2025 NFL Draft: Day 2 Takeaways

The biggest story of Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft continued a long time, as the football world waited and wondered when Shedeur Sanders would finally come off the board. In the meantime, while there might not have been the high-profile lightning strikes we saw in the first round, there were plenty of potential fantasy names going off the board Friday.

Below, let’s take a look at how Friday unfolded and what it means for fantasy.

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Fantasy Football Fallout of the 2024 NFL Draft: Rounds 2 and 3

Shedeur Falls … and Falls … and Falls

It wasn’t a surprise when Cam Ward went before Shedeur Sanders Thursday. It wasn’t much of a surprise when Jaxson Dart went then as well. But then Tyler Shough was the eighth pick in the second round Friday. And then … the rest of the second round went off with Sanders’ name not called. And the third. Jalen Milroe (who spent almost two whole days in the green room himself) and Dillon Gabriel both got picked, but no Sanders. And it wasn’t just him. National champ Will Howard remains at large, as does Quinn Ewers, as does Kyle McCord.

In short: The NFL did not really like this year’s quarterback class. But Sanders’ fall was the most dramatic, and it really makes you wonder what exactly happened in those interviews that he reportedly didn’t do well in.

Sanders will get picked Saturday. But at this point, opinions are so soured on Sanders that the question is no longer how many years he’ll be a starter, it’s whether he’ll ever even become one. There’s certainly no standalone fantasy value in the offing right now.

Running Backs Come Quickly

The fourth and sixth pick in the second round Friday were both running backs — in fact, they were former teammates, with Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins (Browns) and TreVeyon Henderson (Patriots) coming off the board. Both should immediately take over their respective backfields — Jerome Ford isn’t much of a threat in Cleveland, while Rhamondre Stevenson should still have a role in New England but behind Henderson. Judkins could be a bell cow and flirt with RB2 value, while Henderson is more like a flex play given Stevenson’s presence.

After that, the running back train slowed down, but the next two off the board (RJ Harvey in Denver, Kaleb Johnson in Pittsburgh) both found themselves in spots where they could legitimately become the RB1 right away. There’s a world where Harvey is a quasi-bell cow in a Broncos backfield that only really includes Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime, so if he can do much of anything his fantasy stock will be high. Meanwhile, Johnson will have to contend with Jaylen Warren in Pittsburgh, but the new rookie is the one who profiles as a guy who can carry a heavy load, and it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to be the very heavy side of a committee for the Steelers.

Higgins and Noel: Teammates to Teammates

Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel starred for Iowa State last year, with the two receivers combining for 1,377 yards and 17 touchdowns (with at least 1,183 and 8 for each). That’s usually where a college partnership ends, but the Texans liked what they saw, taking Higgins with the second pick of the second round Thursday and then coming back and getting Noel with the 15^th pick in the third.

Suddenly, Houston has a formidable receiver room, with Nico Collins the clear WR1 for the Texans but Higgins, Noel and offseason acquisition Christian Kirk replacing the injured Tank Dell and departed Stefon Diggs. Collins should fight for WR1 status in 2025, though the new mouths to feed might hurt his target total. And C.J. Stroud has to love all his options (if the line can keep him upright). The loser here? Kirk. Remember, the Jaguars were all set to release Kirk before Houston came knocking with a trade offer. But that offer was just a 2026 seventh-rounder, about the lowest possible compensation. In other words, the Texans have no ties to Kirk. If Higgins and Noel look good over the summer, don’t be surprised if Kirk finds himself elsewhere by Week 1.

Bears Loading up on Receiving Weapons?

It wasn’t a big surprise to see the Bears draft Colston Loveland in the first round. They were attached to a tight end, especially once Ashton Jeanty didn’t fall to them. But then Chicago and new head coach Ben Johnson followed that up with the seventh pick of the second round going to Missouri WR Luther Burden III. With Keenan Allen gone in free agency, it’s not a huge shock that the Bears hunted up a replacement in the draft, but given the team’s needs on the offensive line, it stood to reason that a receiving complement might come later in the draft, maybe Saturday. Instead, the Bears add Loveland and Burden to a skill weapon list that includes WRs DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, TE Cole Kmet and RBs D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson. Caleb Williams has plenty of options now.

Drake Maye Coming Up in the World

The Patriots got the best offensive lineman in the draft Thursday. That’s good for second-year QB Drake Maye. As mentioned above, they also got a new starting running back in TreVeyon Henderson. But then following that up with speedster Kyle Williams out of Washington State really sets Maye up for 2025 success. Stefon Diggs is in New England now, but he’s recovering from a midseason ACL tear and can’t be counted on for the start of the season. If Williams can look anything like he did in college, Maye has a very nice weapon with excellent separation skills, and if Diggs can come back healthy later, suddenly that might be the best Patriots receiving duo since the heyday of Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

Lions Signaling Trade Possibility?

The arrival of Isaac TeSlaa in Detroit doesn’t mean that the Lions are trading Jameson Williams. But it certainly doesn’t not mean that. Williams was the subject of trade murmurs here and there over the last few weeks as it was, and TeSlaa’s arrival does give the team the freedom to explore that further if it wants to without hamstringing their receiving game behind Amon-Ra St. Brown. It’s still more likely than not that Williams remains in Detroit, but it’s worth monitoring.

Run on Tight Ends

Even with Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren going off the board Thursday, there was plenty of attention paid to the position Friday, with three more tight ends going in the second round (Mason Taylor to the Jets, Terrance Ferguson to the Rams, Elijah Arroyo to the Seahawks) and another (Harold Fannin Jr. to the Browns) in the third. There have been only three times this century that five tight ends have gone off the board in the first two rounds, and … well, look at the results:

There are some good tight ends in there! But there are also some bad misses (What is a “Klopfenstein”?), especially as you get deeper. Translation: Believe in Loveland and Warren, and maybe Taylor. But once you get down to the Ferguson, Arroyo, Fannin range, this would have to be a special class indeed to keep producing value that late. Tread carefully.

What Comes Next

Well, Shedeur Sanders isn’t going to go undrafted (right?). He’ll go some time Saturday, and when he does, there will be loads of buzz. (And, like, the Steelers are going to add someone, right?)

Elsewhere, some higher-profile running backs like Cam Skattebo, Devin Neal and Bhayshul Tuten remain at large. Day 3 running backs are wild cards for any sort of longevity, but we’ve seen such guys (think Bucky Irving and Tyrone Tracy Jr. last year, Tyler Allgeier a few years ago) thrive, so any of these guys in the right spot could offer big value.

There are some big holes out there still. Dallas has very few offensive weapons at any position after CeeDee Lamb. The Texans could use more line help. The Chiefs might want a running back. You don’t necessarily draft for need, but some of these holes are glaring and could stand to be filled on Day 3.