Walford didn't play football until his senior year of high school,
which suggests he isn't come anywhere close to reaching his ceiling
yet. With this selection, Oakland now has Amari Cooper and Walford
as its likely go-to options for Derek Carr by the end of this season
(as opposed to James Jones and Mychal Rivera). Walford has a chance
to be this draft's most complete tight end and give the Raiders
a downfield threat at a position where that quality is fairly hard
to come by. As with most rookie tight ends, not much should be expected
in Year 1, so his redraft value is low. In dynasty, he should be
a solid early-to-mid second-rounder.
3.05 SEA – WR Tyler Lockett
After addressing their need for a dominant receiver with the Jimmy
Graham trade, the Seahawks select a player that may be the best
slot receiver in this draft (although he is not limited to inside
work). Lockett stands only 5-9, but creates incredible separation
and is not afraid to work the middle of the field. Lockett is
a very good route-runner and will be able to hit more than a few
big plays with Russell Wilson's ability to extend plays. Despite
all his positives, Lockett is a late-round redraft prospect at
best and profiles as a late second-round pick at best in rookie
drafts.
3.06 HOU – WR Jaelen Strong
An absolute steal that could have easily been a first-round, Strong
is a nice mix of Anquan Boldin and Alshon Jeffery. The Arizona
State standout doesn't play quite as fast as he times and is reportedly
dealing with a wrist injury, but the Texans have to be thrilled
to get him to fill the void left behind by Andre Johnson's release.
Strong has WR1 upside in the real game, although he'll likely
settle in as a long-term WR2 with DeAndre Hopkins establishing
himself as the main threat in the passing game. While Strong has
an outside shot to be a low-end fantasy WR3 in redraft leagues
this year, he should probably be considered a WR4 given the Texans'
quarterback situation. In rookie drafts, he should be a very good
option at the end of the first round.
3.09 ATL – RB Tevin Coleman
Coleman wasn't going to be a great fit for a lot of teams because
he doesn't possess much power or elusiveness for a 205-pounder,
but Atlanta was one of the few exceptions. New OC Kyle Shanahan
usually knows exactly what he wants in his running backs and the
Indiana standout makes a ton of sense as a one-cut runner that
is one of the best big-play backs in the draft. It should be an
interesting battle to see whether Coleman or 2014 draft Devonta
Freeman claims the starting job because the winner of that
competition could easily be a fantasy RB2 in 2015. As Shanahan's
hand-picked selection, the early odds favor Coleman. As a result,
he is at worst a flex option that warrants a fourth- or fifth-round
pick in early redraft leagues and worthy of a mid-to-late first-round
pick in rookie drafts.
3.12 KC – WR Chris Conley
It often seems as if the Chiefs are using a different draft board
than every other team; despite great size (6-2, 210), Conley struggles
mightily catching the ball. With that said, Conley's combine numbers
alone pretty much thrust him into the third round and, if there
is a block of clay that a team like Kansas City wants to take
some time to develop, there aren't many better choices that were
still available than Conley, who should be able to deliver big
plays on the few occasions Alex Smith goes deep. For the time
being, Conley can be left undrafted in redraft leagues and should
be considered a third-rounder in rookie drafts.
3.13 CLE – RB Duke Johnson
One of the most elusive backs in this draft, Johnson finds one
of the worst landing spots for his immediate fantasy value. Isaiah
Crowell is at least as talented as Johnson and more suited for
a heavy workload as a bigger back, meaning the leading rusher
in the history of the "U" will begin his NFL career
as a change-of-pace back. There's a solid chance Johnson can quickly
work his way into a Giovani Bernard role (with Crowell playing
the role of Jeremy Hill), but it is impossible to say if the Browns
can have anywhere near the same success the Bengals did using
that approach with Josh McCown and/or Johnny Manziel as their
quarterback and virtually no other threats in the passing game.
Based on talent alone, Johnson warrants a mid-round (7th-10th)
pick in redraft leagues as the likely handcuff to Crowell and
a late first-round pick in rookie drafts.
