Twitter re-drafts the NFL, Round 2: Falcons select TE Travis Kelce

We’re in the depths of the offseason with an uncertain training camp future ahead of us. So, naturally, we’re all looking for interesting things to do to fill the void. You might recall ESPN’s NFL re-draft, in which beat reporters for every team restarted every franchise from scratch with 4 rounds of drafting. Myself—and apparently many others—found that exercise a little lacking, so we’re starting up our own re-draft of the NFL.

Dan Kadar, formerly of SB Nation’s Mocking the Draft, is leading the effort, along with fans and analysts of each team. We’re aiming for 6 rounds, but if possible I’m angling to go further. The goal: build the best team possible with your selections. The salary cap obviously isn’t in play because we’re only planning for 6 rounds, and there are no other rules about who may be drafted. The draft order is based on the 2020 NFL Draft, and will be a fantasy-style “Snake” draft.

That means the Falcons are picking 16th overall—which could get a little dicey depending on the players taken in front of Atlanta. I’ll be recapping each round as it finishes, including a detailed breakdown of the player I’ve chosen for the Falcons and why that player makes sense.

Without further adieu, here’s Round 2 and my choice for Atlanta at pick 49.

Round 2, Pick 49: TE Travis Kelce

In today’s NFL, offense is king. That’s the mindset I went into this draft with, and I’m sticking to it here in the second round by selecting arguably the NFL’s top TE in Travis Kelce.

Kelce is an elite weapon in the passing game, and is one of the league’s premier blockers at the TE position. It’s no secret that adding an elite TE to your offense is a great way to compete both in the regular season and postseason. The Kansas City Chiefs (Kelce) and San Francisco 49ers (George Kittle) had the two best TEs in the league and played each other in the Super Bowl. While Kelce is the better player right now, I can understand why Kittle was taken earlier: age. Kelce will be 31 during the 2020 season, while Kittle will be just 27.

However, TEs can play at a high level well into their 30s and seem to have better longevity than WRs. We should expect Kelce to remain an elite weapon for at least the next 2-3 years, and be a very good one for perhaps a few more. With the enormous depth at WR in the NFL, it was an easy choice to select an elite TE in Kelce over someone like Keenan Allen or Davante Adams. While both are excellent WRs, the quality of TEs drops off pretty significantly after Kelce and Kittle.

Having secured what I believe to be a top-10 QB in the right offense and arguably the NFL’s best TE, the re-drafted Falcons are shaping up to be pretty strong on offense. We’ll see who else is available when Atlanta is up in Round 3.

Round 2 Results

Pick 33 - Kansas City Chiefs (@Bambam8109): WR Michael Thomas (WR3) | R1: WR Tyreek Hill (WR2)

Pick 34 - San Francisco 49ers (@beardedCameron): RB Christian McCaffrey (RB1) | R1: TE George Kittle (TE1)

Pick 35 - Green Bay Packers (@RossUglem): OT Terron Armstead (OT4) | R1: CB Stephon Gilmore (CB1)

Pick 36 - Tennessee Titans (@_JL56): WR Julio Jones (WR4) | R1: EDGE Khalil Mack (EDGE4)

Pick 37 - Baltimore Ravens (@NateNFL): EDGE T.J. Watt (EDGE5) | R1: WR DeAndre Hopkins (WR1)

Pick 38 - Seattle Seahawks (@BennettPrag): EDGE Chase Young (EDGE6) | R1: OT Ryan Ramczyk (OT3)

Pick 39 - Houston Texans (@BrettKollmann): WR Mike Evans (WR5) | R1: QB Drew Lock (QB19)

Pick 40 - Minnesota Vikings (@AndyHort1): EDGE Za’Darius Smith (EDGE7) | R1: OG Quenton Nelson (OG1)

Pick 41 - New Orleans Saints (@DynastyPigskin5): CB Jalen Ramsey (CB2) | R1: EDGE Joey Bosa (EDGE3)

Pick 42 - New England Patriots (@Henry_Primack): EDGE Danielle Hunter (EDGE8) | R1: OT Ronnie Stanley (OT2)

Pick 43 - Buffalo Bills (@GbridgfordNFL): OG Zack Martin (OG2) | R1: EDGE Myles Garrett (EDGE2)

Pick 44 - Philadelphia Eagles (@ByADiBona): CB Tre’Davious White (CB3) | R1: EDGE Nick Bosa (EDGE1)

