The big story around NFL circles as day two got rolling was that Geno Smith was still on the board. This story started to gain even more traction as two teams traded up into the top seven in the round to address positions outside of quarterback.
Fortunately for the West Virginia product, his wait didn't last too long.
The New York Jets swooped in there at 39 and nabbed Smith, who many had considered the top quarterback in the draft and a likely top-10 pick. For the Jets, this selection softened the blow of ignoring the offensive side of the ball with their first two picks the day before. It also indicated that new general manager John Idzik may cut the ties with long-suffering Mark Sanchez at some point in the near future. Reports indicated on Friday that New York may release the embattled veteran after stealing Geno in the second.
New York also made waves on the trade front. It acquired underrated running back Chris Ivory from the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Ivory will come in and likely be the Jets starting running back from day one. The Saints picked up a much needed zero-technique nose tackle with that fourth rounder in the form of John Jenkins from Georgia. This deal seemed to work out for both sides.
Speaking of dealing, there was a lot of this in day two.
The San Francisco 49ers traded out of the 34th spot with the Tennessee Titans, who selected former Justin Hunter. San Francisco received the Titans second-round pick (40th) overall as well as a seventh rounder today and a third-round pick in 2014 to move down just six slots. It then nabbed Cornellius "Tank" Carradine with the 40th pick. The Florida State product would have been a top-10 lock if it wasn't for an ACL injury in his final college game. He fits the 49ers scheme and is among the highest-ceiling players in the entire draft.
In fact, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller had "Tank" as his No. 5 overall player in the draft.
In an extremely interesting set of picks, three running backs went off the board before the consensus No. 1 player at this position, Eddie Lacy. The Cincinnati Bengals nabbed Giovani Bernard with the 37th pick, which wasn't too surprising. That being said. Le'Veon Bell going to Pittsburgh at 48 and Denver selecting Montee Ball at 58 really did catch me off guard.
Good for the Green Bay Packers, who sat back and waited for Lacy to fall on to their laps. Despite growing concerns over a hamstring injury, Lacy was my No. 1 running back in the draft.
Manti Te'o finally went off the boad to the San Diego Chargers at 38 when they traded up with Arizona. For the Notre Dame product, it was a long couple of days but he is going into a great situation in Southern California. He will be a day-one starter and fills the void left by the late-great Junior Seau. I don't think either side could have asked for a better situation.
The other big story of day two was the falls from grace of Matt Barkley and Ryan Nassib. Both are still waiting to hear their names called as the final day of the draft gets going in a little bit. In fact, Mike Glennon was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before both. That should tell you where NFL teams stand on those two.