It is early in the 2014 fantasy football mock draft season and while some interesting trends have been developing, there is one in particular that is striking people as odd. There are many mock drafts where owners are selecting Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson with the No. 2 overall pick, while bypassing running backs like Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy and Jamaal Charles depending on which one of those three was taken first. It is a selection that could easily doom a fantasy owner when the real draft comes along.
While Johnson is a great wide receiver, the position is quite deep this season. Allowing a running back like McCoy or Charles to slip by, who can bring rushing and receiving numbers, isn’t advised. It also should be noted that the Lions have upgraded their receiving corps this season with the signing of Golden Tate and the drafting of tight end Eric Ebron. These two additions alone should easily take targets away from Megatron. He was targeted 11 times a year last season by Matthew Stafford. However, if there are other options instead of Stafford trying to throw in double coverage for Johnson, the numbers are going to go down.
The second overall pick isn’t the time for a wide receiver pick unless an owner is completely confident that a player is going to end up with over 100 catches, 1,600 yards and 12-15 touchdowns. The running back position is one that is going to give more consistent production because that player will be seeing the ball 20-25 times a game as opposed to 10-12. It doesn’t mean that Johnson isn’t going to continue making plays like these.
Johnson is someone who should be picked after the fourth overall pick and can go as high as No. 5. But making the decision to pick Megatron with the No. 2 pick especially in a 12-team league can be tragic. That owner's next selection doesn’t come until the end of the second round (23rd overall). By then, it is likely that many of the top running backs are off the board. This will force an owner to make an RB2 like Ben Tate his/her RB1. Ouch.
Fantasy Football drafts can turn on a single pick, so making an earlier selection on a player will have a trickle-down effect for the rest of the draft and for the whole season. While Megatron can outproduce a LeSean McCoy in theory, he simply isn't worth the No. 2 overall pick, no matter how much he contributes to the Lions' offense.