Pick 45 - Los Angeles Rams (@3k_): QB Jared Goff (QB19) | R1: OT David Bahktiari (OT1)

Pick 46 - Chicago Bears (@wiltfongjr): EDGE Josh Allen (EDGE9) | R1: QB Kirk Cousins (QB18)

Pick 47 - Pittsburgh Steelers (@ChrisTrapasso): DT Chris Jones (DT2) | R1: QB Josh Allen (QB17)

Pick 48 - Dallas Cowboys (@NBarlotta_DSN): QB Sam Darnold (QB20) | R1: DT Aaron Donald (DT1)

Pick 49 - Atlanta Falcons (@FalcoholicKevin): TE Travis Kelce (TE2) | R1: QB Ryan Tannehill (QB16)

Pick 50 - Denver Broncos (@DraftGowan13): WR Chris Godwin (WR6) | R1: QB Tom Brady (QB15)

Pick 51 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Andy_J_Nichols): WR Davante Adams (WR7) | R1: QB Matt Ryan (QB14)

Pick 52 - Indianapolis Colts (@ZachHicks2): EDGE Chandler Jones (EDGE10) | R1: QB Matthew Stafford (QB13)

Pick 53 - Las Vegas Raiders (@cincinasty_): CB Jaire Alexander (CB4) | R1: QB Joe Burrow (QB12)

Pick 54 - New York Jets (@justRVB): EDGE Yannick Ngakoue (EDGE11) | R1: QB Tua Tagovailoa (QB11)

Pick 55 - Cleveland Browns (@davy_d): DT Grady Jarrett (DT3) | R1: QB Baker Mayfield (QB10)

Pick 56 - Jacksonville Jaguars (@ZachCohenFB): OT Mitchell Schwartz (OT5) | R1: QB Drew Brees (QB9)

Pick 57 - Arizona Cardinals (@blakemurphy7): LB Bobby Wagner (LB1) | R1: QB Aaron Rodgers (QB8)

Pick 58 - Carolina Panthers (@DakeZekee214): WR Amari Cooper (WR8) | R1: QB Carson Wentz (QB7)

Pick 59 - Los Angeles Chargers (@rjroepke): WR Odell Beckham Jr. (WR9) | R1: QB Dak Prescott (QB6)

Pick 60 - Miami Dolphins (@houtz): RB Saquon Barkley (RB2) | R1: QB Kyler Murray (QB5)

Pick 61 - New York Giants (@geoffschwartz): OT Trent Williams (OT6) | R1: QB Deshaun Watson (QB4)

Pick 62 - Detroit Lions (@adam_benmoche): EDGE Von Miller (EDGE12) | R1: QB Russell Wilson (QB3)

Pick 63 - Washington (@bmealy17): RB Ezekiel Elliott (RB3) | R1: QB Lamar Jackson (QB2)

Pick 64 - Cincinnati Bengals (@CoachMinich): OT La’el Collins (OT7) | R1: QB Patrick Mahomes (QB1)

After the huge run on QBs to start the first round, only 2 were drafted in the second round (Jared Goff and Sam Darnold). This could be a risky strategy, particularly for the drafters at the top of the round, as they could be left with the scraps of the position if another run occurs.

Unlike the first round, there was a ton of variation in the positions selected in the second. EDGE led the way with 8 selections, followed closely by WR with 7. OT was third with 4, followed by CB and RB with 3. DT and QB were tied at 2 each (Grady Jarrett was the third DT selected, which Falcons fans may find interesting), and OG, TE, and LB each clocked in with a single selection each. Honestly, I’ll never understand prioritizing a position like RB in a situation where you can only draft 6 players—it simply doesn’t provide enough value.

We now head into the third round with 12 teams still in need of a QB. As you might have expected from the QB-heavy first round, the draft has thus far skewed towards offense. 14 teams have selected 2 offensive players to start, while another 16 have gone 1 offense/1 defense. Only 2 teams started the draft with 2 defensive players taken. That’s not surprising: the best teams in the league have been winning with unstoppable offense as of late, and this draft reflects that.

What are your thoughts on the second round of Twitter’s re-draft of the entire NFL? Are you happy with the Falcons pick at 49? Who would you like to see Atlanta target in Round 3, and how would you build your team in a scenario like this? Do you have any favorite teams based on who has been drafted so far?