Fantasy Football Expert Analysis After 2019 NFL Draft Day 2

We're through three rounds of the NFL draft, and for fantasy fantasy football enthusiasts, the second day of the NFL draft featured a number of players to potentially target next season.

Below, we break down some of the biggest names that came off the board on Friday night, alongside a wealth of analysis regarding those selections.

The first fantasy-relevant pick came at No. 36, when the San Francisco 49ers selected South Carolina wideout Deebo Samuel. He's a speedster who is effective out of the slot, can burn defenders down the field and will turn short receptions into long touchdowns. 

Samuel will give Jimmy Garoppolo another weapon in the passing game and should earn a major role next to Dante Pettis and Marquise Goodwin. While George Kittle will remain the focus of this passing game—and while rookie receivers always present risk—Samuel has the chance to carve out a steady role for himself immediately in San Francisco.

The Niners followed that up with Jalen Hurd in the third round, who is an intriguing prospect as a big-bodied slot option, though he's likely more of a project after making the transition from running back to wide receiver during his college career. He's unlikely to make a major dent in fantasy football during his rookie season.

Running back David Montgomery landed in a perfect spot in Chicago, where he could slide into the starting role vacated by Howard when he was traded to Philadelphia.

Yes, Tarik Cohen will see a ton of snaps as one of the NFL's more dangerous scatbacks. But Montgomery is going to see a ton of touches in 2019 and could very well slide into RB2 territory if he's given the early-downs work.

For fantasy football players, Montgomery in Chicago is thrilling. Of all the rookies, he's the frontrunner to potentially make the biggest mark in his rookie season.

Drew Lock was the second skill position player off the board to the Denver Broncos, but don't expect him to play in 2019, with Joe Flacco the likely starter. Even if Lock does see the field, rookie quarterbacks are always risky business in fantasy football. He's likely worth paying attention to come 2020.  

Irv Smith Jr. to the Minnesota Vikings at No. 50 was an intriguing pick. Kyle Rudolph never offered much more than red-zone production, and while the majority of targets will go to Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs in Minnesota, Smith could be an immediate contributor to this offense, especially between the 20s. 

Another factor to consider is that Rudolph could hit the market after this selection, which would only increase Smith's fantasy value:

A.J. Brown on the Tennessee Titans is a player to monitor. Despite flashes from Corey Davis, Marcus Mariota lacked any truly dangerous weapons on the outside for most of last season. Brown should change that.

It's risky trusting rookie wideouts, and Mariota isn't an elite player at the position. The Titans also like to pound the rock, another factor weighing against Brown. But he should see targets in 2019.

The Philadelphia Eagles made a pair of skill-position additions in the second round, adding Penn State running back Miles Sanders and Stanford wideout JJ Arcega-Whiteside, though only Sanders looks like a potential impact player for fantasy owners in 2019.

Sanders is a great fit in a prolific Doug Pederson offense and should see plenty of touches, especially if he improves as a blocker and can handle a workload in the passing game. He could even siphon touches from projected starter Jordan Howard.

The Eagles like to utilize committees at running back, so Howard and Sanders will likely share time. That will hurt both of their fantasy value, with neither likely to be anything more than a flex option. Still, Sanders is worth keeping an eye on.

Arcega-Whiteside, on the other hand, likely won't make an impact in 2019, with the Eagles loaded in the passing game. Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson will start out wide, Nelson Agholor will man the slot, Zach Ertz will gobble up targets and 2018 second-round pick Dallas Goedert will play a major role as the team's second tight end. It's hard to imagine Arcega-Whiteside playing a major role next season.

One player who could end up being a fantasy football darling next season, however, is the Kansas City Chiefs' second-round rookie wideout Mecole Hardman. With Tyreek Hill's NFL future in doubt, Hardman may have been selected as his replacement. 

He certainly has a similar skill set:

Hardman has been a Chief for a few hours, and he's already the worst-kept secret in fantasy football. 

Arizona Cardinals second-round pick Andy Isabella is another player who could make an instant impact. Yes, a rookie wideout catching passes from a rookie quarterback (Kyler Murray) is always risky. But the Cardinals are going to throw, throw and throw some more, and Isabella could be one of the biggest beneficiaries. 

Isabella is absolutely in the running to have a major impact amongst the rookie wide receivers. He and Hardman are two players to track carefully over the summer.

Seattle Seahawks pick D.K. Metcalf could be another, especially if Doug Baldwin's career is coming to a close.

Metcalf feels like a project, though, and Tyler Lockett will be the focus of the passing game regardless. Metcalf is an exciting prospect down the road, but has enough rough spots in need of smoothing to be an impact player immediately. 

Past the second round, that's often the fate for many of the picks.

Devin Singletary is stuck in depth chart hell, with LeSean McCoy, Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon already with the Buffalo Bills. Damien Harris joins a Patriots team already featuring Sony Michel and James White. Darrell Henderson will back up Todd Gurley in Los Angeles. Terry McLaurin could make an impact in Washington, where the wide receiver depth chart is thin on quality but historically low in production. Will Grier will be nothing more than a backup for Cam Newton. Ditto for Alexander Mattison in Minnesota behind Dalvin Cook, though, given Cook's injury history, Mattison could end up holding fantasy value as a handcuff.

But the early players to carefully monitor from Friday include Montgomery in Chicago, Sanders in Philadelphia, Hardman in Kansas City and Isabella in Arizona. Those four join first-round players like T.J. Hockenson in Detroit, Noah Fant in Denver, Josh Jacobs in Oakland, Marquise Brown in Baltimore and N'Keal Harry in New England as players who could be intriguing fantasy options in 2019.