The key to any fantasy football season is preparation. Whether you have the first overall pick or the last of the first round, having a sense of who will be available in each round is key.
I’ll be doing mock drafts throughout the summer while offering scenarios and feedback for each position. The point of these mocks is to prepare for the unexpected.
The mock drafts will assume that 12 teams are in the league with the following roster construction: quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, tight end, a flex (running back, wide receiver or tight end), defense, kicker and seven bench spots. It is a 16-round snake draft in a half-point-per-reception (half-PPR) league.
If you read my draft guide, you know I’m not a fan of drafting kickers and defense if it’s not necessary. I’d rather add a few running backs who could end up being a starter in the event of an injury. However, for the sake of this exercise, I’ll round out each draft by doing so. Remember, do not draft either before your final two picks!
Most important of all, be creative with your mock drafts. Don’t take the same players in every mock. Your favorite sleeper is probably someone else’s too. I’m guilty of this myself — see Jaylen Warren so far — but I will try to go with different approaches in many of these mock drafts.
The draft is just the start of the season. If you’re drafting early, work the waiver wire to your advantage if any major injuries arise. If you’re a fantasy nerd like me, have notifications on of your favorite NFL insider for breaking news around the league. But the draft is where you build the foundation of your roster, and the goal is to have as deep a roster as possible.
We are already at the No. 3 pick with plenty more fantasy analysis upcoming. (See also: No. 1 pick, No. 2 pick).
We’ll mix in 10 and 16-team drafts at some point, as well as a Superflex and non-PPR draft.
Let’s get started on the latest mock draft of the 2023 season.
Here is my roster:
Round 1, Pick 3: Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Round 2, Pick 10: Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
Round 3, Pick 3: Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens
Round 4, Pick 10: Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Round 5, Pick 3: Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
Round 6, Pick 10: Christian Kirk, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Round 7, Pick 3: Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Round 8, Pick 10: Rashaad Penny, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Round 9, Pick 3: Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
Round 10, Pick 10: Jerick McKinnon, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Round 11, Pick 3: Tyler Allgeier, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Round 12, Pick 10: Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Round 13, Pick 3: Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Free Agent
Round 14, Pick 10: Isaiah Hodgins, WR, New York Giants
Round 15, Pick 3: New Orleans Saints D/ST
Round 16, Pick 10: Greg Joseph, K, Minnesota Vikings
Observations:
In case you haven’t read my first two mocks, there are three players I have in their own tier to be the top pick. Christian McCaffrey, Justin Jefferson and Austin Ekeler are all worthy of the top choice, so getting any of the three with the third pick is a luxury. The Chargers’ running back is a touchdown machine, finding the end zone 38 times since 2021, 12 more times than any other player.
I love having Rhamondre Stevenson as my second back. He showed last season that he is capable of handling every-down work and with Damien Harris out the door, Stevenson will get the goal-line work as well. The Patriots did bring in a couple veterans for workouts recently, and it does make sense given the lack of depth on the roster, but Stevenson will still get the lion’s share of the touches.
I’ve stressed different roster constructions throughout these mock drafts, so I decided to do something different and take Mark Andrews as my first pass catcher. Even with all the new additions to the receiving corps, Andrews is still the top target for the Ravens. Travis Kelce is in a tier of his own, but Andrews is next in line. There is satisfaction in making each pick, knowing you have a leg up at the tight end position.
It’s time to address the receiver situation, and Keenan Allen is one of my favorites in this range to target. Allen battled injuries for most of the first half of last season, but he was superb when on the field. He’s the No. 1 receiver on one of the more explosive offenses in the NFL and the addition of Quentin Johnston doesn’t worry me. While we are talking about the Chargers, I’m high on the entire offense so get as many of them on your fantasy teams as possible.
Lamar Jackson was the top available player in the fifth round, and it only makes sense to stack him with his star tight end. Health has been an issue the last two seasons, but Jackson is one of the few quarterbacks who have a legitimate shot at leading the position in scoring every year. The sky is the limit for Jackson with the revamped offense and new weapons.
Going heavy at running back to start the draft, and then addressing the quarterback and tight end positions in the first five picks, has left me thin at receiver. With that said, getting Christian Kirk and Diontae Johnson with back-to-back picks at this stage is a dream scenario. Kirk was electric in his first season in Jacksonville, and Johnson cannot go another season without scoring a touchdown. Both will see a high share of targets for their team and finish as WR2.
Rashaad Penny will be on a lot of my teams this summer. The Eagles traded for D’Andre Swift and he is going two rounds earlier than Penny, but the public perception is flip-flopped. Philadelphia almost never gets its running backs involved in the passing game and that’s where Swift thrives. The duo will split the early-down work, but Penny will be the lead back near the goal line and that’s valuable in a high-octane offense.
My next two picks come from the AFC West in Courtland Sutton and Jerick McKinnon. The Broncos were arguably the biggest disappointment in the league and get a much-needed culture change with Sean Payton taking over head coaching duties. Sutton is one of my favorites for a major bounce-back and is being drafted criminally low. McKinnon is a pass-catching back in the league’s best offense. Isiah Pacheco will get most of the carries, but we saw in the second half of last season that both McKinnon and Pacheco can be FLEX-worthy plays.
Three of my next four picks are handcuffs. The Falcons may have drafted Bijan Robinson, but they aren’t going to completely give up on Tyler Allgeier, who rushed for 1,035 yards as a rookie. Jaylen Warren has now made all three of my mocks. He’s going to be involved in the Steelers’ offense. The Ezekiel Elliott pick is a dart throw that the former Cowboy ends up in a prominent role wherever he might sign. Isaiah Hodgins was the Giants’ leading receiver down the stretch last year, and there isn’t anyone on that roster that’s demanding targets.
This team is top heavy with the early selections of a quarterback and tight end, but I’m not too thrilled about the depth on the bench. My strategy is to typically wait until the later rounds to address those positions and stack up on more high-quality position players. This is a perfect example of why mock drafts are important. Do as many of them as possible so you have a feel of how you want to attack the draft. Whether you believe in Zero RB or the early quarterbacks, it’s your strategy and these mock drafts will help show you the way when it really matters.
What do you think of this roster? Let’s discuss on Twitter @JoeSerp.
You can do your own mock draft in seconds by clicking here.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox