Where the opening night of the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh reflected teams’ desire to bolster their trenches, Friday saw receivers and tight ends flow off the board in amongst a heavier look at defensive positions.

The quarterback has long been viewed as thin this year and, after Ty Simpson going to the Los Angeles Rams added an unexpected second selection to the opening round, little across the second round changed that opinion. When Carson Beck did come off the board — still earlier than many expected — it drew more scrutiny than applause, and no run followed.

Instead, it was the pass-catchers that came more into focus through the second round and into the third. San Francisco got the ball rolling immediately as, despite suggestions that they might have been happy to trade down again, the slightly surprising selection of Ole Miss wideout De’Zhaun Stribling added to a room struggling with injury and the anticipated departure of Brandon Aiyuk.

Denzel Boston, who might have been expected as the first receiver off the board on day two, eventually went 39th overall, as Cleveland doubled down on weapons for whoever their QB may be following the addition of KC Concepcion on day one. Lulls followed, with Pittsburgh claiming Germie Bernard at #47 the only other second round receiver pick, but Washington, with Antonio Williams, kickstarted a round three run, with the Commanders followed in short order by the New York Giants (trading up for Malachi Fields), Miami (Caleb Douglas), Atlanta (Zachariah Branch), Baltimore (Ja’Kobi Lane), Carolina (Chris Brazzell II), Tampa Bay (Ted Hurst), Chicago (Zavion Thomas) and Miami again (Chris Bell) all manoeuvring to get their man.

The tight end train didn’t leave the station until Philadelphia moved for their anticipated Dallas Goedert replacement at #54, snapping up Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers, but that kickstarted a regular stream of similar selections, with Jacksonville

(Nate Boerkircher), Houston (Marlin Klein), the Rams (Max Klare), Chicago (Sam Roush), New Orleans (Oscar Delp), Miami (Will Kacmarek) and New England (Eli Raridon) all adding pieces as a reflection of both the depth in the class and how offenses are looking to use them in en vogue ‘13 personnel’ packages.

Colton Hood, surprisingly overlooked on opening night, was the first corner off Friday’s board, taken by the Giants at #37, with Avieon Terrell — taken by Atlanta to pair with older brother A.J. — D’Angelo Ponds (New York Jets) and Brandon Cisse (Green Bay) following in short order. Davison Igbinosun (Buffalo) was the final CB selection of round two, before Tacario Davis (Cincinnati), Daylen Everette (Pittsburgh) and Julian Neal (Seattle) completed the day’s business at the position.

Safety wasn’t quite as popular, but there were still bargains to be had, with Las Vegas landing Treydan Stukes at #38 and Cleveland finding the highly-rated Emmanuel McNeil-Warren waiting for them some 20 picks later. Bud Clark to Seattle signed off the round at #64, with A.J. Haulcy (Indianapolis) also going before the night was out.

In between, the sole returner to the green room, Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald, didn’t have to wait long before making an emotional walk to the main stage, snapped up by Houston with the fourth pick of the session. DEs R Mason Thomas (Kansas City) and Cashius Howell (Cincinnati) went back-to-back at #40 and #41 respectively, with Derrick Moore (Detroit) and Gabe Jacas (New England) also finding new homes in the round.

Linebacker, with varying depth in class, also proved popular, once Miami had pounced for Jacob Rodriguez at #43, with Zion Young (Baltimore), Josiah Trotter (Tampa Bay), Jake Golday (Minnesota), C.J. Allen (Indianapolis) and Anthony Hill Jr (Tennessee) all following at regular round two intervals, and Romello Height (49ers) and Jaishawn Barham (Dallas) joining them from round three.

Beck, meanwhile, wasn’t the only QB taken on day two, with Pittsburgh adding Penn State’s Drew Allar to a roster still without a confirmed QB1. Running back selections were equally scarce, with San Fran’s choice of Kaelon Black the only pick made across both rounds.

After the run on O-line positions on opening night, round two was devoid of tackle selections, with Philadelphia reawakening the spot by taking Markel Bell at #68. Likewise, Chase Bisontis to Arizona was the only move for a guard in round two, with Jacksonville snapping up Emmanuel Pregnon at #88 the sole such choice in the third stanza.