In Part 3 of our fantasy football analysis of the 2009 NFL Draft, we take a look at the picks that were made in the second round. A few of these picks should become fantasy football relevant by the end of the 2009 fantasy campaign.

Pat White, Miami Dolphins - Fantasy Football (Image: Newscom)

WR Pat White, Miami Dolphins
In the 2009 fantasy football season, Pat White could be a hot name. He was a quarterback in college but most believe he’ll end up as a wide receiver in the NFL. However, other scouts insist he might be able to play QB in the NFL. Whatever the case may be, White could cause havoc with the Dolphins — especially if they use more of their “Wildcat” sets.

WR Brian Robiskie, Cleveland Browns
WR Mohamed Massaquoi, Cleveland Browns
The Browns need wide receivers. In the second round, they drafted a pair of receivers. With Braylon Edwards coming off of a disappointing season and Donte Stallworth in trouble with the law, Robiski and Massaquoi should provide good depth.

RB LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles
Brian Westbrook now has some legit competition in Philadelphia. LeSean McCoy has been rated highly for most of the last year and the Eagles were able to get him in the second round. If you draft Westbrook, make sure to handcuff McCoy.

TE Richard Quinn, Denver Broncos
Although Richard Quinn is mostly a blocking tight end, he could get some action around the goal line. Head coach Josh McDaniels is from New England, where they like to roster multiple tight ends.

With the first day of the 2009 NFL Draft complete, here’s a look at the future of the fantasy football relevant players who were drafted in the first half of the first round.

QB Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
Stafford went first overall and has good long-term potential. For a redraft league, he doesn’t have much upside.

QB Mark Sanchez, New York Jets
There’s a good chance that Sanchez gets plenty of action this season. If there’s a rookie quarterback to gamble on in a redraft fantasy football league, it’s Sanchez.

WR Darrius Heyward-Bay, Oakland Raiders
The Raiders surprised the experts by picking Heyward-Bay seventh overall. Although he has great speed, it’s difficult to imagine him having an immediate impact in Oakland.

WR Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers
For the 49ers, getting Crabtree was a much needed move. For Crabtree, his fantasy football value is somewhat shaky considering San Francisco’s anemic offensive unit.

RB Knowshown Moreno, Denver Broncos
This is a good fit for both parties. The Broncos needed a running back and were able to get the best in the draft. And Moreno should be happy to be going to a running back friendly team.

Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos (Image: Newscom)

Those of us obsessed with fantasy football now have some tangible information to start studying. On Tuesday, the league released the 2009 NFL schedules for each team.

While it’s a lot of information to digest at once, one team that looks to have a friendly fantasy football schedule is the Arizona Cardinals. Last season, Kurt Warner and the Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl. This coming season, a lot of fantasy football owners could be counting on Warner to lead their teams to a fantasy football Super Bowl.

Here’s a look at the Cardinals schedule:

Week 1 - San Francisco
Week 2 - @ Jacksonville
Week 3 - Indianapolis
Week 5 - Houston
Week 6 - @ Seattle
Week 7 - @ NY Giants
Week 8 - Carolina
Week 9 - @ Chicago
Week 10 - Seattle
Week 11 - @ St. Louis
Week 12 - @ Tennessee
Week 13 - Minnesota
Week 14 - @ San Francisco
Week 15 - @ Detroit
Week 16 - St. Louis
Week 17 - Green Bay

Pay special attention to the money weeks of the fantasy football season — Week 14 through Week 16. Three games against bad defense during the fantasy playoffs? That fact alone just raised the stock value of everyone on the Cardinals’ offense including Kurt Warner.

Kurt Warner, Fantasy Football Star in 2009? (Image: Newscom)

QB Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
Although he struggled down the stretch of the regular season, Kurt Warner showed why he’s one of the most explosive fantasy players going in the playoffs right now. He had 271 yards and two touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons to help the Cardinals advance to the second round of the 2008 NFL playoffs.

RB Darren Sproles, San Diego Chargers
Filling in for an injured LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles had a monster game. For any fantasy owners who rolled the dice and went with Sproles, you were well rewarded. He had 105 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Overall, he had more than 300 all-purpose yards on the day.

WR Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts
Although the Colts lost, it wasn’t Reggie Wayne’s fault. Wayne finished the game against the Chargers with 129 yards receiving and a touchdown. His touchdown put the Colts in good position to eek out a win but the Chargers surprised many by advancing in overtime.

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
Antonio Gates went through some struggles in the regular season but he was very good against the Colts. He had a big catch in overtime in which he fought for the first down by carrying a couple Colts players with him. All in all, Gates looks strong and should be a good start in playoff fantasy football going forward.

Photo credit: Newscom

Although the 2009 fantasy football season is a long ways away, here’s an early look at a mock draft of the first round. It should be noted that the first round of the 2009 fantasy football draft looks like it will be all running backs in virtually every format.

1. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
2. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
3. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears
4. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles
5. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
6. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans
7. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
8. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
9. Steve Slaton, Houston Texans
10. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars
11. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins
12. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers

QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
The great thing about Drew Brees is that he gets so many passing yards that he’s almost always a productive fantasy football player. Even when he struggles with interceptions, his passing yards and touchdowns usually overshadow his struggles.

