NFL Draft day two: Houston falls to third round, Boling waits

10:22 p.m.: Third round ends

Clint Boling will have to wait another day, as he remains on the board as the second day of the draft ends. That's a bit of a surprise.

Kris Durham, Shaun Chapas and any other draftable Bulldogs will also wait till Saturday's final day.

10:04 p.m.: Akeem Dent is an Atlanta Falcon

Turns out, Akeem Dent is a third-round worthy talent, at least according to the hometown team.

The Atlanta Falcons just used the 91st overall pick to pick Dent, the former Georgia inside linebacker. A bit of a surprise that Dent goes before Clint Boling, but Dent had moved up in scout's eyes lately.

9:45 p.m.: Justin Houston alludes to his "poor decisions"

Justin Houston fell further in the NFL draft than he anticipated. And the former Georgia linebacker blamed himself.

The Kansas City Chiefs chose Houston with their pick in the third round, 70th overall. Houston had been projected as high as the late first-round, but it was reported this week that he tested positive for marijuana at the NFL combine in February.

Houston seemed to allude to that on Friday in a conference call, answering “no sir” when asked if he was surprised to fall in the draft.

“Me and my agent talked. Because of some of the poor decisions I made, it probably put me in this position,” Houston said.

Houston said he discussed the situation with the Chiefs before the draft.

“I feel like I was very honest with them. Just told them it was a mistake that I had made. I’m putting it behind me. I’ll do whatever they want me to do. I think they trust me. They took a chance, and I’m going to make them proud for taking a chance.”


9:10 p.m.: Houston gets ripped by ESPN analysts

Todd McShay and Jon Gruden didn't mince words when discussing Justin Houston after he was picked by Kansas City.

McShay said Houston wowed him at the combine with his physical skills, but ...

“The problem is this guy doesn’t play every single down like it’s the last play of his career, which drives you crazy because he has so much potential,” McShay said.

Gruden called Houston the most disappointed guy he studied in the draft.

“I don’t like guys that don’t play hard all the time," Gruden said. "This guy has to pick it up and be an every-down player at the next level.”


8:55 p.m.: Houston to the Chiefs

The longer-than-expected wait is over for Justin Houston. He gets picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs - a team that likes SEC players - with the eighth pick in the third round, or the 70th overall pick.

That's clearly a lot lower than Houston would have expected, but the Chiefs might be a good fit. They're a 3-4 defense and were reportedly eyeing Houston in the second round.

Does it mean that Houston made a bad decision by leaving a year early? I know people will say that, but there's no guarantee he would have been picked higher next year. Plus, you have to see how his career ends up.

That said, the poor decision by Houston apparently came a bit before the combine.

8:40 p.m.: Houston has a draft problem

Whoa, we knew Justin Houston's stock had dropped a bit, but now it's more than a bit. The second round has come and gone, and the former Georgia linebacker is still on the board.

Was it entirely that reported positive marijuana test? Or was that indicative of other concerns - either character, or whether he could fit in a 4-3 or pro 3-4? Who knows, but Houston has lot a lot of money, obviously.

Clint Boling is also waiting for his name to be called, but that's not a major shock. You'd expect that Boling and Houston should get selected in this third round, but you never know.

6:24 p.m.: A.J. Green has his new quarterback?

Houston or Boling haven't gone yet, but the third pick in the second round had a Georgia connection: The Bengals, who picked A.J. Green on Thursday, nabbed TCU's Andy Dalton.

Assuming Carson Palmer eventually leaves the Bengals - he's demanded a trade - that makes Dalton the man most likely to be slinging it to Green.

5:59 p.m.: Day two begins

Welcome to the second round of the draft, where Justin Houston almost certainly will be picked and Clint Boling could be as well.

There's also an outside chance that Akeem Dent will go in tonight's third round. He's considered a mid-round pick, anywhere from the third to fifth rounds.

We'll have updates as warranted tonight.