by Anthony Fernandez, September 28th, 2013
[2.1] 
LE Bjoern Werner, FSU | A-
Werner is a solid DE that if developed will lead to the 21 year old having a very long and successful career. He's a little raw in AWR/TAK, but he's got what you look for everywhere else. It was a good job identifying the value, as the DE pool was drying up. If you don't believe me, only 2 other DEs were taken in the next 28 picks. Werner is happy to stay in Florida and play for a contender.
[2.2] 
RT Brennan Williams | A+
The Jets, who probably had the best 1st round of any team in SFL, start the 2nd round off very strong. Williams is huge, almost hits the elusive 80ACC I remember from Madden League OL-porn way back, and is a super established blocker as a rookie. This guy will probably spend a few years getting developed, and then mastermind Mullendore will have him anchoring a blindside for QB Matt Barkley when they win the Super Bowl in 2016.
[2.3] 
QB Mike Glennon, NC State | B+
Glennon! The 2nd QB off the board, who I have been well documented as loving on paper. And what's not to like about a 6'7" QB who is only 21 years old? Since draft night, Glennon has gained +7AWR, +1THP and +1THA - so I like him even more than I did then. Unfortunately, starting a rookie QB in these leagues just absolutely sucks. So we're (2-6) and it's looking like we'll be crash landing to finish the season. But without our own 1st round pick, we have no incentive to tank and will be trying to win every game we have left. Let's hope Glennon continues to develop and gets us good before the Cowboys fire me and someone else gets to keep my fully developed stud QB. Either way, it's a gamble I'm happy to make, and I'm thankful nobody moved up to 2.1 or 2.2 to snipe him from me.
[2.4] 
CB Sanders Commings, Georgia | A+++
This pick was a real bummer for me, because here I was feeling all sneaky because I had successfully "stole" the 2nd best QB in the draft from a guy who I knew was looking at QBs (but wouldn't trade for Stafford), and then he responds by just calmly selecting my favorite 2nd round CB target that I almost took at the bottom of the 1st. Commings is a few years away from starting, but at 6'3" with 91/91/94 (plus 62STR and 66TAK), this is essentially theft. Commings, when fully developed, is going to look like a Top 10 pick. And because GM Wintermute is so talented, he gets him in the 2nd. This is in contention for best pick of the entire draft. Well played, Neal, well played. Just like in past leagues, I may laugh loudest, but you always laugh last.
[2.5] 
FS Duron Harmon, Rutgers | A+
I gave the Buccaneers a lot of shit about taking a MLB at 1.5, so that was just another reason for GM Bryan Mellon to dislike me, but I think they made a solid pick here with Harmon. I liked him a lot coming out of college - not quite enough to do a predraft workout on, though! Harmon definitely regressed a bit, but you can't really fault Mellon for that. Harmon was such a freak that he was kind of skew-proof anyway, as he's still a very good player and solid value for the top of the 2nd round.
[2.6] 
RT Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M | B
The Saints took a LT in the 1st, and here they bounce back with a RT. Luke is young, big, quick, and a fantastic blocker. Individually I think that both of their tackles are good players, and great value, but I do worry about how neither of them really hits those peak speeds or accelerations you want to face the elite pass rushers in these leagues. Bakhtiari is probably a little closer to that, so I'd have probably put him at RT, but both will be above average in their current roles.
[2.7] 
RG Chance Warmack, Alabama | B-
It's fine.
[2.8] 
LOLB Jelani Jenkins, Florida | A+
Really fine pick here by AC, as Jenkins looks more like a MLB than some of the guys we'll see come off the board this round. 84/87/84 is just such a killer skew, but by all accounts it appears AC had worked him out and knew ahead of time. Great find. Jenkins is already wreaking havoc and will be a 14 year starter in this league.
[2.9] MLB Manti Te'o, Notre Dame | A++
It's not even fair at this point. Mullendore continues the magic, as Manti is fantastic at 87/83/86 with 86TAK? Good size, too. Ridiculous. To drive home how much Kevin has his finger on the (league) pulse - he nabs one of the best MLBs in the draft before a run of 3-4 more MLBs go this round. Just a fantastic job of having a good grasp of not just his own team and needs, but also the needs of other teams. Putting on a clinic in this draft class.
[2.10] RE Sam Montgomery, LSU | B
Sam is a consolation prize, as I really liked Sylvester Williams to play RE for me, but Mullendore stole him. Montgomery is not 86STR and and 313lbs like Williams is, but he can do a lot of the things I had hoped to do with Sylvester. Ultimately, Montgomery offers a good amount of versatility for me as I transition from 43 to 34 in the coming years. In the mean time, he could play LE or RE for me, and may eventually land at LE for me in the 34.
