Inside: Recapping everything you should know from days 2 and 3 of the draft, explaining who was behind the Shedeur Sanders prank and why a draft slide offered a hard lesson in humility.
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Draft notes from Days 2 and 3
The first round gets the eyeballs, but rounds 2 to 7 can be just as important. And this is our first newsletter edition since Friday morning.
Where did the star talent go? A quick recap on the three positions defining this class, starting with offense.
Upside running backs
This year, Days 2 and 3 paired running back talent with fortunate landing spots, suggesting this group might include multiple future Pro Bowlers.
The Browns got their Nick Chubb replacement in Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins at No. 36. The third RB selected, Judkins has the skills to become a workhorse back and is a strong fit for Kevin Stefanski’s power-based run scheme. He’s a Jordan Mason-meets-Brian Robinson Jr., per Jake Ciely’s fantasy football takeaways. This was beat reporter Zac Jackson’s favorite pick, because yes, “the Browns figure to run the ball a lot in 2025.” Chubb is still a free agent.
The Patriots added competition for Rhamondre Stevenson by drafting Judkins’ former teammate, Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson at No. 38. Ranked ahead of Judkins in The Beast, Henderson averaged an impressive 7.1 yards per carry in 2024 and brings explosiveness to a team desperate for it.
The Broncos surprised by reaching on UCF RB RJ Harvey — Dane’s 93rd overall prospect and RB8 — at No. 60. A fast runner and dangerous pass-catcher who makes plays in space (23.3 percent of his carries last season resulted in 10-plus yards, leading all FBS running backs), Harvey offers Sean Payton that versatile Joker weapon he’s always searching for. This was Dane’s favorite Broncos pick.
The Steelers stopped the fall of Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson by taking him 39 picks below his ranking in The Beast (where he ranked 44th overall). A downhill runner who fits nicely in Pittsburgh’s smashmouth environment, Johnson should fill the Najee Harris role in a committee with Jaylen Warren.
Cam Skattebo had tears in his eyes when his name was called by the Giants, who took the promising Arizona State bruiser in round 4 (No. 105 overall). “It’s a great pick to fill out the Giants’ running back room, as Skattebo’s rugged running style offers a perfect complement to the more shifty Tyrone Tracy Jr.,” explained beat reporter Charlotte Carroll, who has Skattebo as her favorite pick.
Late-rounder to watch: Saints RB Devin Neal. The sixth-round steal (Dane had given him a fourth-round grade) should quickly become Kellen Moore’s hand-picked RB2 behind 30-year-old Alvin Kamara.
Intriguing tight ends
Three went in the second round:
The Jets added a potential Week 1 starter in LSU’s Mason Taylor, son of Hall of Fame DE Jason Taylor, at No. 42. They filled their biggest need with the promising 20-year-old, who was the most productive TE in LSU history. He could quickly become Justin Fields’ second-favorite target as a Zach Ertz-type player. It got New York an A+ from Nick Baumgardner.
The Rams used their first pick on Tyler Higbee’s replacement. After trading back with the Falcons for an extra 2026 first-round pick, Los Angeles took Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson, a 6-foot-5, 247-pounder who ran the fastest 40-yard dash (4.63) among combine tight ends. “Coach Sean McVay wanted Ferguson badly and seems to already have a vision,” reported Jourdan Rodrigue.
The Seahawks added massive upside with Miami’s Alijah Arroyo. It was part of Seattle’s 2025 focus on drafting for ceiling, with beat reporter Michael-Shawn Dugar noting that Arroyo might contribute immediately. Starter Noah Fant is in a contract year.
Edge defenders
In this draft, no position was as restocked as edge defender was. When The Athletic’s beat reporters listed their favorite picks of 2025, edge was by far the most-referenced position. Six players made the list. Let’s talk about four:
Buccaneers: David Walker. His strong Senior Bowl showing helped Walker, an undersized 25-year-old from Central Arkansas, land in the fourth round. His 39 sacks in college hint at the upside here.
Panthers: Prince Umanmielen. Pass rusher was the biggest need in Charlotte, where beat reporter Joseph Person compares Umanmielen — their third-round pick — with Brian Burns, also a light and explosive pass rusher.
Cowboys: Donovan Ezeiruaku. A first-round grade in The Beast suggests Ezeiruaku was a steal for the Cowboys at 44, when they ignored their running back woes for a polished pass rusher.
