The This and That of Fantasy Football

2002 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - 2nd Round

13. Ricky Williams, RB, Miami - Ricky Williams' fantasy value skyrockets, because of the trade to Miami. In my revised summer mock draft, Williams will be in the first round. The biggest difference in Williams' stats will be in his TD total. Last season Williams scored six times. With the Dolphins, expect that total to double because the Dolphins' passing game is nowhere near as prolific as the Saints'. This means more touches for Williams, especially at the goal-line. Look at Lamar Smith, now with the Panthers. Smith scored 16 TDs for the Dolphins in 2000, before fading fast last year. Williams is only 24, and rushed for 1,245 yards last year to go with 511 yards receiving. Those numbers will increase across the board for Williams, as he approaches elite fantasy RB status.

14. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis - In what was a "down" fantasy year for Manning, he still passed for 4,131 yards and 26 TDs. Don't forget his four rushing TDs. This was a more than respectable season for Manning considering fantasy superstar Edgerrin James only played six games, before his season ended with a knee injury. With James returning from injury and the addition of former Baltimore Raven WR Qadry Ismail through free agency, look for Manning to eclipse the 30 TD mark. The speedy Ismail, who had a career year in 2001 with 74 catches for 1,059 yards and seven TDs, ends the Colts' merry go round of receivers opposite Marvin Harrison.

15. Corey Dillon, RB, Cincinnati - Imagine if Corey Dillon was on a good team. Instead he plays for the hapless Bengals, and still rushed for 1,315 yards last year with a total of 13 TDs. Dillon has proved repeatedly that he will get his yards no matter what. In 2000, Dillon set the NFL single game record with 278 yards rushing. In 1997, Dillon set the NFL record for most yards rushing in a game by a rookie with 246. Mike Anderson broke Dillon's record in 2000 with 251 yards rushing, but Dillon has proved to be a record-breaking talent. Dillon averaged a career-low 3.9 yards a carry last year, but his 13 TDS was a career-high.

16. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego - Tomlinson had a fine rookie season with 1,236 rushing yards, 367 receiving yards and 10 TDs, all rushing. But, Tomlinson was clearly affected by his holdout, as he seemed to lose stamina as the season wore on. Seven of his touchdowns were scored in the first five weeks. Look for Tomlinson to come into camp in great shape and after seeing what it takes to last a full season in the NFL, and have an even better season. The flipside of the holdout shows what a great player he is - he picked up the system in short time and had a season many RBS will never have.

17. Stephen Davis, RB, Washington - Davis disappointed many fantasy owners last season scoring only five TDs, three in the last three weeks. The first TD for Davis did not come until Week 8 last season. The infrequent TDs took some luster off the 1,419 yards rushing Davis compiled. Consider the lack of TDs a fluke. Davis gets stronger the more he carries the ball, and piled up all those yards despite lines being stacked against him because of Washington's weak passing game. The passing game should be weak again this season considering Tony Banks is still the likely starter. Even though Steve Spurrier may prefer the passing game, he's not dumb so expect him to utilize Davis, who is his best offensive weapon.

18. Aaron Brooks, QB, New Orleans - Brooks did not end last season well throwing for a combined 246 yards in the last two games. Those games halted his march towards a 4,000 yard passing season, but he still ended up with 3,832 yards in his first full season as a starter to go along with 26 TDs. Brooks just turned 26 and with his penchant for throwing the ball deep, the sky is the limit for his numbers. The Saints hurt themselves by getting rid of Ricky Williams, eccentric personality or not, but Brooks' passing numbers could benefit. Deuce McAllister is no slouch, but the Saints' running game will suffer without Williams, who will continue to flourish in Miami. All this means more of Brooks throwing the ball to Joe Horn, who has emerged as an elite WR. Last season, Brooks had five games where he threw three TDs.
Don't forget about Brooks' 362 rushing yards and a score.

19. Brett Favre, QB, Green Bay - Favre had five games where he threw for three TDs and seven games where he threw for two TDs. That's called consistency and talent. Favre seems like he's been around forever, but he'll only be 33 in October. Coming off a season where he threw for 3,921 yards and 32 TDs, Favre has plenty left in the gas tank. It will be interesting though to see who Favre will be throwing to. Bill Schroeder signed with Detroit. Corey Bradford signed with Houston. Antonio Freeman is likely to be cut after June 1, unless he changes his mind on taking a pay cut. Terry Glenn, fresh off being an idiot for New England, was acquired for draft picks and has the talent to have a big season after his fingers get used to Favre's fireball passes. Favre also still has TE Bubba Franks, who caught nine TD passes last season.

20. David Boston, WR, Arizona - Boston, aka He-Man, had a breakout monster fantasy season with nine 100-yard games, 1,598 receiving yards and eight TDs. At times, Boston looked like all the great WRs do - like defenders have no chance of stopping them. I like everyone am not sold on Jake Plummer as a QB, which downgrades Boston a little. But, I am sold that the Cardinals stink, which means Boston will continue to get a lot of balls thrown his way since the Cardinals are always behind. Look for Boston to reach double figures in TD receptions.

21. Anthony Thomas, RB, Chicago - The A-Train definitely proved he was a much better player than the second-round pick that was used on him. His 1,183 yards rushing was amazing considering he didn't start until the Bears' fifth game of the season. Thomas had three games of at least 160 yards rushing or more, and scored seven TDs. While not much of a receiving threat (22 catches for 178 yards), I look for 1,500 yards rushing and double digit TDs from this powerful runner next season.

22. Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia - As Donovan McNabb enters his fourth NFL season, look for him to continue to elevate his already impressive game. Last season, McNabb threw for a career-high 25 TDs to go with 3,233 yards passing, 482 yards rushing and two rushing scores. McNabb would have eclipsed his career-best 3,365 yards passing in 2000, if he had played in the Eagles' meaningless last regular-season game against Tampa Bay last season. In the playoffs last year, where McNabb led the Eagles to two wins over the Bucs and the Bears, McNabb showed how mature of a player he's becoming. His stats will continue to rise, and look for those rushing TDs to increase close to the six he had in 2000.

23. Rod Smith, WR, Denver - If Smith hadn't injured his ankles in November, there's no telling what his numbers would have looked like as he was on his way to a historic season for a WR. A hobbled Smith still ended up with 1,343 yards receiving and 11 TDs. Last year, Ed McCaffrey broke his leg in Week One and missed the season. A healthy McCaffrey will do nothing but aid Smith considering that the best WR stats on the team other than Smith was Eddie Kennison who had 15 catches for 169 yards and a TD, before being released mid-season. Teams won't be able to rely on Smith as much, although last year he excelled despite being the only WR threat the Broncos had.

24. Rich Gannon, WR, Oakland - I know Rich Gannon led the AFC in TD passes with 27, and was second behind Peyton Manning with 3,828 passing yards. But, there is reason for concern with Gannon considering his WRs, Jerry Rice and Tim Brown, while still very good players are ancient. At some point, they have to slow down. Rice will be 40 in October. Brown will be 36 in July. Not to mention Gannon is no spring chicken, he'll be 37 in December. The age factor on his WRs and the fact that the Raiders' running game is not overpowering makes me downgrade Gannon from as high as he probably deserves to be drafted.

John is also a fantasy football columnist for Infinity Fantasy Analysis http://home.carolina.rr.com/infinityfantasy/