Defensive tackle Kayden McDonald was in Pittsburgh for the NFL draft on Thursday night, and the defensive tackle watched 15 of his peers make the walk from the backstage green room to the stage to be announced as first-round selections.

The only player left in that room when the 32-player round ended was McDonald.

McDonald returned to the scene Friday night, and he didn’t have to wait long. He heard his name called early in the second round when the Houston Texans chose him with the 36th overall pick, the fourth made on Friday.

The Ohio State product who was a consensus All-American last season had tears flowing during the entire walk toward the stage. He stopped for a second to tap the Texans display on the wall.

When he got to the stage, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and McDonald conducted a long embrace, and Goodell was doing a lot of talking.

In essence, the long wait was over for McDonald, who was one of seven Buckeyes drafted in the first two rounds.

“This is emotional,” McDowell said on the ESPN broadcast. “I know I’m supposed to be here. I’m just so blessed and thankful.”

The Texans traded with the Las Vegas Raiders to move up two spots on a night in which the second and third rounds were held. When the Raiders chose at No. 38, they tabbed safety Treydan Stukes of Arizona.

The second round had a heavy defensive flavor with 22 players on that side of the ball being selected.

There was also was an impact trade announced as the Minnesota Vikings sent veteran linebacker Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick in this year’s draft and a third-rounder in 2027. The Eagles also received a seventh-rounder this year in the deal.

The San Francisco 49ers started off the festivities by selecting receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, who played for Ole Miss last season after spending two seasons apiece at Washington State (2021-22) and Oklahoma State (2023-24).

Two other wideouts went in the second round — Denzel Boston of Washington to the Cleveland Browns at No. 39 and Germie Bernard of Alabama to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 47.

Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood went 37th overall to the New York Giants. He was another player thought to be a possible first-rounder.

“Of course it was disappointing,” Hood said. “I know God does everything for a reason. He was probably preventing me from something or he had something better in store for me, and that being the Giants.

“I’m super excited to go into this next chapter of my life and will just go in there and give my best and give my all and be the best version of myself.”

Hood also played for Auburn (2023) and Colorado (2024) during his college career.

The Miami Dolphins appear to have made one of the best picks in the round by grabbing Texas Tech consensus All-America linebacker Jacob Rodriguez with the No. 43 pick.

Rodriguez was the face of the Red Raiders’ stunning season last year and loaded up on postseason awards, including the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defender. He led the nation with seven forced fumbles and also intercepted four passes.

At No. 48, the Falcons tabbed Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell, the younger brother of Atlanta’s A.J. Terrell, who is entering his seventh season as a starting corner for the Falcons.

The New York Jets chose cornerback D’Angelo Ponds of national champion Indiana with the 50th overall pick. The 5-foot-8 Ponds played his first season (2023) at James Madison before following coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana and becoming one of the Hoosiers’ top defensive players.

In the first round, four Buckeyes were selected: receiver Carnell Tate, (No. 4, Tennessee Titans); linebacker Arvell Reese (No. 5, Giants); linebacker Sonny Styles (No. 7, Washington Commanders) and safety Caleb Downs (No. 11, Dallas Cowboys).

After McDonald went in the second, tight end Max Klare (No. 61, Los Angeles Rams) and cornerback Davison Igbinosun (No. 62, Buffalo Bills) went back-to-back near the end of the round.

The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks took TCU safety Bud Clark with the 64th and final pick of the second round.

–Field Level Media

Michael Lorenzen tossed a season-high seven innings and earned the win Friday night for the visiting Colorado Rockies, who beat the New York Mets 4-3 in the opener of a three-game series.

Jake McCarthy laced the tiebreaking RBI double in the sixth while Troy Johnston had what proved to be the decisive two-run single an inning later for the Rockies, who improved to 11-16. Colorado didn’t win its 11th game last season until June 3, when it was 11-50.

TJ Rumfield hit into a run-scoring groundout in the fifth while Ezequiel Tovar finished with two hits.

Marcus Semien hit into a run-scoring double play in the second and Brett Baty delivered a two-run single in the eighth for the Mets, who had won two straight following a 12-game losing streak.

Baty, Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio had two hits apiece.

Lorenzen (2-2), who entered Friday with a 7.48 ERA and pitched beyond the fifth just once in his first five starts this season, gave up one run on seven hits and no walks while striking out three. He induced three double plays in his longest outing since last Sept. 19, when the right-hander tossed 7 2/3 innings for the Kansas City Royals in a 20-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Mets immediately rallied in the eighth against Jaden Hill, who gave up four singles, including Baty’s hit, while recording one out. But Antonio Senzatela entered and got Vientos to line into a double play.

The four double plays were the most for the Mets since they hit into four against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sept. 9, 2019.

Senzatela threw a perfect ninth to close out his second save.

Freddy Peralta (1-3) took the loss for the Mets after allowing two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out eight over 5 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media