The best story of the draft, though, might be new Packers edge Barryn Sorrell, who paid his way to Wisconsin to experience the moment in-person. He arrived Wednesday and sat in the green room. And sat. And sat. It took three days, but Sorrell eventually heard his name called at No. 124. His patience was rewarded in front of a Green Bay crowd:
“We did not know he was here,” said a Packers executive afterward. Sorrell also did a Lambeau Leap before his introductory news conference! That’s an epic first impression — though, as Rustin Dodd explains, Nick Sirianni’s awkward introduction is a reminder that first impressions are misleading.
Let’s take a brief look at the Shedeur Sanders situation.
Lessons Learned: Don’t prank call, be humble
Two young men learned difficult lessons this weekend.
Let’s start with Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Falcons defensive coordinator and former Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich. Shortly before the Saints were scheduled to make the 40th pick, Jax and his friend (see the above GIF, Ulbrich is in the white sweater) phoned Shedeur Sanders and pretended to be the Saints GM.
“This is Mickey Loomis here, (general manager) of the Saints. It’s been a long wait, man. We’re gonna take you with our next pick right here, man,” the caller said.
“Yes sir, let’s be legendary,” Shedeur said.
“But you’re gonna have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that,” the caller said before hanging up.
Sanders took steps to ensure this didn’t happen. He purchased a new phone specifically for the draft, only sharing the number in an email thread that the NFL shared with teams. The Falcons released a statement explaining that Jax “came across the draft contact phone number for Sanders off an open iPad while visiting his parent’s home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call.” Jax issued a public apology and called Sanders to apologize personally.
As you know, the Saints passed on Sanders at 40. Everyone else passed on him, too. It wasn’t until the Browns — who had already drafted a different quarterback, Oregon’s 5-11 Dillon Gabriel, in the third round — saw “a price we felt was a pretty steep discount,” at pick 144, per GM Andrew Berry.
Dane’s No. 34 overall prospect and QB2, Sander’s slide surprised even his biggest detractors. This morning, Mike Jones explains how Shedeur and his father were taught a hard lesson in humility.
Numbers from this draft
$952,000: Shedeur Sanders’ first-year salary. For those counting, that’s 0.34 percent of the Browns salary cap, making this a risk-free bet by Cleveland. It also means they can cut ties if needed, and that Sanders has the potential to become the best value in the NFL. Anything can happen here.
87: Picks between the Jaguars’ first choice and their second. The new regime’s first draft included betting the farm on Travis Hunter, which cut down the number of potential starters they could add. Then again, Hunter might eventually be two starters. Now the pressure turns to GM James Gladstone and HC Liam Coen to make it work. They think they have the pieces to. F— them picks.
57: Snaps of college football played by Broncos TE Caleb Lohner. He caught just four passes in one season at Utah, which is why he was the 57th tight end in The Beast — behind 37 others at the position whom Dane graded as free agents. I don’t need to explain to you why Sean Payton took the 6-foot-7, 256-pound former basketball player in the seventh round (remember, Graham had just 17 catches in his one season at Miami after his basketball career). “If it turns out like the last one did, then we’d be real excited,” said Payton.
15: Georgia’s still-standing picks record. Ohio State was one of four schools — Georgia, Texas and Oregon were the others — with at least 10 of their prospects drafted. Fourteen Buckeyes were drafted this year, but Georgia’s record-setting 2022 (15 selections) remains the mark to beat. Cale Clinton broke it all down here.
1: The Patriots’ ranking in Dane Brugler’s draft class rankings. I’ll save you time: They never grade this well. Starting with LSU OT Will Campbell at No. 4 through Georgia C Jared Wilson at No. 95, the Patriots are clearly doing everything to make life easier for Drake Maye. Their first third-round pick, WR Kyle Williams, could be Drake Maye’s go-to target before long.
Additionally, we should note the allegations against new Ravens edge Mike Green. A top-10 overall talent in The Beast and Dane’s fourth-ranked edge, Green fell to Baltimore in the second round (No. 59). Why? There were no questions about Green’s on-field potential, as he led the FBS with 17 sacks last year. But he was also twice accused of sexual assault, first in high school and again at the University of Virginia. No formal charges were filed in either case, but NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that Green was off several teams’ draft boards for that reason. The Ravens spent Friday night defending the pick, which they made amid the ongoing investigation into startling allegations against Justin Tucker.
Tomorrow: Grading landing spots for QBs, RBs and WRs, plus UDFA signings that matter.
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(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)