Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Consisting of 10 members of the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Staff, along with guest columnist’s from Fighting Chance Fantasy and The IDP Guru, our first of many Fantasy Football 2010 Mock Drafts will be a 16-round affair based on a standard scoring league (Pass TDs - 4 points, All Other TDs - 6 points, 25 Yards Passing - 1 point, 10 Yards Rushing/Receiving - 1 point). Outside of having to field a starting line-up occupied by 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 K, and 1 D, owners are free to compile their rosters any way in which they please.

All commentary after each pick is provided by the Bruno Boys staff member who made that pick. The draft started on February 15, 2010, and we will report round-by-round updates as they are available. So, make sure to check back for more of our Fantasy Football 2010 Mock Draft commentary.

FEBRUARY MOCK DRAFT ROUND 2 RESULTS

2.01: Bruno Boys Cavigs - Peyton Manning (Ind) — Aaron Rodgers was my preferred choice, but I can’t be disappointed with Manning as my consolation prize. In my opinion, consistency wins fantasy football championships and no quarterback has been better than Manning over the past decade. Look for the Colts signal caller to make it 12 straight seasons with at least 3,700 yards and 26 touchdown passes.

2.02: Bruno Boys Greg - Matt Forte (Chi) — I know he had a disappointing season in 2009 and many may view this as a reach pick. But, he has the potential to be a top-5 player (he has already shown it) and last year, even in a down year, he still totaled 1,400 yards. Although his production went down with Jay Cutler under center, new offensive coordinator Mike Martz has shown in the past he loves running backs that can catch the ball out of the backfield (which Forte can do). Forte in the 2nd round to me is a steal!

2.03: Bruno Boys IDP Guru - Jamaal Charles (KC) — Can you say Chris Johnson version 2.0. Over his last eight games, Charles averaged 141 total yards per game and 1 touchdown. He also had four 100+ yard rushing performances in a row to end the season. If you extrapolate these 8 games over a full season, Charles would have had 1,936 rushing yards and close to 15 touchdowns and another 350 yards receiving. I look for Kansas City’s offense to be much approved next year, and I expect big things out Charles.

2.04: Bruno Boys Kyle - Knowshon Moreno (Den) — Moreno had a solid rookie season, with nearly 1,000 rushing yards and seven rushing scores, along with over 200 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. I fully expect these totals to rise in his second go-round in the NFL.

2.05: Bruno Boys Cory - Drew Brees (NO) — I wasn’t really liking some of the RBs left on the board, and I do love to have an elite quarterback so taking Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints here was a no-brainer. I think Brees has 40-touchdown potential, and that’s the kind of player I like getting with a second-round pick.

2.06: Bruno Boys Allie - Reggie Wayne (Ind) — Receivers help fantasy owners win leagues these days, and with three top tier options on the board - Fitzgerald, Wayne, and Moss - I’d be foolish to pass up a lock for at least 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns. In fantasy football as in life, I think it’s important to surround yourself with people you can count on. That’s why I’m rolling with Peyton Manning’s go-to-guy, Reggie Wayne as my Round 2 pick.

2.07: Bruno Boys Jimbo - Randy Moss (NE) — Randy Moss had some issues last season, having a couple games in which he caught only two passes, but he still tied for the league lead in touchdowns among wide receivers with 13. Moss also still has Tom Brady throwing him the ball, and next season, Brady won’t be coming off of a big injury like he was in 2009. If Wes Welker isn’t back at 100 percent when next season starts, you better believe Brady will be looking towards Moss early and often.

2.08: Bruno Boys Jacob - Larry Fitzgerald (Ari) — I tried to find evidence to prove that Fitzgerald was not nearly as valuable with Matt Leinart as he was with Kurt Warner, but that got disproved when looking at their stats together in Leinart’s rookie year. In eight full games together, Fitzgerald posted 592 yards and 4 TDs. In a full season, I’ll take the floor of 1,200 yards and 8 TDs from the 2nd most talented receiver in the NFL. While I’m a firm believer that the QB makes the WR (and not the other way around), Fitzgerald is too talented to not draft here.

