The Fantasy Football Blog

Peyton Manning is the lone non-running back in my top 20. (AP)


Before we move into the second round of our mock draft, let’s look back at round one, which was posted in today’s column:

1. Shaun Alexander, Seattle, RB
2. Larry Johnson, Kansas City, RB
3. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego, RB
4. Clinton Portis, Washington, RB
5. Tiki Barber, New York Giants, RB
6. LaMont Jordan, Oakland, RB
7. Edgerrin James, Arizona, RB
8. Rudi Johnson, Cincinnati, RB
9. Ronnie Brown, Miami, RB
10. Cadillac Williams, Tampa Bay, RB

SECOND ROUND

11: Domanick Davis, Houston, RB
What a difference one No. 1 pick makes. Davis could have dropped into the third or fourth round if the Texans made Reggie Bush (New Orleans-RB) their choice instead of Mario Williams (Houston-DL). Instead, Davis is likely to be the benefactor of new coach Gary Kubiak’s system, which turned mediocre backs into superstars in Denver. If David Carr (Houston-QB) can improve as much as Kubiak expects, this might even be a little low for Davis.

12. Willis McGahee, Buffalo, RB
Yes, he was a big disappointment last year (1,247 rushing yards, five TDs) and a lot of that was because of the dismal play of J. P. Losman (Buffalo-QB). You have to wonder if Losman or Kelly Holcomb (Buffalo-QB) will improve enough to keep opponents from loading up the line.
McGahee has top-six talent, but he’s stranded right now.

13. Steven Jackson, St. Louis, RB
No one was happier to see coach Mike Martz get shown the door than Jackson, who has shown a ton of ability and was incredibly misused in Martz’s system. If the powerful back is used properly and can avoid the kinds of knee/hip injuries that have slowed him in his first two years, Jackson could turn into a stud back.

14. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis, QB
Yes, it takes until the 14th pick to consider any non-RB and Manning, of course, is the first guy to go. His production dropped way off from 2004 (4,557 yards, 49 TDs) to 2005 (3,747 yards, 28 TDs), but he’s still easily the top QB. Also, with James’ departure to Arizona, the Colts could throw even more (as hard as that is to imagine) this year. I wouldn’t take another QB until the fourth round.

15. Reuben Droughns, Cleveland, RB
At this point, we are down to the guys with major question marks. Either they don’t get the goal line touches, they may lose carries in a committee approach or they are rookies. Of that group, I like Droughns the most. He proves last year (1,232 yards, two TDs) that his time in Denver wasn’t a fluke and I think he has a shot to at least get in the end zone six times. Plus, you know Romeo Crennel wants to pound the ball as much as possible.

16. Warrick Dunn, Atlanta, RB
He’s probably the most overlooked guy in the draft every year, but Dunn keeps producing yardage. He finished last year with 1,416, but loses goal line touches to Michael Vick (Atlanta-QB) and T.J. Duckett (Atlanta-RB). He’ll help you out enough to take him here, though.

17. Reggie Bush, New Orleans, RB
Let’s be honest, there’s no way Bush doesn’t make a big splash right away. He’s going to get at least 15 carries per game and Drew Brees (New Orleans-QB) is going to throw to him quite a bit. Despite the presence of Deuce McAllister (New Orleans-RB), I still expect Bush to break 1,200 combined rushing/receiving yards and score 10 touchdowns. He’s that talented.

18. DeShaun Foster, Carolina, RB
Foster is quickly becoming the new Fred Taylor (Jacksonville-RB) of fantasy football — tons of talent, tons of risk. Foster played in 15 games last year, but got just 205 carries because of worries about health and splitting carries to take some of the load off. He finished with 879 yards and three TDs. He could absolutely double those numbers. He could also get hurt early on and be nicked up all season. This is a headache pick. Make sure to get a good No. 3 back if you take Foster.

19. Willie Parker, Pittsburgh, RB
Parker exploded onto the scene last year after injuries to Duce Staley (Pittsburgh-RB) the now retired Jerome Bettis. He finished with 1,202 yards and five TDs because Bettis still took away his goal line chances. While Bettis is gone, it looks like Staley will be the short-yardage back and accrue the TDs. But Parker is still worth a pick at this point and a Staley injury would make him even more valuable.

20. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia, RB
Westbrook and Parker are very similar and I would swap them in leagues that give points for receptions. Westbrook will absolutely lose carries to Ryan Moats (Philadelphia-RB) and won’t get much of a chance near the goal line. The Eagles will go easy on him, but if he plays in all 16 games (which he hasn’t done the last three years) he could give you a ton of value here.

Have a good weekend. See you Tuesday.