[2.11] 
LT Ricky Wagner, Wisconsin | A
The Broncos and Cowboys are gonna rotate picks here for a while - and if I told you that Tommy boy was gonna nab a starting OT and OG with his two picks and halfway through the season those two guys would combine for 54 pancakes and 0 sacks - how would you feel? Frankly, while I didn't need OL in this class, I'm a little jealous. Just great drafting, coupled with great coaching, and you know why a guy like Tom is so underrated in these leagues. That said - the Broncos HAVE suffered from some QB injuries this year, but the data suggest it ain't the fault of these two guys. I expect them to develop into real studs. Wagner is my favorite of the two. SO developed for a rookie.
[2.12] DT Brandon Williams, UNC | A-
I'm a firm believer that you play the scheme your players are best at, not try to force guys into a scheme... so ultimately I'm playing more 43 and zone this year than I historically have. That said, I do hope to eventually be able to move to the more comfortable 34 defense I loved in Madden League relics like GZL, RZL, TWR, and MFL. That made Williams in easy add, as he has attribute flexibility to play in either - but with his 335lb frame and 95STR, I do hope to eventually feature him as my NT. For a big guy, he can move at 68SPD/69AGI/70ACC, which shouldn't put him at any kind of big disadvantage when he eats offensive lineman double teams. He's also a reliable tackler out of the box. This Carolina boy is also only 22 years old, so he should have the fine folks in Texas chanting, "Let's Go, Brandon!" for years to come.
[2.13] RG Terron Armstead, Arkansas P.B. | A-
See above! I basically outlined how impressed I was with both of these picks for Tom. I wish Armstead was a little faster, but super impressed that they were able to get two guys who are basically maxed out at STR and solid blockers as rookies.
[2.14] 
MLB A.J. Klein, Iowa State | B
The run on MLBs continues! I like Klein and had him pegged as an option, but was hoping he'd be around in the 3rd. Love the 250lbs, and his draftable attributes were fine. He skewed down a little, which makes him look a little bit more like an early 3rd rounder, but ultimately in this range just grab a guy you like. And frankly, I wish GM Redford saw at least one other guy he liked, because I was trying HARD at this point to trade him some of my 2nd Round picks for QB Tom Brady. Ultimately, he didn't bite and flash forward to us being (2-6). The Pats are (3-5) though, so maybe that would have been a good move for both franchises.
[2.15] 
MLB Paul Worrilow, Deleware | C+
Another MLB! On draft night I was a little upset by this as, again, I was hoping some MLBs would have slipped to the 3rd. We had bigger needs than LBs (it's probably the 2nd best position I inherited from GM William Cook), but I was keeping tabs on the position. Worrilow looked more like an OLB on paper to me, and I still have some doubts on how the 6' 230lb kid is going to hold up there. But he is strong, can tackle and has as much speed as a GM can wish for from a 2nd round linebacker. We'll see how his career goes - I've seen paper Tarzan play like Jane, and paper Jane play like Tarzan. I'm rooting for the Delaware kid.
[2.16] FS Matt Elam, Florida | A-
Elam was in consideration for me at about every other pick I had in this round OTHER than 2.3 - so I was happy he was still there at 2.16! Ultimately, he was one of the last guys in a group of guys I had scouted for the 2nd round. Ultimately, his skew didn't really help or hurt him, although I moved him from SS to FS, so he lost a little bit of AWR there. On paper he's got everything I look for in a safety - decent strength, solid tackler, above average hands, and his SPD/AGI/ACC attributes are either already 90/90/90 (or able to get there with enhancements). I'll have to put a little work into him, and he'll sit behind stud FS Brodney Pool for a year (or two), but I think the 22 year old will develop into a reliable starter in SFL. And lord knows Dallas needs those.
[2.17] 
MLB Michael Mauti, Penn State | A+
I was going to cut this off at the halfway point, but I felt inclined to tack on one more pick because I liked Mauti so much. Believe it or not, this was the 4th MLB in the first 17 picks of the 2nd, and there'd still be one more taken. Quite the run for a position that is pretty stacked in this league, but not surprising considering the premium put on that position regardless of your style of defense. Mauti has a great frame at 6'2" 243lbs, but also has 80+ attributes popping off his player card all over. This was a very nice pick by Breck, and other than the 70INJ this is about as well rounded of a pick as you can hope for in the back half of the 2nd round. This is why good teams stay good.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the series!
