2026 NFL Draft Day 2's most head-scratching picks, from Carson Beck to Nate Boerkircher

Most notably, Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, who was widely viewed as a top-10 talent, was not selected amid injury concerns about his knee. A couple of other players took tumbles into the second and third round before ultimately being scooped up by teams later on in the evening.

These excellent value picks were created by a handful of head-scratching decisions from NFL teams. That included a strange selection atop the second round and a surprising run that saw eight tight ends selected across the 68 picks in the draft's second and third rounds.

What were the most dubious picks of the 2026 NFL Draft's second day? Below are six of the most confounding selections, both on a basis of value and strategy.

49ers: WR De'Zhaun Stribling, Ole Miss (No. 33)

The 49ers had the top overall selection in the second round. Many thought they might target Denzel Boston — who was widely considered a first-round talent in mock drafts — with the 33rd selection.

Instead, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan opted for Stribling. The Ole Miss product was a late riser in the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft, but few expected him to be among the first receivers selected on Day 2.

Stribling has good size (6-2, 207 pounds), ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash and was good with the ball in his hands at Ole Miss. That could afford him an opportunity to emerge as a playmaker in San Francisco's offense alongside Mike Evans and Ricky Pearsall.

That said, Stribling was No. 147-ranked player on USA TODAY Sports' top 150 big board. As such, taking him with the 33rd overall selection was undoubtedly a reach, especially with a player like Boston still on the board.

Jaguars: TE Nate Boerkircher, Texas A&M (No. 56)

The Jaguars didn't have a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft because of their 2025 trade-up for Travis Hunter. They made their first selection at No. 56 overall and surprised many be selecting a tight end in the second round.

It wasn't just the position that was a surprise. The Jaguars ended up going with Boerkircher, who was viewed as more of a Day 3 pick than a Day 2 option. He didn't crack USA Today Sports' top 150 big board and never had more than 19 catches or 198 yards in a season across his five-year college career.

The Jaguars already have Brenton Strange entrenched as their No. 1 tight end anyway. The 2023 second-round pick is coming off a career-best season during which he logged 46 catches for 540 yards and three touchdowns.

Maybe Jacksonville is trying to protect against Strange leaving in free agency, but even so Boerkircher profiles as more of a complementary tight end at the NFL level. He can be a rock-solid No. 2 tight end, but spending a second-round pick on a player of that ilk — especially one who will be a 25-year-old rookie — is certainly questionable.

Texans: TE Marlin Klein, Michigan (No. 59)

Klein wasn't quite as surprising of a second-round tight end selection as Boerkircher, but most had the Michigan product graded as a Day 3 prospect.

Klein has great size at 6-6, 248 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. While he undoubtedly has upside, he only started 12 games in college and posted 38 total catches for 364 yards and one touchdown across his four seasons at Michigan.

All that's to say Klein is a raw prospect. He will likely need time to develop at the next level, and it's worth wondering whether he will even be able to beat Cade Stover for the backup job behind Dalton Schultz ahead of his rookie season.

Cardinals: QB Carson Beck (No. 65)

There was some speculation the Cardinals could select Carson Beck with the 34th overall selection. They deserve credit for not doing that – and for landing a quality guard, Chase Bisontis, to upgrade their blocking in front of Jeremiyah Love — but it's fair to wonder how significant an upgrade Beck might be for Arizona's quarterback room.

The good: Beck is an experienced, sixth-year quarterback who started 43 games with Georgia and Miami. He has prototypical size (6-4, 220 pounds) and throws with good touch and anticipation. The bad: there are concerns about his arm strength — which was merely average in 2025, his first season since having surgery on the UCL in his throwing elbow — and he has a tendency to struggle under pressure.

The entire evaluation of Beck boils down to one thing. Does he have the ceiling needed to be a starting quarterback, or does he profile as more of a career backup? The Cardinals selected him at a juncture that seems to indicate they believe he can become the former.

If Beck can't achieve that goal, Arizona may find itself picking early in the 2027 NFL Draft, which is believed to be strong at the quarterback position. If that happens, the Cardinals may find themselves ruing their decision to use a third-round pick on a backup quarterback, especially since they were in range to land more trench help like Beck's teammate, offensive tackle Markel Bell, or a productive edge rusher like Romello Height.

Raiders: CB Treydan Stukes, Arizona (No. 38) and Edge Keyron Crawford, Auburn (No. 67 overall)

Just to be clear, Stukes and Crawford absolutely fits their respective draft ranges. They are head-scratching selections because of the Raiders' overall strategy in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Raiders spent the No. 1 overall pick on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Many expected Las Vegas to focus on upgrading his supporting cast on Day 2, as the team still had holes along the offensive line and at receiver it needed to plug to give Mendoza a fighting chance as a rookie should he start over veteran Kirk Cousins.

Instead, Las Vegas used its first two selections on defense. They did so despite having receiver Denzel Boston on the board at No. 38 and a trio of quality receivers — Chris Brazzell II, Ted Hurst and Antonio Williams — available at 67.

The Raiders made up for their defensive emphasis by taking interior offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III with the 91st overall selection, but if they can't land some quality receivers on Day 3, Mendoza or Cousins could be in for a frustrating season.