SECOND ROUND PICKS

Round 2, Pick 1 (11) - Marshawn Lynch, RB Buf. - "Beast Mode" as Lynch likes to call it when he has the ball running down hill, could be a beautiful sight to see this year. (Along with being just cool to say...) Only concern with Lynch, that keeps him out of the first round is his overall offensive limitations with Trent Johnson at QB and an offensive line that could stand to improve. He can do it all though and look for his receptions to increase this year.

Round 2, Pick 2 (12) - Reggie Wayne, WR IND. - This gives this team the Manning/Wayne connection which can win you weeks by itself. I am lukewarm typically on QB/WR hook ups, but like I have said before, I am ranking these guys based on how confident I am that they will deliver top notch stats, and I know Wayne will do just about what he did last year with the possibility of a bump now that Harrison looks somewhat healthy.

Round 2, Pick 3 (13) - Larry Fitzgerald, WR ARI. - I know, I know, this is crazy right? Having all of these WR's at the top of the second round while running backs typically make up the majority of the picks may be nuts, but I cannot justify taking any of the remaining runners simply because I don't trust them to put up solid numbers with any high degree of confidence. Fitzgerald is a dominant force and if Arizona gets just a little more consistency from the QB position, he has the talent to be in the Randy Moss class of WR. When you look at your roster at the end of the draft, you will not blink having this guy in your lineup.

Round 2, Pick 4 (14) - Clinton Portis, RB WAS. - OK, craziness over, temporarily. Portis showed he still has it as he got back close to his Denver days with a solid, healthy year. The drawbacks on Portis that push him down below the last few WR's in this round is the risk that it will take Washington a while to adjust to a new offense and coaching staff, Jason Campbell's continued development curve and the health of his offensive line. Also, don't forget his backup Ladell Betts was great two years ago and looks to be back in that form in the preseason which could mean some greater degree of job sharing than Portis had last year when Betts struggled some.

Round 2, Pick 5 (15) - Maurice Jones-Drew, RB JAX. - I may still be drinking the MJD juice, as I had him ranked very high last year too and he disappointed to a degree as Fred Taylor survived the whole season and performed much better than expected. This cannot possibly continue and the only thing between MJD and a first round grade is a higher number of touches. I say he gets them this year and takes another step up the performance ladder.

Round 2, Pick 6 (16) - Tony Romo, QB DAL. - I really want to put Larry Johnson here, but I owned him last year and between the QB problems (Brodie Croyle? really???) and the major offensive line turnover, I just don't see him getting back to the 05/06 version of LJ. Romo on the other hand was the only QB that could keep up with Brady on a weekly basis. He slowed down toward the end of the year or he could have topped 40 TD's. I would rank him ahead of Manning if I was sure Crayton could be a good #2, but as it is with Owens, Witten, Barber and Felix Jones, he has plenty of weapons to move the ball around. QB's on good teams are great bets for production. (This is the last pick I feel solid about...)

Round 2, Pick 7 (17) - Frank Gore, RB SFO. - I have major reservations about this pick. Alex Smith? The worst offense in football in 2007? No wide receivers? But Gore has the job all to himself and he is a true 3 down back who will get all the touches he can handle. Combine his youth, his talent and his opportunity and maybe you have something.

Round 2, Pick 8 (18) - Larry Johnson, RB KC. - Boom/Bust written all over this one. Now that the picks have gone beyond the safe, solid choices it is time to pull Larry into the mix and cross your fingers he has a decent enough team around him to make something happen. As I noted above, major problems on the Chiefs make it tough to see him as the dominating guy he used to be, but players that have 20 touchdown seasons under their belt are rare in the second round. Good luck with this.

Round 2, Pick 9 (19) - Braylon Edwards, WR CLE. - This spot took Tom Brady in the first round so it is a risk to go WR here, but after Edwards there is another drop off in my opinion and the only thing keeping him from the very top group is the risk that Derek Anderson was a one year wonder. If Anderson shows that last year was not a fluke, Edwards will be a fine pick capable of 12-15 scores. At this point that is the right amount of risk/reward to bet on.

Round 2, Pick 10 (20) - Ryan Grant, RB GBY. - Grant was a savior to many teams last year as he scored 8 touchdowns in the last 8 weeks of last season. Questions remain that keep him from being a safe, solid pick. How will Aaron Rodgers do as the new QB in Green Bay? Will he keep defenses honest enough to give Grant running room? How will the contract hold out and training camp injuries affect his start to the season? Hard to know the answers to any of this. Watch the 3rd preseason game closely in a couple weeks to see how Grant does. If you get anything close to the back from the second half of last year and you pair him with LT, you will probably learn how to spell championship.

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