2019 NFL Draft Day 2 Fantasy Analysis

2019 NFL Draft: Day 2 Fantasy Analysis

Day two of the draft can yield some good talent when it comes to being an NFL starter, as well as a fantasy starter. Players like Joe Mixon, Michael Thomas, and David Johnson were all selected in the second or third round and have become synonymous with elite fantasy players to draft. Players that slip into the second or third round are not bad players. They might have gone to a small school, had a small sample size of production, or were forced to play in the shadow of another star prospect at their school. These players then use that to their advantage and play with a chip on their shoulders.

These players listed are players that have landed with a great team that can bring the most out of them and could be relevant in fantasy drafts this coming fall.

Deebo Samuel – Wide Receiver – San Francisco 49ers

One of the things that have been plaguing the 49ers, besides injuries, is consistency in the red zone. They have not been able to find a serious threat to get through the door when they are on the doorstep. Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers coaching staff had the pleasure of coaching one of the rosters during the Senior Bowl. The roster the 49ers coached had Samuel on it. You can see instantly that Shanahan was salivating at the mouth to get this guy into his offense and with the 36th pick, Samuel became a San Francisco 49er.

No compared to the other receivers in the draft, Samuel was a bit on the smaller end in terms of height and weight. That doesn’t mean that he is any less skilled. Samuel has a gift of getting open and using his hands to catch balls that other receivers can’t. One of his specialties is getting open on quick slants both moving down the field and in the red zone. An area of weakness for the 49ers can now become a strength with the addition of Samuel. Having Samuel lineup in the slot or on the outside and breaking short passes into long runs can make this offense dangerous.

No doubt that Samuel is talented and any offense that he went to was going to improve for sure. Putting him together with an offensive wizard like Shanahan and the potential is limitless. He is for sure a player to target in your later rounds and has a good chance of earning lots of targets in a thin wide receiver corps in San Francisco. If he practices well, he can easily earn the number two receiver role with the Niners and turn in some significant value in fantasy circles.

Draft him in the later rounds, but he could be a starter in your fantasy lineup in week one. Definitely a FLEX option as Jimmy Garoppolo to Deebo Samuel will be a call made numerous times on radio and TV broadcasts.

Projected Round Drafted: 13th

Projected Statline: 51 receptions, 640 yards, 4 touchdowns

JJ Arcega-Whiteside – Wide Receiver – Philadelphia Eagles

Arcega-Whiteside comes from a basketball background as his mother, father, and two uncles all played overseas in Spain. While he did play some basketball growing up and into high school, Arcega-Whiteside was a football player and he used those skills to make him a second-round selection.

Similar to legendary tight end, Tony Gonzalez, Arcega-Whiteside is able to use his skills on the hardwood, on the gridiron. Being able to leap and catch high passes in the red zone and using his size to box out defenders to make difficult jump catches, makes him a serious threat to score. This led to him scoring 28 touchdowns over a three-year collegiate career at Stanford.

If there is one thing that makes the Eagles more dangerous, is adding another weapon for Carson Wentz to throw to. Arcega-Whiteside should pair up nicely with Alshon Jeffery and Zach Ertz to give this offense a good number of red zone options and dynamic receivers. Now he does not possess the breakaway speed to get away from defenders, but that is small potatoes to what he can do as a possession receiver.

By selecting Arcega-Whiteside, the Eagles have gone with the approach that size matters. Pound the rock and then throw it up to these receivers that can catch the 50-50 balls. Arcega-Whiteside is a definite draftable option in your fantasy draft, but we’ll need to see how many targets he’ll get in the offense with both Ertz and Jeffery currently getting the lion’s share.

He should be able to move into the FLEX position based on match-ups and could easily become an every week starter with more clarity on the target share in the passing offense.

Projected Round Drafted: 11th

Projected Statline: 49 receptions, 520 yards, 6 touchdowns

Andy Isabella – Wide Receiver – Arizona Cardinals

When you draft a quarterback like Kyler Murray, you need to make sure you can build an offense around him. This is where Isabella fits the bill in regards to an Air Raid style wide receiver. He is an absolute burner but has good ability to run with the ball in his hands too.

Starting as a running back in high school, Isabella has good agility and toughness to run after the catch. Of course, if all else fails, he can straight run a deep route and get those large chunk plays which could be a new staple of the Arizona offense.

Pairing Murray with Isabella in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense is going to make defensive coordinators have nightmares. Add in the fact that this offense also features Johnson at running back and future Hall of Fame, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, in it and this offense will be lethal. Isabella is the perfect receiver to complement what is already there in Arizona. The only problem that could occur is too many mouths to feed, could result in fewer touches for Isabella to be fantasy relevant.

As mentioned, Johnson will be demanding touches, as will Fitzgerald. Let’s not forget promising second-year wideout, Christian Kirk, and fellow rookie receivers Hakeem Butler and KeeSean Johnson. This means Isabella has his work cut out for him to carve out his role in the offense.

