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.
Not top two. No.
I would take Peterson,mccoy,peyton manning over him.
I heartily encourage everyone I play with to consider this strategy.
Agree with Walnut. Nobody ever ruined their fantasy team by taking calvin Johnson anywhere in the 1st rd. your 1st rd pick should be a safe pick. Johnson is arguably the safest pick in fantasy football given talent, age, and position he plays (much less injuries at wr than at rb).
I never said don’t pick Johnson in the first round. I said don’t pick him at No. 2. I have no problem at all taking him at No. 5 or 6.
It's normally reccomonded that you take a RB in the 1st round but taking Megatron in the 1st round is not a bad thing if you're pick in the is a BPA position and you really don't like any of the RBs still on the board but Megatron may be still out there. I was in that position two years ago with one of my drafts and wound up taking Megatron in the 1st round of that draft.
First round is one thing, top 2 is another. Good workhorse backs are so scarce that in my eyes you can't justify passing on one for any receiver, even Mega. There's 5-6 backs that would have to be off the board before I'd consider Mega this year. The drop in production from Mega to the next tier of wideouts is far smaller than the drop from the top RBs to the next tier.
Peterson and Marshall >> Megatron and Eddie Lacy.
Who is worth a #1 or #2 overall pick over Calvin Johnson? The mock draft ADPs have several 28-30 year old, 2000+ career carry/300+ previous season carry rb’s going in the top 2. I don’t see why they should be going ahead of Calvin Johnson.
My opinion is taking someone who you know gets the ball 20-25 times a game over 10-12 in the top two or three. That’s why I have Megatron at No. 5 or 6. There will be many leagues where a WR, TE and QB all go in the first round.