After a surprising Day 1 of the NFL Draft, Day 2 has now come and gone, with several teams making picks that will absolutely have an impact on your fantasy rosters this year. Let’s dive into it and see who will be the guy, or guys, that you need to have in order to win.

While Day 1 gets all the headlines, Day 2 is the time when GM’s really earn their money. The guys taken on Day 2 are probably not as well known by the majority of fans, but they are the guys that add depth, and oftentimes, they are the guys that end up being core players. This year is no exception. With Day 1 being as offense heavy as it was, Day 2 was expected to be a little more defensive focused, and that turned out to be the case. But, there are still several guys that I think you need to be aware of for fantasy this year.

Wide Receivers

Day 2 of the Draft started with Buffalo Bills drafting Keon Coleman. No one would say that the Bills were completely set at receiver before the draft after losing both Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs, but I think most people thought they would use the pick to draft the Diggs replacement. Instead, it seems like they went after the Davis replacement instead. I like Coleman more than many, but I think he will end up being slightly overdrafted based off this landing spot. That is not to say that I don’t think he will have a decent rookie year, I just don’t think that I will be all that interested in him at cost. I expect him to be in the WR4/Flex conversation, and I think he will be drafted higher than that.

Immediately after that pick, the Chargers traded up to draft Ladd McConkey. I thought McConkey had a decent chance to be drafted at the end of the first round, so the Chargers did make a smart move here. I am just not sure I understand the fit. The Chargers WR room was arguably one of the worst in the league coming into the draft so they needed to come out of the Draft with at least one more guy, possibly more. McConkey was not a huge target earner in college, and I have concerns that he may continue to struggle to be a target earner in the NFL. He has all the traits that you want out of a receiver, but something feels off to me. He is another guy that I think gets overdrafted based off landing spot. I see him as another guy that is in the WR4/Flex conversation, so prepare to draft accordingly.

A few picks later the Patriots added Ja’Lynn Polk to their WR room. I think each of these three teams were smart to add receivers, and I might like this fit the best of the three. The Patriots WR room was lacking a big body receiver, and Polk fits the bill. He is a guy who began rising up the media’s board late in the process, which means that the NFL had been higher on him all along. Just based off situation, I think he might be the safest fantasy pick of the top three Day 2 guys. He should be in the same WR4/Flex conversation, but I think he is much more likely to be drafted in that range. Of these three, he is the guy that I will likely be the most interested in.

Later in the round the Indianapolis Colts finally selected a pre-draft favorite in Adonai Mitchell. Mitchell is a guy that many teams had completely removed from their draft boards due to a myriad of off-field concerns, but Chris Ballard is a guy who loves his athletic freaks, and Mitchell fits into  that mold. If he can stay focused on football, and stay out of trouble, I think he has a chance to be a difference maker with the Colts. He might be the guy that the Colts thought they were getting when they drafted Alec Pierce. If Anthony Richardson stays healthy, Mitchell has an opportunity to break into that WR3 conversation. I have my own concerns about him, so I am probably staying away, but don’t let my bias cloud your judgment. If he is there for you in that WR3 range, you should feel safe making that pick.

In round 3 we had a trio of wide receivers drafted that I think all went to fantastic situations. Malachi Corley to the New York Jets, Jermaine Burton to the Cincinnati Bengals, and Roman Wilson to the Pittsburgh Steelers. All three of these guys walk into very solid situations for rookie receivers. Corley reminds me a bit of Randall Cobb, and we all remember how much Aaron Rodgers loved Randall Cobb. Jermain Burton has a chance to be the third receiver for a high powered Bengals passing offense, and Roman Wilson has a good chance to see the field a lot for a Steelers WR room that needed to add some depth. I like each of these guys as a potential WR3/Flex. I also think that due to the fact they went later in the draft, many fantasy players wil overlook them a bit, so there is a chance to get them later in drafts.

Running Backs

The first running back off the board was Johnathon Brooks to the Carolina Panthers. I love this fit. The Panthers new regime is openly admitting with this pick that the Miles Sanders experiment was a mistake, and when Brooks is ready, he will be the lead back in this backfield. Now, for fantasy, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It is unlikely that Brooks will make much of an impact in year one as he works back from injury. He is much more on my dynasty radar than he is my redraft radar this year. If you can get him in the last couple rounds of your redraft league, he might be worth a stash, but he is not a guy we should be drafting early.

The next running back to come off the board ws Trey Benson to the Arizona Cardinals. This is another situation where the team is drafting for the future, and not just for this year. James Connor is still an effective back, when healthy. But you haven’t been able to rely on him staying healthy recently. Benson gives the Cardinals a quality back to help share the load with Connor, and also he gives them a ready made replacement should they choose to move from Connor, or if he decides to hang them up. Again, he isn’t a a guy that I am drafting early, but he might be worth a late round stash in redraft. In dynasty, I am much more interested in him.

Top the surprise of many, the Los Angeles Rams were the next team to take a running back, and they selected Blake Corum. I have been warning players all off-season to not invest heavily in Kyren Williams, and the selection of Corum seems to solidify my fears. I think Corum may actually be a more talented back than Williams, so I believe this a full blown timeshare right out of  the gate. It is completely possible that by the end of the year Corum ends up being the lead back, and the higher scoring fantasy asset. With this investment, I think that I would draft Corum ahead of both Brooks and Benson in redraft leagues. In dynasty, I think he is a great investment as well.

Rounding out the running backs from Day 2 is Marshawn Lloyd being drafted by the Green Bay Packers. There are many out there that see this as a real head scratcher based off of the contract that Josh Jacobs signed with the Packers in free agency. What they fail to notice is that Jacobs’ contract has very little money guaranteed after the first year. If Jacobs fails to return to form, I think it is very possible for the Packers to move on from him next year, and that paves the way for Lloyd to step into a starting role. For redraft leagues, I am looking at him as another late round stash, but in dynasty he might be my first RB off the board.