2019 NFL Draft: 2nd round mock draft
By Joe Romano
57. Philadelphia Eagles—Blake Cashman, LB, Minnesota
The Eagles sneakily have few holes on their roster, especially after grabbing Montgomery with the earlier of the second-round picks. This pick could be spent on a secondary player but it seems they like what they have in place. Instead they grab the last “upper tier” linebacker in Minnesota’s Blake Cashman. Their current group, led by Nigel Bradham, needs an upgrade. Cashman brings great size and range to the position. He can play on all three downs with his athleticism. A riser throughout the process, Cashman would be a great grab for Philadelphia here.
58. Dallas Cowboys—Juan Thornhill S Virginia
Without a first-round pick, Cowboys fans had to wait until the back end of round two for their first selection. Instead of a first-round pick, Dallas’ was spent on acquiring Amari Cooper from the Raiders. Cooper’s a young receiver with multiple 1,000-yard seasons under his belt early in his career. In the second round, Dallas has plenty of options on the board but none sticks out more than Virginia’s Juan Thornhill. A former corner who blew up the combine, defensive coach Kris Richard would work wonders with the super-talented safety. He’d give the team a partner for Xavier Woods and another piece in what is shaping up to be a young thrilling secondary.
59. Indianapolis Colts—Khalen Saunders, DT, Western Illinois
Indianapolis would be wise to stick to the defensive side of the ball after selecting A.J. Brown and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson earlier in the round. General manager Chris Ballard worked hard to revamp the defensive end group last year in the second round with Tyquan Lewis and Kemoko Turay. Both have good upside and could become a dynamite player if they get some help on the inside. That is where Khalen Saunders comes in. He’s an uber-athletic defensive tackle who projects as a pocketing collapsing 3-tech in the NFL. With the Colts having Darius Leonard behind him, grabbing Saunders to keep him clean makes sense. The knock that he played against weak competition was silenced with his excellent play at the Senior Bowl.
60. Los Angeles Chargers—Amani Oruwariye, CB, Penn State
Los Angeles spent its first pick on an extremely talented defensive tackle who has questions surrounding his love of the game in Notre Dame’s Jerry Tillery. On the field, Tillery has everything the team needs in an inside pass rusher. The Chargers like to bet on traits. In the second round they do it for a second time with Penn State’s Amani Oruwariye. A big, long, physical corner, Oruwariye blossomed this past season for the Nittany Lions. He’s got the traits of a No. 1 corner and allows the Chargers to keep Desmond King inside. Oruwariye can develop and eventually take over for Casey Hayward or Trevor Williams.