Apparently, San Diego can't help itself. Less than two months
after losing Ladarius Green in free agency, the Chargers land
the draft's top prospect at tight end, presumably to be the heir
apparent to the ageless Antonio Gates. While he lacks the speed
and eye-popping talent of Green, Henry makes more sense as the
long-term answer in San Diego as a well-rounded tight end who
profiles as a bit of a cross between Jason Witten and Dennis Pitta.
As a result of being a better blocker than Green, he should see
the field on a more regular basis early in his career. Redraft
owners should view him as a mid-range TE2 with low-end TE1 upside
by midseason (assuming Gates begins to slow down or gets hurt).
With such a dearth of quality tight ends available, owners in
dynasty leagues should view him as a quality option near the end
of first rounds in rookie drafts.
2.09 - WR Sterling Shepard, Giants
In my draft profiles, I stated Shepard's best fit would be in
a quick-hitting passing game, and it is hard to find an offense
that gets the ball out of the quarterback's hands quicker than
New York under new head coach Ben McAdoo. After years of inconsistency
from Rueben Randle, New York gets a feisty competitor in the Oklahoma
product. Given the uncertainty surrounding Victor Cruz, Shepard
gives the Giants someone who is well-equipped to be the long-term
answer in the slot, meaning Cruz's return to 100 percent will
be more of a bonus than a necessity. Shepard draws comparisons
to Kendall Wright, Randall Cobb and Tyler Lockett - all warranted
- and should be instant fantasy contributor in all leagues in
large part because he can win in one-on-one coverage and will
benefit from all the attention Odell Beckham Jr. attracts. Shepard
should be considered as a low-end WR3 in redraft leagues, and
right behind Corey Coleman and Josh Doctson in the pecking order
at receiver in rookie drafts.
2.14 - RB Derrick Henry, Titans
Earlier this offseason, Tennessee stated it wanted to field an
"exotic smashmouth" offense. Mission accomplished with
the selections of first-round OT Jack Conklin and Henry. The 2015
Heisman Trophy winner is an absolute freak of nature that has
already proven he can carry a heavy load, although he will not
be asked to do that right away for the Titans, who acquired DeMarco
Murray earlier this spring. Henry brings even more legitimacy
to the kind of ball-control offense Tennessee wants to use. With
Henry doing a lot of his damage out of the shotgun last season,
any fears about the big back needing a fullback should be lessened
as well (a big plus considering the Titans probably would like
to use Marcus Mariota away from the center more often). The downside
is that Alabama didn't use him much in the passing game and, while
he isn't necessarily deficient in that area, it is unlikely he'll
see many third-down snaps. Murray's presence takes a lot of the
shine off of Henry's luster from a redraft standpoint, probably
reducing him to a low-end flex option/RB3 barring an injury to
the ex-Cowboy. His lack of contributions in the passing game will
hurt his dynasty outlook somewhat, but it is negated by the fact
he should be a true bell cow runner no later than 2018.
2.16 - WR Michael Thomas, Saints
An explosive athlete with exceptional hands (five drops on 157
targets over the last two seasons), Thomas has the size and skill
(and the quarterbacking) to develop into one of the two or three
best receivers to come out of this draft. That's a bold statement
to be sure, but his floor is arguably as low as his ceiling is
high. Thomas has a lot of work to do as a route-runner but figures
to emerge as a favorite red-zone target of Drew Brees for an offense
that has undersized Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead as its current
starters at receiver. Most likely, he'll battle it out with Brandon
Coleman for the Marques Colston role, and he should be expected
to win it given this investment. Thomas figures to be a WR5 in
redraft leagues in 2016 barring an injury ahead of him to start
out. He does stand a solid chance of becoming an equal partner
with Snead at some point down the road, however, making him a
reasonable late-first or early-second round pick in rookie drafts.
2.20 - QB Christian Hackenberg, Jets
Was it the change in coach and scheme, a poor college offensive
line or a complete loss of confidence in the same abilities that
allowed him to be the top quarterback prospect in the country
a few years ago? For the Jets' sake, they are hoping it wasn't
the scheme change - from Bill O'Brien's pro-style offense to James
Franklin's spread (not unlike the one New York OC Chan Gailey
runs - that caused Hackenberg to go from a potential No. 1 overall
pick in the NFL Draft following the 2013 season to a mid-second
round selection in this draft. Hackenberg has top-of-the-draft
talent with the ability to make incredible throws, but his 28:21
TD-to-INT ratio during his two years in Franklin's offense is
a frightening number for any quarterback prospect. The good news
is that Gailey has a very good track record of developing quarterback
with far less talent than Hackenberg. His redraft value is uncertain
as of now until the contract stalemate with Ryan Fitzpatrick can
get resolved, but his landing spot is such that dynasty owners
can feel good about spinning a mid-to-late second-round pick on
him in rookie drafts.
2.24 - WR Tyler Boyd, Bengals
Cincinnati took a little bit of flak for taking a defensive back
(William Jackson III) in Round 1, but the Bengals trusted their
board and reaped the rewards one round later by grabbing the receiver
that broke many of Larry Fitzgerald's records at Pittsburgh. Boyd
isn't particularly flashy, but much like Josh Doctson and Laquan
Treadwell, he gets the job done in a silky-smooth manner. Better
yet, he figures to be every bit as good if not better than the
two receivers Cincinnati lost in free agency - Marvin Jones and
Mohamed Sanu. With the Bengals, he figures to begin 2016 as the
clear No. 2 receiver and should never see safety help on his side
of the field for as long as A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert are healthy.
Boyd is sure handed (10 drops in 374 targets for his career) and
plays bigger than his 6-1, 197-round frame would indicate. Boyd
should be considered in the same WR4 range Jones would have been
had he stayed in the Queen City for redraft purposes, and he should
be considered as mid-to-late first-round option in rookie drafts.
2.28 - K Roberto Aguayo, Bucs
Casual observers will likely blast this selection but seeing
how the league was affected by the extra point getting moved back
last year, landing a kicker that is considered nearly automatic
from inside 50 yards AND has a big leg needs to be considered
something more than a luxury pick. (In no way am I defending a
second-round pick on a kicker, but the truth of the matter is
that he wasn't going to last very long into the third round.)
In a Tampa Bay offense that figures to continue its improvement
in 2016, Aguayo should be considered as one of the top 12 kickers
in fantasy. For those owners in dynasty leagues that believe in
keeping kickers on their offseason roster, he's easily worth a
fourth-round pick in rookie drafts. FWIW, Aguayo went 69-of-78
on field goals and 198-of-198 on extra points at Florida State.
Doug Orth has written for FF
Today since 2006 and been featured in USA Today’s Fantasy
Football Preview magazine since 2010. He hosted USA Today’s
hour-long, pre-kickoff fantasy football internet chat every Sunday
in 2012-13 and appears as a guest analyst on a number of national
sports radio shows, including Sirius XM’s “Fantasy Drive”.
Doug is also a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.