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

Max Arfsten scored in the fifth minute and Patrick Schulte made three saves to help the Columbus Crew defeat the visiting Philadelphia Union 2-0 on Saturday.

After Arfsten staked the Crew (3-4-3, 12 points) to the lead, an own goal by Union defender Nathan Harriel in the third minute of first-half stoppage time provided the final margin.

The Union (1-7-2, 5 points) had a three-match point streak (1-0-2) stopped while the Crew is 3-1-1 in the past five.

Schulte recorded his second shutout of the season, the other coming March 7 in a 0-0 tie with the Chicago Fire.

The first half began and ended calamitously for the Union, which saw midfielder Jesus Bueno leave with a leg injury sustained at the onset of the sequence leading to the second goal.

Arfsten opened the scoring with the sixth goal contribution (three goals, three assists) in the past six matches for the U.S. World Cup hopeful.

Dylan Chambost sent a long ball out of the back which glanced off Union defender Philippe Ndinga to Arfsten down the right flank and he broke free for the score.

Just over a minute later, Arfsten had another break but Andre Blake made the save.

It wasn’t all in favor of the Crew because 10 minutes later, the Union had numbers heading into the final third and Danley Jean Jacques passed to Milan Iloski on his right but his shot pinged the left post.

Philadelphia nearly made it to the half with a one-goal deficit but a potential scoring opportunity quickly turned the other way.

The Union was on the attack after a turnover but a slide tackle by Seko Bangoura dispossessed Bueno, who stayed down with an injury, and the Crew created a counter with Arfsten once again on the run on the right flank before sending a cross to the box.

Harriel’s clearing attempt went off a sliding Blake and the rebound hit Harriel and went into the goal.

Crew defender Mo Farsi entered for Arfsten in the 81st minute for his first appearance since July 6, 2025, after undergoing sports hernia surgery.

Union defender Japhet Sery Larsen was red-carded in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time for preventing a goal-scoring opportunity.

–Field Level Media

Kye Rowles scored on a header in the 90th minute as D.C. United overcame its home-field jinx, rallying for a 3-2 win over injury-riddled Orlando City SC Saturday on a chilly night in Washington, D.C.

Jackson Hopkins and Louis Munteanu also scored for D.C. (3-4-3, 12 points), which snapped a six-game winless run in all competitions and won for just the second time in its last 15 MLS matches at home.

Sean Johnson added five saves as D.C. United won without their top scorer Tai Baribo, who was out with a thigh injury after scoring a hat trick in a 4-4 draw Wednesday at the New York Red Bulls.

After entering the week with an MLS-low four goals, D.C. put up seven in a four-day span.

The winning goal came off a corner kick to the opposite post by Keisuke Kurokawa. Jacob Murrell headed the ball to the middle of the box to a cutting Rowles, who scored for the first time in his two seasons as a starting defender for D.C.

Justin Ellis and Tyrese Spicer scored second-half goals to provide a 2-1 lead for Orlando City (2-7-1, 7 points), which is winless and has been outscored 20-3 in five road games.

Maxime Crepeau had five saves as the Lions were without three injured starters including dangerous threat Marco Pasalic, who missed his third straight MLS match, also with a thigh injury.

Hopkins scored the only goal of the first half when he took a pass from Kurokawa just outside the penalty arc, turned and fired a left-footed laser into the bottom right corner in the 10th minute.

In the 57th minute, the 18-year-old Ellis scored the first goal of his professional career, notching the equalizer on a right-footed shot from the middle of the box. Ellis’ goal came as he cleaned up a rebound from close range after Johnson stopped a header by Griffin Dorsey.

Ten minutes later, Spicer put Orlando in front when he ran down a long pass from Adrian Marin. Spicer’s shot from a tough angle deep on the left wing caromed off the inside of the top left post and into the net.

In the 84th minute, Munteanu tied it back up, 2-2, scoring his first-ever goal for D.C. when his right-footed shot from outside the box was deflected by a defender and bounced just inside the left post.

–Field Level Media