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Opportunity Knocks: Round 2 IDP Landing Spots

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The 2020 NFL Draft was the most-watched in history! Now we have to break down what it all means for fantasy. This is part two of a series breaking down IDP landing spots. 

The draft is over and now our fun begins! Dynasty Rookie Drafts give us fantasy general managers the chance to feel like real NFL GMs as we construct our team, acquire future assets, and make some deals. This year, NFL GMs also got to experience that while their families were in the room so now they know how we feel when we’re on the clock and little Johnny needs a snack, or the wife doesn’t want to watch NFL network for the 16th hour that day. I’m going to take a look at IDP landing spots for players drafted with high capital: Day 2 (Round 2).

Round 2 IDP Landing Spots

Round 2 Pick 36: Xavier McKinney, S, New York Giants

McKinney was my top safety going into the draft and will remain my top choice for IDP. The Giants had Jabrill Peppers and Julian Love playing safety last season despite Love being drafted as a cornerback. Love could slide into the slot corner role opening the door for McKinney to gain playing time. The landing spot isn’t the most wide open, but they didn’t use this high pick on safety to sit on the bench. There are a lot of promising rookie safeties in this draft class, but the top ones will probably come off the board in the 3rd-4th round range. You can wait, since there are 4-5 other very good rookies at safety this season.

Round 2 Pick 37: Kyle Dugger, S, New England Patriots

The small school Mighty Mouse, Dugger, landed in a great place to learn and hone his skills. There are some veterans that could prevent Dugger from making an immediate impact. Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, and newly signed Adrian Phillips could prevent Dugger from seeing much playing time in 2020. The high draft capital shows that the Patriots like the player despite the level of competition he faced. Does everybody remember how high everyone was on Damien Harris last season? Well, he barely saw the field last season. It’s going to come down to Dugger learning the playbook and impressing coaches. He’s a later round pick for me as there are better options that will be playing in 2020. 

Round 2 Pick 38: Yetur Gross-Matos, DE, Carolina Panthers

Gross-Matos was expected to go in the first round by many but ended up with a rebuilding defense that drafted Derrick Brown the day before. Matt Rhule was serious about building this defense and got himself a pass-rusher to rotate in with Brian Burns, Stephen Weatherly, and Christian Miller. The Panthers scheme could be the biggest question mark as Phil Snow, defensive coordinator, ran a lot of hybrid formations at Baylor including a 3-3-5. What we can expect at the NFL level might be similar, meaning that Gross-Matos may have a position change ahead of him at outside linebacker. That doesn’t scare me off from drafting him much because there are not many other better options behind him. He’ll probably go somewhere in the late 2nd-3rd round in most rookie drafts due to the lack of depth at defensive end. After Gross-Matos there are a couple more ends left that could be impactful.

Round 2 Pick 40: Ross Blacklock, DT, Houston Texans

The Texans brought in a defensive tackle to replace the departed D.J. Reader. The Texans playing a 3-4 means he could end up in any of the interior spots for the Texans and should see plenty of opportunities with only Eddie Vanderdoes blocking his path to playing time. In the Texan’s defense, I wouldn’t expect much IDP production from Blacklock, but he should be a good player for them. He will probably go undrafted in your IDP rookie drafts but wouldn’t be a bad taxi squad option if your league has a premium on defensive tackles. 

Round 2 Pick 44: Grant Delpit, S, Cleveland Browns

The Browns have been looking for a safety since last off-season when they traded away Jabrill Peppers to get Odell Beckham. They brought in Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo in free agency and also drafted Shedrick Redwine last draft. I would expect Delpit to start at free safety immediately and Karl Joseph to play strong safety. Delpit will get opportunities for tackles and will get a chance to show his playmaking and ball skills, being able to roam the field and break on the ball. There are some better safety options in my rankings for the position, but Delpit should be drafted somewhere in the 3rd-5th round range. 

