Tuesday, we broke out the first round of The Usual Suspects 2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft and today it is on to Round 2! Last season, the top 2 rounds were filled with teams that likely got mixed up in back-to-back picks as notorious as Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne. That’s right, ‘Dumb and Dumber’ and I’m not sure which one is which, or worse!
You remember the team that foolishly snatched up Darren McFadden in the first round, only to follow up with DeMarco Murray in the 2nd! Or it could have gone LeSean McCoy and Larry Fitzgerald, or Chris Johnson and Ryan Mathews and the possibilities go on and on.
It certainly is difficult when your picks end up looking like ‘Dumb and twice as stupid’er,’ as I like to say. But unfortunately, it is much easier to line up a great one-two punch in hindsight, than it is in August. Right now, it doesn’t appear like there are any ‘Dumb and twice as stupid’er’ combos in this draft, but it rarely does in May!
But whatever, I am pretty sure I heard that these fancy fantasy football drafts are won in the middle rounds anyway. However, perhaps that saying ended with, but they can be lost in the first 2 rounds, I wasn’t really paying attention though. So again, please find all the necessary details below for our standard format 2013 fantasy football mock draft, along with some analysis and pick explanations.
2.01 – Geoff Stein – Dez Bryant, DAL WR
2.02 – Tony Mauriello – Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC RB: I wanted to grab my second RB earlier rather than later. If it wasn’t MJD, I had my eye on another RB. I believe MJD will be healthy (which is key for him) and will not be a holdout. If the Jacksonville wideouts can continue to mature, they will keep opposing DBs honest so that opposing teams cannot stack the box against MJD.
2.03 – Keith Black – Demaryius Thomas, DEN WR:Tons of consistency here. Really like Thomas, and not much of a Marshall guy (who was my other consideration at this pick).
2.04 – Nick Raducanu – Matt Forte, CHI RB: I hate you all for making me do this (the RB options on the board at this point are not exactly ideal), but I usually end up hating myself if I don’t go RB-RB…and I’d rather hate you guys than myself. No offense, of course.
2.05 – Neil Parker – Steven Jackson, ATL RB: It must be nice to take elite skills to a high octane offense that made Michael Turner relevant. In August, Steven Jackson will be a serious consideration at the end of the 1st round. His scoring opportunities should triple and Jackson will thrive in the Falcons winning environment. He had 16 total TDs in 2006 and he’ll push for a new career high in 2013.
2.06 – Chad Scott – Brandon Marshall, CHI WR: Not a fan of the RB selection here so going for my WR1. Should see the same amount of targets, if not more, in a Trestman offense.
207 – Michael Clifford – DeMarco Murray, DAL RB
2.08 – Devon Jordan – Jimmy Graham, NOS TE: I am repulsed by the available running backs, and after last year, when I drafted Chris Johnson in the second round and was tortured by his weekly inconsistency, I could not bear the thought of another season with Chris Johnson on my roster. This pick says more about Chris Johnson than Jimmy Graham. But, that said, I am of the school of thought that Graham will improve upon last year, with the reunion of Sean Payton and the Saints offense, and that Rob Gronkowski is too much of a health risk.
2.09 – J.J. Zachariason – Chris Johnson, TEN RB:
2.10 – Terrance Bridgett – Julio Jones, ATL WR: Would have taken Chris Johnson here if he was available…but since he is off the board I’ll wait on Running Back and select another Elite WR to pair with Megatron.
2.11 – David Gonos – Stevan Ridley, NEP RB: LeGarrette Blount will steal a few carries, but he’s not going to be stealing goal-line carries. Despite his size, he tip-toes to the line. The only time he blasts somebody is when he has a head of steam going — and even then, he chooses to hurdle them more often than not. This isn’t a PPR league, so Ridley gives me RB1 value as my RB2, paired with Arian Foster.
2.12 – Austan Kas – Rob Gronkowski, NEP TE This forearm saga is definitely a concern, but it’s hard to pass on the clear-cut number one player at his position.
The end of the first round and second round is where you start to see real variance from draft to draft, as different strategies begin to be employed. Typically, the top 6 to 8 picks each year are relatively fixed, so Round 2 is where business really picks up.
There were only 2 wideouts taken in the 1st round to go along with the 10 running backs. Round 2 saw our first 2 tight ends come off the board, along with another 6 running backs and 4 wide receivers. Considering that a third of the league are willing to start Carson Palmer in Week 1, it is little surprise that a quarterback hasn’t been selected yet.
Starting with the 2 tight ends; there is a steep drop off in the rankings and last season Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski paced the field despite each dealing with injury issues. It will be interesting to see when the next TE comes off the board and whether or not the early reach at the position can compensate for the production lost at the other skill positions. There is a lot of security in being able to slot in a reliable option in the TE slot each week though too.
The running back position continued to get plundered and 3 former perennial 1st rounders all went in Chris Johnson, Steven Jackson and Maurice Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew is returning from injury, but despite not getting any younger is always an impact back when he is on the field.
Johnson didn’t get started until Week 4 last season, took the next week
Matt Forte has trouble scoring and staying on the field, but still puts up respectable fantasy totals, whereas DeMarco Murray is still looking to get back to his breakout stretch in 2011. He is a great back, but again has been hindered by injuries the past 2 seasons. He’ll push toward the 1st round in 2014 if he can prove capable of staying healthy this year.
If you were a Stevan Ridley owner down the stretch last season you were happy as the Pats’ back scored in 6 straight from Week 8 on. Ridley might not have the upside of some of the other backs in Round 2, but he has the opportunity to put up consistent fantasy points, as a key member of a solid offense.
The 4 receivers who went are all excellent players and there is no doubt that there will be a huge run on them coming up. Dez Bryant put up just under 20 fantasy points a game when it counted and lead many owners, myself included, to fantasy title town last season, so he’ll be hot commodity in 2013.
Brandon Marshall almost beat out Calvin Johnson in standard scoring formats last season, and has proven to be unstoppable when he is ready to play. Demaryius Thomas and Julio Jones suffer a little in comparison to the other 2, because they share the ball with other top options in the passing game. but will be 2nd round staples in 2013 drafts.
That wraps up round 2, but here is a link to the draft, so you can watch all the action unfold!
I’m a Loyal Leafs, Cubs, and Cowboys fan for decades. I wear the C for The Fake Hockey, in addition to contributing to The Fake Baseball and The Fake Football in more of a Timmy Try Hard role. You can also find my weekly fantasy baseball preview here at davidgonos.com and can reach me on Twitter @naparker77.
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