Day two of the NFL Draft is now complete. Here are some thoughts on the third round.
RELATED: NFL Draft: Surprises, Favorites in Round 2
BIGGEST SURPRISES
One of the biggest surprises to me is that quarterback C.J. Beathard is the first Iowa player off the board, while corner/safety Desmond King, defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson and tight end George Kittle have yet to be picked. I've felt that Beathard has been underrated by some due to taking a step back in 2016 as compared to 2015, but he also had fewer weapons on offense in 2016 than he did in 2015.
What makes this such a surprise, though, is that King, Johnson and George Kittle were all ahead of him in the minds of many, including me. Whichever team selects King may end up getting the biggest steal of the entire draft by picking him on day three, and I'll be surprised if he doesn't outperform many of the defensive backs selected ahead of him.
Another surprise is that Auburn outside linebacker/defensive end Carl Lawson is still on the board. He has the explosiveness and knee bend to develop into a starting 3-4 outside linebacker or 4-3 defensive end early in his career, and would be a steal on day three as long as there aren't any medical concerns.
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FAVORITE PICKS
A number of picks stood out in the third round, but my favorites were Pat Elflein to the Vikings, Dan Feeney to the Chargers, Taywan Taylor to the Titans, Chris Wormley and Tim Williams to the Ravens and Eddie Vanderdoes to the Raiders.
As I wrote earlier this week, Elflein is easily the best center in this draft class, and has the potential to become one of the top centers in the entire league. I think this will go down as one of the better picks in the third round.
After selecting Forrest Lamp in the second round, the Chargers doubled up on guards by nabbing Feeney in the third, and the former Hoosier was the top guard on my board. That, combined with the Mike Williams pick at 7, shows that the Chargers are doing everything they can to put some quality pieces around Philip Rivers and extend his career.
The Titans landed Corey Davis in the first round, and then snagged another receiver in Taylor in round three. While Davis will deservedly get most of the publicity following the draft, Taylor shouldn't be overlooked. He'll give Marcus Mariota another option that can stretch the field and create an explosive play from anywhere on the field.
With the picks of Wormley and Williams, the Ravens added two potential studs to their front seven. Wormley will be a dangerous against the run and the pass as a 3-4 defensive end, and Williams is a first round talent as a passrush specialist at 3-4 outside linebacker that likely slipped due to character concerns.
Vanderdoes was one of the best players on either team at the Senior Bowl. Following a 2016 season in which he was overweight and underperformed, he's a bit of a boom-or-bust prospect. He clearly has the physical traits of a first round pick, so if the Raiders hit on this one, it will have been a major steal at pick 88.