Round 2 Pick 45: Antione Winfield Jr., S, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers have also been searching for a safety for the past few years. They have drafted Jordan Whitehead, Justin Evans, and Mike Edwards over the past two seasons. They were missing Justin Evans for most of last season. Winfield figures to be in the mix to start and most would agree he would be an upgrade for the secondary. Winfield has been between the second and fifth safety off the board in drafts and in that same range in a lot of rankings. I have him ranked #3 safety and 43rd overall in rookie ranks here at IDPGuys.org. He’ll be in a similar range to the top safeties depending on personal preference.

Round 2 Pick 47: Marlon Davidson, DE/DT, Atlanta Falcons

Davidson had the pleasure of playing next to a wrecking ball in Derrick Brown at Auburn. He is not as big or destructive as Brown but held his own. Davidson may be playing more on the interior line for the Falcons, but was drafted as a defensive end and is listed as such on most platforms. He had his most success in his senior season, but only had 14.5 sacks over his 4-year career at Auburn. There are better IDP defensive ends to spend draft picks on, but would be worth a late-round flier. He could go undrafted in your rookie draft or late. He’s a pass for me. 

Round 2 Pick 48: Darrell Taylor, DE, Seattle Seahawks

Instant reaction was not pretty, but Taylor could be a good piece of the Seattle pass-rush. Taylor had at least 8 sacks in his past two seasons. Seattle’s depth chart reads very unimpressively with L.J. Collier, Rasheem Green, Benson Mayowa, and Bruce Irvin all in the mix. They also drafted Alton Robinson to compete. Seattle may also still be looking at Jadeveon Clowney or some other help to bolster this squad. Taylor, because of the possible opportunity, could be a top IDP rookie at the position. He could also be just like L.J. Collier and Rasheem Green and produce next to nothing. He’ll be around in the middle to late rounds of most drafts if you want to take the chance. 

Round 2 Pick 50: Jaylen Johnson, CB, Chicago Bears

A solid pick for the Bears. He should get the chance to start at minimum as a slot corner and his only competition on the outside is Artie Burns. As you’ve read already I’m not drafting corners but he’s one of the handful to target, if that’s your sort of thing, as he will get the opportunity to start opposite a very good corner Kyle Fuller. He’s a late-round pick or waiver pickup. 

Round 2 Pick 51: Trevon Diggs, CB, Dallas Cowboys

IF, and that’s a big if, I decided to draft a corner, Diggs might be the guy out of this draft class. He’s a talented member of a secondary that lost its best corner to free agency. He’s not guaranteed much playing time, but I would expect the Cowboys to give him a look somewhere in their nickel package. He could also contribute in the return game for the Cowboys. He’s a big name from a big school so he may be drafted late, but try to get him off waivers. 

Round 2 Pick 54: A.J. Epenesa, DE, Buffalo Bills

This is a great landing spot for the power edge rusher. The Bills signed Mario Addison to reunite with head coach Sean McDermott, but outside of Jerry Hughes, his only competition is Trent Murphy. They did sign Quinten Jefferson as well, but he could see time inside. Epenesa can help keep the older veterans fresh with a solid rotation making all the Bills’ pass rush opportunities more fruitful. Epenesa could be the third or fourth defensive end off the board and should be able to produce some his rookie year. He’ll probably end up going somewhere in the late 2nd – early 4th rounds.

https://twitter.com/RetroHawkeyes/status/1253511302884065282?s=20

Round 2 Pick 56: Raekwon Davis, DT, Miami Dolphins

Davis joins a revamped Dolphins front line that shed some dead weight and brought in free agents: Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah. He will have a lot of competition for snaps with Christian Wilkins and Davon Godchaux being starters on the front line. Davis isn’t quite the wrecking ball that Derrick Brown or Javon Kinlaw are, but he could be a decent bye week option or if injuries strike he could get more playing time. All signs point to a rotation along the line, which means you probably shouldn’t waste a draft pick on a non-elite defensive tackle. He could be a late-round IDP pick or a taxi squad waiver pick up after the draft. If you have space and need a tackle he could be productive in time. 

