Instant reactions: Trades and defensive selections headline Day 2 of 2024 NFL Draft

A high volume of trades and impressive amount of defenders in the trenches and secondary headline Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Oh—and the Denver Broncos drafted Utah standout Jonah Ellis to bolster their EDGE group.

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft was packed with a bunch of surprises and that theme continued into Friday night’s Day 2 festivities. A flurry of trades dominated the entire second round with teams jockeying for position to get the top remaining players on the board—with a majority of the second-round picks being dedicated to the defensive trenches and secondary.

A lot of people were wondering why there were so many trades—perhaps more than usual historically, so I thought I’d talk about that before getting into some finer details. Various sources have reported throughout the process that after the Top 125 picks, there might be some depth and value issues by teams.

That’s partly due to so many players returning to school for another year of eligibility and the opportunity to make more than NIL deals than some of the rookie contracts offer. However, the Denver Broncos didn’t make a move up or down the board. They stood pat with their #76 selection overall and took a prospect with familial ties to the franchise.

Broncos take at Utah edge rusher Jonah Elliss in the third round

I wrote all offseason about how the Broncos were likely to draft an edge rusher considering Jonathon Cooper and Baron Browning are set to hit free agency after this season. They wound up selecting Utah standout Jonah Ellis with their #76 in the third round.

He is son of long-time Detroit Lions defensive lineman Luther Elliss who played nine years for them before joining the Broncos in 2004 for his tenth and final season of his career. Jonah is known for being a tough and physical player who is okay against the run, but an ascending pass rusher with elite athleticism. He did have 12 sacks this past season and was a First-Team All-PAC 12 performer.

Keep in mind that is only in 10 games as he missed the last slate of games due to a season-ending shoulder injury. He is also an elite athlete who posted some of the best testing numbers at his position group. He had a 6.69 second 3-Cone drill as well as a 4.17 second shuttle. Those are elite agility scores (some of the best ever recorded for an EDGE prospect) which are a helpful indicator of traits translating well to the pros.

There were quite a handful of other prospects I’d have prioritized over him, but he definitely has the potential to be a good starter in the National Football League. He is only 21 years old too—so there is plenty of room for growth and development. At the very worst, he should be a solid rotational player who excels at special teams. This definitely fits in with Sean Payton’s prospect archetype which places significant value on physicality and production.

Defensive Linemen and Defensive Backs kickoff Day 2

The early theme of the second round in this year’s draft was the volume of defensive linemen and defensive backs going off the board. They accounted for nearly half of the picks from 33 to 64. I was hoping a top-tier player from either group would be picked by the Broncos, but virtually every top-ranked player I had mentioned (especially on the defensive line) was off the pick far before Denver even selected.

The extreme run on both groups was one of the most in draft history. In order for secondaries to perform well, you need talent up front, and it seems like most teams realize that and took advantage of the strong crop of players available. Unfortunately, that revelation left the Broncos as the odd man out with the board not in their favor.

Not the best news for the Broncos, who could have used a premier prospect in the trenches and a defensive chess piece to combat the ever-growing list of top tight ends and receivers in the AFC West. We will have to wait and see if the Broncos can find someone on Day 3 at either position group to help improve their defense from last season. In my opinion, it would be incredibly disappointing if they didn’t get another defensive line prospect in the room for next season.

Adam Peters and the Washington Commanders Draft Masterclass

The Washington Commanders took LSU superstar Jayden Daniels in the first round. He’s a pick that should transform their franchise, but their Day 2 was incredible and should be equally as important.

General Manager Adam Peters (who was with the Broncos several years ago) cleaned house and in my opinion had the best Day 2 of any GM in the league by a longshot. He snagged Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton at the top of the second round, got the draft’s best nickel corner in Michigan’s Mike Sainristil, a versatile tight end in Kansas State’s Ben Sinnot and mauling TCU OL Brandon Coleman. They finished at the end of the third round by picking Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey at #100 overall—much to the chagrin of fans all across Broncos Country who was hoping he would fall to them on Day 3.

It will take a year or so for them to all come together, but this is the type of draft that can transform the entire identity of a franchise. I really like what Peters and Dan Quinn did on Friday night. Hats off to them!