3.21 CIN – TE Tyler Kroft
A bit of a Zach Ertz clone with slightly better blocking skills,
Kroft spent most of his time at Rutgers as a slot receiver before
moving in-line on a more regular basis last season. However, he
has a shot at immediate playing time in Cincinnati given how injury-prone
Tyler Eifert has been as a pro so far. If Eifert stays healthy,
then Kroft will probably be little more than a red-zone specialist
in Year 1. Assuming Eifert is good to go in 2015, Kroft can be
left undrafted in redraft leagues and is probably little more
than a late third-round pick in rookie drafts.
3.22 ARI – RB David Johnson
If the Cardinals' fan base was looking for Andre Ellington's power-running
complement, they didn't get it here. Johnson had an impressive
combine and is 224 pounds, but isn't a power back and had over
1,000 touches in college. Instead, he is a gifted receiver with
good speed that doesn't really seem to offer Arizona anything
different than it already has on the roster. On a more positive
note, the Northern Iowa standout figures to be Ellington's handcuff,
which is notable since he significantly wore down as a feature
back a season ago. Johnson is probably no more than a late-round
redraft pick and a mid-to-late second-round pick in rookie drafts.
3.23 PIT – WR Sammie Coates
Coates is one of the several "body-beautiful" receivers
in this draft, but like Breshard Perriman, he is an unpolished
route-runner that drops too many balls. Furthermore, he is clearly
blocked by Martavis Bryant as the big speed receiver who can be
a quality red-zone option for Ben Roethlisberger. To his credit,
the Auburn alum can seemingly get behind any defense and played
big in big games as a Tiger. Also working in Coates' favor is
the Steelers' track record for hitting on receivers. I have doubts
about Coates making much of a Year 1 impact and tend to believe
he is worth no more than a late second-round pick in rookie drafts.
3.25 STL – QB Sean Mannion
As far as third-round quarterbacks go, Mannion is about as good
of a pick as the Rams could have made at the position. The Oregon
State product is about as pro-ready as he can be after spending
four years with former Beavers HC Mike Riley that is a film-room
junkie and profiles similarly to Mike Glennon. Mannion doesn't
move particularly well, so St. Louis will have to do a good job
of protecting him in the event that Nick Foles either gets hurt
in 2015 or leaves via free agency in 2016. With that said, he
can make all the throws and should give the Rams some sense of
relief as a well-prepared backup this season. He should be left
undrafted in redrafted leagues and probably can be had in the
third or fourth round of rookie drafts.
3.28 DEN – TE Jeff Heuerman
Heuerman didn't get much of a chance to show his skills on the
Buckeyes' national championship team due to injuries, but is the
type of chain-moving type of tight end that Peyton Manning has
used with much success over his career. The problem is by the
time Heuerman can start squeezing Owen Daniels and Virgil Green
for playing time, the legendary quarterback could be retired.
As a result, Heuerman can be left undrafted in redraft formats
and left until the late rounds in rookie drafts as well.
3.30 GB – WR Ty Montgomery
Montgomery did a little bit of everything at Stanford, so it shouldn't
come as a surprise if he starts out as a bit of a gadget player
on offense and returns kicks as a rookie. At 6-0 and 220, the
Packers could even give him a few snaps in the backfield. With
that said, it is unlikely he will enjoy much redraft value given
the plethora of talent in front of him at receiver (Jordy Nelson,
Randall Cobb and Davante Adams), but fourth receivers with the
Packers often find their way into fantasy value. It is a role
he'll probably fight Jeff Janis for in camp. Montgomery warrants
a third- or fourth-round pick in rookie drafts, but can be left
undrafted in yearly leagues.
3.31 WAS – RB Matt Jones
Jones brings impressive size (6-2, 230) to a backfield that lacks
it behind Alfred Morris and further signals that HC Jay Gruden
wants his team to build his offense around a powerful running
game. Jones tends to get what is blocked and doesn't offer much
in the way of a big-play potential, so the odds are that he will
slot in as a third running back in Washington behind the winner
of the Silas Redd/Chris Thompson camp competition. The Florida
product can be left undrafted in yearly leagues and in most rookie
drafts that do not last more than four rounds.
Doug Orth has written for FF Today since 2006 and appeared in
USA Today’s Fantasy Football Preview magazine in 2010 and
2011. He is also the host of USA Today’s hour-long, pre-kickoff
fantasy football internet chat every Sunday. Doug regularly appears
as a fantasy football analyst on Sirius XM’s “Fantasy
Drive” and for 106.7 The Fan (WJFK – Washington, D.C).
He is also a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.