2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft – Rd 2

The 2012 Fantasy Football season is officially over, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore next season. Heck, it means most of us can go ahead and ignore the rest of THIS season. Earlier this week, I updated the first round of the 2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft, and there were minor changes. I also posted my Top 60 players overall for next year in my 2013 Fantasy Football Rankings. This draft follows that.

This week, I wanted to delve a little deeper and see what the second round would look like. It starts to get tricky as we move farther away from the top picks, mostly because we don’t know where rookies will end up, and we don’t know the final destinations of the 2013 NFL Free Agents Class.

If we did this mock draft around January of 2012, LeGarrette Blount probably would have been a fourth-round pick. But instead, the Bucs added a Pro Bowl guard in free agency and they drafted Doug Martin in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Martin moved up in mocks, and Blount rightfully dropped like a rock.

But we can make some decent guesstimations – at least for the second round of a 2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft. When you start looking at the third round, it’s really rolling the dice.

Paymon Shokoohi is an NCAA and NFL Skill Position Analyst for DynastyLeagueFootball.com. He helped us out with a preview of what the first round of a 2013 Fantasy Football Rookie Draft would look like. And folks, it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of help on the way! Specifically, it doesn’t look like the running backs in the Class of 2013 are going to find themselves getting drafted in the high rounds of Fantasy drafts.
 

Top 60 Overall | QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DST | Rookies

 

2013 Mock Draft Round ONE – Round TWO

 

2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft – ROUND 2

 

2.01 Alfred Morris, RB, Washington Redskins

Probably not at the second round of PPR leagues, as Morris had 11 catches in 2012. True, Robert Griffin III will likely steal some touchdowns away from Morris, but the best thing about the back out of Florida Atlantic is that he almost never gets pushed back. However, he will be coming off a 300-carry season in his rookie year. If you’re a believer that RG3 is a flash in the pan, or will be injured more than he is healthy in 2013, then you’ll love Alf in 2013. From Weeks 13-15, only Peterson and Marshawn Lynch had more Fantasy points among running backs. And then Morris went out and rushed for three touchdowns and 200 yards in Week 17 to lead all running backs. Without question, he joins Doug Martin and Trent Richardson as the best rookie running back class of the past 22 years.

2.02 Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans

It’s tough to consider Johnson in the first round because his inconsistency will make you tear your hair out. But he’s not going to turn 28 years old until after next season starts, and his 4.5 yards per carry are a great sight. Leagues that reward long touchdowns love CJ-OK, as only a handful of running backs have more carries for over 20 yards and carries over 40 yards.

2.03 A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Green could easily be a Fantasy first-rounder next season, and I’d have little argument. One of the big questions about Green is that he’ll likely be losing his offensive coordinator, Jay Gruden, this offseason. I’m not as fearful for Green, but Andy Dalton’s dynasty owners should beware. However, Green looks like a young Terrell Owens with his web-like hands and nose for the end zone. He will likely be the top wide receiver drafted in 2014 Fantasy Football leagues, in my opinion – and for the next three or four years after that.

2.04 DeMarco Murray, RB, Dallas Cowboys

This one’s a tough one, considering his injury history. But he really is a first-round Fantasy talent wrapped in a brittle body. He also absorbs waaaaaaaay too many hits, rather than shifting and taking glancing blows – he just goes right at people. This is a high-risk/high-reward pick that could really pay off – or make people hunt me down to punch me in the face.

2.05 Stevan Ridley, RB, New England Patriots

Same as Morris as far as his PPR-league assessment. Ridley has just six catches so far this season, and @MikeClayNFL makes a pretty interesting observation about Ridley and the Patriots passing game.

2.06 Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Before the season started, many were looking at Jones as if he would be doing what Green is currently doing as a top-three wide receiver. I was among that group – and I really like him in his third season, especially if Tony Gonzalez ends up retiring.

2.07 Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints

An argument can be made to draft Brees higher, but quarterbacks are deep – especially near the top. He has missed just one start in his past eight seasons, and he just posted the third 5,000-yard season of his career. Over the past two seasons, he has thrown 89 touchdown passes, and this season has been one of the toughest for the Saints in recent years. (He also lost his No. 2 wide receiver this year in Robert Meachem, who we now know was better with Brees than with Philip Rivers. (I wonder what the Chargers brass that let Brees go thinks about that?)

2.08 Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

As I mentioned earlier, I’m not a fan of drafting quarterbacks early. I’m also not a fan of taking a tight end early either, even if it’s Gronk or Jimmy Graham. There are just too many talented Fantasy tight ends out there, and you only need to start one. Even with Vernon Davis and Antonio Gates having strange, off years, this position is super deep. But I know that Gronk will get picked at LEAST in the second round. But the guy missed five games – and still scored 11 touchdowns this season.

2.09 Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos

He turned 25 years old on Christmas Day, 2012, and he’s in his third NFL season. But remember that most of his first NFL season was a wash due to injury. In his second season, he was saddled with an offense based around a running quarterback (Tim Tebow) that used the Wildcat liberally. This year, his first completely healthy season with an above-average quarterback, Thomas is a top-10 wide receiver.

2.10 Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers

It took him a short while to get things straightened out in his second season, but Newton is finishing like a champion. He’s the only quarterback to have two of the top five Fantasy games at the position this season. Both of those games came later in the season. He’ll likely hold onto his title of “Best Fantasy Rookie QB Ever” since RG3 had to miss some games with a knee injury.

2.11 Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

MJD will still be just 28 years old in 2013, and he has less than 1,900 touches in the NFL. Plenty of mileage left, and despite the Jaguars possibly getting Tebow, he’ll still be the best player on the team, with the best chance in Fantasy play. Foot surgery derailed his crazy 2012 season, where he held out until the last minute, but he is expected to be healthy for 2013. Let’s not forget that he led the NFL in rushing in 2011. As a matter of fact, he had nearly 250 more rushing yards than the second-best rusher in ’11.

2.12 Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears

This one was difficult, and I wouldn’t argue much if you wanted to swap this out with Frank Gore. Forte isn’t spectacular, and Forte will have Michael Bush taking goal-line carries away from him again next season. But Forte rarely misses games (just five missed games in five seasons) and his average yards per carry remains above average at 4.7. I also love the fact only two running backs have more targets than Forte this season, and Forte even missed a game. He just needs more touchdowns and more 100-yard games.

 

Notably missing from Round 2 are players like: Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos; Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers and Victor Cruz, WR, N.Y. Giants.

Top 60 Overall | QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DST | Rookies

 

2013 Mock Draft Round ONE – Round TWO