If you missed the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday, here's a brief rehash of everything that happened: There were a lot of trades, there were a lot of quarterbacks taken and Roger Goodell got booed mercilessly by thousands of people.
After gettin booed mercilessly #Goodell finally gets an ovation pic.twitter.com/9JAtUBR9U4
— Kevin Xavier (@KevinPXavier) April 27, 2018
That's basically become an annual draft tradition.
After Goodell kicked off the draft at roughly 8 p.m., things got kind of crazy during a first round that saw five quarterbacks get selected and a total of seven trades.
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So how crazy could things end up getting on Day 2? Glad you asked.
With both the second and third round being held on Friday, don't be surprised if things get slightly crazier than they were on Thursday. You want more trades? That's probably going to happen. You want more quarterbacks getting drafted? That's also probably going to happen.
To find out exactly what's going to happen on Day 2, let's get to the bold predictions, where I fearlessly prognosticate five things that are going to happen Rounds 2 and 3, starting with the Giants.
1. Giants find their franchise quarterback of the future
If you watched the opening round of the NFL Draft, you may have noticed that it basically turned into a quarterback parade. During the first round alone, a total of five quarterbacks were selected, which was the most in the first round since 1999 and tied for the second most in NFL history. Although the Giants were in a prime position to grab a quarterback with the second overall pick, the team decided to take Saquon Barkley and roll the dice with 37-year-old Eli Manning, who apparently isn't actually old because 37 isn't old ... or something.
Eli Manning: '37 is not old' as Giants consider finding his replacement in 2018 NFL Draft - https://t.co/ZttDC6uta4 https://t.co/XA58NSYiCn
— Eli Manning time (@EliManningtime) April 26, 2018
The problem for the Giants is that no matter what Eli says, 37 is old and they're definitely going to need to think about drafting a quarterback in the very near future. The good news for the Giants is that one of the best quarterbacks in the draft is actually still available heading into Round 2. As a matter of fact, this quarterback was actually ranked the top overall quarterback in the draft by our very own draft expert, Chris Trapasso.
That quarterback's name? Mason Rudolph.
The Giants have the second pick of the second round on Friday, which would be a perfect time to grab Rudolph. Rudolph's stock has taken a hit because he played in an extremely quarterback-friendly offense at Oklahoma State. Sure OSU has a friendly offense, but Rudolph put up numbers that would have been impressive in any offense, ranking fourth overall in the NCAA in 2017 with 37 touchdown passes. The best part for the Giants is that Rudolph is only 22-years-old, which means if the Giants want to stick with Manning for two more seasons, Rudolph could spend that time on the bench and take over the starting reigns at age 24.
If the Giants take a pass on Rudolph, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora believes that we might see at least one other team make a strong push at him: The Chargers.
Mason Rudolph could be an early trade target tomorrow. Chargers really like him, FWIW. Might not be there when they pick
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 27, 2018
Although I'm boldly predicting that Rudolph goes to the Giants, let's also throw the Patriots in there since they're going to have to draft Tom Brady's successor at some point in the future, unless Brady plans on playing forever, which I guess we can't technically rule out.
2. Shaquem Griffin will be drafted way earlier than expected
The one-handed linebacker from Central Florida is definitely one of the best stories of the draft. Despite having a stellar career at UCF that included being named AAC defensive player of the year in 2016, Griffin wasn't originally invited to the NFL combine. However, the linebacker did eventually score a last second invite and that's when he proved that he absolutely belonged with the rest of the NFL's top college prospects. During his combine performance, Griffin bench-pressed 225 pounds an incredible 20 times with a prosthetic hand and then went on to run the fastest 40 by a linebacker since 2003 (4.38).
Due to the fact that he's slightly undersized (6-0, 227 pounds) and only has one hand, Griffin was projected by most to get picked on Day 3 of the draft (Rounds 4-7), but the prediction here is that someone is going to grab the former UCF linebacker before that. We'll say that Griffin gets selected in the third round, by either the Patriots, Seahawks or Jaguars.
Although we don't know where Griffin will go in the draft, one thing's for sure, getting picked is definitely going to be emotional for him.
"I said, if I get a phone call, I might start crying immediately," Griffin told CBS News when asked about the possibility of being picked. "If I start crying, then my mom's going to cry. I'm going to give the phone to my brother. We sound alike. We'll be just fine."