Right now, Isabella is a player that can go undrafted in your fantasy draft. Although he has the potential to become relevant in the fantasy world, right now the receiving options cloud up his fantasy future. What could end up happening is he becomes a classic peaks and valleys player. One week he will look great, the next he becomes invisible. Proceed with caution if you draft him to your bench and for sure keep him on your watch list if he goes undrafted.

Projected Round Drafted: 14th

Projected Statline: 42 receptions, 510 yards, 3 touchdowns

Josh Oliver – Tight End – San Jose State

Nick Foles earned a large contract from the Jaguars after his success in Philadelphia, including bring the city their first Super Bowl title. One of the things that Foles became reliant on was having good play from the tight end position. Moving onto Jacksonville, they have not had a solid option at tight end since Marcedes Lewis, and even his play was inconsistent. That is the reason that Oliver was selected in the third round to help shore up that sore spot on the offense.

Oliver is an excellent receiving tight end, but not the best blocking tight end. His time at San Jose State saw him run lots of seam routes and gaining chunk plays. Now he may not be the yards-after-the-catch player, but his ability to get open and come down with the ball makes him a threat in the passing game.

As mentioned though, since he has limited abilities in blocking, he might not be on the field for all three downs. Since the Jaguars like to implement a run-first approach, you need to be able to block in order to stay on the field. They could run more 12 personnel or twin tight ends, but that still might limit how much he sees the field.

Now Oliver is in a great situation where he would be the best option when it comes to being a receiving tight end. If he can improve his blocking skills, then he can be a great option to be on the field more and then increase his share of targets. With all that said though, he is still worth drafting and has some streaming appeal.

With the tight end position being so thin in the fantasy world, even a rookie like Oliver can become a great option in the later rounds. He may not put up insane numbers, but if you need a bye week replacement, he can be a great option to slide into your roster. Given time though, we may even see him continue to improve and become an every week starter.

Projected Round Drafted: 10th

Projected Statline: 58 receptions, 630 yards, 6 touchdowns

David Montgomery – Running Back – Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears had only one pick in the first two days of the draft weekend. With that pick, they decided to draft Montgomery to replace Jordan Howard in their offense. Howard is an excellent back, but his power style of running was not a good fit in Matt Nagy’s finesse style of offense. They shipped him off to Philadelphia and then selection Montgomery with their third round selection.

Montgomery is a dual-threat back, similar to Tarik Cohen who is already on the roster. The difference is that Montgomery is a bigger back and can be used to supplement the touches that Cohen will get. Montgomery was the do-everything back in Iowa State and there is some worry that he might not have a lot of tread left on the tire.

This is where having a running back like Cohen will help elongate Montgomery’s career in the NFL. Being used most likely on the early downs, Montgomery will be used more as a runner than a receiver. Let’s not take away the fact that he can catch the ball, but Cohen is the faster and better receiver of the two.

With the few draft selections they had, the Bears made an excellent choice by grabbing Montgomery with the 73rd overall pick. He will have no issues beating out the newly signed Mike Davis and will for sure split touches with Cohen. While he may not be the lead dog in Chicago, he will be relevant in fantasy circles because of his ability to do it all, compared to Howard. Montgomery is worth a draft selection in your fantasy draft and he could be a valuable FLEX player on your fantasy roster.

Projected Round Drafted: 9th

Projected Statline: 810 rushing yards, 7 rushing touchdowns. 376 receiving yards, 3 receiving touchdowns

Terry McLaurin – Wide Receiver – Washington Redskins

With Dwayne Haskins drafted as the future of this franchise, it makes sense to give him a receiver he is familiar with. McLaurin caught passes from Haskins at Ohio State and will now do the same as a member of the Washington Redskins.

McLaurin really got some more eyes on him after performing well during the Senior Bowl. A lot of attention might have gone to Parris Campbell at Ohio State, but McLaurin has the skills to become a solid player in the NFL. He has excellent route-running and separation abilities, which will get him open consistently.

The problem is he tends to be a chest catcher instead of extending his arms to catch the ball with his hands. If he can improve on that, he was a good chance to be a #2 wide receiver in the league for a long time. His speed and physicality are also great which makes him a receiver with a lot of upside.

As mentioned, playing with Haskins in college gives McLaurin familiarity when making the transition to the pros. He will join a position room that features Josh Doctson, Paul Richardson, and fellow rookie Kelvin Harmon. McLaurin has a chance to gain a good amount of touches if he can beat out Harmon and Richardson. McLaurin has late-round value, but it will need to be a wait and see approach to see if he can gain a lot of targets in this offense.

Remember, Derrius Guice will be returning to the backfield this season and there was a lot of hope he could be the focal point of the offensive attack before he went down with a season-ending injury his rookie year. Temper expectations for McLaurin, but the upside is there and he may become a midseason sensation for your team.

Projected Round Drafted: 16th

Projected Statline: 45 receptions, 420 yards, 4 touchdowns