Friday gave us two rounds of the NFL Draft and a lot of offensive players were drafted. Who are the biggest fantasy football winners and losers from Day 2?
There was a total of 75 picks yesterday and 20 of them were either a running back, wide receiver or tight end. You better believe there’s some fallout from these rookies going to new teams. Which of them are in an ideal situation and which aren’t? Which veterans now have their stock on the rise and which might see their playing time decrease?
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Here are the fantasy football winners and losers from Day 2 of the NFL Draft.
Winners
Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette – He was drafted by the Jaguars fourth overall on Thursday. With their first pick on Friday, the Jags take Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson. Just in case you had any doubt, the Jags are going to run Fournette a ton this season.
Bills QB Tyrod Taylor – The team went out and got Tyrod Taylor a wide receiver in East Carolina’s Zay Jones. After that, they drafted Temple offensive lineman Dion Dawkins. A weapon and some protection will go a long way for Tyord and his fantasy success in 2017.
The Chargers Offense – Offensive line was a huge problem for the Chargers a season ago. So what do they do? They draft offensive linemen Forrest Lamp and Dan Feeney both in Day 2. Philip Rivers and Melvin Gordon have to love this.
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Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt – There isn’t anything special about Spencer Ware and Toledo’s Kareem Hunt should see some touches right away. If Ware isn’t careful, Hunt could end up leading that backfield in touches in 2017.
Bengals RB Joe Mixon – At first I was unsure how to feel about Mixon’s landing spot with Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard already in Cincinnati. After I thought about it, it’s a good spot for him. He’s the best running back on the Bengals and Bernard is still recovering from a torn ACL. Mixon should be the clear-cut starter in Week 1.
Panthers QB Cam Newton – Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel are two new weapons Newton can throw to and he also gets some protection in Western Michigan offensive lineman Taylor Moton. Look for Cam Newton to have a bounce-back season in 2017.
Titans QB Marcus Mariota – On Thursday they got Marcus Mariota wide receiver Corey Davis and on Friday they got him Western Kentucky wideout Taywan Taylor and Florida International tight end Jonnu Smith. Mariota has plenty of weapons to choose from in 2017.
Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston – Last year Jameis Winston had nobody to really throw to outside of Mike Evans. This offseason they added wide receiver DeSean Jackson, tight end O.J. Howard and Penn State receiver Chris Godwin. This offense is going to be a problem for opposing defenses.
Losers
Panthers WR Curtis Samuel – The Panthers have too many mouths to feed on their offense and Samuel will be low on the pecking order.
Vikings RB Dalvin Cook – This isn’t to say he can’t have a good season in 2017, but there were so many better landing spots than Minnesota. The Vikings offensive line is poor and they signed Latavius Murray during the offseason. Cook is the better running back and should lead the backfield in touches. He will however lose some touches to Murray and don’t be shocked when Murray and his 6-3 and 230-pound frame vultures some touchdowns from Cook.
Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster – I would have loved this landing spot if Martavis Bryant wasn’t reinstated but he was. At best, he’s fourth on the pecking order behind Brown, Bell and Bryant. This a better real life move than fantasy move.
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Vikings RB Latavius Murray – Dalvin Cook is simply a better running back. Murray will get enough touches to be a pain in the rear-end for Cook owners but not enough to be dependable on a week-to-week basis.
Bengals RBs Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard – Mixon is arguably the most talented running back in this year’s draft class. Hill and Bernard’s stocks plummet with the addition of Mixon.
Saints RB Alvin Kamara – The Saints backfield already consists of Mark Ingram and Adrian Peterson. Kamara might be the best receiving back out of the three, but he won’t get enough touches on a week-to-week basis. This is a garbage fantasy football landing spot for Kamara.
Titans WR Rishard Matthews – Tennessee drafted two wide receivers with their first three picks. It’s hard to imagine Rishard Matthews having the same type of fantasy impact in 2017 like he did in 2016.
Chiefs RB Spencer Ware – Kareem Hunt is talented enough to make the Chiefs backfield a RBBC from the get-go.
Texans RB D’Onta Foreman – I was really hoping he’d land with the Packers. Instead, he goes to the Texans where Lamar Miller will lead the backfield in touches by a wide margin.
Next: Fantasy: Winners And Losers From 2017 NFL Draft, Day 1
Texans RB Lamar Miller – The Texans drafting D’Onta Foreman isn’t a huge blow to Miller’s fantasy outlook. Yet, Houston didn’t draft Foreman 89th overall to ride the bench. He’ll get some touches and with his 6-0 and 233-pound frame, look for him to steal some goal line work from Miller.
Pittsburgh RB James Conner – I hate to put Conner in the “Losers” category because this young man is an inspiration. As far as fantasy football goes, this is not a good landing spot. He might see some game action once and a while when Le’Veon Bell needs a breather, but that’ll be about it.