3. There will be one big trade and it will involve the Seahawks
The first round of the NFL Draft gave us a pretty big surprise on Thursday when the Steelers decided to trade Martavis Bryant to the Raiders in exchange for a third-round draft pick. Although that was the only trade of the round that involved an active player, I'm guessing we'll see at least one more trade go down on Friday and for some reason, I'm starting to feel like that trade might involve the Seahawks. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora thinks there's a good chance that the Seahawks end up dealing away Earl Thomas on Day 2.
Even with all the trade backs today, I don't think Seahawks are done. Moving Earl Thomas for day two picks a very real possibility
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 27, 2018
The Seahawks don't currently have a second round pick, but they could get one pretty quickly if they can find a trading partner for Thomas. The Seahawks have been talking to the Cowboys about making a possible Thomas trade and the guess here is that the two sides get a deal done at some point on Friday.
4. By the end of the third round, there will be more wide receivers taken than any other position
During the first round of the NFL Draft, there were only two wide receivers selected: D.J. Moore and Calvin Ridley. Compared to a few other positions, that's not a very high number. If you're scoring at home, there were more quarterbacks (5), linebackers (4), cornerbacks (4) running backs (3) and defensive tackles (3) taken in the first round than receivers.
Although teams weren't exactly clamoring for receivers in the first round, I fully expect that to change on Friday. With players like Courtland Sutton, Anthony Miller and Christian Kirk still available, it wouldn't be surprising at all if we were to see a run on receivers in the second and third rounds. As a matter of fact, there's a possibility that more than 10 percent of the 68 players being selected on Friday could end up being receivers. Basically, don't be surprised if 6 to 10 receivers end up getting selected.
There are multiple teams who will likely be targeting a receiver in the second or third round, including the Broncos, Packers, Steelers, Cowboys and Jaguars ... You know what, it might just be easier to list the teams that won't be targeting a receiver on Friday.
5. A kicker or punter gets picked (Seriously)
This prediction assumes that the Buccaneers haven't permanently scared everyone away from drafting a kicker in an early round after the Roberto Aguayo debacle in 2016. Although kickers and punters rarely get this picked this early, this might be the year where it actually happens. In the placekicking department, there's currently one team in the NFL -- I'm looking at you Miami -- that doesn't even have a kicker on their roster right now. That makes the position an obvious need and one the Dolphins might look to fill early.
The two kickers that have the best chance of going before the end of the third round are Auburn's Daniel Carlson and Florida's Eddy Pineiro. Carlson has a rocket leg and probably has a better chance of getting drafted early. The four-year starter left Auburn as the school and the SEC's all-time leading scorer. The most important thing about Carlson is that he has a powerful leg: The 6-foot-5 kicker went 13-for-21 on field goals of 50 or more yards in his career, which finished as the second best conversion rate from that distance in NCAA history.
Obviously, no one WANTS their team to draft a kicker on Day 2, but it wouldn't be shocking if Carlson ended up getting taken in the third round. The Dolphins, Chargers and Giants are three teams that would make plenty of sense. I mean, if you watched any Chargers' games last season, then you probably could have made a pretty solid argument for L.A. to take a kicker in the first round. The Chargers lost a total of three games last year due to the fact that they didn't have a kicker who could actually make clutch field goals.
On the punting end, former Texas punter Michael Dickson is so good, he probably should've have been taken in the top-10 on Thursday. Just kidding, you should never draft a punter that high, but one thing I'm not kidding about is how good Dickson is. As a matter fact, Dickson is such a good punter that he was named the MVP of the Texas Bowl in December. And no, that is not a typo, a punter won the MVP of a bowl game. Oh and did I mention that also decided to forego his final year of college to enter the NFL Draft? And no, that also is not a typo, a punter entered the draft early.
Dickson is hands down the best punting prospect in the draft. During the 2017 season, he led the nation in net punting yards, punting average and punts inside the 20. If you're not familiar with punting stats, that's basically the triple crown.
If you're looking for a punter in this draft class, @TexasFootball's Michael Dickson produced the highest grade we've seen from a punter in four years of grading college football this past season pic.twitter.com/dzRxYvr3Cc
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) April 24, 2018
Although there have only been three punters taken in the first three rounds since 2004, it wouldn't be crazy to see Dickson selected on Friday. There are several punter needy teams, including the Eagles, Giants and Raiders who all might be interested in selecting Dickson. As a matter of fact, if Jon Gruden is actually serious about turning the clock back to 1998, that probably means he plans to punt quite a few times in 2018, which means it wouldn't be surprising at all to see the Raiders draft a punter on Day 2.