfortunate player who travels to the draft, is expected to go within the top five or the top ten and ends up sitting there for way longer than expected as team after team goes with someone else. That did happen again last night, to a few players in fact; but Offensive Tackle Laremy Tunsil's dive in the draft had one hell of a twist. This young man, who at one point was considered to be a top five draft pick sunk to thirteenth overall courtesy of a strange set of events when someone hacked his Twitter feed and posted an image of someone wearing a gas mask, taking a hit from a bong. It is by far the craziest thing on Draft night that I have ever seen, and it really is a shame that someone decided to do something that malicious on such an important day. Thankfully the Dolphins ended his free fall and hopefully this little incident is long forgotten come September. 

The Denver Broncos solved their Quarterback Quandary at last.
It's been an unnerving offseason at the quarterback position for Broncos fans. Peyton Manning retired. Brock Osweiler bolted. Few seem happy or at least satisfied with the trade for Mark Sanchez and the trade with Colin Kaepernick never came to fruition. Yet despite the beads of sweat forming over the collective foreheads in Broncos Country, John Elway once again came through to save the day with a lovely draft day trade with the Seahawks to jump up from 31 and snag QB Paxton Lynch. Lynch is the prototypical QB that Elway has been searching for since his return to Denver, and oddly enough had in Osweiler; and really the question on everyone's mind is...when will he start? After all Lynch does need some work to perform well in a pro style offense, but if Mark Sanchez falters, it won't be long before the new kid is under center. But in the here and the now, this does indeed solve Denver's problems at quarterback in the short term and Lynch's selection should make for an interesting season in the Mile High City.

The Cleveland Browns are playing it safe and smart so far. 
I made mention the other day that this could be the epic draft that Browns fans have been waiting for and so far Cleveland is doing all the right things. Yesterday they made two moves of note. First they traded down again from the eighth pick to the fifteenth; where they selected Wide Receiver Corey Coleman from Baylor, in the process snagging a few more picks to bring their total to twelve for this draft...and rumor has it they are trying to trade down again to potentially acquire more picks and well...this is pure genius. This is exactly what Cleveland needed to do. Not only did they kick off the draft by getting RG3 a brand new weapon to throw to, now they are hoarding draft picks like a squirrel hoarding nuts for the winter and it's quite frankly the best thing they could have done. They have so many needs to address, and using rookies to either fill them right away or groom behind a few veterans is the most absolute sound idea I've seen come out of there in a long time. Can't wait to see what they do with the rest of their picks over the next two days.

The beauty of the National Football League is that it has something for the fans almost year round. After the Super Bowl there is the excitement of Free Agency, followed by the Scouting Combine and it all seems to culminate during the all important day when teams begin to build the foundation for their future by way of the NFL Draft. It's a magical weekend where we see dreams come true as college players become professionals and the good news is, the Draft is upon us once again. But while there is plenty to celebrate during this event, there are also plenty of stories that come with it and here are some of the storylines to keep an eye on this weekend.

Will the Philadelphia Eagles actually draft a quarterback with the number two pick?
The Eagles are a team that continue to confuse me, despite getting rid of Chip Kelly, they continue to make questionable moves and we could honestly spend an entire day discussing all their missteps since the new league year started, but I'm still scratching my head over their decision to trade up to the number two overall spot in the draft. I'm not saying they aren't in need of a Franchise Quarterback, because Sam Bradford is not the long term answer, but this is a team that surrendered five draft picks to get there a year removed from losing tons of quality players in the Chip Kelly Power Trip Purge. This was their chance to reload and rebuild this team around Sam Bradford and possibly take the QB of the future in the middle to late rounds. Instead they've infuriated their starter and despite logic dictating they rebuild the team, the answer to this question is simple, they're going quarterback at number two. 

What will the Denver Broncos do at quarterback this weekend?
Despite losing Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler this offseason, the panic button has never been pressed in Denver. The fans of course think otherwise since Mark Sanchez is now on the roster; but John Elway always seems to have something magical up his sleeve and this is the weekend to reveal his sneaky plans. The Broncos could potentially draft a QB in the first round to either sit behind or compete with Sanchez, they could finally pull the trigger on a trade with San Francisco to bring Colin Kaepernick into the fold, or heck, they could do both at the same time and load up the roster. Either way this is the weekend that John Elway will address any glaring concerns at QB. I personally think he will draft a QB and roll with the rookie and Sanchez, and it should be interesting to see who will be under center for the defending Super Bowl Champions come September.

Will the New England Patriots try to move back into the first round?
The Patriots are a team at a crossroads right now. Their starting quarterback is likely out for the first four weeks of the regular season, and they're out a first round draft pick; all of this thanks to their role in Deflategate which means New England has some interesting decisions to make this draft weekend. They could for all intents and purposes go with the draft plan they have worked on all offseason, as if nothing has changed on offense...or, they could roll the dice and try to snag a pick or two in the first round to see if they can't bolster their defense and control some of the damage that will inevitably come without having Tom under center. Sadly there's no easy answer to this question since Bill Belichick does what he wants, but if I had to guess, they go with their standard draft plan, but if an opportunity to get back into round one arises, don't be shocked to see them take it.

Did the Rams make the right move trading up to number one?
So far, the most stunning move this offseason came from the newly minted Los Angeles Rams with their decision to give up a King's Ransom to the Tennessee Titans to move into the number one overall slot to no doubt select a franchise quarterback come tomorrow night and the decision does make sense. After all Nick Foles is a so-so player, and Case Keenum is not the answer so getting a brand new day one starter in the draft is a flashy move that will put people in the seats come September, but any way you slice it, this is a risky gambit. Part of me is reminded of when Washington handed over a ton of picks to the Rams to get RG3, and well...we all know how that story ended and that's my concern here. There's a chance their number one pick could be a bust and history repeats itself, simply because you never know what you get in a player until the they take the field. But if it works out, and their guy is one hell of a quarterback...then this will be regarded as one genius move. Either way, this is a question that doesn't get answered until later on, and it will be interesting to see how the season plays out for the Rams.

Is this the Draft Cleveland Browns fans have been waiting for?
Truth be told, I love a majority of the decisions the Browns have made this offseason. Getting rid of Johnny Manziel turned out to be an extremely wise decision, giving RG3 a chance to revitalize his career could turn out to be a stroke of genius and trading down in the draft was the right thing to do. This is a team that has glaring holes at just about every position, so to fill those needs in the draft and try to truly build a nucleus of players is something I haven't seen Cleveland do in quite a long time. If they draft correctly, this could be seen as the turning point for this storied and somewhat disgraced franchise, and quite frankly seeing as to how they were willing to make some tough calls with the roster this offseason and hire a quality coach, this is the first time I have hope for this franchise and this draft could be everything Browns fans are hoping for and more.