Day 2 takeaways: Connor Cook free-falling; Bucs trade up for a … kicker?!?!

12:51 AM ET

A run on defenders and then on quarterbacks, with a random place-kicker in between, highlighted the second day of the 2016 NFL draft. Let’s get straight to my most notable takeaways, starting with the fall of a quarterback prospect that was either totally surprising or completely predictable, depending on whom you ask.

1. Whoa, Connor Cook

Four quarterbacks were drafted Friday, bringing the total to six over two days, and none of them were Michigan State’s Connor Cook. That qualifies as a genuine shocker, no matter how much stock you placed in ever-present stories about Cook’s personality.

ESPN’s Jon Gruden rated Cook as a first-round talent and went so far as to suggest he could wind up as the best quarterback in this draft. That assessment sparked wild suggestions that Cook and perhaps Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg could be part of a five-man class of first-round picks.

Hackenberg was the fourth quarterback selected, No. 51 overall by the New York Jets, but Cook sat and watched the New England Patriots select NC State’s Jacoby Brissett at No. 91 and the Cleveland Browns go with USC’s Cody Kessler at No. 93.

Michigan State signal-caller Connor Cook is still on the board heading into Day 3. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Brissett and Kessler are widely regarded as future backups. So what does that make Cook, who won 34 of 39 starts at Michigan State while throwing 70 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions?

There really can be only one explanation. This is not a question of 32 teams in a quarterback-starved league failing to see Cook’s obvious passing skills. They are all well aware. It’s clear that teams in the quarterback market were turned off by the rest of the package. Call it character, personality, leadership — yes, everyone knows he was not elected the Spartans’ team captain this season — or something else.

It’s worth noting how often teams are willing to look away and/or ignore what seem to be important flaws. Hackenberg, for example, had a historically-damning completion percentage at Penn State and hasn’t been an effective starter since his freshman year. But the Jets couldn’t wait to draft him. It only takes one desperate and/or optimistic team to make it happen, and yet not a single team so far felt secure enough to jump at Cook.

Playing quarterback is not simply a matter of on-field skills. Teams judge quarterbacks on intangibles more than any other position job. This was one case where the anonymous scouts and whispered rumors were accurately depicting concern around the league.

If 98 picks come and go without a talented quarterback getting his name called, it’s safe to assume there are off-field reservations about him. Cook will be by far the most talented player remaining when the fourth round …

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