Chase Brown, Jonathan Taylor, and Three More Players to Target in the Second Round of Fantasy Football Drafts

The second round is one of the most important rounds of fantasy football drafts, and there are five players fantasy managers should be targeting to help them solidify their roster.

Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) is stopped short of the end zone by Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) on a carry in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 17 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Denver Broncos at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. The Bengals took a 30-24 win in overtime to remain in the post season chase. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Most fantasy football drafts aren’t won in Round 2, but they can most definitely be lost in Round 2. While injuries are almost always the main culprit for the losing part of that last sentence, I’ve yet to gain the ability to predict the future so my main strategy to avoid a Round 2 bust is to target safety and consistency. We can aim for upside later in the draft – there’s not much more upside than moving up one round in value return!

RB Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

Jonathan Taylor is the 18th-ranked player in our PPR rankings, but I’ve also seen him slip into the third round in some drafts due to injury and workload concerns. While I understand the worries (especially considering the fact that the Colts just named Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback), I also think there’s a valid argument that Taylor will be THE focal point of the offense as the Colts don’t have much behind him. Lock in Taylor as a solid target in the late-second round.

WR Nico Collins, Houston Texans

Similarly to Taylor, Nico Collins doesn’t have a huge cast of characters to compete with for touches in the Texans offense, so he’ll serve as the straw that stirs the drink for C.J. Stroud. With Stefon Diggs gone, Tank Dell injured, and Joe Mixon looking like a big question mark right now, Collins has a very realistic path to weekly double-digit targets (a total he surpassed in five of 12 games last year). Collins is appearing as a first-round pick in a lot of drafts, but we have him around 15 in our rankings so there’s a ton of value here if you can get him in the beginning of the second round.

RB Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

Josh Jacobs isn’t the most exciting player, but he’s the model of safety and consistency that I mentioned wanting to target in the second round. Though Jacobs doesn’t have a sky-high ceiling due to his lack of game-breaker and pass-catching ability, he offers one of the best floors you can find in this range. He consistently touches the ball 15-20 times a game (and often more) for the Packers, and doesn’t have much in terms of competition behind him. While Jacobs has slipped to the third round in some drafts, we have him ranked in the 20-24 range – which makes him a great pick at the end of the round.

RB Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders

Jeanty is a bit of a polarizing player in rankings right now, and a lot of that stems from the unknown as he enters his rookie season. And some of it stems from peoples’ overreaction based on a few lackluster touches in his first preseason game (note: there’s nothing to worry about there). While Jeanty has gone in the first round of some drafts, he’s also slipped to the second round in many drafts and rankings sites. With very little competition behind him, Jeanty has the chance to provide first-round value if he slips to the second in your draft.

RB Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

Chase Brown isn’t the typical workhorse back prototype, but the Bengals certainly used him like one toward the tail end of last season. And they didn’t bring in much competition for the third-year player either. Outside of bringing value in the passing game, Brown carried the ball at least 20 times in five of the Bengals’ last eight games. Ranked 20th in our rankings, Brown has fallen to the third round of some drafts and has a ton of upside if he slips that far.