The first round of the NFL Draft is when the best of the best come off the board, but Round 2 offers plenty of talent as well. In fact, there have been enough talented players who’ve been drafted in Round 2 that we can debate which players were the best selected at each draft spot.
As the 2026 NFL Draft moves into Day 2, we worked to identify the best players selected at pick Nos. 33-64 since 2000. Just like with the exercise we did with the best players taken at each first-round pick since 2000, there were pick numbers that have had a strong recent history (37), while others might be weaker than you expect (33).Â
In doing this exercise, you’ll also find that at least a few teams know how to draft well in Round 2. While Devin Hester is the only player on this list to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there are a few others who will almost assuredly end up getting a gold jacket in Canton in the coming years.
So, which players have been the best selected at each pick number in the second round since 2000? Let’s dive in.Â
As the first pick of the second round, that spot the entire league has overnight to realize who was passed over in the first round, 33 really should be a more loaded number. It isn’t really, so Saffold, who’s gotten his first career Pro Bowl honors in the last two years, gets the nod with 173 starts and steady play over 16 seasons. Could receiver Tee Higgins catch him someday? Perhaps. We contemplated two linebackers here in DeMeco Ryans (2006) and Karlos Dansby (2004).
Lawrence turns 34 later in April but is still playing at such a high level, with three forced fumbles and two sacks in the playoffs to help Seattle to a Super Bowl championship. He just got his fifth Pro Bowl, he has 67.5 sacks, and the idea that he’s still going pushes him ahead of guard Chris Snee (2004) and linebacker D’Qwell Jackson (2006).
It’s tough to leave off guard Joel Bitonio and his seven Pro Bowls here, but Tillman was the gold standard for defensive takeaways â 44 forced fumbles! The Peanut Punch is named after him, and don’t overlook 38 interceptions as well. That he only has two career Pro Bowl nods is blasphemy â eight pick-sixes in his career as well, making this an easy call for us.
This spot is loaded like a first-round position might be. You have receiver Chad Johnson and corner Darius Slay with six Pro Bowls each. You have quarterback Derek Carr passing for 40,000-plus yards and 257 touchdowns, and none of them can beat out Baker, who has made the Pro Bowl eight times in nine NFL seasons. He does a little of everything â eight career picks, seven forced fumbles, 10 sacks â and is consistently regarded as one of the league’s best all-around safeties. Let this guy win a playoff game soon, OK?
This is a tough break for safety Eric Weddle, who would be the pick at like 10 spots around 37, but his six Pro Bowls and 29 career picks aren’t enough to beat out Jones, who’s won three Super Bowls with the Chiefs and has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last seven seasons. To have 87.5 career sacks as an interior pass rusher is incredible, and he’s been a core piece on defense for all the Chiefs’ postseason success.
Injuries have derailed Howard in the last two years, but his NFL start was incredible â he led the NFL twice in his first three seasons, with seven picks as a rookie and 10 in 2018. Four Pro Bowls and a first-team All-Pro nod in his first five seasons â that alone is enough to push him past defensive end Preston Smith (2015) for our pick at 38. Too early to know, but the last two 38s could be special, in defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat (2024) and running back TreVeyon Henderson (2025).
You fight the urge to put a lot of quarterbacks on here, so Geno Smith (39th in 2013) is tempting, but we’ll go with Jenkins, who made only o