RB Matt Forte, Chicago Bears
Even though he’s a rookie, Matt Forte has been amazingly consistent this season. He gets a lot of touches and almost always makes positive plays. He’s rushed for nearly 1200 yards and has more than 60 receptions on the season. Best of all, he has 12 total touchdowns.

WR Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
The Lions will likely complete the first 0-16 season in the history of the NFL, but Calvin Johnson isn’t at fault. He’s had a very consistent season, even though he’s had to withstand mostly horrible quarterback play. If he ever is put in a situation with a good quarterback, he could become the best wide receiver in the NFL.

TE Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs
Tony Gonzalez has been the only consistent fantasy football tight end of 2009. Just about every week of the season, Gonzalez has produced for his fantasy football owners. Not bad for a player thought to be too old.

QB Seneca Wallace, Seattle Seahawks
It appears as if Matt Hasselbeck will be missing another game in Week 17. In his place, Seneca Wallace could very well have a big game. He’s going against an Arizona Cardinals defense that just got destroyed in Week 16.

RB LaMont Jordan, New England Patriots
After missing most of the season with a calf injury, LaMont Jordan is back and producing for the Patriots. Although he’s not starting, he’s been getting goal line carries and the bulk of the carries when the game is out of reach. In the last two weeks, he has three touchdowns.

WR Jerheme Urban, Arizona Cardinals
Since Anquan Boldin is going to likely miss another week and most fantasy football leagues already have Steve Breaston on a roster, Jerheme Urban is the player to target on most waiver wires. He’s getting a few passes his way and with the Cardinals going against the Seahawks, he could be productive in Week 17.

TE Anthony Fasano, Miami Dolphins
In the first couple weeks of the season, Anthony Fasano looked like the real deal in terms of fantasy football production. He then went on a long dry spell but now he’s back in the fantasy equation after posting three touchdowns in the last three weeks.

Antonio Bryant, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last season, Antonio Bryant didn’t even play in the NFL. This season, he’s one of the game’s best wide receivers. In fantasy football, no wide receiver has been better as of late. He has five touchdowns in the last four weeks and three games of over 100 yards receiving. In one of those games, he had over 200 yards receiving.

Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers
Although he wasn’t great in Week 16 against the New York Giants, Steve Smith has been very productive as of late. In Week 14 and Week 15, he had nine receptions, 100+ yards and a touchdown in each game. Overall, he has four games of 100+ receiving yards in his last five.

Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers
After going without a catch in Week 13, Vincent Jackson has rewarded those fantasy football owners who stuck with him. In the last three weeks, Jackson has 18 catches, two touchdowns and 348 receiving yards.

Wes Welker, New England Patriots
Although Randy Moss is the better receiver, Wes Welker has been very consistent and very productive as of late. He has a touchdown in each of his last two games. In the previous game, he had 12 catches for 134 yards.

Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots
Even though the Patriots don’t have Tom Brady, they’ve been able to find ways to move the ball. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski has taken advantage of 34 of his 37 field goal attempts and all 39 extra points. In Week 16, he had his best fantasy scoring game of the season against the Arizona Cardinals.

Kris Brown, Houston Texans
Over the last seven weeks, Kris Brown has been very good in fantasy football. He has at least two field goals in each game and at least one extra point. He went through a rough stretch earlier in the season but has been very productive once the Texans’ schedule got easier.

Rob Bironas, Tennessee Titans
Although Rob Bironas has been boom or bust lately, his booms have been impressive enough to start him on a weekly basis. In the last four weeks, he has two games in which he finished the contest with four field goals. He also hasn’t missed a field goal since Week 10.

Garrett Hartley, New Orleans Saints
Since taking over the kicking duties for the Saints in Week 10, Garrett Hartley has been extremely impressive. He has connected on all 12 field goal attempts and all 24 extra points. With the Saints having one of the better offenses in the league, Hartley should be money again in Week 17 and a sought after kicker in 2009.

QB Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
Throughout the season, Philip Rivers has been a dependable fantasy football quarterback. In Week 16, he was very good once again. He finished the game with four touchdown passes to go along with 287 passing yards. On the season, Rivers now has more than 3800 passing yards and 32 passing touchdowns.

RB DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
It’s hard to call DeAngelo Williams anything other than a fantasy football phenom. Against a tough New York Giants defense, Williams had four rushing touchdowns and more than 100 yards. On the season, Williams has more than 1300 yards and 18 touchdowns.

WR Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints
Although he’s had a disappointing season on the whole, Marques Colston came up big in Week 16 of the fantasy football season. He finished the game against the Detroit Lions with two touchdowns, 99 receiving yards and nine catches. The nine receptions were a season-high and he doubled his touchdown total on the season with those two TDs.

TE Visanthe Shiancoe, Minnesota Vikings
If you started Vishanthe Shiacoe, you are one happy fantasy football owner. The Vikings’ tight end had two touchdowns, 136 receiving yards and seven receptions. With this huge game, Shiancoe has officially elevated himself to stud status on the tight end market.