2.09: Bruno Boys Hallam - Matt Schaub (Hou) — I know that I might be in the minority, but I always want to have a top notch quarterback, and Matt Schaub showed that he is just that this past season. Schaub threw for just under 300 yards a game, and he was one of the league’s best with 29 touchdown passes. My concern with him has always been his ability to stay healthy, but in 2009, he gave us a glimpse at what he can do when he is on the field for all 16 games. When you have one of the best wide receivers in Andre Johnson and one of the better receiving tight ends in Owen Daniels, it is easy to see why Schaub is so successful. If Houston could get a consistent running game to keep opposing defenses honest, his numbers could get even better in 2010.

2.10: Bruno Boys Whooley - Miles Austin (Dal) — With Terrell Owens out of Dallas, it was supposed to be Roy Williams’ time to shine as the team’s number one last season. Well, Miles Austin had something to say about that. With 81 catches for 1,320 yards and 11 TDs, Austin was obviously Tony Romo’s favorite target, and I expect that trend to continue in 2011. Austin finished third among wide receivers in fantasy points in 2010, and in all reality, his season really began in week 5.

2.11: Bruno Boys Larry - DeSean Jackson (Phi) — For many years I would come back with my second running back right here, but with this being a league in which we start three wide receivers, I was excited to see what I believe to be an elite fantasy receiver still on the board. Jackson followed up his rookie season with 63 receptions for 1,167 yards with nine touchdowns in 2009. He also added a rushing touchdown and three touchdowns in the return game. He is extremely fast with good hands and is the Eagles No. 1 wide receiver heading into 2010, and I am thrilled to get him this late in round 2.

2.12: Bruno Boys Matt - Calvin Johnson (Det) — Megatron at the end of round 2 in a league that starts three WRs? Sign me up! The stats show that Johnson played in 14 games, but that includes games where he left with various injuries in the first or second quarter and didn’t return. At most, it was a 10 game season for Megatron in 2009. Given the injuries he faced this past year and having to deal with an oft injured rookie QB, 984 receiving yards and 5 TDs isn’t nearly as bad as it may look. When 100%, he’s still the most dangerous and physically gifted wide receiver in football, not to mention an absolute steal with the last pick in round 2.

Round 2 Commentary from Bruno Boys Whooley: Remember those days when the first two rounds of your fantasy football draft were simply a run on running backs? Well, it seems that in 2010, we may officially see the end to that trend. Through two rounds of drafting, only one of the 12 teams involved in our February Mock Draft is sporting two RBs on their roster, with Bruno Boys Greg nabbing Ryan Grant of the Green Bay Packers and Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears with his first two selections. The other 11 participants have compiled either a solid QB-RB start to their rosters or a RB-WR duo.

So, why the shift? In my opinion, two things are responsible for the decline of the RB’s value in fantasy. One being the dreaded running back by committee approach that many teams around the league are taking. Due to the RBBC, there just aren’t as many workhorses to ride for fantasy purposes and that leaves fantasy owners hesitant to take backs early. A prime example of this is Joseph Addai of the Indianapolis Colts. A top-10 fantasy producer in 2009 with 13 total TDs, Addai’s name has yet to make onto our Commish Kit Draft Board. Some may wonder how this can be, but plain and simple, the presence of Donald Brown on the Colts’ roster is a concern.

The second reason RBs are seeing a hit in value is the emphasis that has been placed on the passing game of late in the NFL. Rule changes and elite QBs have made it so teams are more likely to air it out than they are to pound it down defense’s throats. In turn, that’s made wide receivers and quarterbacks all the more valuable for fantasy purposes. I mean, take a look at the round 2 results above, can you really blame any of our participants for nabbing the quarterback or wide receiver they took with their selection? Is taking Calvin Johnson with the 24th pick or Matt Schaub with the 21st pick a reach? Not in my eyes, and I’m guessing most fantasy football experts would agree.

Past Rounds RECAP:  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |  11  |  12 |  13 | 14 |  15 |  16

Have an opinion on how the second round played out? If so, let us know!

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