Round 2 Pick 60: Josh Uche, OLB, New England Patriots

I don’t doubt Bill Belichick’s ability to get the most out of players. He has proven year in and year out that he can win with other people’s castaways. The Patriots big board is always much different than some other teams as well. Uche was not really expected to go this early, but Shilique Calhoun and Brandon Copeland are his competition for snaps along with fellow draft pick Anfernee Jennings. Uche had at least 7 sacks a season the past two seasons and could fit into the edge rusher role in the Patriots defense. He’s a late-round pick for me or even waiver pick up territory. He’s worth picking up though because we have seen Jaime Collins and Kyle Van Noy be very productive as an OLB in this system. 

Round 2 Pick 61: Kristian Fulton, CB, Tennessee Titans

The Titans cornerbacks have been very good in fantasy. If Fulton slides into the Logan Ryan role in Mike Vrabel’s defense, we could see a very productive rookie cornerback. Even if Logan Ryan comes back, Fulton should get plenty of playing time. Malcolm Butler has not been very good in coverage and Adoree Jackson hasn’t lived up to his hype either. Late round or waiver wire grab Fulton. He’s a physical corner from DBU-LSU. (I’m sure Ohio State fans would argue with this.)

Round 2 Pick 63: Willie Gay Jr., LB, Kansas City Chiefs

If you want to low down on Willie Gay check out @JoeyTheToothIDP’s article, “Why Willie Gay Jr. Will Be The Most Productive IDP Rookie” I tend to agree that Willie Gay will be productive from the jump. Reggie Ragland has moved on, Dorian O’Daniel hasn’t been able to make an impact on the team, and Anthony Hitchens is a good IDP asset, but c’mon. Damien Wilson is also not a superstar. Gay Jr. could take some time stealing away middle linebacker duties from Hitchens, but playing weakside and being on the field should be easy for Gay this season. Gay has been the 3rd-5th linebacker off the board in a lot of drafts I have seen or taken part in and will go somewhere between the 3rd and 4th rounds. I’ve taken him in two leagues so far. So yeah, I like the prospects on this one.

Round 2 Pick 64: Jeremy Chinn, S, Carolina Panthers

Two of my favorite players to target in this draft class are both here at the bottom of the 2nd round. Carolina released Eric Reid earlier this offseason and have tried in the past to fill the safety void with Rashaan Gaulden (no longer on the team, Eric Reid, Quin Blanding, and Natrell Jamerson. The only safety that has stuck is Tre Boston who returned to the team after some time elsewhere. Jeremy Chinn should slide right into the strong safety starting job and thrive. Chinn vaulted up to my #2 safety because of his great opportunity here and he will be going somewhere in the neighborhood of the late 2nd round – 3rd round of most rookie drafts. He may slip to bigger names like Grant Delpit and Antione Winfield Jr., but Chinn would be my second choice behind McKinney. Draft him with confidence. 

Look for the next part where we will take a look at Round 3. If you missed Round 1 you can view it here. You can find Rookie ADP data (starting May 1st) at IDPGuys.org. Need rankings? I ranked 234 offensive and defensive rookies here! Not a member with us yet? Join today to gain access to rankings, ADP data, Slack channel, Offense/IDP Trade Calculator (free until kickoff), and more! Pre-Order the IDP Guys Rookie Draft Magazine today for a more in-depth breakdown of the 2020 draft prospects.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article. You can find me on Twitter @seahawksdan8, Instagram @idpnationpod, and our IDP Nation Facebook Page. I’m a co-host on @IDPNation, and the DIG Podcast (Devy IDP Grind). Subscribe to the Reiter Digest Network on YouTube or find us wherever you download podcasts.

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