25. New England (via Denver): Dont’a Hightower, MLB, Alabama. New England trades up for the second time, and again addresses a major need on defense with a highly rated player that fits the system.

26. Houston: Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois. Productive college pass rusher will join the team that just lost Mario Williams.

27. Cincinnati (via New England): Kevin Zeitler, OG, Wisconsin. The Bengals trade down when they had a chance to take the consensus best guard on the board in David DeCastro, and he went to a division rival. Time will tell whether their evaluation to go after Zeitler instead (and he was going to be there for them) was the right call.

28. Green Bay: Nick Perry, DE, USC. The Packers desperately needed another pass rush option to play opposite Clay Matthews, who they also picked up late in the first round, and they think they’ve found it with another USC product.

[photo via Getty Images]