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, 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, turn 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 have reached the midway point of our mock drafts with the sixth overall pick. (See also: No. 1 pick, No. 2 pick, No. 3 pick, No. 4 pick, No. 5 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 my latest mock draft of the 2023 season.
Here is my roster:
Round 1, Pick 6: Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Round 2, Pick 7: Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets
Round 3, Pick 6: Travis Etienne, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Round 4, Pick 7: Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns
Round 5, Pick 6: Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Round 6, Pick 7: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Round 7, Pick 6: Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Round 8, Pick 7: AJ Dillon, RB, Green Bay Packers
Round 9, Pick 6: Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
Round 10, Pick 7: Rondale Moore, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Round 11, Pick 6: Jeff Wilson Jr., RB, Miami Dolphins
Round 12, Pick 7: Kendre Miller, RB, New Orleans Saints
Round 13, Pick 6: Roschon Johnson, RB, Chicago Bears
Round 14, Pick 7: Zamir White, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Round 15, Pick 6: Pittsburgh Steelers D/ST
Round 16, Pick 7: Wil Lutz, K, New Orleans Saints
Observations:
I had my choice between Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill and Bijan Robinson with the sixth pick and I could make a case for all three. Kupp is ultimately the selection because it’s hard to forget the prolific season he had in 2021, and he was just as electric last season until an ankle injury ended his season prematurely. Last season was a lost cause for the Rams given the injuries to Kupp and Matthew Stafford, but both should be healthy this year and pick up where they left off. He’s No. 6 overall in my current player rankings, but it would be a surprise to no one if he’s the top player in fantasy once again.
I took a little bit of a gamble with my second pick thinking that I could still land one of my top running backs in the third. Garrett Wilson was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with misfit quarterbacks. The second-year receiver will drive defensive coordinators crazy with his route running and a reputable signal-caller in Aaron Rodgers. If he’s a WR2, that’s great because that’s what I drafted him to be, but if he takes his game to a new level, I have two elite receivers to build around.
I said the Wilson selection was a gamble, and five of the next 10 picks ended up being running backs. Fortunately, there were still two I was comfortable taking in the third round. Joe Mixon was in play, but I had him on my roster in the last mock so I decided to go with Travis Etienne here.
The former Clemson star was in a timeshare with James Robinson to start the campaign, but once the Jaguars traded Robinson away, Etienne took full advantage of the situation. There is room for growth here, too. Etienne had 41 red-zone carries and found the end zone just four times. Every other running back who had a minimum of 40 carries scored at least nine times. I’m not buying the Tank Bigsby hype. Etienne is rarely going to come off the field.
Everyone has their own rankings and I have Amari Cooper ranked higher than the consensus. He’s my WR13, so getting him in the fourth round is a steal. He finished as WR9 in his first season in Cleveland with Jacoby Brissett at the helm. If Deshaun Watson can get back to some semblance of form from his time in Houston, I’ve got the potential for another WR1 at this juncture of the draft.
There is a reason for these mock drafts. I know after doing so many of them that I can go receiver-heavy in the first few rounds and still get a solid RB2 in the fifth. Rachaad White is someone I’m targeting often in this range as he’s got little competition for touches behind him. Furthermore, between White and Leonard Fournette, the duo caught 123 passes on 141 targets. It’s no secret that Tom Brady favored getting the ball to his running backs so another 140-plus targets is likely out of the question, but if White gets the lion’s share of Fournette’s vacated touches, he’s got RB1 upside, and at worst, he’s a really solid RB2.
My position on the quarterback situation is evolving as we inch closer to the regular season. In my eyes, there are eight quarterbacks I’m confident in drafting early. If I can’t land one of them, I’m punting on the position until Rounds 11-13. No. 8 on my list of quarterbacks is Trevor Lawrence, and it’s hard to argue that he’s too low considering the names I have listed above him, but we saw last season what a difference having a legitimate coaching staff makes.
Lawrence saw his numbers tick up across the board, and he was nearly unstoppable in the second half of last year, throwing for 15 touchdowns and only two interceptions from Week 9 to the end of the regular season. That’s the player the Jags coveted with the No. 1 pick, giving him top-five potential.
I had a decision to make with my prior pick. Do I go with Lawrence or keep addressing the skill positions? It came down to Lawrence and Diontae Johnson in the sixth round. So, when I saw Johnson was still available in the seventh, I don’t think my finger could have clicked “Draft” any faster. He was arguably the unluckiest player in fantasy last season, finishing with zero touchdowns despite being eighth in total targets. Kenny Pickett’s growth will play a factor in Johnson’s production, but there is no chance Johnson doesn’t find the end zone again this season. I’m a firm believer that Johnson would be ranked much higher if he had four or five scores last season so take advantage of the discount.
Five of my next seven picks are running backs with various expectations out the gate. AJ Dillon gets his share of touches even with a healthy Aaron Jones, making him a FLEX option. Getting a starting running back this late is rare and that’s what we’ve got in Jeff Wilson Jr. unless the Dolphins sign a veteran back. Kendre Miller is a beneficiary from the Alvin Kamara suspension and will see immediate playing time.
The competition ahead of Roschon Johnson isn’t anything spectacular, so I can see the job being his the second half of the season. Zamir White is currently listed as the top running back for the Raiders with Josh Jacobs’ holdout. I don’t anticipate Jacobs going down Le’Veon Bell’s path, but I also got burned that season by not using a late pick on James Conner.
Mixed in between these picks is the selection of Dallas Goedert as my tight end. Similar to the quarterback position, there are eight tight ends I’m confident in or I’m waiting until the double-digit rounds. Goedert was actually the top player on my board in the two rounds prior, but Evan Engram was also still hanging around so I was willing to wait an extra round to address the position. Getting Goedert in the ninth round is a bargain considering the volatility of the tight ends.
This team is among my favorites thus far. The middle portion of the draft is typically my ideal spot. Just about every player could be available to you, as opposed to the beginning or the end of the order that leaves you out of the picture for certain guys. This particular draft had a lot of running backs taken higher than expected, but I’m satisfied with Etienne and White as my starters. Both should see an uptick in touches, including in the all-important passing game.
My top four wideouts all have legitimate WR1 potential, and I also exited with a quarterback and tight end that I have as top-eight players at their position. The depth is a little dicey with two rookie running backs who are currently third on the depth chart, but I’m still a bit shocked to see the fantasy community not have more love for Jeff Wilson. I will be talking about him a lot this next month.
What do you think of this roster? Let’s discuss on Twitter @JoeSerp.
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Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox