biggest losers – Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft delivered trades and surprises—yet the 49ers, Bills, and Jaguars faced sharp questions about value and fit heading into Day 3.
The 2026 NFL Draft’s second day brought plenty of motion around the league, but not every team walked away with momentum.
After three full rounds. the early draft story is becoming clearer: some clubs appear to be hitting their “need plus value” targets. while others are leaving themselves with tough explanations.. Misryoum’s read on Day 2 points to three franchises—San Francisco. Buffalo. and Jacksonville—as the biggest losers from the night. not because they failed to add talent. but because the selections raised immediate questions about value. timing. and team-building logic.
San Francisco 49ers: a bold night with a questionable top-end swing
The 49ers opened Day 2 with what looked like a true “reach” in timing: wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling at 33rd overall.. The shock wasn’t the position—Stribling earned attention in the lead-up—but the price.. Misryoum sees a team that already has a strong receiving foundation through presumed starters Mike Evans. Ricky Pearsall. and Christian Kirk. which naturally puts Stribling’s rookie-year role on the defensive side of the rotation.
That’s the heart of the criticism.. When a team drafts a wideout they likely can’t rely on early. it demands an unusually strong belief in special-teams impact. immediate developmental upside. or a quick shift in the depth chart.. Without that, the selection starts to look like value lost—especially if a better opportunity existed on Day 3.
They did follow up with additions that make more football sense on paper.. EDGE Romello Height at 70th overall upgrades depth behind Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams. and that’s exactly the kind of “support the starters” approach contenders need.. Misryoum also likes the football logic behind Kaelon Black at 90th overall as a power running option behind Christian McCaffrey and Jordan James—yet the surprise is that the timing may not line up with the team’s most urgent defensive priorities.. In short: the picks aren’t all bad. but Day 2 reads as a night where the 49ers paid too much for some needs that may not become immediate.
Buffalo Bills: the trades don’t show up in the early results
Bills fans have every right to feel tense about Buffalo’s draft haul so far.. The Bills traded down three times in the first round. a strategy that usually only pays off if the extra mid-round capital turns into players who are clearly worth the market.. Misryoum’s concern is simple: so far. the Day 2 selections don’t look like they neutralize the opportunity cost of moving back.
In particular, EDGE T.J.. Parker at 35th overall feels like a win—he’s described as an early second-round-quality fit with immediate depth value alongside Greg Rousseau and behind Bradley Chubb.. But then came the pick that undermines the “value” case: CB David Igbinosun at 62nd overall.. Most consensus boards had him moving about 30 spots later. and Misryoum’s takeaway is that this is the kind of swing that forces a team to either hit big later or explain why the trade-down strategy didn’t produce an obvious surplus.
The Bills still have six picks coming on Day 3, which keeps the door open for redemption.. Misryoum expects the front office to justify the earlier maneuver with at least one or two selections that clearly outperform their draft position—whether that means positional value. scheme fit. or a player whose ceiling is high enough to make the earlier reach look intentional rather than accidental.
Jacksonville Jaguars: surprise swings in multiple rounds
Jacksonville’s Day 2 is more complicated. because it wasn’t all wasted talent—Misryoum just thinks the sequencing and ceiling of certain picks made the night feel unstable.. The Jaguars went for TE Nate Boerkircher at 56th overall. a move Misryoum reads as a reach given the roster context that already includes Brenton Strange.
Boerkircher may develop into a solid contributor. but a second-round investment on a tight end prospect while a more established option is already in place creates an immediate question: is the plan to rotate. replace. or use the pick to force a reshaping of roles?. Without a clear path to meaningful snaps, the selection becomes hard to defend.
Defensively. Jacksonville did add talent with DT Albert Regis at 81st overall. but the grading tone around the pick is underwhelming—described as more role-player than difference-maker.. Misryoum can accept depth in the right moment. but the bigger issue is how it sits alongside the night’s biggest surprise: S Jalen Huskey at 100th overall.
Huskey’s draft profile raised eyebrows because the pick came later than many projections expected.. Misryoum’s framing here isn’t just about “who got picked”—it’s about roster clarity.. A depth safety with a mixed background can be a useful chess piece. but when it becomes a headliner of your Day 2 story. it signals either a high-confidence player evaluation or a draft approach that may be too reliant on projection rather than immediate impact.. The Jaguars did add a valuable linchpin later with G Emmanuel Pregnon at 88th overall. a pick expected to push for a starting spot during training camp.. Misryoum views that as the stabilizer in a night that otherwise felt like Jacksonville took too many swings.
Why Day 3 now matters more than usual for all three teams
Across San Francisco. Buffalo. and Jacksonville. the common thread is not simply “bad picks.” It’s that each team appears to have used Day 2 as a high-stakes platform rather than a value-capture stage.. When teams do that and the payoff isn’t instantly obvious, Day 3 becomes a form of mid-draft course correction.
Misryoum expects Day 3 to function as the test: can these franchises turn promising targets into impact players, or will fans and analysts keep circling the same question—whether the draft board was followed closely enough, or whether roster needs were forced into the wrong draft windows.
Drafts don’t finish on Day 2, but the early narrative often becomes the fan’s baseline. For the 49ers, Bills, and Jaguars, that baseline is now demanding answers—fast.