Kayden McDonald was in Pittsburgh for the NFL draft on Thursday night, and the defensive tackle watched 15 of his peers make the walk from the backstage green room to the stage to be announced as first-round selections.
The only player left in that room when the 32-player round ended was McDonald.
McDonald returned to the scene Friday night, and he didn’t have to wait long. He heard his name called early in the second round when the Houston Texans chose him with the 36th overall pick, the fourth made on Friday.
The Ohio State product who was a consensus All-American last season had tears flowing during the entire walk toward the stage. He stopped for a second to tap the Texans display on the wall.
When he got to the stage, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and McDonald conducted a long embrace, and Goodell was doing a lot of talking.
In essence, the long wait was over for McDonald, who was one of seven Buckeyes drafted in the first two rounds.
“This is emotional,” McDowell said on the ESPN broadcast. “I know I’m supposed to be here. I’m just so blessed and thankful.”
The Texans traded with the Las Vegas Raiders to move up two spots on a night in which the second and third rounds were held. When the Raiders chose at No. 38, they tabbed safety Treydan Stukes of Arizona.
The second round had a heavy defensive flavor with 22 players on that side of the ball being selected.
There was also was an impact trade announced as the Minnesota Vikings sent veteran linebacker Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick in this year’s draft and a third-rounder in 2027. The Eagles also received a seventh-rounder this year in the deal.
The San Francisco 49ers started off the festivities by selecting receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, who played for Ole Miss last season after spending two seasons apiece at Washington State (2021-22) and Oklahoma State (2023-24).
Two other wideouts went in the second round — Denzel Boston of Washington to the Cleveland Browns at No. 39 and Germie Bernard of Alabama to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 47.
Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood went 37th overall to the New York Giants. He was another player thought to be a possible first-rounder.
“Of course it was disappointing,” Hood said. “I know God does everything for a reason. He was probably preventing me from something or he had something better in store for me, and that being the Giants.
“I’m super excited to go into this next chapter of my life and will just go in there and give my best and give my all and be the best version of myself.”
Hood also played for Auburn (2023) and Colorado (2024) during his college career.
The Miami Dolphins appear to have made one of the best picks in the round by grabbing Texas Tech consensus All-America linebacker Jacob Rodriguez with the No. 43 pick.
Rodriguez was the face of the Red Raiders’ stunning season last year and loaded up on postseason awards, including the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defender. He led the nation with seven forced fumbles and also intercepted four passes.
At No. 48, the Falcons tabbed Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell, the younger brother of Atlanta’s A.J. Terrell, who is entering his seventh season as a starting corner for the Falcons.
The New York Jets chose cornerback D’Angelo Ponds of national champion Indiana with the 50th overall pick. The 5-foot-8 Ponds played his first season (2023) at James Madison before following coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana and becoming one of the Hoosiers’ top defensive players.
In the first round, four Buckeyes were selected: receiver Carnell Tate, (No. 4, Tennessee Titans); linebacker Arvell Reese (No. 5, Giants); linebacker Sonny Styles (No. 7, Washington Commanders) and safety Caleb Downs (No. 11, Dallas Cowboys).
After McDonald went in the second, tight end Max Klare (No. 61, Los Angeles Rams) and cornerback Davison Igbinosun (No. 62, Buffalo Bills) went back-to-back near the end of the round.
The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks took TCU safety Bud Clark with the 64th and final pick of the second round.
After no quarterbacks were selected in the second round, Carson Beck and Drew Allar were picked in the third.
Arizona opened the round by selecting Beck with the 65th pick. He led Miami to the College Football Playoff title game last season after previously playing four-plus seasons at Georgia. Beck passed for 11,725 yards and 88 touchdowns and started 43 games in his college career.
Eleven picks later, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Allar, who ranks fourth in Penn State history in passing yardage (7,402) and third in touchdown passes (61).
Beck could find a path to the field in Arizona after the franchise parted ways with Kyler Murray. In addition, Jacoby Brissett, who started 12 games last season, is unhappy with his contract. The other veteran option is recent pick-up Gardner Minshew II.
“Experience matters and obviously having a ton of experience in college and having played a ton of games, you see how experience continues to teach you and continues to better you,” Beck told reporters. “Obviously just coming in with an open heart, open mind, and just trying to be a sponge and learn everything I can.”
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is still waiting for word from Aaron Rodgers on whether he will play in 2026. The Steelers also have journeyman Mason Rudolph and second-year-pro Will Howard on the roster.
The selections of Beck and Allar made it four quarterbacks to be picked in 100 selections over three rounds. The others were No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) by the Las Vegas Raiders and No. 13 Ty Simpson (Alabama) to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday.
Only three running backs were selected in the first three rounds and two of them were first-rounders from Notre Dame — Jeremiyah Love (No. 3 overall) to the Cardinals and Jadarian Price (No. 32, Seahawks). Indiana’s Kaelon Black went in the third round (No. 90) to the 49ers.
The draft will conclude with the fourth through seventh rounds on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
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